#1776 Trump's Pharaoh Complex, Our Flawed Constitution, and the 250th Anniversary
Release Date: 03/12/2026
#1786 Defeating Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Authoritarian Playbook Worldwide
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 4/24/2026 Today we explore how Viktor Orban spent 16 years transforming Hungary into a blueprint for 21st-century autocracy, how that blueprint traveled directly to the United States and what Hungary's stunning defeat of Orban can teach Americans about fighting back against authoritarianism. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP 2: KP 3: KP 4: KP 5: KP 6: KP 7: (00:48:33) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Trumpism Won't End With Trump, Here's What Comes...
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#1329 Our Longest War Has Been a Lie All Along (The Afghanistan Papers) (Throwback)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Re-Air Date: 4-21-2026 Original Air Date: 1–18-2020 Today we take a look at The Afghanistan Papers which reveal in stark detail much of what the anti-war movement has known or strongly suspected since the beginning. Going beyond the scope of The Pentagon Papers of the Vietnam War era, The Afghanistan Papers feature interviews and documentation from top-ranking officials admitting from the start that they had no idea what they were doing in Afghanistan. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows...
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SOLVED! SAMPLE! #38 - Keepin’ it Class-y: How Class Structure and Wealth Inequality Keep Us Stuck
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 4-8-26 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - The history of the war on poverty in the U.S. Ch. 2 - How the wealthiest 9.9% are keeping the rest of us down with their heads in the sand Ch. 3 - The history and revival of the workers’ education movement SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): How your class impacts your tastes. on our new system! FOLLOW US ON: (This episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please subscribe and share!) REFERENCES - The Nation - Sage Journals - The Atlantic - The Nation BACKSTAGE -...
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#1785 Iran and the Chain Reaction: The War Nobody Thought Through (Or, Bomb First, Think Never)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 4/17/2026 Today we examine how the U.S. war with Iran has exposed the deep structural rot at the heart of American power, the global economic catastrophe quietly building beneath the surface, and the cuts felt at home in order to pay for it all. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP 2: KP 3: KP 4: KP 5: KP 6: KP 7: KP 8: KP 9: (00:52:25) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Eisenhower Warned Us: Trump's $1.5T Military Budget Is Gutting America DEEPER...
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#1784 Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 4/14/2026 Today we examine the legal battles shaking the foundations of American citizenship and voting rights as Trump's legal team uses the courts as a weapon against democratic participation — and how advocates are fighting back. We'll hear about the three-D playbook of deceive, disrupt, and deny used by authoritarians and being deployed by Trump ahead of the midterms, and what ordinary people can do right now to protect their votes before November. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get...
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#1783 The Ideology of a Cancer Cell: AI, Surveillance, and Silicon Valley's Psychopath Problem
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 4/10/2026 Today we examine the ideology quietly driving Silicon Valley — a worldview that treats growth, extraction, and the erasure of human messiness as virtues. We'll hear how tech leaders from Sam Altman to Larry Ellison embody a kind of corporate psychopathy, why Zuckerberg never understood what Facebook actually is, and how the cult of "go for its own sake" may be the most dangerous religion of our time. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads) TOP TAKES KP 1: KP...
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SOLVED! SAMPLE! #37 - Solidarity Forever: Boycotts, Strikes, & the Labor Movement We Need
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 4-1-26 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - How to boycott better Ch. 2 - Why REI workers have voted to boycott the upcoming May sale and how you can help Ch. 3 - Why meatpacking workers are striking in Colorado Ch. 4 - Comparing the US labor movement with the Canadian labor movement Ch. 5 - Strengthening, and expanding the vision for, today’s labor movement SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): How politics killed the once transformational National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on our new system! REFERENCES - Jacobin -...
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#1683 Oligarchy Unmasked: President Musk, the crackup of capitalism, and the MAGA meltdown (Throwback)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Re-Air Date: 04-07-26 Original Air Date: 1-15-2025 Elon Musk is leading the way for his class of tech broligarchs anxious to take over the MAGA movement and shape it to their own ends of deregulation, tax cuts, and lucrative government contracts. The disappointment that is inevitable for the MAGA populists is coming even faster than expected. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! KEY POINTS KP 1: KP 2: KP 3: KP 4: KP 5: KP 6: KP 7: KP...
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#1782 Cuba's Crisis: Trump's Deadly Embargo, Blackouts, and Dream of Regime Change
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 4/3/2026 Today we examine how decades of U.S. policy toward Cuba set the stage for the current crisis, we explore the human cost of the U.S. oil blockade on Cuba's 11 million people, and how the U.S. justifies an illegal siege while claiming to act in Cuba's interest using time-tested propaganda tactics. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP 2: KP 3: KP 4: KP 5: KP 6: (00:49:58) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR The Word "Sanctions" Is Hiding a Blockade...
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#1781 Your Team Is a Hedge Fund Now: How Gambling and Billionaires Captured American Sports
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 3–31-2026 Today we examine how money and power have captured American sports from every angle — gambling platforms operating as unregulated casinos, private equity turning franchises into financial assets, leagues suppressing player pay while selling access to politicians, and a sports media apparatus too compromised to report any of it. It's almost all the problems with America on display in one industry. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP...
info_outlineAir Date: 3/11/2026
Today is episode 1776, in the year of our nation's 250th birthday, and we thought the occasion called for something big. So, we're tracing the full arc — from the constitutional compromises that made this country possible to the authoritarian vanity project that those compromises eventually also made possible. We're talking about the history, the structures, and the insecure current-but-temporary president who thinks a $400 million ballroom and a coin with his face on both sides will make him a pharaoh.
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TOP TAKES
KP 1: The Fight for a True Democracy Part 1 - 1619 - Air Date 8-23-19
KP 2: THE BROKEN CONSTITUTION with Noah Feldman Part 1 - Political Philosophy Podcast - Air Date 11-30-21
KP 3: Black History Month Is Different This Year Part 1 - Radio Atlantic - Air Date 2-19-26
KP 4: Will Trump Turn Americas 250th Birthday Into a MAGA-fest Part 1 - The Bunker - Air Date 3-3-26
KP 5: Trumps Gilded White House Makeover Is All About Power Part 1 - Reveal - Air Date 12-10-26
KP 7: Cass Sunstein on Interpreting the US Constitution Part 1 - Democracy Paradox - Air Date 8-15-23
(00:55:00) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On Why America's Coat Doesn't Fit and Why They're Erasing History to Hide It
DEEPER DIVES
(01:07:08) SECTION A: CONSTITUTION
A1: Slavery in the Constitution Part 1 - Teaching Hard History - Air Date 11-4-25
A2: #699 - No Kings - Dogma Debate - Air Date 7-4-24
A3: Slavery in the Constitution Part 2 - Teaching Hard History - Air Date 11-4-25
A4: THE BROKEN CONSTITUTION with Noah Feldman Part 2 - Political Philosophy Podcast - Air Date 11-30-21
A5: The Fight for a True Democracy Part 2 - 1619 - Air Date 8-23-19
A6: Cass Sunstein on Interpreting the US Constitution Part 2 - Democracy Paradox - Air Date 8-15-23
(02:05:58) SECTION B: TRUMPLAND
B2: Trump Reportedly Pushing for His Name on 2 More Landmarks - ABC News - Air Date 2-6-26
B4: Will Trump Turn Americas 250th Birthday Into a MAGA-fest Part 2 - The Bunker - Air Date 3-3-26
B5: Trump Builds Personality Cult as Democracy Crumbles - Mary Trump Media - Air Date 12-29-25
B6: Trumps Gilded White House Makeover Is All About Power Part 2 - Reveal - Air Date 12-10-26
(02:51:18) SECTION C: AUTHORITARIAN NOSTALGIA
C2: Black History Month Is Different This Year Part 2 - Radio Atlantic - Air Date 2-19-26
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: A chaotic composite image against a decomposing American flag background. The Arc de Triomphe (standing in for the proposed “arch d’Trump”), a gilded White House facade, and a rendering of Trump’s proposed gilded ballroom all stand behind an image of Trump giving two thumbs up. He is smiling and wearing a tall Uncle Sam-style hat, unaware a bald eagle is about to attack. A gold ribbon with 250th in awkward gold letters floats above it all.
Credit: Internal composite design. | Elements from Pixabay and Canva (paid Pro Content License)
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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