Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy Best of the Left

Original Air Date: 10/23/2023
The people who want to pull the country in directions that are only supported by a small minority of the population have to develop very intricate plans to have any hope of succeeding. This is the story of the latest plan to establish unchecked rule to implement unpopular policies supported only by the far right.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: ‘The endgame of election denial is that we shouldn't have elections’: Authoritarianism expert - The ReidOut - Air Date 10-6-23
Donald Trump has ramped up his violent rhetoric in recent weeks. Meanwhile, a Fox host has urged the U.S. towards civil war and claimed that voting does not work.
Ch. 2: Violent Authoritarianism: How Did This Become the GOP? - Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen - Air Date 11-23-21
Pat Buchanan was ahead of his time. He used the KKK’s David Duke to breed a new nativist religious nationalism, based on fear of liberalization. On this show, political science professor Joseph Lowndes sheds light on how the Republican Party got here
Ch. 3: Analyzing The Dark Roots Of Modern Conservatism - The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder - Air Date 10-15-23
Emma hosts John S. Huntington, professor of history at Houston Community College, to discuss his recent book Far-Right Vanguard: The Radical Roots of Modern Conservatism.
Ch. 4: How Often Do YOU Think About the Roman Empire? - Wisecrack - Air Date 10-16-23
The real reason TikTok is crazy for ancient Rome If you’re even a little bit online, you know that the men love ancient Rome. This isn’t new: The civilization has loomed large in the Western imagination ever since its catastrophic collapse.
Ch. 5: The Conservative Plan to Take Over the Country Part 1 - Leeja Miller - Air Date 9-26-23
Project 2025 is the terrifying plan set out by conservatives to take over the government. But it's radical, and it doesn't align with what most Americans want. Which is why we have to make sure this plan never happens.
Ch. 6: The GOP’s "Red Caesar" New Political Order Plan Marches Forward - The Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 10-3-23
A Trump supporter just displayed exactly how stochastic terrorism works.
Ch. 7: The Conservative Plan to Take Over the Country Part 2 - Leeja Miller - Air Date 9-26-23
Ch. 8: Think Tanks: How Fake Experts Shape the News - Tom Nicholas - Air Date 5-13-23
A video about how billionaire-funded right-wing “think tanks” such as the Heritage Foundation, Adam Smith Institute, Manhattan Institute, and Institute of Economic Affairs manipulate the news to spread their propaganda

Air Date: 6-23-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- The Kidult trend in depth (since we had to cut it short last time)
- A right-wing attempt at a puppet-based kids show to draw in young viewers early
- How Nanalan' - a kids puppet show from the 90s - is helping some Millennials with reparenting
REFERENCES:
Adults Are Spending Big on Toys and Stuffed Animals—for Themselves
Kidults - do you have one in your life?
PLAYBACK The UK’s adults-only soft play, ball pits, Lego nights, museum sleepovers & holiday camps where grown-ups play like kids
'Gus Plus Us' Offers a Glimpse of Texas Filmmaking’s Conservative Future 
What is Bentkey?
'She Is the Icon of All That Is Joyful in the World
Nanalan' on YouTube

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Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date 6/21/2024
The European elections could have been worse but they weren't great. Shifting politics among mainstream parties is legitimizing far-right policies at the same time as people's concerns over immigration is being reflected in a willingness to vote for far-right parties.
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Transcript
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SEE FULL SHOW NOTES
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KEY POINTS
KP 1: Clear Shift Toward the Far Right Anti-Immigrant Nationalists Gain Ground Across Europe - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-11-24
KP 2: Europe Slides to the Right Unpacking the EU Parliamentary elections. - UNFTR - Air Date 6-15-24
KP 3: How the EU Parliament Voted This Year - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 6-12-24
KP 4: Does the economy matter to the far right? - Business Beyond - Air Date 5-31-24
KP 5: How Deep Does Right Wing Extremism Go In The Republican Party With Teddy Wilson - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 6-11-24
KP 6: What is behind the rise of the far-right in Europe - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 6-11-24
KP 7: Far Right Surges in European Elections - Pod Save The World - Air Date 6-12-24
KP 8: Europe Slides to the Right Unpacking the EU Parliamentary elections Part 2 - UNFTR - Air Date 6-15-24
(49:23) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On the snowball effect of factors leading to a rightward shift in politics
DEEPER DIVES
(56:56) SECTION A: THE EU STRUCTURE AND ELECTION RESULTS
(1:05:58) SECTION B: IMMIGRATION AND THE CULTURE WAR
(1:24:12) SECTION C: THE PLAYBOOK AND MESSAGING OF THE FAR RIGHT
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: Photo of European Parliament off-center, shifted right.
Credit: “European Parliament Strasbourg Hemicycle” by Diliff, Wikimedia | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 | Cropped

Original Air Date: 12/11/2021
Today we take a look at the many structures of American government that tilt to favor minority rule and conservatism which, in our case, is one and the same. Some structures like the Senate and the filibuster were intentionally designed to give extra weight to the minority while others like gerrymandering and the influence of large-dollar political donors were, well, I suppose they were designed for about the same reason but just in a different way.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Lawrence Lessig on Unrepresentative Democracy - Network for Responsible Public Policy - Air Date 10-1-21
Ch. 2: Why Wyoming Has More Power Than California in the Senate - AJ+ - Air Date 10-14-20
Ch. 3: Perpetual Minority Rule with David Faris - Battleground with Amanda Litman and Faiz Shakir - Air Date 6-10-21
Ch. 4: Biden's DOJ is SUING Texas For Their Brazenly Discriminatory Gerrymandering - The Humanist Report - Air Date 12-7-21
Ch. 5: Andrew Perez on the Filibuster - CounterSpin - Air Date 6-18-21
Ch. 6: A To-Do List for Senate Democrats - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 7-17-21
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 7: Chauncey DeVega On Why Democracy Might Not Survive - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 12-7-21
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 8: Final comments on public policy, human nature and Cold War talking points
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date: 6-16-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- The importance of unsupervised playtime for children and why it's disappearing
- The roots and consequences of over-scheduling kids and why it's so hard to cut back
- The rise of the "Kidult"
REFERENCES:
Parents: Keep Out! - Hidden Brain
The Fine Art of Underscheduling
Adults Are Spending Big on Toys and Stuffed Animals— For Themselves 
Let Grow Play Club
Chasing Childhood documentary

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Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
Thanks for listening!
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
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Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com 
Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Air Date 6/14/2024
We're in the middle of Supreme Court opinion season, which is not going well for non-extreme conservatives in the country, at the same time as scandal, corruption, and justices Thomas and Alito's refusal to recuse in the face of clear bias is reaching a modern peak.
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Transcript
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KEY POINTS
1: Opinionpalooza A Bad June Rising At SCOTUS Part 1 - Amicus
2: How The Mifepristone Case Reached SCOTUS - Amicus
3: Way Too Close Insane SCOTUS Case Could've Sunk The Country w Mark Joseph Stern - The Majority Report
4: Fact-Checking the Supreme Court - 99% Invisible
5: The IVF Decision We Should Have Seen Coming - Amicus
6: SCOTUS Flag Neighbor Exposes Alito’s BS Story- The Majority Report
7: Delegitimize The Court - Contempt of Court
(1:03:35) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On some of Alito's finer absurdity
Articles:
Alito says the Supreme Court’s fake ethics code allows him to be unethical
The Republican Party's man inside the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court's new voting rights decision is a love letter to gerrymandering
DEEPER DIVES
(1:14:19) SECTION A: DO FACTS MATTER?
(1:45:47) SECTION B: POLICING MEDICAL CARE
(2:15:48) SECTION C: THE REPUBLICAN COURT WE’VE ALL WAITED FOR
(2:42:24) SECTION D: SCOTUS IS A FLAWED SYSTEM
Description: Photo of the U.S. Supreme Court building with an ominous red filter. An image of golden, uneven scales of justice sits on top.
Credit: Composite design by A. Hoffman. / Photo: “The Supreme Court” by Glenn Beltz, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Overlaid with red and imagery as part of composite. / Illustration: “Uneven scales of justice” via TheDigitalArtist, Pixabay.