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

Air Date 6/7/2024
Banning abortion is wildly unpopular and also one of the primary motivators for the group most strongly supporting the Republican Party and Donald Trump, the Christian Right, which has transformed both the party and politicians into extremists made in their own image, threatening the lives and health of millions and sacrificing democracy in the process.
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Transcript
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KEY POINTS
1: Abortion and Reproductive Rights - Lectures in History
2: Abortion and the erosion of privacy - The Weeds
3: Digital surveillance and reproductive rights - Technically Optimistic
4: Anti-abortion hardliners want restrictions to go farther. It could cost Republicans - Consider This
5: Abortion and Reproductive Rights Part 2 - Lectures in History
6: Rakeen Mabud on Greedflation, Rachel K. Jones on Mifepristone - CounterSpin
7: Abortion and the erosion of privacy Part 2 - The Weeds
8: Digital surveillance and reproductive rights Part 2 - Technically Optimistic
(57:00) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On the abuse produced by abortion restrictions
DEEPER DIVES
(1:02:40) SECTION A: CRIMINALIZING ABORTION
(1:21:07) SECTION B: ABORTION EXTREMISM OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
(1:36:40) SECTION C: ABORTION IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM
(1:53:45) SECTION D: WHAT IS THERE TO DO?
SHOW IMAGE: 
Description: A person dressed in a red cape and white conical bonnet with a red sash over their nose and mouth (referencing the Handmaid's Tale) stands outside the U.S. Supreme Court at dusk holding a cardboard sign with the words "This is NOT fiction."
Credit: Photo by Tyler Merbler, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

Air Date 6/4/2024
The problems that arise within the systems of sports are the same problems we all face everywhere which makes them a good lens through which to understand the mechanisms of broader society. Fair pay, both journalism and addictive games functioning under capitalism, and benefits for billionaires all resonate far beyond the bounds of the players, owners and fans of sports clubs.
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Transcript
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KEY POINTS
KP 1: Pay for Play Part 1 - University of Iowa
KP 2: What the historic $2.8 billion settlement to pay NCAA players means for college sports - PBS NewsHour
KP 3: Pay for Play Part 2 - University of Iowa
KP 4: Sports Media has changed forever. - Brett Kollmann
KP 5: Dan Le Batard Tells Stephen A. Smith He Hates What He and Skip Bayless Did to Sports Media - LeBatardShow
KP 6: Report Finds That Sports Owners Use Their Teams To Avoid Millions In Taxes - MSNBC Reports
KP 7: The Sports Stadium Scam - Robert Reich
KP 8: The gambling problem in sports - The Current
(1:01:43) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On the value of sports to building community
DEEPER DIVES
(1:06:18) SECTION A: PAY FOR PLAY
A1: Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger: What NCAA Suit Settlement Means for Paying Players - The Rich Eisen Show
A2: "Amateurism Is Dead" - The Rich Eisen Show
A3: Pay for Play Part 3 - University of Iowa
(1:23:57) SECTION B: STADIUMS, OUR GREAT FOLLY
(1:40:18) SECTION C: SPORTS JOURNALISM
(1:59:15) SECTION D: SPORTS GAMBLING
SEE FULL SHOW NOTES
 
SHOW IMAGE: 
Description: A grocery store display of Coca-Cola soft drinks stacked in the shape of a basketball and “NCAA!”.
Credit: “Coca Cola NCAA Cases Display” by Mike Mozart, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

Air Date: 6-2-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- How one MIT study used AI to reduce belief in conspiracy theories
- How a new AI tool is attempting to make comments sections less awful
- Some advice from Korea's litigious political environment on how to deal with Trump
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REFERENCES:
America’s Worst Time Zone
Chatbots can persuade conspiracy theorists their view might be wrong
The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet
South Korea Has a Warning About Donald Trump’s Trial
 
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Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
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Original Air Date: 9/19/2017
Today we look not so much at hurricanes and the climate science behind them (though we touch on that as well) but focus more on what we can see more clearly when it’s illuminated by so-called “natural” disasters, the structural inequality and legacies of decision-making that make these disasters worse than they need to be
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Show Notes Act 1: Mark Hertsgaard: It's not politics, it's science - Start Making Sense from @TheNation - Air Date 9-13-17
Act 2: What is environmental racism and environmental justice? - #PoliticallyReactive with @wkamaubell and @harikondabolu - Air Date 9-7-17
Act 3: Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: U.S. Storm Edition - On The Media - Air Date 9-1-17
Act 4: Disasters call attention to inequalities if we care to notice - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 9-1-17
Act 5: Preventing future floods with data and regulation - @DecodeDC - Air Date: 09-14-2017
Act 6: The Human Causes of Natural Disasters - Popaganda from @BitchMedia - Air Date 12-8-16
Act 8: Dr. Michael E. Mann on attribution science and the tactics of inaction and delay - Bradcast from @TheBradBlog - Air Date 9-13-17
(Music from Blue Dot Sessions) 
EDUCATE YOURSELF:
We will not be silenced. Stand up for a strong NEPA! (Earth Justice)
Trump CEQ rolls out plans for swift NEPA reviews (Governors' Wind & Solar Energy Coalition)
US people of color still more likely to be exposed to pollution than white people (The Guardian)
Christine Todd Whitman: How Not to Run the E.P.A. (New York Times)
Boston Communities Unite to Democratize Their Economy (Next City)
Written by BOTL Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman

Air Date 5/28/2024
Today we look at the most disappointing yet most idolized false heroes of our day, the titans of tech and the zany hijinks they've been getting up to recently.
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Transcript
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KEY POINTS
1: When a tech company like OpenAI doesn't get the dark message at the heart of science fiction
2: How Peter Thiel Got Rich | The Class Room ft. Second Thought
3: Google's Sundar Pichai on AI-powered search and the future of the web
4: Elon's Reputation is Hurting Tesla
5: Crypto’s crown prince in court
6: The Entire OpenAI Chaos Explained
7: Scarlett Johansson's Open AI voice fight shows the need for consent in tech
8: Fascism and the Failure of Imagination
 
SEE FULL SHOW NOTES
1:03:38 NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On the misplaced excitement in private corporations pushing big technological advancements
1:09:33 DEEPER DIVE A: THAT WORD YOU KEEP USING…
1:36:58 B: SiliCON VALLEY, emphasis on the CON
1:53:05 C: MICROSOFT THE DESTROYER
2:10:35 D: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
SHOW IMAGE: 
Description: Composite image where the faces of Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Elon Musk are seen through an overlay of stock prices and a growth chart arrow.
Credits: Composite by A. Hoffman. Photos: 1) "Open AI co-founder & CEO Sam Altman" by TechCrunch, Flickr | CC BY 2.0 ; 2) "Peter Thiel" by Gage Skidmore, Flickr | CC BY 2.0 ; 3) "Sam Bankman-Fried" by Cointelegraph, Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 3.0 ; 4) "Elon Musk Presenting Tesla's Fully Autonomous Future" by Steve Jurvetson, Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 2.0

Air Date: 5-26-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- the con of supply and demand economics being about distributing goods with the greatest efficiency, and is instead nothing more than predatory greed
- what we value as humans goes far beyond the price of commodities
- even more examples of the enshitification of life via hostile experiences from things we've already paid for
- how companies restrict functionality to create artificial price points as a way to extract even more from us

REFERENCES:
WELCOME TO PRICING HELL
The Gap Between the Price You See and What You Pay Is Getting Worse
Welcome to the Golden Age of User Hostility
My Printer Is Extorting Me
Bought a Model Y? Tesla may charge you to use the battery’s full range
Corporate America Knows We’re Miserable. Is a Toilet Bomb the Answer?
Billy Bragg - Not Everything That Counts Can Be Counted

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