The Left Unsaid

The Left Unsaid
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The Left Unsaid takes a wild, politically-charged joyride through the myths we’re taught in school and shouted from the news. Join Pat, Meg, and Finn as they question official narratives, complicate history, and crack jokes at the crumbling empire’s expense. Critical thinking, dark humor, and a refusal to obey in advance, all from the comfort of our living room.

  1. Sir, No Sir: GI Resistance in LA and DC

    AUG 17

    Sir, No Sir: GI Resistance in LA and DC

    This episode features part two of our conversation with Catholic Worker organizers Lenore Yarger and Steve Woolford, and their son Quinn. From their rural North Carolina home base, they’ve spent 20 years running the GI Rights Hotline, an anonymous lifeline for soldiers looking to get out, resist, or simply not follow illegal orders. Their hotline blew up when Trump ordered National Guard deployments to Los Angeles. What happens when the empire turns inward? What kinds of calls do they get from soldiers at the breaking point? We also learn some history of resistance to right-wing, anti-immigrant nativism in Siler City, a small North Carolina town. Links: GI RIGHTS HOTLINE: (877) 447-4487, girightshotline.orgA documentary recommendation from the Iraq War era: Sir, No Sir! Support the show at theleftunsaid.net, and help us keep bringing you the stories official history leaves out.

    35 min
  2. A Better World is Possible: Lessons from the Catholic Worker Movement

    AUG 5

    A Better World is Possible: Lessons from the Catholic Worker Movement

    This week, the tide may finally be starting to turn against genocide. A majority of Democratic Senators voted with Bernie to cut off some weapons to Israel. Not enough, but a major step forward. Zohran Mamdani polls overwhelmingly ahead in the New York mayoral race, including among Jewish voters. Over in the UK, Jeremy Corbyn launched a new leftist party and immediately matched Labour’s membership. Turns out “don’t fund a genocide” is a winning platform. But apparently, it's still a tough sell for some in Congress. And ambitious centrists seem to think they can run without strong moral opposition to forced starvation. From Roy Cooper's Senate ambitions here in North Carolina to Kamala’s resurrection tour, the "moderates" are scrambling to catch the cultural tide without getting too wet. Then, we turn to something radical in a whole other way. Patrick, Meg, and Finn are joined by friends and Catholic Worker organizers Lenore Yarger, Steve Woolford, and their son Quinn. They talk about anarchist Catholic hospitality, voluntary poverty, and raising kids while forging an alternative to the dominant US family culture. Part two of that conversation, on military resistance and Steve and Lenore's work with the GI Rights Hotline, is coming soon. ALSO IN THIS EPISODE: The rise of Zohran social media clones with none of his substance The European hornets that attacked Patrick LINKS: Join The Left Unsaid newsletter⁠⁠The Labour Files, a docuseries on Corbyn and the Labour PartyZeteo's parody of centrists copying ZohranAnd Liam Elkind's real-life campaign video parroting Zohran's style without the substance.

    49 min
  3. Canvass Against the Machine: From the front line of the Mamdani campaign

    JUL 10

    Canvass Against the Machine: From the front line of the Mamdani campaign

    After a brief hiatus due to vacation, COVID superspreading, and a flood event here in Chapel Hill, we’re back with our very first interview. This week, we talk with our cousin Chiara Kimelia, Dartmouth student and freshly minted canvassing superhero, who hit the pavement for Zohran Mamdani’s historic, come-from-the-left win in NYC’s mayoral primary. We explore the generational and community politics motivating voters to support Zohran, and how a campaign built on affordability and human dignity can beat Cuomo with a war chest. Plus, Chiara shares what it was like watching U.S. imperialism from abroad, as she backpacked alone for a year after high school, then landed back on at Dartmouth, a university that called the cops on its own community. Also in this episode: ​Medicaid got gutted.​ICE is set to become the largest police force in U.S. history.​Trump threatens to “take over” NYC.​Israel explicitly plans to set up concentration camps.​And we get rare good news from the North Carolina Democratic Party.LINKS: ​Ryan Wang has some great shorts on the NC Dem Party’s resolutions for a People’s Primary + Israel arms embargo. Part 1: about the resolutions. Part 2: how they pulled it off. Part 3: what it all means.​Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa, a wonderful piece of Palestinian fiction.​Deaf President Now documentary. (Now streaming on Apple TV.)Please subscribe, rate, review, and tell a friend.

    43 min

  4. JUN 23

    Manufacturing Dissent: No War on Iran

    This week, Trump launched a full-throttle, unprovoked strike on Iran, violating U.S. law, international law, and any shred of moral credibility. The oligarchy is flexing its muscles, but we can flex back. We examine the opposition to this war, a populist opposition that covers the spectrum from MAGA to Bernie and the left. CNN, Fox and other mainstream outlets start to manufacture consent, but we've got tools to fight back. TAKE ACTION. CAIR has an easy set of action alerts that make it easy to contact your Representative and your Senators. We remind ourselves how to innoculate our minds against manufactured consent to war, dissect the liberal feminist Trojan horse arguments for “liberation by airstrike,” and remind folks that this exact imperial playbook led us into Iraq. Also this week: Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil is finally out on bail after ICE disappeared him for leading campus protests. The Senate Parliamentarian tells Republicans that they can't cut food stamp cuts. The Democrats once again show they hate nothing more than a charismatic leftist by throwing everything they've got against Zohran Mamdani. (Go VOTE if you're a New Yorker!) Subscribe, rate, and share with your friends. Visit us at TheLeftUnsaid.net to follow the action. Links Watch "The Encampments" on Watermelon+ Recommended read: “Crimes of the Century: How Israel, with the help of the U.S., broke not only Gaza but the foundations of humanitarian law." by Suzy Hansen in New York Magazine.⁠Ask your Representative to oppose war.⁠ And ⁠your Senators⁠ too.

    54 min

  5. JUN 17

    Welp, They Got Their War on Iran

    This week on The Left Unsaid, we skip the burgers and throw something juicier on the grill: the imperial myth machine. It’s a Father’s Day edition, so naturally we’re spending it exactly how Dad likes—tearing into bipartisan war propaganda and the elite penchant for fascist-adjacent pageantry. Finn and Patrick debrief from their trip to DC where The Left Unsaid crew filmed CodePink giving Congress hell and glimpsed Trump’s weak military cosplay. We then returned home to experience the odd pageantry of surburban liberal resistance at our local “No Kings” protest, with its awkward fusion of patriotic aesthetics and moral outrage. Also: the history and latest stage of Israel’s illegal war on Iran, praised as “stunning” by the mainstream media. the long history of Israeli fear-mongering about Iranian nukes (Bibi still crying wolf after 33 years). the West’s grotesque double standards.why the Democrats remain stuck in their usual position: verbally “concerned” while materially complicit.plus the rapid rise of Zohran Mamdani’s insurgent NYC mayoral campaign. This Father's Day, we'll recommmend 2 books: From Zohran's dad, the seminal Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, and Sim Kern’s Genocide Bad, about Israeli propaganda and how to answer it. Sign up to stay in touch at TheLeftUnsaid.net

    42 min

  6. JUN 10

    Live from the Police State

    This week, we keep it a little shorter, since Finn, Patrick and Meg are deep in work on a documentary about Gaza solidarity in the high schools. On the podcast, we cover: AI and the Big Dumb Bill. The House passed a monster benefits-cut bill. Half of them didn’t even read it. it is bad in almost every way, EXCEPT, it finally kicked off the divorce between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. We discuss the latest insults flying between them. ICE in LA. Trump is sending the military and the National Guard to break up sanctuary cities. Protesters fight back. A union leader gets hospitalized. Tiananmen Square, but worse, as a protestor is run down by an ICE van⁠. (disturbing) Travel Ban Redux. Trump revives the Muslim ban idea and ends protections for hundreds of thousands. The Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Since we recorded, Israel has boarded the ship and detained and deported its activists. Greta was on board, our hero. Read their latest updates here. Mexico Elects Its Judges, So Naturally It’s a “Dictatorship” Now. The Western press flips out over a democratic reform that is overcoming judicial corruption. Dockworkers vs. Empire. French unions block weapons shipments to Israel. Mamdani Rising. NYC’s most charismatic DSA candidate wrecks Cuomo at the debate. He’s surging in the polls and he already raised enough money, so he's just asking for your time now. See the fun debate where everyone beats up on Andrew Cuomo. Support the show: TheLeftUnsaid.net – Join the mailing list and subscribe wherever you listen.

    28 min

  7. JUN 4

    The Kids are Alright

    This week, The Left Unsaid bursts out of the living room and into the headlines. Literally. Our youngest co-host and resident teenage rabble-rouser, Finn, organized a Walkout for Palestine at Chapel Hill High School and made the front page of the local paper. We bring you the exclusive on how it all went down. You'll be impressed by these students. But first: the grotesque theater of the "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" (aka deadly military-industrial photo op).The ongoing hostage negotiations between Israel and HamasThe inconvenient truth that Hamas wants out of governing GazaIran, uranium enrichment, and the looming shadow of another forever warIsrael's documented use of Palestinians as human shields This one’s for the kids. And for hoping that the grown-ups finally decide to grow up. Links: IndyWeek Article on the WalkoutCheck out this reel featuring Finn's Walkout.Contact us or get involved: info@TheLeftUnsaid.net Calls to Action: Thumbs up the episode.Leave a review.Organize a walkout.Sign up for our mailing list at TheLeftUnsaid.net.If you're in Chapel Hill/Carrboro and want to support students, help us keep the school board honest, or connect with like-minded parents, send us a message. We’re building a local crew. Boots on the ground. Eyes wide open.

    48 min

  8. MAY 27

    The Oligarchy's Big, Beautiful Looting Spree

    This week, the McElwee family returns to the belly of the beast - domestic politics - to rip apart Trump’s $4.5 trillion “budget” bill, aka oligarchic looting plan. We break down what’s in the bill, how it’s quietly murdering people with paperwork and poverty, and a truly massive expansion of fascist border law enforcement. Meanwhile, the genocide rages on in Gaza, two Israeli consulate employees are shot in DC, and the ADL blames it on our favorite Twitch streamer. Also in this episode: Ms. Rachel inspired Meg to speak out more loudly for Palestine, and should inspire you too! Columbia’s president gets drowned out during her commencement address. (Free Mahmoud!) And the U.S. empire continues to kneecap its own soft power by going after Harvard’s international students. This one’s packed. Listen in, leave us a comment, call your senator (you can do it after 5pm, introverts), and if you’re able, support us at TheLeftUnsaid.net. No paywalls, no ads, just one semi-functional family trying to tell the truth. Links: See Ms. Rachel with Rahaf, a young girl who had both her legs amputated after Israel bombed her.Here is Meg's reel for our actual day job, Sew Liberated, inspired to go harder for solidarity with Gaza.You can read Corey Robin, one of Patrick's favorite academics, on Facebook of all places.

    51 min
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About

The Left Unsaid takes a wild, politically-charged joyride through the myths we’re taught in school and shouted from the news. Join Pat, Meg, and Finn as they question official narratives, complicate history, and crack jokes at the crumbling empire’s expense. Critical thinking, dark humor, and a refusal to obey in advance, all from the comfort of our living room.

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  • Creator
    The Left Unsaid
  • Years Active
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  • Episodes
    14
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    © The Left Unsaid
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    The Left Unsaid

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