Edition #1025

Today we take a look at the continued responses to the Orlando massacre encompassing arguments over islamophobia, homophobia and gun control legislation

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: "Let Us Vote": Rep. John Lewis Leads Historic Democratic Sit-in for Gun Control Legislation - @DemocracyNow - Air Date: 06-23-16

Ch. 3: Song 1: Fuck the NRA - Jamie Kilstein & The Agenda

Ch. 4: Act 2: Republican’s “Heart Has Changed" After Orlando Massacre - @theyoungturks - Air Date 06-18-16

Ch. 5: Song 2: Dreamtime - Uberzone

Ch. 6: Act 3: To Say or Not to Say "Radical Islam" - On the Media - Air Date: 6-17-16

Ch. 7: Song 3: Violent Days - RTZ

Ch. 8: Act 4: A lack of due process is equally wrong for travel and guns - @HumorlessQueers - Air Date 6-19-16

Ch. 9: Song 4: Human Rights - Friendlyness and the Human Rights

Ch. 10: Act 5: Breaking down the disingenuous arguments on both sides of the terror watchlist debate - @CitizenRadio - Air Date 6-22-16

Ch. 11: Song 5: Hey Ya - Vitamin String Quartet

Ch. 12: Act 6: Barbara Herr responding to 'thoughts and prayers' after Orlando massacre at LGBTQ club - @GAY_USAtv - Air Date 6-22-16

Ch. 13: Song 6: Malignant Flip - Tab and Anitek

Ch. 14: Act 7: Democratic Effort to Tie Gun Purchase to Terror Watchlist: A First Step or a Dangerous Precedent? - @DemocracyNow - Air Date: 06-23-16

Ch. 15: Song 7: Time for Action - Secret Affair

Ch. 16: Act 8: Orlando Shooter’s Lover Comes Forward - @theyoungturks - Air Date: 06-23-16

Voicemails

Ch. 17: Can we just talk a moment about gay bars as sanctuaries? - Adreana Langston

Ch. 18: Rape is not that complicated - Wade from Ft. Worth, TX

Ch. 19: Toxic masculinity meets a trans woman - Erin from Philadelphia

Ch. 20: Rape Culture Poetry Response

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics

Ch. 21: Final comments in praise of things being complicated

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Edition #1024

Today we take a look primarily at the case of Brock Turner’s triple-felony sexual assault conviction, the pitifully short sentence he received and what all of it says about how our society deals with rape and sexual assault

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: Stanford Rapist Barely Punished - @theyoungturks - Air Date: 06-07-16

Ch. 3: Song 1: Benefit Of The Doubt - Amy Annelle

Ch. 4: Act 2: As 13M People Read Stanford Victim's Letter, Advocates See "Watershed" Moment in Fight Against Rape - @DemocracyNow - Air Date: 06-09-16

Ch. 5: Song 2: I Think I Broke Something - Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin

Ch. 6: Act 3: Sheriff: Rape Kits Unnecessary Since Most Rape Accusations Are False - @DavidPakmanShow - Air Date: 03-17-16

Ch. 7: Song 3: Sheriff - Oliver Onions

Ch. 8: Act 4: RAPIST Brock Turner's PATHETIC Letter To Judge Released - @theyoungturks - Air Date: 06-10-16

Ch. 9: Song 4: Empathy - Chasing Kings

Ch. 10: Act 5: The terrible, enabling parents of a rapist - @CitizenRadio - Air Date 6-13-16

Ch. 11: Song 5: Flurry - The OO-Ray

Ch. 12: Act 6: Meet the Law Professor Leading a Bid to Recall the Judge Who Sentenced Stanford Rapist to 6 Months - @DemocracyNow - Air Date: 06-08-16

Ch. 13: Song 6: Equal Justice - TTwyce

Ch. 14: Act 7: Help Get a Recall of Rape Apologist Judge Aaron Persky on the Ballot in CA via RecallAaronPersky.com - Best of the Left Activism

Ch. 15: Song 7: This Fickle World - Theo Bard

Ch. 16: Act 8: Action (Spoken Word on Disrupting Rape Culture) - Guante - Air Date: 12-7-12

Voicemails

Ch. 17: An explanation of toxic masculinity - Glory from Orlando

Ch. 18: Recognizing toxic masculinity in my own life - Trent from Salt Lake City, Utah

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics

Ch. 19: Final comments on how to maintain your mental health while following politics

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

TAKE ACTION

Visit RecallAaronPersky.com to volunteer, donate or sing up for updates to support the effort to get a recall of Persky on the ballot in California. 

On social media, follow @RecallPersky - the official Twitter account of the campaign - and RT. Use the hashtag #RecallPersky when voicing your support. 

Sign the Change.org petition that demands Stanford University publicly apologize to the survivor of Turner's sexual assault, offer to pay for her counseling and other supportive services, increase resources for sexual assault prevention on campus, increase counseling resources for all survivors, and administer a national survey about sexual violence occurring in fraternities.  

Read and share the powerful words the survivor read to her assailant.

Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman.

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

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Edition #1023

Today we take a look at the myriad driving factors that can combine to drive a person to commit an act of violence such as the Orlando Massacre as well as a variety of reactions to the shooting

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Support the Pulse Victim's Fund

Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: This is not the first or last attack on the LGBTQ community but there is progress - Savage Love w/ @FakeDanSavage - Air Date 6-14-16

Ch. 3: Song 1: Tolerance - Michael Franti And Spearhead

Ch. 4: Act 2: The problematic media coverage of the Orlando shooting - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 6-17-16

Ch. 5: Song 2: Make the news - Stephanie Haseman

Ch. 6: Act 3: What to label the Orlando shooting and why - @TalkPoverty Radio - Air Date 6-17-16

Ch. 7: Song 3: Call it what it is - Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

Ch. 8: Act 4: LGBTQ community not allowing their pain to be turned into demonization of others - @HumorlessQueers - Air Date 6-19-16

Ch. 9: Song 4: Happiness - Pet Shop Boys

Ch. 10: Act 5: Trans and Queer Latinxs Respond to #PulseOrlando Shooting - Familia:TQLM - Air Date: 6-13-16

Ch. 11: Song 5: Sopra un aereoplanino di carta - Menion

Ch. 12: Act 6: Jorge Gutierrez from the Trans Queer Liberation Movement on the Orlando shooting - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 6-17-16

Ch. 13: Song 6: Liberate - Buguinha Dub

Ch. 14: Act 7: If what they say about the LGBT community were true then violence would seem justified - @TalkPoverty Radio - Air Date 6-17-16

Ch. 15: Song 7: Words Are Seeds - My Gay Banjo

Ch. 16: Act 8: Wrongheadedly playing right into the hands of terrorist groups - @HumorlessQueers - Air Date 6-19-16

Ch. 17: Song 8: Hello bonjour - Michael Franti And Spearhead

Ch. 18: Act 9: The toxic hatred that led to the Orlando shooting - Bradcast from @TheBradBlog - Air Date 6-13-16

Ch. 19: Song 9: Oxygen - Willy Mason

Ch. 20: Act 10: When It Comes to Orlando Massacre, Domestic Violence Is the Red Flag We Aren't Talking About - @DemocracyNow - Air Date 06-14-16

Voicemails

Ch. 21: Why we shouldn't be violent - Al from Seattle

Ch. 22: Classism needs to be considered alongside racism and sexism - Alyson from Colorado

Ch. 23: A Trans Latinx listener finding a feeling of power

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics

Ch. 24: Final comments on toxic masculinity and a request for your thoughts on the same

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

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Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

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Edition #1022

Today we take a look at the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: Muhammad Ali on the Vietnam War-Draft

Ch. 3: Song 1: Black Superman (Re-Recorded Version) - Johnny Wakelin

Ch. 4: Act 2: John Legend Reads Muhammad Ali's 1966 Antiwar Speech "The Real Enemy of My People is Right Here" - @DemocracyNow - Air Date 06-06-16

Ch. 5: Song 2: Float Like a Butterfly - Pama International

Ch. 6: Act 3: R.I.P. Muhammed Ali - Why Do We 'Sanitize' Our Heroes? - @Thom_Hartmann - Air Date: 06-06-16

Ch. 7: Song 3: Muhammad Ali - Big Head Todd & The Monsters

Ch. 8: Act 4: "Just Take Me to Jail" Remembering Muhammad Ali's Refusal to Fight in Vietnam - @DemocracyNow - Air Date 06-06-16

Ch. 9: Song 4: I Am the Greatest - Cassius Clay

Ch. 10: Act 5: Bob Lipsyte on getting past the hagiographies of Muhammad Ali - @EdgeofSports - w/ Dave Zirin - Air Date 6-10-16

Ch. 11: Song 5: Float Like a Butterfly (feat. Rasheed Ali) - 1968

Ch. 12: Act 6: Saying someone transcends race is bullshit - @CitizenRadio - Air Date 6-6-16

Ch. 13: Song 6: Cassius Clay - Jon Hardy & The Public

Ch. 14: Act 7: "The Greatest" Ishmael Reed on the Untold History of Muhammad Ali - @DemocracyNow - Air Date 06-07-16

Ch. 15: Song 7: Doin' the Ali Shuffle - Alvin Cash

Ch. 16: Act 8: Remembering the opposition Muhammad Ali faced for speaking out - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 6-10-16

Ch. 17: Song 8: Muhammad Ali - Cory Branan

Ch. 18: Act 9: Don’t De-Islamize Muhammad Ali Scholar Says Muslim Faith was Central to His Views on Racism & War - @DemocracyNow - Air Date 06-10-16

Ch. 19: Song 9: Muhammad Ali - Tom Russell

Ch. 20: Act 10: Live from Muhammad Ali's funeral - @EdgeofSports - w Dave Zirin - Air Date 6-16-16

Ch. 21: Final comments on my first introduction to Muhammad Ali

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

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Edition #1021

Today we take a look at the assault on the right to reproductive health care from the state houses down to the sidewalks in front of the clinics

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: April's Story: One Woman's Experience of an Abortion at 21 Weeks - Planned Parenthood (@PPact) - Air Date: 09-21-15

Ch. 3: Song 1: Heirloom - The Black Atlantic

Ch. 4: Act 2: Dawn Porter on Filming the Only Abortion Clinic in Mississippi for the film Trapped - Popaganda from @BitchMedia - Air Date 4-22-16

Ch. 5: Song 2: Mandy Goes to Med School - The Dresden Dolls

Ch. 6: Act 3: The he-said-he-said abortion debate in the media - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 6-3-16

Ch. 7: Song 3: Lost Woman Song - Ani DiFranco

Ch. 8: Act 4: Abortion Laws - @LastWeekTonight w/ @iamjohnoliver - Air Date: 02-21-16

Ch. 9: Song 4: December - Frida Hyvönen

Ch. 10: Act 5: Wicked Jezebel Feminist! Users Witness Anti-Choice Abuse in Virtual Reality Film "Across the Line" - @DemocracyNow - Air Date: 01-25-16

Ch. 11: Song 5: What It's Like - Everlast

Ch. 12: Act 6: Support the women's health protection act via #ActForWomen - Best of the Left Activism

Ch. 13: Song 6: This Fickle World - Theo Bard

Ch. 14: Act 7: A regretted abortion doesn't legitimize a ban on abortions - Savage Love w/ @FakeDanSavage - Air Date 5-31-16

Voicemails

Ch. 15: Anti-LGBT rhetoric leads to anti-LGBT violence - Erin from Philadelphia

Ch. 16: A lack of a female president is injurious to the country - Tanya from California

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics

Ch. 17: Final comments on the long term effects of finally having a female president

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

TAKE ACTION

Learn more about the Act for Women Campaign and the Women's Health Protection Act at http://www.actforwomen.org

Download the Act for Women Campaign Tools & Resources http://www.actforwomen.org/tools-and-resources/

Find out where and how to watch "TRAPPED," the documentary at http://www.trappeddocumentary.com

Use the hashtag #ActforWomen on social media and tweet at your congressperson to urge them to support the Women's Health Protection Act. 

Follow the Center for Reproductive Rights on Twitter @ReproRights

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Amanda Hoffman

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

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Edition #1020

Today we take a look at the ongoing struggle to secure civil rights equality for trans people in states that are determined to stoke bigotry based on ignorance and fear

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: Here's The Truth About The Anti-LGBT "Bathroom Predator" Myth - Media Matters (@MMFA) - Air Date 4-12-16

Ch. 3: Song 1: Police On My Back - The Clash

Ch. 4: Act 2: Professionals speak on the importance of supporting trans kids - @GAY_USAtv - Air Date 4-13-16

Ch. 5: Song 2: Kids - MGMT

Ch. 6: Act 3: Chase Strangio on the state and federal governments lawsuits against each other - @HumorlessQueers - Air Date 5-13-16

Ch. 7: Song 3: I got your back - Bara Heiða

Ch. 8: Act 4: Debunking Five Right-Wing Myths That Fuel Bathroom Bills - Popaganda from @BitchMedia - Air Date 5-5-16

Ch. 9: Song 4: N/A

Ch. 10: Act 5: Chase Strangio on the lies about bathroom bills and the damage they do - @HumorlessQueers - Air Date 5-13-16

Ch. 11: Song 5: Ashamed - Deer Tick

Ch. 12: Act 6: AG Loretta Lynch speech on behalf of the federal government in response to NC bathroom law - @GAY_USAtv - Air Date 5-11-16

Ch. 13: Song 6: Directions - Josh Rouse

Ch. 14: Act 7: #FlushDiscrimination via the National Center for @TransEquality - Best of the Left Activism

Ch. 15: Song 7: This Fickle World - Theo Bard

Ch. 16: Act 8: Sarah McBride on the best trans week ever and the history of bathroom discrimination - @TalkPoverty Radio - Air Date 5-13-16

Voicemails

Ch. 17: Rick Snyder was trying to privatize the water, not save money - James in Michigan

Ch. 18: Bernie opposes Bernie or Bust - Matt from San Diego

Ch. 19: Jokes - Alan from Connecticut

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics

Ch. 20: Final comments introducing a bonus clip about how to respond to racist jokes

Ch. 21: Bonus Clip: How Do You Handle a Racist Joke? - Decoded MTV News - Air Date: 7-1-15

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

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Edition #1019

Today we take a look at the  ways in which racism and sexism are inextricably linked to matters of economic justice for all, even those who benefit in many ways from those systems of inequality

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: MLK on Democratic Socialism... - @Thom_Hartmann - Air Date: 07-21-15

Ch. 3: Song 1: Nothing Else Matters - Apocalyptica

Ch. 4: Act 2: Michael Kimmel: Why gender equality is good for everyone - men included - TED Talks - Air Date: 9-20-15

Ch. 5: Song 2: I’m free - The Soup Dragons

Ch. 6: Act 3: .@HarrietFraad on how rising equality feels like a downfall for middle-aged white men steeped in patriarchy Part 1 - Economic Update w: @profwolff - Air Date 11-29-15

Ch. 7: Song 3: Changes - Langhorne Slim & The Law

Ch. 8: Act 4: Wealth Isn't Colorless or Gender Free: Capital and Intersectionality - @theLFshow w/ @GRITlaura Flanders - Air Date: 1-19-16

Ch. 9: Song 4: La Paix - Amadou & Mariam

Ch. 10: Act 5: .@HarrietFraad on how rising equality feels like a downfall for middle-aged white men steeped in patriarchy Part 2 - Economic Update w @profwolff - Air Date 11-29-15

Ch. 11: Song 5: I Was Married - Tegan and Sara

Ch. 12: Act 6: Racism is Killing Poor White Americans... - @Thom_Hartmann - Air Date: 11-07-15

Ch. 13: Song 6: Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time - Fanfarlo

Ch. 14: Act 7: .@TimJacobWise on Racism and Affluence - @theLFshow w @GRITlaura Flanders - Air Date 10-13-15

Voicemails

Ch. 15: Is anyone surprised about Trump's authoritarianism? - Eammon from La Habra, California

Ch. 16: Don't be dismissive of claims of death threats - Arkle

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics

Ch. 17: Final comments on my new analogy involving cycling in the windy city

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

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Edition #1018

Today we take a look at the structures of racism in the US, who put them there, the problems they cause and what we might do to dismantle them

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: Blinded by the White: The Myth of Meritocracy - Majority Report (@MajorityFM) - Air Date: 04-22-15

Ch. 3: Song 1: Work Horse - Infantree

Ch. 4: Act 2: Gateway to Freedom: Historian Eric Foner on the Hidden History of the Underground Railroad - @DemocracyNow - Air Date: 3-11-15

Ch. 5: Song 2: Underground Railroad - The Deedle Deedle Dees

Ch. 6: Act 3: Study On The Impact Of Nazi Propaganda - @TheYoungTurks - Air Date: 06-19-15

Ch. 7: Song 3: Discrimination - Ancel

Ch. 8: Act 4: Bryan Stevenson: Slavery never ended, it just evolved - Here and Now - Air Date 6-30-15

Ch. 9: Song 4: The Confrontation - Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin

Ch. 10: Act 5: Heidi Beirich on White Supremacy and the Trump campaign - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 3-4-16

Ch. 11: Song 5: Racism - MYSTAFYA

Ch. 12: Act 6: Historian Eric Foner on the Elections, Reconstruction, and Racism Today - @theLFshow w @GRITlaura Flanders - Air Date 4-19-16

Voicemails

Ch. 13: Living with little and giving away - Eric from Alabama

Ch. 14: Thoughts on the NV Democratic Convention - Kirk in Los Vegas

Kirk's Nevada Convention video

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics

Ch. 15: Final comments on what's more important than taking offense

Article: "I find this offensive": How "offense" discourse traps us into inaction

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

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