Best of the Left Podcast

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The Podcasts

Air Date: 6–21-2019
Today we take a look at the ways that Native Peoples are represented in white society and pop culture, how some are working to take back their own narratives and some insight into the profound effects, both positive and negative, of how peoples are represented.
Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991

SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Opinion polls about offense and the Redskins football team - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 5-27-16

The Washington Post conducts a flawed survey resulting in a misleading conclusion that most native peoples don't consider Redskins to be an offensive term

Ch. 2: The toxic mix of racist representation and misogynistic disregard for women - Let's Talk Native... with John Kane - Air Date 2-14-19

Racist representation of native peoples in sports and culture supports the anti-native sentiment that drives the MMIWG epidemic

Ch. 3: A Native perspective for museums - Native America Calling - Air Date 4-9-19

Native peoples have had their stories told form them by white people for centuries, working in museums and cultural centers create the opportunities to tell their own stories

Ch. 4: Spirit Animal Native Appropriation - #PoliticallyReactive with @wkamaubell and @harikondabolu - Air Date 5-18-17

W Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu step in a pile of native cultural appropriation and then slowly, messily wade their way out of it

Ch. 5: Hawaiian Indigeneity and the theft of Aloha with W. Gerry Ebalaroza - Breakdances With Wolves - Air Date 8-21-18

Discussing cultural appropriation in many forms including the legal trademarking of one of the terms most central to native Hawaiian culture, Aloha

Ch. 6: 'Reel' Indians and the invention of Hollywood Indian English - Backstory - Air Date 11-22-14

A history lesson on the Hollywood creation of all of the stereotypes we reflexively think of when we think about how native peoples speak

Ch. 7: On Native American Loss and Triumph - On the Media - Air Date 10-5-18

David Treuer discusses the means by which Indians have been fighting for social and political change for centuries.


VOICEMAILS

Ch. 8: Changed my mind in favor of impeachment - Nick from California


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 9: Final comments on the Canadian TV show “First Contact” and what it teaches us about how people do and don’t change their mind


EDUCATE YOURSELF & SHARE

NativeAppropriations.com

Native American imagery is all around us, while the people are often forgotten (National Geographic)

The Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women Epidemic Is Inseparable From Native Appropriation(Bustle)

‘It’s called a genocide’: Gavin Newsom apologizes to California’s Native Americans (San Francisco Chronicle)


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Turning to You - Landsman Duets
  • Vibrant Canopy - Origami
  • Homegrown - The Pine Barrens
  • Wingspan - Bayou Birds
  • Interlude - The Nocturne
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Support the show via Patreon

Listen on iTunes | StitcherSpotify | Alexa Devices | +more

Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Review the show on iTunes and Stitcher!

Direct download: 1283_Native_Peoples_Representation_Air_Date_6-21-19_-_11-26-19.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:04am EDT

Air Date: 4–16-2019
Today we take a look at just a few of the aspects of modern life for Native Peoples that we can see as stemming from the racism and colonialism that has been endemic in post-contact America.
Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991

SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: American Indians Confront “Savage Anxieties” - Moyers and Company - Air Date 12-26-14

Bill speaks with Robert A. Williams Jr., a professor specializing in American Indian law, about how deals such as the one with Rio Tinto are a part of American Indian’s tragic history of dispossession.

Ch. 2: What we inherit: Explaining intergenerational trauma - Code Switch - Air Date 6-6-18

The story of one family's struggle to end a toxic cycle of inter-generational trauma from forced assimilation. Getting back to their Native Alaskan cultural traditions is key.

Ch. 3: Sexual Violence and Native American Genocide - @Making_Contact - Air Date 11-26-13

Andrea Smith, author of “Conquest: Sexual Violence and Native American Genocide” explains the connection between violence against women, and the colonization of native lands and bodies.

Ch. 4: The legal structures that uphold violence against Indigenous people #MMIW - Let's Talk Native... with John Kane - Air Date 2-14-19

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women is a major issue because of racism. Acquittals for murdering Native people occur because of racism. Racism is systemic, historic and the norm in the US and Canada.

Ch. 5: End the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Crisis: Tell Congress to Pass #SavannasAct, #SURVIVEAct & Reauthorize #VAWA

Take action! Click the title and/or scroll down for quick links and resources from this segment.

Ch. 6: Jenni Monet on Indigenous Journalism - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 1-24-19

Corporate media’s lack of interest in indigenous issues, and their ahistorical, distorted view of them when they do cover them, are long overdue for a change.

Ch. 7: Beyond Tragedy: The living history of Native America - Ideas from CBC Radio - Air Date 2-20-19

This idea of history as tragedy is something that Ojibwe writer David Treuer tries to undo in The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee. He argues that Indigenous peoples have always found ways to adapt, and that's exactly what they're doing now.


VOICEMAILS

Ch. 8: Disagreeing on arguments against a female presidential candidate - Stacy from San Francisco Bay Area


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 9: Final comments sharing some voices of Native people giving their perspective on the burning of Notre Dame cathedral


TAKE ACTION!

Tell Congress to Pass/Reauthorize:

Learn more at MontanaMMIW.com & on Twitter: #MMIW #MMIWG

EDUCATE YOURSELF & SHARE

A missing sweater tells the story of missing Indigenous women (Indian Country Today)

Savanna's Act is Back (Splinter)

States weigh bills addressing Native deaths, disappearances (AP)

House Passes Bill Protecting Domestic Abuse Victims; GOP Split Over Gun Restrictions (NPR)

Montana Senate Betrays Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (Splinter)

Tester reintroduces “Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment” Act (KRTV)

Lisa Murkowski Revives Bill Targeting Missing And Murdered Native Women (Huffington Post)

Researched & written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman 


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Gullwing Sailor - Migration
  • Cicle Veroni - Cicle Kadde
  • Cloud Line - K4
  • Slow Lane Lover - Barstool
  • This fickle world - Theo Bard
  • Minutes - Pacha Faro
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

Episode Image: Slowking4 via commons.wikimedia.org

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Support the show via Patreon

Listen on iTunes | StitcherSpotify | Alexa Devices | +more

Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Review the show on iTunes and Stitcher!

Direct download: 1265_Native_Peoples_Modern_Life_Air_Date_4-16-19_-_11-26-19.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:03am EDT

Air Date: 2–26-2019

Today we take a look at the process of systematic, government-sponsored genocide against the native peoples of North America that kicked off the wealth-accumulating, territory-expanding American empire we know and love today

Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991

SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz on digging deeper to understand America's past - Popaganda from @BitchMedia - Air Date 6-16-16

Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz describes the process of coming to understand that there is an alternate history of the United States and explains how she tried to convey that new understanding in her book "An Indigenous People's History of the United States."

Ch. 2: American expansion and violence against Native Americans - @BackStory - Air Date: 01-19-2018

Ed talks with historian Benjamin Madley about the devastating impact of the Gold Rush on California’s native tribes – and how both government officials and everyday citizens justified enslaving and killing native peoples.

Ch. 3: The moral narratives of colonization as relates to the Western Frontier and Israel - Citations Needed (@CitationsPod) - Air Date 8-22-17

We explore how the media discusses the issue of BDS and the broader topic of Palestinian liberation with guest Steven Salaita.

Ch. 4: Understanding the origins of scalp hunting and "redskins" - Empire Files - Air Date 11-25-15

Abby Martin interviews Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, renowned indigenous scholar and activist, about her most recent book "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States."

Ch. 5: Paul Frymer on the building of an American empire - The Dig from @jacobinmag - Air Date 1-30-18

We are living on land from which indigenous people, over hundreds of years, have been violently removed. Almost everyone knows this — yet it’s rarely mentioned in stories that Americans tell themselves about who we are as a country and how we got here.

Ch. 6: America's Distribution of Violence - @Intercepted w: @JeremyScahill - Air Date 2-14-18

Jeremy Scahill talks with Nikhil Singh, professor of social and cultural analysis and history at New York University, about his new book "Race and America’s Long War.”


VOICEMAILS

Ch. 7: Life as a charter school contractor - TJ from Scottsdale

Ch. 8: Reaction to candidate spotlight episode - Conner from Worcester, MA


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 9: Final comments explaining the shortcomings of the Candidate Spotlight episode and how it was made

BONUS CLIP: Senator Kamala Harris live in the studio - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 1-24-19


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Turning to You - Landsman Duets
  • A Burst of Light - Delray
  • The Spinnet - Castle Danger
  • Derailed - The Depot
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Support the show via Patreon

Listen on iTunes | StitcherSpotify | Alexa Devices | +more

Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Review the show on iTunes and Stitcher!

Direct download: 1252_Native.Imperialism_Air_Date_2-26-19_-_11-26-19.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:02am EDT

Air Date: 11–27-2018
Today we take a look at the literal and figurative bloody messes of the history of Thanksgiving and the identities of native peoples
Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991

SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: A Code Switch Thanksgiving Feast - Code Switch - Air Date 11-21-17

Exploring the conflicting narratives of American Thanksgiving.

Ch. 2: Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz on Thanksgiving: "It Has Never Been About Honoring Native Americans" - @DemocracyNow - Air Date: 11-29-16

We speak with indigenous historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. She is the author of "An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States" and co-author of "All the Real Indians Died Off: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans."

Ch. 3: The stolen sisters Part 1 - In the Thick - Air Date 9-18-18

Maria and Julio speak about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement with Annita Lucchesi, a Southern Cheyenne cartographer who has built the largest database of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Ch. 4: Indigenous DNA - Science for the People - Air Date 1-5-17

Kim TallBear, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples Technoscience, on her book "Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science."

Ch. 5: The stolen sisters Part 2 - In the Thick - Air Date 9-18-18

Maria and Julio speak about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement with Annita Lucchesi, a Southern Cheyenne cartographer who has built the largest database of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Ch. 6: It's not just about the blood - Code Switch - Air Date 2-6-18

If you're Native American, who or what gets to define your identity? We dive into an old system intended to measure the amount of "Indian blood" a person has.

Ch. 7: Native Americans React to Elizabeth Warren's DNA Test: Stop Making Native People "Political Fodder" - @DemocracyNow - Air Date 10-18-18

Native Americans across the country are criticizing Senator Elizabeth Warren’s decision to use a DNA test to assert her Native American heritage. We host a roundtable discussion of Native American activists and journalists to respond.

Ch. 8: Indigenous historian Nick Estes discusses the trivializing of native people - @Intercepted w @JeremyScahill - Air Date 10-23-18

Indigenous historian Nick Estes discusses the ongoing attacks on native people, voter disenfranchisement, the Red Power movement and the latest on the fight against major oil and gas pipelines.

 

VOICEMAILS

Ch. 9: The dangers of over-secrecy - Abdul from DC

Ch. 10: Final comments on #StandWithMashpee

 

TAKE ACTION!

Tell your members of Congress to support the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act (H.R. 5244 / S. 2628)

Learn more and find out how to support the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe 

Share the tribe’s video on social media

Amplify the #StandwithMashpee hashtag

EDUCATE YOURSELF

The true story of the first Thanksgiving and what it meant (Opinion | Boston Globe)

Mashpee Wampanoag Confront 'Loss Of Self-Governance' After Interior Department Reversal (WBUR, Here & Now)

This Thanksgiving, The Trump Administration Is Taking Land From The Tribe That Welcomed The Pilgrims (Huffington Post)

Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman 

 

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • On Early Light - Cholate
  • Eventual Victory - Codebreaker
  • Astrisx - Bodytonic
  • Beast on the Soil - Desert Orchard
  • Cases to Rest - Bodytonic
  • Nuthatch - Feathers
  • The Cast and Favor - Bayou Birds
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Support the show via Patreon

Listen on iTunes | StitcherSpotify | Alexa Devices | +more

Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Review the show on iTunes and Stitcher!

Direct download: 1230_Native_People_Thanksgiving_Air_Date_11-27-18_-_11-26-19.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:01am EDT

Air Date: 10–5-2018
Today we take a look at the rarely-told, real legacy of Christopher Columbus and some of the reverberations from his actions that can still be felt to this day
Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991

 

SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Indigenous Peoples Day - Progressive Faith Sermons w @RevDrRay - Air Date 10-23-16

The origin stories we tell ourselves and the importance of understanding that the words we use change the way we think.

Ch. 2: The Truth of Jesuit-Catholic Christopher Columbus - The Canary Effect (Documentary)

The documentary film, The Canary Effect, follows the terrifying and horrific abuses instilled upon the Indigenous people of North America and details the genocidal practices of the US government and its continuing effects on present-day Indian country.

Ch. 3: THE MIDTERMS MINUTE- New York’s Battleground Races! - Best of the Left Activism

Take action! Click the title and/or scroll down for quick links and resources from this segment.

Ch. 4: Columbus Day - Why are we Celebrating? - @Thom_Hartmann - Air Date 10-13-09

Thom Hartmann, reading a portion of his book "The last hours of ancient sunlight" about some of the atrocities of Christopher Columbus

Ch. 5: Indigenous Peoples Day VS Columbus Day - @theyoungturks - Air Date: 09-04-17

Los Angeles just changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, here's why everyone else should also. Hosted by NerdAlert's Kim Horcher.

Ch. 6: Reframing Columbus Day - Pod Save the People - Air Date 10-10-17

A discussion to reframe and understand the debate over Columbus Day

Ch. 7: Christopher Columbus Was A Demon by Hari Kondabolu - Totally Biased - Air Date: 10-12-12

Hari Kondabolu discusses his hatred of the demon Christopher Columbus.

Ch. 8: Discussing how to move beyond Columbus Day - In the Thick - Air Date 10-9-17

Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela lead a conversation about the change away from Columbus Day with Mitch O’Farrell, council member of LA’s 13th district, and Chrissie Castro, vice chairwoman of the Los Angeles Native American Indian Commission.

 

VOICEMAILS

Ch. 9: We need an election day holiday - Nate from Vacaville, CA

Ch. 10: Final comments on the Powerline series from Outside/In

 

THE MIDTERMS MINUTE 

REGISTER TO VOTE: RocktheVote.org/register-to-vote/

CONFIRM VOTER REGISTRATION: RocktheVote.org/resources/am-i-registered-to-vote/

CHECK VOTING DATES & POLICIES: RocktheVote.org/voting-information/

VOTER ID INFO/HELP: VoteRiders & 866ourvote.org

Get Involved/Resources: THE MIDTERMS MINUTE H.Q.

NEW YORK BATTLEGROUNDS: 

New York Democratic Party

NY Important Dates: Register, have your application postmarked, or have made an in-person request by October 12th. Absentee ballot options and deadlines are complex, visit elections.ny.gov website for that information.

U.S. HOUSE

NY-11: Max Rose

Swing Left NY-11 | Red to Blue NY-11

NY-19: Antonio Delgado

Swing Left NY-19 | Red to Blue NY-19

NY-22: Anthony Brindisi

Swing Left NY-22 | Red to Blue NY-22

NY-27: Nate McMurry

Researched & Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman 

 

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 

Lakal - Speakeasy
Gondola Blue - Towboat
A Burst of Light - Delray
The Provisions - K4
Gullwing Sailor - Migration
One Little Triumph - Piano Mover
Festering - Towboat

Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent

Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Support the show via Patreon

Listen on iTunes | StitcherSpotify | Alexa Devices | +more

Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Review the show on iTunes and Stitcher!

Direct download: 1216_Columbus_Day_Air_Date_10-5-18_-_11-26-21_02.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT