Best of the Left Podcast

Put a description of your podcast here.

The Podcasts

Original Air Date: 9-8-22

Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss:

- Dystopian longtermism

- Why the Man-O-Sphere won’t get you a girlfriend

- Cultural commodification

 

Join our Discord Server 

References:

Salon - Understanding "long-termism": Why this suddenly influential philosophy is so toxic 

Psychology Today - The Rise of Lonely, Single Men 

In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial

Affiliate Links:

Book 

Audiobook 

 

 

Leave a message at 202-999-3991

 

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!

Direct download: Bonus_Show_255_Sample_-_9-26-22_17.42.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:40am EDT

Air Date 9/24/2022

Today, we take a look at the decades-long scheme to funnel conservative activist judges into the judiciary to support Republican policy goals and the resulting legal bulwark defending Trump against prosecution and supporting his future election efforts. 

Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com 

Transcript

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content)

Join our Discord community!


OUR AFFILIATE LINKS:

ExpressVPN.com/BestOfTheLeft GET INTERNET PRIVACY WITH EXPRESS VPN!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Libro SUPPORT INDIE BOOKSHOPS, GET YOUR AUDIOBOOK FROM LIBRO!


SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: About half the world has prosecuted a former leader, so why doesn’t the U.S.? - The Mehdi Hasan Show - Air Date 9-4-22

About half the world has prosecuted a former leader, so why doesn’t the U.S.?

Ch. 2: FBI Seizes Mike Lindell’s Phone at Hardee’s, DOJ Issues 40 Trump Subpoenas: A Closer Look - Late Night with Seth Meyers - Air Date 9-14-22

Seth takes a closer look at the FBI seizing the phones of two Trump aides and issuing 40 subpoenas as the Justice Department intensifies its various investigations of Trump and his allies, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Ch. 3: Trump's Remaking Of Judiciary Appears To Pay Off In Mar-A-Lago Case - The Mehdi Hasan Show - Air Date 9-6-22

You may not have heard of Judge Aileen Cannon at the start of her lifetime appointment. But Trump's court pick just ruled in favor of a special master in the Mar-a-Lago probe.

Ch. 4: The Law v Lawless Edition - Amicus - Air Date 9-10-22

A single Trump-appointed judge’s attempt to stick a fork in the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into potential mishandling of classified materials is part of a systemic story about American justice.

Ch. 5: Leonard Leo, The Most Powerful Person In America You’ve Never Heard Of - All In w/ Chris Hayes - Air Date 8-22-22

When you see the news about a 10-year-old forced to flee her state to terminate a pregnancy from her rapist, think about Leonard Leo as the man who brought that state of affairs about. He is the guy pulling the strings in the background.

Ch. 6: Elie Mystal on the Four Investigations into Trump & Why Progressives Should Push to Expand the Court - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-7-22

A federal judge on Monday agreed with Donald Trump’s lawyers to appoint an independent arbiter known as a special master to review top-secret documents seized during an FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Ch. 7: The Scheme Speech 1: The Powell Report - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse - Air Date 5-27-21

Sen. Whitehouse delivers his first speech on court capture


MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 8: Right-Wing Dark Money Gets $1.6 Billion Donation From One Donor - All In w/ Chris Hayes - Air Date 8-22-22

“It was a very unusual transaction, the likes of which I have not seen in my years of covering money in politics,” says New York Times reporter Ken Vogel.

Ch. 9: Lock Him Up? - On The Media - Air Date 9-9-22

James D. Long [@prof_jameslong], associate professor of political science at the University of Washington, on the consequences of modern democracies across the globe prosecuting — or choosing not to prosecute — their former leaders


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 10: Final comments on defeating authoritarianism with action, not news following


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com


Air Date 9/21/2022

Today, we take a look at the history and legacy of British imperialism and slavery through the lens of the divergent views on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the growing movement of former colonies to achieve full independence. 

Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com 

Transcript

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content)

Join our Discord community!


OUR AFFILIATE LINKS:

ExpressVPN.com/BestOfTheLeft GET INTERNET PRIVACY WITH EXPRESS VPN!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Libro SUPPORT INDIE BOOKSHOPS, GET YOUR AUDIOBOOK FROM LIBRO!


SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Why Must Everyone Mourn The Queen’s Passing? | Between The Scenes - The Daily Show - Air Date 9-17-22

You can't expect people to show respect for something that never respected them. #BetweenTheScenes on the mixed reaction to the Queen’s death.

Ch. 2: "Racism Is as British as a Cup of Tea": Kehinde Andrews Says Many Black Brits Don't Mourn the Queen - Democracy Now - Air Date 9-19-22

Kehinde Andrews describes the brutal legacy of the British slave trade and the British Empire, which makes the monarchy a symbol of white supremacy that should not be mourned, but rather abolished.

Ch. 3: The royal family: Slavery, colonialism and race - Sky News - Air Date 6-23-22

In the Caribbean, some people are calling for the Queen to be removed as head of state, and for the royal family to pay reparations for their role in slavery.

Ch. 4: Julius Malema Tells Africans Why They Shouldn't Mourn Queen Elizabeth II - African Diaspora News Channel - Air Date 9-14-22

Wongel Zelalem reports on Julius Malema telling Africans to not mourn Queen Elizabeth II.

Ch. 5: Jeff Bezos DRAGGED On Twitter For Criticising Uju Anya's Queen Elizabeth Tweet - Roland Martin Unfiltered - Air Date 9-11-22

Breaking down the legacy of British colonialism through the lens of controversy over online reactions

Ch. 6: Slavery, Colonisation and the Crown - TRT World

In 2022, Britain celebrated 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s rule with street parties and festivities. But many critics say that the British monarchy should not be celebrated because of its legacy of slavery, looting and colonialism.

Ch. 7: Who needs the monarchy? - It's Been a Minute - Air Date 8-16-22

Guest host Elise Hu talks to Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, lawyer, activist and author of This Is Why I Resist about this new era for the British royals, the power they hold and the potential opportunities for the new monarch.


MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 8: Dismantle the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth's Death Prompts Reckoning with Colonial Past in Africa - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-12-22

"There's a degree of psychosis that you can go to another people's land, colonize them, and then expect them to honor you at the same time," says Kenyan American author Mukoma Wa Ngugi. We also speak with Harvard historian Caroline Elkins.


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 9: Final comments


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

SHOW IMAGE: 

Description: An old postage stamp depicts a 3-mast schooner ship on the water and an airplane above it with a young Queen Elizabeth II to the right wearing a crown and a crown symbol over her head. The text at the edges reads “JAMAICA” “West Indies” “2d Postal Centenary, 1860-1960”.

Credit: “Jamaica Postal Centenary” by Bill Smith, Flickr | License: CC by 2.0 | Changes: Cropped and added pieces of image to top and bottom of stamp.

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Direct download: 1515_British_Empire_Air_Date_9-21-22_General_-_9-21-22_17.05.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:23pm EDT

Air Date 9/17/2022

Today, we take a look at the way terrible patterns of the past like colonialism, racism, propaganda, feudalism, and abuse of corporate monopoly power are recreating and re-entrenching themselves in the digital world

Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com 

Transcript

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content)

Join our Discord community!


OUR AFFILIATE LINKS:

ExpressVPN.com/BestOfTheLeft GET INTERNET PRIVACY WITH EXPRESS VPN!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Libro SUPPORT INDIE BOOKSHOPS, GET YOUR AUDIOBOOK FROM LIBRO!


SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Rise Of Digital Oligarchy w/ Jillian York - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-4-22

Emma hosts Jillian York, Director of International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to discuss her recent book Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech Under Surveillance Capitalism.

Ch. 2: How Social Media Profits Off Your Anger - Wisecrack - Air Date 8-26-22

Does the internet run on rage? If you’ve spent any time online, you know that anger is to the internet as cake is to a birthday party. But why have the interwebs become a place of such division and rage? It’s complicated, but we’ll explain

Ch. 3: Using AI to Say the Word - This Machine Kills - Air Date 9-2-22

We discuss a new startup doing the rounds called Sanas that uses AI “accent translation” to make "non-white" call center workers speak English with a white American accent. This is some real retro throwback tech solutionism

Ch. 4: Addressing the TikTok Threat - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 9-8-22

This week on Your Undivided Attention, we bring you a bonus episode about TikTok. Co-hosts Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin explore the nature of the TikTok threat, and how we might address it.

Ch. 5: Edward Ongweso Jr: Peter Thiel & The Post-Capitalism of Tech's Far Right - The Arts of Travel - Air Date 6-27-21

We conclude our conversation with Vice's Edward Ongweso Jr. by looking at Peter Thiel's role in bankrolling Uber as the 'Tip of the Spear' for rolling back labor laws, workers' rights and Unions.

Ch. 6: Break Up Monopolies: Zephyr Teachout - Future Hindsight - Air Date 8-11-22

Zephyr Teachout is Senior Counsel for Economic Justice for the New York AG and law professor at Fordham University. We revisit our conversation with her about her book, Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money.


MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 9: The Digital Self, Web3 and reclaiming your online identity - Future Tense - Air Date 7-23-22

How is our sense of identity changing as our online and offline experiences increasingly merge? What grounds a person’s online persona (or personas) to the physical world? And is such a tie important?

Ch. 8: Refusing the Everyday Fascism of Artificial Intelligence (ft. Dan McQuillan) - This Machine Kills - Air Date 8-25-22

We are joined by Dan McQuillan to discuss his great new book Resisting AI. “With analytical and moral clarity, McQuillan makes the case for recognizing the radical politics of AI and meeting its goose step march head-on.”


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 12: Final comments on how to fix the internet for yourself


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Direct download: 1514_Digital_Dystopia_Air_Date_9-17-22_General_-_9-16-22_20.12.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00pm EDT

Air Date 9/14/2022

Today, we take a look at the history and hysteria behind debt and debt forgiveness while Biden is canceling student debt and opponents of the idea are reacting in the most predictable way possible because they misunderstand the relationship between debt and morality.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com 

Transcript

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content)

Join our Discord community!


OUR AFFILIATE LINKS:

BOMBAS.COM/BEST BUY ONE/GIVE ONE TO SOMEONE IN NEED

ExpressVPN.com/BestOfTheLeft GET INTERNET PRIVACY WITH EXPRESS VPN!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Libro SUPPORT INDIE BOOKSHOPS, GET YOUR AUDIOBOOK FROM LIBRO!


SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Cancel It All: Debt Collective's Astra Taylor on Biden Plan & Need for Full Student Debt Relief - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-25-22

We speak to Astra Taylor, writer, filmmaker, and co-director of the Debt Collective, a union for debtors and one of the original advocates for a debt jubilee that would cancel all student debt.

Ch. 2: Freedom Dreams: Black Women and the Student Debt Crisis - The Intercept - Air Date 8-22-22

The Intercept’s new documentary, “Freedom Dreams: Black Women and the Student Debt Crisis,” profiles Black women educators and activists struggling under the weight of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, in student loan debt.

Ch. 3: Hidden History of Student Debt - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 8-25-22

Many woke up to find news that $10k of their student debt would be forgiven, Thom Hartmann and Jefferson Smith break down what this means and what happens next.

Ch. 4: Bidens Big Student Debt Announcement: PITOTWIU for the Indebted Masses - Unf*cking The Republic - Air Date 8-28-22

Max breaks down the politics, the details, and biggest misses of the Biden student debt relief plan and why it’s in danger of being PITOTWIU

Ch. 5: Republican Veteran Concerned By Negative Military Recruitment Amidst Student Loan Forgiveness - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-29-22

Florida Representative Michael Waltz believes the military recruiting crisis will worsen with President Biden’s student loan forgiveness. He also believes it is unfair to those who have not incurred debt.

Ch. 6: Forgiving (and Unforgiving) Debts - Now & Then - Air Date 9-6-22

Heather and Joanne discuss the history of debtors’ prisons in early America, the rise of bankruptcy laws after the Civil War, and the Cold War origins of federal student loans.


MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 9: Bidens Big Student Debt Announcement: PITOTWIU for the Indebted Masses Part 2 - Unf*cking The Republic - Air Date 8-28-22

Ch. 10: Forgiving (and Unforgiving) Debts Part 2 - Now & Then - Air Date 9-6-22


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 11: Final comments on morality and money


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

SHOW IMAGE

Description: A dark gray, 3D image of the word "DEBT" sits in a white void, a connected chain and open shackle with an open padlock lie in front of it.

Credit: "3D Shackled Debt" by Chris Potter, Flickr | License: CC by 2.0 | Changes: Enlarged with more white background

 

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Direct download: 1513_Cancel_Student_Debt_Air_Date_9-14-22_General_-_9-14-22_21.52.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:35pm EDT

Air Date 9/9/2022

Today, we take a look at platforms, goods, and business models in the modern landscape of the digital marketplace. We start by questioning the morality of engaging in given platforms that cause harm - cryptocurrencies' role in crime and Facebook's role in destabilizing society, for instance - and then examine virtual products and virtual talents, the movement demanding the right to repair, and the coming world of digital art produced by artificial intelligence.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com 

Transcript

Join our Discord community!


OUR AFFILIATE LINKS:

ExpressVPN.com/BestOfTheLeft GET INTERNET PRIVACY WITH EXPRESS VPN!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Libro SUPPORT INDIE BOOKSHOPS, GET YOUR AUDIOBOOK FROM LIBRO!


SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Digital Life Is a Moral Mess - The United States of Anxiety - Air Date 8-22-22

Then, Shirin Ghaffary, senior reporter at Recode and co-host of the podcast Land of The Giants, shares the story of Facebook, and why it has been so hard of them to respond to the damage their technology has created.

Ch. 2: Digital rapper FN Meka and the new era of digital Blackface - There Are No Girls on the Internet - Air Date 8-30-22

"AI rapper" FN Meka isn't human - he's a digital creation of a company. But that didn't stop him from getting a record deal! He briefly became the first digital rapper to sign a deal with a major recording company.

Ch. 3: The Right to Repair with Aaron Perzanowski - Factually! with Adam Conover - Air Date 5-10-22

Do we really own the devices we buy? ‘The Right to Repair’ author Aaron Perzanowki joins Adam to explain how companies are using their power to control the products we buy from them, even after they’ve left the store, and prevent us from repairing them.

Ch. 4: The Streaming TV Bloodbath - What Next - Air Date 8-28-22

Shows are disappearing. Staff are getting axed. Is It greed, or necessary for the networks' survival?

Ch. 5: CAN THEY DO THAT? | PlayStation to Remove "Owned" Movies - Hoeg Law - Air Date 7-7-22

Buying digital content has never been easier. Between Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo and more, your favorite game, song, or movie is just a click (and charge) away.

Ch. 6: Rethinking ownership in the digital age | Siân Lindley - TEDxEastEnd - Air Date 2-20-15

When George Orwell wrote 1984, there was nothing simpler than the idea of owning a paperback book. The more the digital world he foreshadowed becomes real, the more complex the idea of ownership becomes. Do you own your digital books? Your photographs?


MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 7: The AI that creates any picture you want, explained - Vox - Air Date 6-1-22

How programmers turned the internet into a paintbrush. DALL-E 2, Midjourney, Imagen, explained.


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 8: Final comments on how the world was lost and the Dream Machine


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Direct download: 1512_Digital_Ownership_Air_Date_9-9-22_General_-_9-9-22_19.04.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:54pm EDT

Air Date 9/6/2022

Today, we take a look at the precarious state of our immigration and asylum system, the legacy of neoliberalism and imperialism in South and Central America, the inhumanity practiced by both of our political parties (though not equally), and the ever-present possibility that things could get worse.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com 

Transcript

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content)

Join our Discord community!


SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Biden to End Trump-Era "Remain in Mexico" Border Policy; Immigrants Face Ongoing Trauma, Separation - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-10-22

We speak to attorney and activist Efrén Olivares with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant Justice Project about the impact of this policy, as well as ongoing efforts to reunite families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border

Ch. 2: The Lasting Impacts of Family Separation - The Takeaway - Air Date 8-18-22

Caitlin Dickerson whose latest investigative piece “The Secret History of Family Separation,” chronicles the full scope of the policy, its legacy, and how similar, future iterations may be adopted.

Ch. 3: Political Pawns: Immigrant Activists Decry Texas Gov. Abbott for Busing Asylum Seekers to NYC - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-11-22

“What we’re seeing happening right now is Governor Abbott using asylum seekers as political pawns to merely help increase his polling numbers down in Texas,” says Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the ​​New York Immigration Coalition

Ch. 4: Capital's migration policy: Daniel Melo Part 1 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 2-28-22

Immigration lawyer Daniel Melo on his article "The Capitalist Imperative Driving Cruel and Bipartisan US Migration Policies" for Black Agenda Report.

Ch. 5: Azadeh Shahshahani on Central America Plan, Jon Lloyd on Facebook Disinformation - CounterSpin - Air Date 8-19-22

Azadeh Shahshahani is legal and advocacy director at Project South. She joins us to raise some questions about the US government’s claim that this time, they’re really bringing stability and security to northern Central America.

Ch. 6: The Democrats Long War on Immigrants - Intercepted - Air Date 2-17-21

The activist and writer Harsha Walia joins Intercepted to discuss the Democratic Party’s fundamental role in shaping the long arc of U.S. border policy

Ch. 7: Capital's migration policy: Daniel Melo Part 2 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 2-28-22


MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 8: The Democrats Long War on Immigrants Part 2 - Intercepted - Air Date 2-17-21

The activist and writer Harsha Walia joins Intercepted to discuss the Democratic Party’s fundamental role in shaping the long arc of U.S. border policy


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 9: Final comments on the amorality of economics


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

SHOW IMAGE:

Description: A sign with a red background and white lettering is taped to a piece of cardboard and lies on the concrete ground; it reads “Seeking Asylum is a Human Right”.

Credit: “Advocates disrupt transfer of asylum seekers from Villawood” by Kate Ausburn, Flickr | License: CC by 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Direct download: 1511_Immigration_Air_Date_9-6-22_General_-_9-6-22_19.37.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:06pm EDT

Original Air Date 8/21/2021

Today we take a look at the history of bipartisanship and appeasement in the US dating back to before the Civil War and tracking it all the way up to the current negotiations over the infrastructure bill.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com 

Transcript

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content)


SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: The Unnatural Endurance of Bipartisanship Part 1 - The Politics of Everything - Air Date 3-4-21

Joe Biden ran for president promising to “revive” the spirit of bipartisanship, put an end to factional battles, and bring Americans together after an era of painful division.

Ch. 2: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren - The New Yorker: Politics and More - Air Date 10-19-20

Biden often speaks about bipartisanship as a cherished value that he would restore to Washington, but Ocasio-Cortez is dubious.

Ch. 3: The Unnatural Endurance of Bipartisanship Part 2 - The Politics of Everything - Air Date 3-4-21

Ch. 4: Exhaustion of Bipartisanship - In The Thick - Air Date 6-25-21

Maria and Julio discuss remarks from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the 38th annual NALEO Conference, and they get into the vice president’s visit to El Paso and the US-Mexico border.

Ch. 5: Behind the Infrastructure of the Infrastructure Bill & The Real American Oligarchy - The Majority Report with Sam Seder - Air Date 7-23-21

Sam and Emma host Ari Rabin-Havt, the former Legislative Director and Chief Policy Advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders, to discuss the prospects of the Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Ch. 6: Manchin Capitol Riots Made Me MORE Bipartisan - The Young Turks - Air Date 4-9-21

In a recent interview, Senator Joe Manchin claimed that the Capitol Riots changed him, and made him double down on bipartisanship.

Ch. 7: Why Appeasement Won't Work This Time Around - On the Media - Air Date 1-8-21

White southerners called it “redemption.” To Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum, it was a catastrophe of appeasement and an object lesson in the politics of reconciliation.

Ch. 8: Keri Leigh Merritt on the New Lost Cause - CounterSpin - Air Date 1-15-21

Historians are shaking their heads as media talk about January 6 as "unprecedented"; while shocking and dispiriting, it has layers and layers of precedent that need to be learned and engaged, if we are ever to actually have a racial reckoning.


MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 9: Frances Lee on why bipartisanship is irrational - Vox Conversations - Air Date 1-21-19

For most of American history, American politics has been under one-party rule. For decades, that party was the Republican Party. Then, for decades more, it was the Democratic Party.

Ch. 10: What a More Responsible Republican Party Would Look Like - The Ezra Klein Show - Air Date 3-2-21

This is the modern G.O.P.: a post-policy party obsessed with symbolic fights and curiously uninterested in the actual work of governing. But does it have to be that way?


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 11: Final comments on the merits of taking liars at face value


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

  • Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 
  • Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
  • Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
  • Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com