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Air Date 3/30/2024

We are living through an age of protest from the opposition to the Iraq war, the Arab Spring uprisings, Occupy Wall Street, through to marches against Trump, and now the war in Gaza. So, we thought we should take a look at the art and science of protest itself.

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Transcript

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: The Missing Revolutions of The 2010s | Ash Sarkar Meets Vincent Bevins Part 1 - Novara Media - Air Date 10-29-23

The 2010s saw a new era of mass protest, from Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria, to Occupy Wall Street, EuroMaidan and Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. Many of these movements shared a “horizontalist” or leaderless approach

Ch. 2: The Uncommitted Movement feat. Layla Elabed & Waleed Shahid - Chapo Trap House - Air Date 3-8-24

Organizers Layla Elabed and Waleed Shahid join us to discuss their recent successes with the movement to vote uncommitted against Joe Biden in the ongoing democratic primaries. They lay out their goals

Ch. 3: Why Peaceful Protest Won't Solve Anything - Second Thought - Air Date 8-12-22

Ch. 4: Gaza Protesters SHUT DOWN Schiff's Victory Speech - The Majority Report - Air Date 3-6-24

Ch. 5: The Missing Revolutions of The 2010s | Ash Sarkar Meets Vincent Bevins Part 2 - Novara Media - Air Date 10-29-23

 

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FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 12: Final comments on the importance of building momentum over time with protest


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE

Description: A photo of a handmade protest sign taped to a chainlink fence that says "This is a movement not a moment." Taped to the bottom of the sign is a smaller sign that says "Jacob Blake" with hearts around it.

Credit: "18a.StreetArtFence.BLM.Plaza.WDC.27August2020" by Elvert Barnes, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped, slightly increased brightness, contrast and saturation.

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Direct download: 1619_Protest_Air_Date_3-29-24_General_-_3-29-24_17.43.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:20am EDT

Air Date: 3-28-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- how the wealthy use psilocybin to deal with stress and break the rules of time  
- the working class get bath time and training on how to self-care their stress away
- the 

REFERENCES:
It’s Time to Give Up on Email

The Working Woman’s Newest Life Hack: Magic Mushrooms

Stress Less

Had a bath. still stressed.

How America Became Addicted to Therapy

Life Under the Algorithm

 

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Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
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Direct download: 296_-_Bonus_Sample_General.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Original Air Date: 12/23/2021

Today we take a look at some of the history of labor struggles in America and the current wave of strikes that is giving renewed energy to the labor union movement and the struggle for better working conditions for all.

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Lessons from the Luddites - On the Media - Air Date 12-10-21

Gavin Mueller [@gavinmuellerphd], assistant professor of New Media and Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, on what modern lessons can be learned from the Luddite workers of 19th century England.

Ch. 2: Victory at Starbucks, Struggle at Kellogg's Part 1 - Jacobin Radio - Air Date 12-13-21

Suzi talks with John Logan about the unionization victory at Starbucks in Buffalo, and the continuing Kellogg Co. strike.

Ch. 3: Strike Wave Workers Flex Their Muscle in Tight Labor Market Part 1 - Intercepted - Air Date 11-10-21

We hear from Kaiser Permanente workers, and then Labor Notes’ Jonah Furman joins The Intercept’s Washington Editor Nausicaa Renner to discuss this year’s strike wave.

Ch. 4: Labor Unions From Pullman to Kelloggs. Labors long, hard road. - Unf*cking The Republic (UNFTR) - Air Date 12-18-21

The episode includes a blow-by-blow analysis of a recent interview with the CEO of Kellogg's to translate Wall Street speak for “how to fuck workers and influence inflation.”

Ch. 5: Victory at Starbucks, Struggle at Kellogg's Part 2 - Jacobin Radio - Air Date 12-13-21

Suzi talks with John Logan about the unionization victory at Starbucks in Buffalo, and the continuing Kellogg Co. strike.

Ch. 6: Class Struggles in the US Today - Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff - Air Date 12-2-21

The "labor shortage" isn't, "Build Back Better" does not begin to approach what Europe already has.

 

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MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 9: Lessons from the Luddites Part 2 - On the Media - Air Date 12-10-21

Gavin Mueller [@gavinmuellerphd], assistant professor of New Media and Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, on what modern lessons can be learned from the Luddite workers of 19th century England.

Ch. 10: Labor Unions From Pullman to Kelloggs. Labors long, hard road. Part 2 - Unf*cking The Republic (UNFTR) - Air Date 12-18-21


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Air Date 3/23/2024

Equality has been at the heart of civil rights movements for decades but what we have failed to see is that in striving for equality we cannot help but reinforce the unquestioned preexisting structures of society which, themselves, may be at fundamental odds with true freedom for all.

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Transcript

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Marcie Bianco — Breaking Free - with Charlotte Clymer - Politics and Prose - Air Date 9-23-23

Watch author Marcie Bianco's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C.

Ch. 2: Angela Saini The Patriarchs 'How Men Came to Rule' - The Overpopulation Podcast - Air Date 2-6-24

By detailing the diversity of human arrangements, including the prevalence of egalitarian and matrilineal societies around the world – past and present – Angela reveals that male-supremacy is neither natural nor immutable.

Ch. 3: The Fraud Of 'White Feminism' w/ Kyla Schuller - The Majority Report - Air Date 1-20-22

Emma hosts Kyla Schuller, Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers University, to discuss her recent book The Trouble With White Women: A Counterhistory of Feminism.

 

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MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 8: The Fraud Of 'White Feminism' w Kyla Schuller Part 2 - The Majority Report - Air Date 1-20-22

Ch. 9: Angela Saini The Patriarchs 'How Men Came to Rule' Part 3 - The Overpopulation Podcast - Air Date 2-6-24


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 10: Final comments on what the path beyond equality and toward freedom looks like


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE:

Description: A photo of a protest in a city street. A person holds up a neon pink sign that says “Smash Patriarchy. Smash Capitalism.” Part of a Starbucks logo can be seen behind the sign.

Credit: “Smash patriarchy smash capitalism” by Peter, Flickr | License: CC By 2.0 | Changes: Cropped, slight increase in brightness, contrast and saturation.

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Direct download: 1618_Freedom_Not_Equality_Air_Date_3-23-24_General_-_3-23-24_18.13.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00pm EDT

Air Date: 3-21-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- how AI became a tool in the gender culture war
- the real reasons "soft girls" and "tradwives" are a thing

REFERENCES:
You Will Not Believe the Dumb Reason My Son Gave Me for Refusing to Wipe His Butt

AI has come to the gender culture war, yielding some truly dumb content

The False Escapism of Soft Girls and Tradwives


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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!

Direct download: 295_-_Bonus_Sample_-_Cause_its_all_about_control_-_3-16-24_7.52_AM.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:18pm EDT

Air Date 3/19/2024

We break down some of the pseudoscience the trans panic is built on, look at the political drive to erase trans people, understand how language of panic shifts over time, and present and alternate view of societal healing for a healthier humanity.

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: The Anatomy of a Moral Panic Ft. Dr. Julia Serano - It Could Happen Here - Air Date 2-21-24

Mia and Gare are once again joined by Dr, Julia Serano to discuss how the concept of contagious stigma drives moral panics against cis and trans people alike

Ch. 2: Are Red States 100 Committed to Erasing Trans People - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 1-8-24

Just a week into 2024 and Red State Republicans have already introduced over 150 bills targeting the transgender community. Journalist Erin Reed, host of 'Erin in the Morning,' updates us on the sorry parade.

Ch. 3: Jamie Lee Curtis Interviews ALOK on the World Beyond the Gender Binary - Upfront Ventures - Air Date 3-9-23

ALOK sits down with Jamie Lee Curtis to explore themes of gender, race, trauma, belonging and the human condition.

Ch. 4: How the Media Gets Trans Coverage Wrong - Medium - Air Date 8-19-23

A panel discussion centered on the representation of trans issues in the media. Moderated by Katherine Cross. 

Ch. 5: The Anatomy of a Moral Panic Ft. Dr. Julia Serano Part 2 - It Could Happen Here - Air Date 2-21-24

 

SEE FULL SHOW NOTES


MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 9: How the Media Gets Trans Coverage Wrong Part 2 - Medium - Air Date 8-19-23

Ch. 10: The Anatomy of a Moral Panic Ft. Dr. Julia Serano Part 3 - It Could Happen Here - Air Date 2-21-24


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 12: Final comments on a new reframing of the right to the freedom of sex


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE

Description: A colorful, hand-drawn protest sign says “Protect Trans Youth” with the trans pride flag.

Credit: “Protect Trans Youth” by Taymaz Valley, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Direct download: 1617_Trans_Panic_Air_Date_3-19-24_General_-_3-19-24_18.20.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:26pm EDT

Air Date 3/15/2024

Republicans have been trending toward Putin fandom for more than a decade but with each passing year the stakes get higher, the propaganda gets more brazen, and what they're willing to support gets more grotesque.

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Chris Wallace DESTROYS former colleague Tucker Carlson - Bryan Tyler Cohen - Air Date 2-10-24

Ch. 2: Trump voters tell NBC Reporter that ‘Russia is not our enemy’ - MSNBC - Air Date 2-27-24

Vaughn Hillard discusses meeting with Trump voters who have started to echo the rhetoric from Putin and Russia when it comes to that country’s war on Ukraine and how the base of the MAGA movement has leaned into authoritarian rhetoric.

Ch. 3: American Patriots Support... Vladimir Putin - On the Media - Air Date 3-4-22

Casey Michel joins to discuss why white nationalists like David Duke, Richard Spencer, and Matthew Heimbach have long since looked to Putin's Russia as inspiration for their far-right movements in this country

Ch. 4: The Dark and Destructive Vision of Putin's GOP - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 2-27-24

Author and reporter Heidi Siegmund Cuda has the dirt that ties Mike Johnson to President Putin. Does Mr Johnson want to follow Russia's example and become an authoritarian pseudo-theocracy?

 

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MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 8: Trump Backers Kill Navalny - Gaslit Nation - Air Date 2-20-24

Andrea and Terrell Starr of the Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack discuss the assassination of Navalny and the work ahead to build a meaningful opposition.


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 9: Final comments on the global view of autocratic propaganda


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE:

Description: Protestors in a major city at night hold up cutouts of Putin’s head and Trump’s head. Large cutouts of open hands are on either side of Trump.

Credit: “2I4A7393” by rob walsh, Flickr | License: Public Domain | Changes: Cropped

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Direct download: 1616_Putin_Russia_GOP_Air_Date_3-15-24_General_-_3-14-24_19.20.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

Air Date: 3-11-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- mascuzynity and the conservative male ethos
- talking to young men to prevent their slide to the right
- and that brutal man camps that are more a symptom and cry for help than a solution

REFERENCES:
Mascuzynity: How a nicotine pouch explains the new ethos of young conservative men

Can Parents PreventTheir Sons From Sliding to the Right?

Men are going to brutal boot camps to reclaim their masculinity. How did we get here?

Do You Need a Visit to the Confident Man Ranch?

 

Outro song courtesy of Supergoldfl

 

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Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
Thanks for listening!
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
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Direct download: 294_-_Bonus_Sample.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:58am EDT

Original Air Date 2-17-2018

We hear from activists and advocates to get a sense of the life, land, and walls that divide occupied Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 

Ch. 2: Amer Zahr on working toward rights and democracy for all in Israel - Part 1 - @RalphNader Radio Hour - Air Date 3-18-17


Ch. 3: The Oakland Institute's Anuradha Mittal on Life, Land and the Wall Between Them in Occupied Palestine Part 1 - This is Hell - Air Date 11-1-17


Ch. 4: Ben Ehrenreich and Amy Wilentz looking at life for Palestinians on the West Bank - Start Making Sense from @TheNation - Air Date is 7-6-2016


Ch. 5: Amer Zahr on working toward rights and democracy for all in Israel - Part 2 - @RalphNader Radio Hour - Air Date 3-18-17


Ch. 6: The Oakland Institute's Anuradha Mittal on Life, Land and the Wall Between Them in Occupied Palestine - Part 2 - This is Hell - Air Date 11-1-17


Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Original Air Date 2/7/2018

Looking at Israel from a variety of angles including what they do to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and why White supremacists, of all people, support them

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Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr 

Ch. 2: Breaking down Trump's moves on Israel - Intercepted (@theintercept) - Air Date 1-31-18


Ch. 3: What doesn't get mentioned when reporting on Israel - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 1-19-18


Ch. 4: “Gaza An Inquest into Its Martyrdom” Norman Finkelstein on the Many Lies Perpetuated About Gaza - @DemocracyNow - Air Date 01-10-18


Ch. 5: What Israel has to do with local policing in the US - Intercepted (@theintercept) - Air Date 9-20-17


Ch. 6: Richard Spencer Appears On Israeli TV, Says Ethno-Nationalism Should Make Viewers Respect Him - Majority Report (@MajorityFM) - Air Date: 08-21-17


Ch. 7: Ilan Pappé: The Myths of Israel - @TheRealNews - Air Date 3-30-17


Ch. 8: Final comments addressing some of the concerns about the #MeToo movement

(Music from Blue Dot Sessions, Free Music Archive)


Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Support the show via Patreon

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

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

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Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

 

Direct download: 1163_-_Strange_Bedfellows_-_Israel_Throwback_General_-_3-1-24_12.46.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Air Date: 3-3-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- why men struggle with friendship 
- why men and boys are lonelier than ever
- the impact of different masculine identities on relationships
- something The Beatles apparently did that no one seems to talk about

REFERENCES:
Why Men Struggle With Friendship 

Boys and men are lonelier than ever. What can we do about it? 

3 ‘Masculine Identities’ Men Take On In Relationships 

Release the Beatles Jerk-off Cut 

Join our Discord Server


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: 293_-_Bonus_Sample_-_I_love_you_man_-_3-1-24_2.52_PM.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:00am EDT

Air Date 3/1/2024

We don't have to think too hard to understand the fears of a world in which work, and the ability of millions to support themselves, are lost to automation and artificial intelligence. But that is only a capitalist future in which the benefits of technological advancement are hoarded by the already-wealthy. Today we imagine a different path.

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Transcript

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Introduction to Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work by Srnicek & Williams - Dank Audio Stash - Air Date 4-8-21

Introduction to Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams

Ch. 2: The People's Republic of Walmart Interview with Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski - Novara Media - Air Date 6-13-19

Since the demise of the USSR, the mantle of the largest planned economies in the world has been taken up by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and other multinational corporations.

Ch. 3: The Two Futures Of Automation Capitalism VS Socialism - Second Thought - Air Date 12-15-21

With jobs being automated and handed off to machines at an ever-increasing pace, it's only natural to consider what our future will look like.

Ch. 4: Planet of the Robots: Four Futures of AI (Documentary) - 1Dime - Air Date 10-15-21

In this video we will be discussing automation, which is often confused with being the ‘technological revolution’ in it of itself as it is what the mainstream focuses on, and for good reason, as how we handle automation will determine the trajectory or co

Ch. 5: Universal Basic Income Explained (An Automation Solution) - Futurology - Air Date 5-28-24

With jobs being automated and handed off to machines at an ever-increasing pace, it's only natural to consider what our future will look like.

 

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MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 9: The People's Republic of Walmart Interview with Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski Part 3 - Novara Media - Air Date 6-13-19


FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 10: Final comments on living our values and stepping away from work


MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE

Description: Photo of a patch on a backpack that says "What would you do if your income were taken care of?"

Credit: "Berlin UBI March" by Patrick Maynard, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Direct download: 1615_Leftist_Economic_Future_Air_Date_3-1-24_General_-_3-1-24_19.13.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:34pm EDT