Original Air Date: 6–22-2020

Today we take a look at the history of racist policing which flows seamlessly into our present racist policing which itself flows into Trump's authoritarian glee at the opportunity to consolidate violent, racist power in response to protests against violent, racist power.

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SHOW NOTES

• American Police - Throughline - Air Date 6-4-20
• From Slavery to George Floyd: The Racist History of U.S. Policing - Democracy Now - Air Date 6-10-20
• Protests Sweep Across the Globe - The Daily Show - Air Date 6-9-20
• The Truth: Police Are Lynching Black Americans! W/ Dr. Jhacova Williams, PhD - Thom Hartmann - Air Date 6-10-20
• Why Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Hopeful - The Ezra Klein Show - Air Date 6-4-20
• Unmasking The 'Outside Agitator' - Code Switch - Air Date 6-10-20
• "Looting" Concerns Distract From Bureaucratic Violence Toward Black People - Democracy Now - Air Date 6-6-20
• The Man Who Teaches Our Cops To Kill - Behind the Bastards - Air Date 6-1-20
• Protests Sweep Across America and Beyond - The Daily Show - Air Date 6-9-20
• Systemic Exhaustion - In The Thick - Air Date 6-10-20
• The Rebellion in Defense of Black Lives Is Rooted in U.S. History, so Too Is Trump’s Authoritarian Rule Part 1 - Intercepted - Air Date 6-3-20
• Is This Trump’s Reichstag Fire Moment? - Deconstructed with Mehdi Hasan - Air Date 6-4-20
• The Military Stands Up To Trump - On the Media - Air Date 6-18-20

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Air Date 11/25/2025

We live in a world awash with baseless conspiracy theories but that doesn't mean there are no true conspiracies, as exemplified by Jeffrey Epstein. But it bears repeating, that we didn't need the exposure of a massive conspiracy to know that Donald Trump was a sexual predator because he said as much on tape before he was elected the first time in 2016.

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: Trump Welcomes Murderer to White House; Congress Votes to Release 'Epstein Files' - The BradCast - Air Date 11-18-25

KP 2: How Epstein Email Politics Shifted Over The Weekend Part 1 - Brian Lehrer A Daily Podcast - Air Date 11-17-25

KP 3: 1992 Tape Of Trump And Epstein - The Day That Was - MS Now - Air Date 7-18-19

KP 4: Epstein Emails: The Inbox Of The Rich & Heinous Part 1 - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 11-18-25

KP 5: 16 Women and Donald Trump • Trump's History of Sexual Assault - Brave New Films - Air Date 11-15-17

KP 6: Epstein's Arms Deal And Intelligence Connections With Israel W Murtaza Hussain Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Date 11-18-25

KP 7: Jeffrey Epstein and the American Empire with Van Jackson Part 1 - The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer - Air Date 11-16-25

(00:50:50) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On the conspiracy of wealth and power

DEEPER DIVES

(00:57:28) SECTION A: INBOX FALLOUT

(01:45:02) SECTION B: EPSTEIN WORLDWIDE

(02:18:32) SECTION C: PREDATOR-IN-CHIEF

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Screen shot of a recently released email from Jeffery Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell with a line highlighted that says “I want you to realize that the dog that hasn’t barked is trump…[VICTIM] spent ours at my house with him,, he has never once been mentioned.”

Credit: Internal composite design. Screen shot of email from files released by U.S. House Oversight Committee.

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Re-Air Date: 11–18-25

Unless you were a member in December of 2024, this episode of SOLVED! will be brand new to you! If you were a member back then, THANK YOU and this one is worth a re-listen. We’re slowing down production for a little bit to reorganize our production processes, so enjoy this episode from our archives (and B.Y: before YouTube) where Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:

• Ch. 1 - The political origins of SimCity and how capitalism warps our choices
• Ch. 2 - A new video game offering a very different vision of societal management
• Ch. 3 - Naomi Klein's insights on the Left's missteps responding to the Mirror World
• Ch. 4 - Applying cynicism and skepticism in moderation

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REFERENCES:

SimCity Isn’t a Model of Reality. It’s a Libertarian Toy Land - Wired

Build-a-Brrr - The Baffler

Naomi Klein on her doppelganger (and yours) - Vox

Be Like Claud Cockburn: Tell Truths to the Masses - Counter Punch

TAKE ACTION:

No Kings Next Steps

Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY - Tell Congress to stand down the federal escalation

One Million Rising Trainings

In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach

Use the 5 Calls app for scripts and to reach all your elected officials

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Find your Indivisible group - or start one

Write to the DNC

Join our Discord Server

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Produced by:

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Thanks for listening!

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Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Air Date 11/21/2025

In an ethical political system, being willing to break the law in order to starve people amid a political dispute wouldn't be a source of greater leverage and power but it is in ours and the shutdown put the wildly different senses of ethics between the parties on full display.

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Full Show Notes

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: Government Shutdown or General Strike How to Fight Trumps Agenda - The Socialist Program w Brian Becker - Air Date 11-12-25

KP 2: What Its Like Suing Trump in Court Over SNAP Funding - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 11-13-25

KP 3: The History of SNAP How Food Stamps Feed America - The Politics of New America - Air Date 11-4-25

KP 4: MAGA Republican ERUPTS Over Major SNAP Consequences As Gross Tantrum Backfires - The Damage Report - Air Date 10-31-25

KP 5: Addressing Food Insecurity With Dignity - The Giving Garden - Air Date 9-3-25

KP 6: Senator Sanders Slams The Surrender Dems - What A Day - Air Date 11-11-25

KP 7: Pope Condemns Trump Hispanics Quit GOP More Illegal Airstrikes How SNAP Boosts The Economy - The David Feldman Show - Air Date 11-10-25

(00:55:53) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On how to preserve democracy

DEEPER DIVES

(01:10:38) SECTION A: SHUTDOWN

02:01:39) SECTION B: FOOD INSECURITY

(03:19:42) SECTION C: GOP AWFULNESS

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Composite image of the SNAP program logo (food stamps) and a symbol of a stethoscope (healthcare) in a closed cage with a GOP elephant symbol standing on top against a faded American flag background.

Credit: Internal composite design. Elements from Pixabay | Pixabay license | and UDSA

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Air Date: 11-10-25

Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:

• Ch. 1 - “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps”

• Ch. 2 - “Politically correct”

• Ch. 3 - “Ethnic cleansing”

• Ch. 4 - “Meritocracy”

• Ch. 5 - Our current “wealth pump” crisis and how it has been solved throughout history

• BACKSTAGE! Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): The best words to articulate the current moment

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REFERENCES

Why The Phrase 'Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps' Is Nonsense - Huffington Post

How Cancel Culture Became Politicized — Just Like Political Correctness - NPR

Manifest Destiny and Zionism, a legacy of ethnic cleansing - Mondo Weiss

What Happens to Language When Authoritarianism Takes Hold - Lucid (Substack)

RSA Minimate: The Tyranny of Merit  - Michael Sandel

The Satirical Origins of the Meritocracy - Kottke

Hundreds of societies have been in crises like ours. An expert explains how they got out. - Vox

TAKE ACTION:

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Produced by:

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Thanks for listening!

Air Date 11/7/2025

The most dangerous part of nuclear weapons has always been the people in charge of them. As we potentially enter a new arms race, some of the worst people in the world are in charge of the vast majority of nuclear weapons.

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: Will Trump Spark a New Nuclear Arms Race - TLDR News Global - Air Date 11-9-25

KP 2: A History of the Doomsday Clock in 4 Minutes - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - Air Date 1-30-24

KP 3: The Lie of Nuclear Deterrence - ICAN's Melissa Parke in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, & Korea for Atomic Bomb 80th Commemorations, Hibakusha Part 1 - Nuclear Hotseat - Air Date 8-13-25

KP 4: Voices of Hiroshima - Scene On Radio - Air Date 8-6-25

KP 5: Marshall Islands: Paradise Interrupted Part 1 - At the Brink - Air Date 12-5-23

KP 6: The Lie of Nuclear Deterrence - ICAN's Melissa Parke in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, & Korea for Atomic Bomb 80th Commemorations, Hibakusha Part 2 - Nuclear Hotseat - Air Date 8-13-25

(00:44:32) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On the morality of facts we don't question

DEEPER DIVES

(00:56:09) SECTION A: CONSTANT PERIL

(01:22:44) SECTION B: THE NEW ARMS RACE, WORSE THAN THE FIRST

(02:05:41) SECTION C: THE DETERRENCE MYTH

(02:44:12) SECTION D: THE AFTERMATH 80 YEARS LATER

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Image of a president’s hand reaching out to press a big red button.

Credit: “war-nuclear-war” by geralt, Pixabay | Pixabay license

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Air Date: 11/11/25

The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we examine how power is being quietly consolidated across institutions, how propaganda and AI are reshaping our sense of reality, and how division and fear are fueling both domestic repression and global aggression. From the Supreme Court to state media manipulation, from dismantled voting rights to foreign influence campaigns, we trace the machinery of authoritarian control—and spotlight the journalists, educators, and activists still pushing back to keep truth and democracy alive.

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Full Show Notes

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PART 1: INSTITUTIONAL CAPTURE & CONSOLIDATION

(00:01:44) 1742 Captured Court, Captured Nation: SCOTUS Serves Trump's Authoritarianism

(00:16:53) 1743 Trump and Project 2025: Blitzkrieg Against America

(00:43:56) 1749 Democracy: In Theory, In Practice, and Under Threat

PART 2 INFORMATION WARFARE & REALITY CONTROL

(01:08:35) 1746 What an actual attack on free speech looks like

(01:40:37) 1745 Fake New World: The Age of AI Slop, AI Education, and AI Fascism

(01:54:27) 1744 Sell Outs, Shills, and Scandals: Saudi Arabia and Israel are buying the credibility they can't earn honestly

PART 3 OTHERING & EXPANSION

(02:13:08) 1747 Racism in the United States, it turns out, is a problem

(02:31:27) 1741 Global Uprisings: Dissatisfaction Roiling France, the UK, and Nepal

(02:56:07) 1750 "American's Backyard" - The War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs

(03:20:01) 1748 Patriotism in Peril: Democracy, the Military, and the Fight Over What America Means

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Air Date 11/7/2025

The United States claiming a divine (and imperialist) right to tamper in the politics of South American countries is nothing new. As is so often the case with Trump, the biggest difference is that he’s doing proudly and in the open what used to be done only shamefully and in secret.

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: What Is Happening with Venezuela & The US EXPLAINER - Why, America with Leeja Miller - Air Date 9-8-25

KP 2: Ceasefire in Gaza, The Monroe Doctrine Under Trump, and a US Economy on the Brink of Collapse Part 1 - Red Menace - Air Date 10-14-25

KP 3: Jeffrey Stein on Trumps Boat Attacks, Katya Schwenk on AI Surveillance Pricing Part 1 - CounterSpin - Air Date 10-24-25

KP 4: Bailing on Farmers to Bail Out Argentina: Two to Tango Part 1 - UNFTR - Air Date 10-6-25

KP 5: Trumps Hegemony Gambit; The Rights Warm Racist Embrace with Jeet Heer Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Date 11-1-25

(00:53:59) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On the long history of messing with Latin America

DEEPER DIVES

(00:59:42) SECTION A: HISTORY AND NARRATIVE

(01:20:49) SECTION B: MILITARY PRETEXT

(01:58:37) SECTION C: US AGGRESSION

(02:28:44) SECTION D: REGIONAL ECHOES

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Image of a topographical globe of the Earth, only showing North America and South America.

Credit: “Globe-world-earth-planet” by quimono, Pixabay | Pixabay license

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Re-Air Date: 11–6-25

Unless you were a member in January of 2025, this episode of SOLVED! will be brand new to you! We’re slowing down production for a little bit to reorganize our production processes, so enjoy this episode from our archives (and B.Y: before YouTube) where Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:

• Ch. 1 - Why people love villains
• Ch. 2 - How plutocracy kills
• Ch. 3 - Why the path forward is through membership organizations

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REFERENCES

The Year Villainy Won - Wired

https://www.wired.com/story/the-year-villainy-won/

Plutocracy Kills - The American Prospect

https://prospect.org/2024/12/26/2024-12-26-tkacik-best-of-2024/

Democracy Is Not a Customer Loyalty Program - Jacobin

https://jacobin.com/2024/11/political-parties-schumpeter-democracy-liberalism

Air Date 11/4/2025

Elections are always coming up, some sooner than others, so we thought we would take a look at the state of our democracy and what we must do to maintain it in the face of the greatest direct assault on our institutions we've seen in our 250 year history.

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Full Show Notes

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: Trump 2028? - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 10-29-25

KP 2: Why Im Voting YES On Prop 50 - Robert Reich - Air Date 10-28-25

KP 3: Trumps 'Crowd Control' Plan For Midterm Election Is Real - The Majority Report W/ Sam Seder - Air Date 10-27-25

KP 4: Exposing Trumps 2026 Election Mastermind Part 1 - Democracy Docket - Air Date 10-22-25

KP 5: Trump's Predictable Bad Faith on Election Security Gives His Opponents an Advantage - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 10-28-25

KP 6: ‘They’re Spending More Than I’d Tax Them’: Mamdani Slams Mega-donors Funding Cuomo - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 10-28-25

KP 7: What If Zohran Loses? Part 1 - Zaid Tabani - Air Date 10-29-25

KP 8: My Message to Muslim New Yorkers — and Everyone Who Calls This City Home. - Zohran Mamdani for NYC - Air Date 10-24-25

(00:49:12) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On the willingness to sound the alarm

DEEPER DIVES

(00:58:05) SECTION A: MAGA POLITICS

(01:25:25) SECTION B: GENERAL POLITICS

(02:01:21) SECTION C: PROGRESSIVE POLITICIANS

(02:25:17) SECTION D: ZOHRAN MAMDANI

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Close up photo of a “I voted early!” sicker from the City of New York Board of Elections

Credit: “I voted early!“ by Eden, Janine and Jim | CC BY 4.0 | Changes: Heavily cropped, slight increased saturation and decreased contrast

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Air Date 11/02/2025

A lot of people on the left aren't feeling the love for their country right now and that's understandable but we have some thoughts on more productive ways to channel those conflicting feelings toward a country that is currently falling far short of living up to its founding ideals.

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Full Show Notes

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: Democracy's Morticians Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt on 'How Democracies Die' Part 1 - Lawfare Archive - Air Date 5-1-18

KP 2: How Trump Changed the World with Anne Applebaum Part 1 - PoliticsJOE Podcast - Air Date 6-14-25

KP 3: Giving Up Is Unforgivable with Joyce Vance Part 1 - Stay Tuned with Preet - Air Date 10-23-25

KP 4: How to FIGHT Mob Boss Politics in America with Senator Andy Kim Part 1 - How to Fix It with John Avlon - Air Date 10-19-25

KP 5: Unitary Executive Meets Textualism Part 1 - #SistersInLaw - Air Date 10-11-23

KP 6: How Underdogs Build Power Stephanie Luce Part 1 - Future Hindsight - Air Date 10-23-25

KP 7: Reclaiming Patriotism From Trumps America with Ted Johnson Part 1 - How to Fix It with John Avlon - Air Date 4-27-25

(00:59:59) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On how the Left embraces the contradictions of the US

DEEPER DIVES

(01:10:45) SECTION A: SOCIETAL DRIVERS

(01:47:04) SECTION B: INSTITUTIONAL EROSION

(02:18:26) SECTION C: MILITARIZED LAWFARE

(02:41:12) SECTION D: PATRIOTISM AND NARRATIVE

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Composite image of the Declaration of Independence with three question marks on top filled with the image of the American flag.

Credit: Internal composite design. Images via Pixabay. | Pixabay License

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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