Air Date 5/15/2024 In an age of cultish in-group/out-group politics and media, we seek to find messaging for progressive partisans to achieve electoral success Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! FRONTPAGE FP 1: Everything's a cult now - The Gray Area FP 2: Examining how U.S. politics became intertwined with personal identity - PBS NewsHour FP 3: Jason Stanley on the Politics of Language - Amanpour and Company FP 4: A Conversation About How Dems Can Win in November with Rachel Bitecofer - Deep State Radio FP 5: Employ Negative Partisanship w. Rachel Bitecofer - Future Hindsight FP 6: Everything's ... Part 2 FP 7: Hit 'Em Where It Hurts ... Part 2 FP 8: Employ Negative ... Part 2 (59:24) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the importance of finding common-but-adaptable messaging (1:02:14) SECTION A: IDENTITY A1: Everything's ... Part 3 A2: Examining how U.S. ... Part 2 (1:10:14) SECTION B: POLITICAL RHETORIC B1: 'Hit 'Em Where It Hurts' urges Dems to go on attack - Morning Joe B2: 'Our message resonated with voters' - Morning Joe B3: Watch VP Harris slams Trump over abortion access - MSNBC (1:26:17) SECTION C: MESSAGING C1: Employ Negative ...Part 4 C2: Republican Policies VERY Unpopular With Voters - The Majority Report C3: Everything's ... Part 4 C4: Employ Negative ... Part 3 (1:50:33) SECTION D: INDEPENDENTS D1: Hit 'Em ... Part 3 D2: Why Voters Are Down On The Economy - 538 Politics

Air Date 5/11/2024 The effort to turn theory into practice that will open up new ways of thinking about antitrust lawsuits attempting to rein in big tech and other mega-corporations, which are operating in a new phase of capitalism. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: FTC Chair Lina Khan on Antitrust in the age of Amazon - Planet Money - Air Date 11-3-23 On today's show, a conversation with FTC Chair Lina Khan on what it's like to try to turn audacious theory into bureaucratic practice, the FTC's new lawsuit against Amazon, and what it all means for business as usual. Ch. 2: Apple's Antitrust Problem - Professor Talha Syed - The BTLJ Podcast - Air Date 3-10-24 Professor Syed reveals his thoughts and assessment of the new Brandeis movement, headed by Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter of the FTC and DOJ. Ch. 3: FTC Chair Lina Khan on Antitrust in the age of Amazon Part 2 - Planet Money - Air Date 11-3-23 Ch. 4: How to Fight Monopoly Power with FTC Chair Lina Khan - Factually! - Air Date 11-8-23 Lina Khan, appointed chair of the Federal Trade Commission by President Biden, has become the foremost voice of this movement and has engaged in high-profile battles to reshape how America deals with monopolies.   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 8: Real Estate Fees Crushed By Anti-Trust w David Dayen - The Majority Report - Air Date 3-26-24 FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 12: Final comments on the new show format tried out in the campus protesters episode as well as a retraction MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: A court document with “Antitrust” at the top sits on a desk with a gavel and block on top. Credit: “Antitrust” by Nick Youngson via Pix4free | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 | Changes: Added solid background   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Air Date 5/7/2024 Civil resistance on campuses across the country against Israeli genocide in Gaza calling for cease fire and divestment, university administrations up to the Biden administration respond, often with overwhelming violence and claims of antisemitism. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! FRONTPAGE FP 1: The US college protests... - Today in Focus - Air Date 4-25-24 FP 2: Behind Columbia... - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 4-24-24 (47:13) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR (50:54) SECTION A: POLICE RESPONSES A1: Atlanta Police Violently Arrest Emory... - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-26-24 A2: Juan González, Veteran of '68 Columbia Strike... - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-1-24 (1:06:59) SECTION B: INSIDE THE PROTESTS  B1: Pro-Israel THUGS Attack... - Owen Jones - Air Date 5-1-24 B2: Live from the Encampments - CODEPINK Radio - Air Date 5-1-24 (1:34:52) SECTION C: BIDEN'S POLITICS AND ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM C1: Nicholas Kristof ... Part 2 - Brian Lehrer - Air Date 4-26-24 C2: Manufactured Panic Over Peaceful... - The Majority Report - Air Date 4-23-24 (1:57:05) SECTION D: UNIVERSITY ADMINS AND ENDOWMENTS D1: Why Colleges Have No Idea... - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 4-23-24 D2: Columbia University President ... - The Bitchuation Room - Air Date 4-27-24 (2:37:42) SECTION E: MEDIA CRITICISM   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES IMAGE Description: A photo of a lawn in front of a university building at Vassar College showing students standing near tents, a sign that reads "Liberation," and a Palestinian flag along a walkway.  Credit: "Liberation Lawn at Vassar College (cropped)" by Found5dollar, Wikimedia | License: CC BY-SA 4.0 | Changes: Cropped

Air Date: 5-5-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Jerry Seinfeld blaming the "extreme left" and "PC culture" for the death of sitcoms - how Poe's Law (and the Amanda Principle) makes creating and identifying satire difficult - how TV shows trying to satirize the left for the left struggle to land the jokes REFERENCES: Jerry Seinfeld Says TV Comedy Is Being Killed By the ‘Extreme Left and P.C. Crap and People Worrying So Much About Offending Other People’  Jerry Seinfeld Is a Lazy Hack Out of Touch with the Real World—And Who Can Blame Him?  Poe’s Law and Internet Satire  In the Know (Peacock)  ‘In the Know’ Showrunners Unpack Its Loving Evisceration of Public Radio, Progressive Politics Zach Woods, NPR Fan, Reads NPR Fans for Filth  Exclusive: In the Know's Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner on Satirizing Liberals with Mike Judge The Cleaner - S2 E5 The Statue (Acorn) Malthusian Conception  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!

Air Date 5/3/2024 A look back at previous coverage of criminalizing protests, weaponizing civility, and violent responses to peaceful dissent. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: The Problem with Civility - On the Media - Air Date 6-30-18 Ch. 2: Criminalizing Protest - @USNewsBeat - Air Date 6-14-18 Ch. 3: Civility as a cudgel - Trumpcast - Air Date 6-30-18 Ch. 4: Protests Sweep Across America and Beyond Part 2 - The Daily Show - Air Date 6-9-20 Ch. 5: The coming anti-protest laws w/ Alleen Brown and Akela Lacy Part 1 - This is Hell! - Air Date 2-12-21 Ch. 6: Anti-Protest Bills Popping Up Everywhere - David Pakman Show - Air Date 8-19-20 Ch. 7: Elly Page on Anti-Protest Bills - CounterSpin - Air Date 4-23-21 Ch. 8: Not Ready For That Conversation - On The Media - Air Date 4-23-21 Ch. 9: GOP States Are Pushing for Stricter Penalties for Protesters - The Takeaway - Air Date 4-27-21 Ch. 10: How Corporate Media Protects Violent Cops - Carlos Maza - Air Date 6-4-20 MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)   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 5/1/2024 The past, present, and future of tackling the uselessness of extreme wealth by exposing and closing tax avoidance loopholes and pushing for a culture change to embrace the need for a more equal society. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: What Happens When You Tax Billionaires at 90 Percent? - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 6-3-23 We did it before, and the result was the creation of the world’s first and largest middle class and a level of peace and prosperity that held its own until Ronald Reagan took a meat-axe to it… Ch. 2: #TaxBillionaires w/ Robert Reich, Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, and more - Americans for Tax Fairness - Air Date 4 -18-22 If you think school teachers shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than billionaires, join us to learn how you can join in on the fight to #TaxBillionaires! Ch. 3: Wealth Tax Part 1 - Pullback - Air Date 4-11-23 Should we be taxing Scrooge-McDuck wealth? Can we? We talk with friend of the pod Fariya Mohiuddin, a Senior Program Officer with the International Budget Partnership's Tax Equity Program, and our favourite tax justice researcher and activist. Ch. 4: No One Should Have More Than 10 Million Pounds | Ash Sarkar meets Ingrid Robeyns - Novara Media - Air Date 2-4-24 If you're serious about alleviating poverty, as most liberals claim to be, should there be a cap on how wealthy one person can be?   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 12: Final comments on anger and irrationality in war and politics MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE: Description: A protester holds a sign that says “Tax the Rich” Credit: “We have a right to the city. Tax the rich.” by dignidadrebelde, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Get full, weekly bonus shows! Air Date: 4-29-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:  - how the film 'Civil War' intentionally avoids any specifics about the "why", and in doing so becomes a perfect encapsulation of the Amanda Principle™ - how "the view from nowhere" journalism is supposed to be straight down the middle and fact-based, but is actually rife with bias and ends up representing the dominant culture - that America and its culture has been steeped in war and violence since it's inception - the similarities between modern America and Germany in 1933 REFERENCES: Americans Have Enjoyed Imagining Civil War for a Long, Long Time How to Both-Sides a “Civil War” Alex Garland's Civil War Plays Both Sides Opinion: Is the US on the brink of another civil war? ‘Civil War’ and the Dangerous Myth of ‘Unbiased’ Journalism America Isn’t Nazi Germany, but It Looks a Little Like 1933 Modern Mathematics Confronts Its White, Patriarchal Past 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!

Original 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 or text 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: 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   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 11: Final comments on morality and money MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) 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 Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Air Date 4/24/2024 Only by understanding the past can we understand the present and the histories of Cuba and Haiti have very stark lessons to impart about the cruelty of the Cuba embargo, the repercussions of imperial exploitation, and the dangers that arise amid dysfunctional democracy. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: On Cuba and Haiti The Fight for Liberation & Self-Determination in the Caribbean - Revolutionary Left Radio - Air Date 4-4-24 Musa Springer, Erica Caines, & Onyesonwu Chatoyer from Hood Communist discuss their participation in The Second International Meeting of Theoretical Publications of Left Parties and Movements and discuss history and present events playing out in Haiti. Ch. 2: Havana Syndrome How the Biden Administration Is Driving Cubans Into Misery - Deconstructed - Air Date 3-22-24 Ryan Grim delves into the complexities of Cuba’s current economic crisis with Andrés Pertierra, a historian of Latin America and the Caribbean. Ch. 3: Havana Syndrome How the Biden Administration Is Driving Cubans Into Misery Part 2 - Deconstructed - Air Date 3-22-24 Ch. 4: Empire's Laboratory— How 2004 U.S.-Backed Coup Destabilized Haiti & Led to Current Crisis - Democracy Now! - Air Date 3-11-24 "The root of this crisis is not last week, it's not this week, it's not even Ariel Henry. But we have to go back to 2004 with the coup-d'état," says Pierre.   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 11: Final comments on the dangers of unrepresentative, unresponsive government MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: Photo of a protester in 2007 holding a large cloth sign that says “Solidarity…Haiti YES! Occupation NO. Canada-US-U.N. OUT of Haiti” Credit: “Solidarity - Haiti Yes - Occupation No” by Robert Thivierge, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 4-22-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How Israeli citizens and government officials use of the US's settler-colonialist past, westward expansion, and religious fundamentalism to justify their own settler expansion   - How the members of the extreme right are put in positions of power within the Israeli government, which is then used to validate the settler's actions - The role racist propaganda and intergenerational trauma play in convincing Israelis of the righteousness of their settler-colonialist actions - The societal dangers of living in an ethnostate combined with feeling of specialness that comes from generations of victimhood REFERENCES: The Israeli Settlers Attacking Their Palestinian Neighbors The grandmother who wants to lead Israelis back to a Gaza without Palestinians A debate over Israel-Palestine curriculum flares at Berkeley schools   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!