Each episode brings a variety of progressive perspectives (yes, there are different ones within the broad left). Expert curation drawing from a huge number of podcasts -- well known and more obscure.

I have tried to like this podcast because of progressivism. But, the constant push of advertising, joining to donate, and “special” content when this podcast is a compilation of other shows without the cost of original journalism. It begins to feel like platform for the host. The last straw, though, is it’s one-sided, hostile coverage of Israel, the attack by Hamas, and the War in Gaza. Living in the range of a Pacifica station, I heard decades of programming that devoted most of its evening news coverage to blaming Israel for all ills. I think the Left has too often found an easy target Israel, backed by a lazy intellectual framework that reflects Western history, and not Jewish history. I have protested for peace in Israel for decades. The moral stance is not to oppose the existence of Israel, but to join with Israeli movements for peace. Unfollowing.

Kindly refresh my memory, I seem to have forgotten - when was it that slaves or freed slaves were offered 50-60% of the land mass of the United States to form a nation - refused it - moved to Canada and Mexico and supported an invasion of the US with intent of claiming the entire nation and killing all of the present inhabitants - failed and were shuttled into refugee camps by their own people who didn’t really want to have anything to do with them if they didn’t have a nation of their own. When were African Americans offered their own nation three more times - refused and instead led terrorist attacks against the US bobbing innocent civilians. Drawing blind moral equivalence based on a visceral reaction to an unpleasant conflict is racist, hateful, disgusting and beneath you. This construct and perversion of reality has been the objective of Palestinians and the Arab world for hundreds of years. Deliberately creating an image of your people as oppressed in the service of genocide is an old trick. They have just dressed it up and updated it by oppressing their own and blaming others for their pain. I thought you were smarter than that but as usual when it’s Jews they have always been fair game. I’m sure there’s a nice uniform you can don when you guard the gates of genocide with insipidly reasoned arguments of one sided ethics.

Great content, wonderful music, various voices that are not necessarily on TV, and in fact, usually are not on the daily news. You need this information to understand the chaos around you. Subscribe if you can. Lack of funding makes good people use horrible companies to survive. It’s money well spent. Lots of diverse voices.

I would think China is a major contributor to Climate Change and the least likely to acknowledge it… China produces 30.6% of the globe's carbon dioxide emissions and more than twice as much carbon pollution as the United States which was the next highest emitter at 13.5%. AP 2022

This is the best. Thoughtful content, calming music, and knowledgeable host.

I listen to a number of podcasts - On The Media, Left Right

So appreciate of Jay’s work and strong curation. There’s many news outlets and platforms out there, but this podcast cuts out all the searching that I’d usually have to do. I listen to the show and know I’m getting all the information I need, plus the episode topics are super interesting. Great podcast!

With so much to listen to, it’s hard to know where to start. Jay and his team perform an invaluable service, curating the best content from across the progressive pod-universe around a carefully selected topic. The result is a podcast that’s much more than the sum of its parts. Breaks down silos, bursts info-bubbles. It’s great!

My mantra is take a listen to all different takes on a subject, news item, etc.. before coming to a conclusion. Best of the Left is a great round up, as the title of the pod says, curated by Jay. Curating is an art, like a dj culling, he culls through oodles of reporting then spotlighting the owrk of stand out journalism....real journalism. Social media should never be your solo source, albeit many sources in the feed, when you're looking to facts and perspective. It is more like a haystack of information, where you have to figure out what's opinion over actual fact. Thanks Jay and Best of the Left for doing that heavy lifting, especially in these times where time is always a challenge!

Wanted to Understand both sides, however, this isn’t really information about the democrats, this is mostly a bash the republicans type podcast! It’s says best of the left, sounds more like worst of the left. You need to do better!!!

Yikes!! So much manipulation and propaganda

A must-subscribe

Does anyone actually listen to these episodes before they’re released? Sounds like waters running everytime someone speaks. Worse than nails on a chalkboard all I hear is saliva can’t focus on content.

Tune in to find out how far “left” the market liberals are willing to venture…. And with hot clips from Neoliberal Public Radio and rAdiCaLs like Robert Reich, it’s really not far at all 😔. At least the interlude music is nice tho. 2 stars

When I feel frustrated by the political situation in this country, Best of the Left helps me adjust my attitude and gives me confidence and encouragement. Keep it coming!

This podcast takes you through all the best cuts of other podcast on a spcific topic and currates them for you in one place. Jay does an amazing job and you'll really appreciate all the work that goes into making this pod cast. I listen to a lot of podcasts. This is on the top of my listening list when it drops on Saturdays. That's when I listen to all my very favorite podcasts.

Love this podcast and also the appreciation Jay! shows for other podcasters. Well researched and drawing from multiple sources to illustrate topics and spur thought.

We are not a democracy. Please study our Constitution & The Federalist Papers. We are a Constitutional REPUBLIC. Get to know the truth.

Learning episode by episode

I’ve listened for years and have always loved this show. It has lead me to many other podcasts that I thoroughly enjoy. I’ve never left a review until now, frankly out of pure laziness, but I felt I had to because they used a quote from one of my all time favorite tv shows as a title for a bonus episode. “You want it to be one way, but it’s the other way” Marlo Stanfield (The Wire)

I listened for a year. Some shows were better than others but overall this is not a news source and is in no way relevant. As a political party outsider I like to touch upon many different sources. This one didn’t work out. Hope I check back and their better.

This can’t be taken seriously because it’s filled with far left vitriol. We can not divide from within. The progressives are a very small party of the party and 2020 proves they do not have a mandate. Center yourself and stop selling the divide.

Entertaining. This tribe lives in a arcane space with it’s own language: “micro aggressions,” “Intersectionalisms,” “selective pronouns.” Unfortunately, not even a basic understanding of economic incentives and the blessings of Constitutional freedom.

need I say more? Trump lost, but because of Trump in the first place garbage like this became popular.

Its comedy bits, scary that people actually treat the topics presented here as real things.

I am really enjoying this pod. Recently discovered it, and it is very raw at times. All in all very REAL talk. Great guests. I really feel like it gives a voice to ppl that are marginalized, oppressed, and hits hard at the truth of the matter. Thanks! Why do conservatives even bother to listen, then give negative reviews???? Seriously, get a life. Go listen to Rush, oh sorry I suppose that’s a wash. But Tucker is spewing some garbage you can undoubtedly get behind. Stop hating others that you disagree with. Grow up’

An amazing informative podcast

This podcast has initiated a new weekend habit. I put on the latest episode and head out on a 4-5 mile walk around my neighborhood. It is absolutely sublime. Thought provoking, insightful, hopeful, and enjoyable. Thank you, Jay! and Amanda! My wife and I are once again (almost) fully employed so I hope to become a $ supporter soon. Keep it up! And thank you!!! Dave in Denver

This is the best the Left has to offer😂. No wonder they had to cheat to win the election. Their policies are garbage, and no one actually believes in them, even themselves. They want to subtly destroy America because they are miserable wretches.

🤮

Best of the Left is kind of an audio Reader’s Digest collecting progressive political commentary from radio and tv programs and from other podcasts. This is a podcast that requires a time commitment as episodes are usually around 90 minutes long and they’re released frequently. On the other hand, if you’re trying to keep up on political events and seeking a variety of opinions on the issues, this podcast can save you some time. What I like about Best of the Left is that each episode is arranged around a theme – usually a current event – but in some cases a broader idea is explored such as one on propaganda called Living in an Empire of Lies.

As a disabled septuagenarian, I listen to your show and have done so since about 2004 when I was desperate to find someone who thought our attack of Iraq is criminal. I’m also a church-involved Episcopalian. So, I’m not one you seem to assume is an avid fan. But I am and I recommend you to friends. I don’t bother trying that for relatives, most of whom are significantly younger than I. I do try to send portions of the show on. And I incorporate your facts and info into my discussions. Sadly, I don’t contribute. As an assisted living dweller, I have $85 per month disposable income. Almost half of that goes to newspaper subscriptions (online). But, were I working, BOTL would be among my regular subscriptions. Personally, I suffer from ‘major depression’ and PTSD. I want to assure you that, while happinesses can often elude us, joy can be within us often.

Thanks so much for your work!

Remember in 1984 when O’Brien tells Winston Smith that if he wants to imagine a future, he should imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever? This podcast wants that, except it wants to make sure that the boot stamps on everyone equally. And for what it’s worth, I’m a leftist. Jay even played my voicemail on his show once and it ranked #1 on Google is you searched for “racism is not a two way street”.

I have been listening to this podcast for years. Excellent information.

Jay does all the work compiling good content from a broad variety of source material & organizing it into digestible themes. It saves me so much time. I still listen directly to some of the sources he pulls from, but I wouldn’t have to if I needed to reduce my media diet. This could be your one-stop podcast shop for progressive media content!

This podcast is truthful and is straight forward. I have listened to them for many years and they are magnificent.

I have listened to this podcast for at least 3 years now and am always pleased with the content. It seems that the trolls have just discovered you because wow, they are really coming for you. My grandmother always said “a hit dog makes noise” keep up the noise

Jay’s voice and pronunciations are extremely annoying. The way he ends his last word of every sentence is giving misophonia. I like hearing your ideas although I do not agree with some of them. Its very hard to find people on the left whose voices don’t annoy me. (Michael Barbarro from NYT podcast also so annoying). Amanda laughs way to much. Also very annoying. Ok now for substance: well, i don’t get why either of you thought making fun of cable news for 10 minutes was any more interesting than the cable news networks themselves. And yes, I agree 5 days of election was long and it seemed like “key alert” was every 5 seconds with nothing new to say. I really like Steve Kornacki and enjoyed all the numbers. Wasn’t confusing at all. Also, it’s painstakingly annoying to hear that you noticed that Floridians voted for 15$ minimum wage but were afraid to vote for Biden bc they feared socialism. Meanwhile he ran on increasing it to 15$ but lost Florida. The irony. I think it’s time you ditch the word socialism. It’s not popular. It’s like an anchor to a sinking ship. People like programs that help them, yes.. Making more money, yes. but they don’t want to hear socialism. Stop it. It’s not working. Presenting helpful popular programs but labeling them as socialism is political suicide. Please be open to this and take this as constructive criticism. Messaging is key. Democrats didn’t get the message right again. Didn’t stand up to “defund” police crap enough. Went on and on about health care. At the end, the people we need to convince are the ones that need money on their table. They will vote for the person that they think will provide that. I hate Trump and it’s sad so many are conned by him, but dems need to straighten their message and you’re delusional if you think socialism is the one. It’s not.

I agree with almost nothing in any episode or on any topic, but it is thoughtful and well-produced and helps me to approach people I disagree with differently and understand better the thinking from the opposing side. Thank you for the effort and skill in production and curation, as well as the responsive feedback to voicemails and listener questions.

It’s ok, I know it’s hard to accept that in supporting Trump you’re complicit in unadulterated evil, but you don’t need to confess or anything just vote for Biden & all will get better soon I promise!

I don’t dislike Joe Biden. I actually kind of feel bad for him. However, Joe Biden is a Trojan horse for socialism.

This entire podcast is a joke! They spread lies about every topic, they have no statistical data that supports their views and the only award they’ve earned is the award for being the worst podcast!

Not all white republicans and trump supports are racist.

Cuckoo cuckoo

💩

I only listen so I can combat the leftist Trump haters.

Thanks for this episode. I love that you don’t try to shove your ideas down our throats.

Great podcast for us “radical leftists” a conservative would say - radical leftist 😃