Since 2006, the multi-award winning Best of the Left Podcast has aggregated and amplified the best of leftist, progressive, and independent media. The show is a beautifully executed blend of political news, commentary, occasional comedy, and activism opportunities.
Each edition offers a deep and thoughtful dive into political themes around topics related to social justice, economics, human rights, the justice system, foreign policy, political corruption, culture shifts, environmental justice, and more, delivering a variety of stories and perspectives from an array of sources. The curated activism segments give listeners a chance to positively direct their frustrations about the issues discussed, encouraging them to make a difference and resist apathy by engaging in and changing our political system and communities for the better.
What People Are Saying:
Best of the Left Podcast has received thousands of 5-star reviews on iTunes and has been featured by major media outlets...
“A sort of ‘This American Life’ for the politically active.” - Salon
“This is essentially an intellectual mixtape for those interested in social activism.” - The A.V. Club
“This podcast will keep you engaged in social justice dialogue from a range of viewpoints.” - Mashable
“Great listening for all ideologies.” - BotL Listener, 5 star iTunes review
“It’s a truly excellent conglomeration of news that matters with the boldness to challenge its listeners to think critically about their worldview.” - BotL Listener, 5 star iTunes review
“I subscribe to over 25 podcasts and this is my go to. Love, love, love.” - BotL Listener, 5 star iTunes review
The Editor:
My name is Jay! Tomlinson, I spell it with an exclamation point like that to add a bit of excitement to my life (and it's worked!). I was born in 1983 so you can do the math from there.
I became (much more) interested in politics in 2003 during the Iraq war invasion. I began listening to Air America radio just months after it became available in my home town at that time, Sacramento, CA. Thanks to my (horrible) job as a FedEx delivery driver I developed a habit of listening to politics first on terrestrial radio (where I first found The Majority Report in 2003), then satellite radio (where I first found The Young Turks in 2004), then podcasts (once they were invented in late 2004) for around 9 hours each weekday. By the way, one of my nerdiest bragging points is that I started listening to podcasts before they were integrated into iTunes, true fact. Now, having heard so much great political commentary and news each day I found myself with an overwhelming desire to share what I had been hearing with others so I basically invented the concept of curation. This was the very first seed of the idea for what would become Best of the Left.
With zero experience editing audio or managing a website I launched Best of the Left in January 2006 at the age of 22. One of the things I am most proud of my 22-year-old self for recognizing was that I shouldn't try to be the star of the show or have my opinions front and center. I was good enough at curation but it took years to get to the point where I felt like my knowledge and insights into politics were worthy of an audience.
In 2009 the show won it's first Podcast Award in the Best Produced category. In January 2010 the show became my full-time job thanks entirely to the contributions of listeners who decided to become members to support the show. In or around 2011 I launched the voicemail line for listeners to call into the show which has come to be many people's favorite segment of each episode. In 2012 I won a second Best Produced award and also in 2012 I first launched the ongoing activism segment which has become a mainstay of the show.
With the support and contributions from listeners, we plan to keep going long into the future.
Thanks for reading, stay awesome, Jay!
(Email me: Jay [at] bestoftheleft [dot] com)
