#1677 Dems Can't Have Their Billionaires and Beat Them Too: The politics of anti-elitism
Air Date: 12-17-2024
Changing the direction of a political party doesn't happen overnight and it usually takes a major disrupting event to shake it out of its well-wore groove. The loss of the Harris campaign to Trump and the evident desperation people have for a new economics that works for people might finally be enough to put Democrats on track to a more full-throated support of economic populism.
Read more#1674 #MenToo: The Make America Male Again Election and the Media Driving the Message
Air Date: 12-3-2024
At a time when there are very legitimate concerns about men's place in society, the Manosphere has stepped in to fill the gap in the cultural discussion to give an answer, not a good answer but an answer, to young men about modern masculinity which included a strong push to vote Trump.
Read more#1671 The Non-Exclusive Impact of White Supremacy and Misogyny on the Election
Air Date: 11-20-2024
We live in a deeply racist and sexist society nearly devoid of people willing to admit to being racist or sexist. In a sense, this is a sign of progress - we're in the phase where prejudice still exists but it has become socially unacceptable to openly express it - but to deny the impact on our politics just because people don't admit to their prejudice would be to completely misunderstand the nature of the issue.
Read more#1668 We Are Going Back: Team post-election analysis
Air Date: 11-8-2024
The Best of the Left team holds a special post-election discussion available to all listeners to present the initial takes on the election as well as our own reactions and suggestions for how to move forward.
Read more#1667 Billionaires and Ballots: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Air Date: 11-5-2024
There's big money in politics, and then there's 2024. The role and influence of billionaires have taken on new shapes and patterns as the threat of fascism has made itself undeniably known. From the candidate and campaigners to those acquiescing to the mere threat of power, billionaires are everywhere you look at this election season.
Read more#1665 The GOP Is A Grift And Was Long Before Trump
Air Date: 10-29-2024
Trump has only come close to perfecting the grift of the American conservative, he certainly didn't invent the strategy. Today we look at some current and past grifts and explore why they work.
Read more#1661 Immigration is Actively Good for the Country Unless You're Racist
Air Date: 10-8-2024
Immigration dominates our politics in the worst way because one side benefits from lying about it and the other can't get their messaging together to create an effective rebuttal. Opposing immigration and stoking blatantly racist arguments doesn't just make the right bad or unsavory, it also makes them wrong on literally all of the facts.
Read more#1650 The Vibes Election Explained: Harris is up, Trump is down and Gaza will not be forgotten
Air Date: 8-23-2024
The vibes of this election are nothing anyone could have predicted a month ago. And yet, some of the details have played out as though by a script. Democrats drink hope like ambrosia from the gods, Trump when confronted with reality initiates a full-blown meltdown, and everyone is doing their best to ignore the genocide in Gaza being carried out with our weapons.
Read more#1621 How Democrats Lost Their Way On Economics And Are Starting To Find It Again
Air Date: 4-9-2024
The neoliberal legacy of the New Democrats continues to loom large but it really does seem like the progressive wing of the party and the broader demand for populist economic policies has had an impact. Now people just need to know that it's happening.
Read more#1613 Breathless Speculation: Biden's Baggage, Trump's Tyranny, Misleading Media, Courts and Criminality
Air Date: 2-23-2024
2024 is already shaping up to be even more of a disaster than expected. The causes for anxiety are many and varied, leaving many of us with questions. We generally try to avoid topics and commentaries that lean into the realm of pure speculation but today we decided to lean all the way in to answer your most pressing questions. What about Biden's support of Israel? What about his age? Should he be replaced at the Democratic Convention? How likely is Trump to do the horrible things he promises? And what about his court cases?
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