#1678 Trump's Total Dominance Over the Republican Party and the Resistance Efforts Already Underway
Air Date: 12-20-2024
There's no denying that things are about to get bad, Trump and company have had years to prepare for their next turn in office, but those preparing to resist also have the benefit of past experience resulting in a response to Trumpism that looks very different this time around.
Read more#1676 The Incompetence of Authoritarians: Trump's cabinet picks are all loyalty, no ability
Air Date: 12-13-2024
The most important thing to understand about authoritarian governance is that it is neither efficient nor competent, contrary to the myth. The problem lies with the need to hire people based on their unquestioning loyalty rather than any kind of demonstrated ability to do the jobs they're tasked with. The results are, unsurprisingly, chaos.
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#1666 The Holy War Against America: The New Apostolic Reformation, Opus Dei, Evangelicals, Christian Nationalists, and the Worship of Donald Trump
Air Date: 11-2-2024
The cult of Trump isn't just about Trump, it's religion and patriarchy reacting to a moment of global economic and climactic instability. But those organizing the religious right aren't just reacting to their environment, they've also been planning for a very long time.
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#1657 Modeling Positive Masculinity: Between Tim Walz and the Manosphere, boys are looking for guidance
Air Date: 9-24-2024
The positive dad vibes of Tim Walz came onto the national scene in the middle of an ongoing crisis of masculinity that stretches from the youngest generation to the oldest. Both positive and negative aspects of masculinity tie in with the general election, basically divided right down the partisan line, and the next generation of voters (not to mention humans) are often feeling stuck between the two with insufficient guidance from the men in their lives.
Read more#1656 How Far He Will Go: Election lies, intimidation, interference, insurrection
Air Date: 9-17-2024
It's not just the threat of the electoral college handing the presidency to the loser of the popular vote, nor the specter of a repeat of a January 6th-like event hanging over the election - there's also copious lies and disinformation including a new and improved nazi-to-Republican-talking-point-pipeline, and fresh new intimidation and voter suppression tactic experiments underway in the laboratories of democracy.
Read more
