Best of the Left Podcast

10/09/2025

Screaming.

Today on TAP: The Democratic rank and file is much more aligned with Bernie, AOC, and Zohran than it is with Chuck and Hakeem.

21/08/2025

NEW! SOLVED! #18 - "How to Live Under Fascism" in which the team discusses the strange banality (for most) of life under fascism, the "rituals of conformity" and what they could (and did) look like here, the impacts of fascism on citizen psyche and how to counter those effects, why calling out the truth at every turn is more important than ever, and advice for living under authoritarianism.

▶️ WATCH AND SUBSCRIBE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KREp4HjaVk

⭐ SOLVED! is brought to you by the podcast team. Get Best of the Left, expertly curating the best of progressive politics, news, and culture (via humans, not A.I. or algorithms) since 2006, wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/listen

💙 Become a member to get ad-free shows, and to get the audio version of SOLVED! a week earlier than the YouTube community at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/support

21/08/2025

#1730: "The Axis of the Dark Personality Triad: Unfit Leaders and the Suffering They Cause"

There's the old Douglas Adams quote stating that, "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job" -- which is a good general rule to live by. But then there are the real baddies, those would-be leaders who possess one or more of the dark triad of traits that spells real doom for the societies that elevate them to power: narcissism, psychopathy, and machiavellianism. Today, we compare and contrast Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu. (Xi Jinping also fits nicely on this list as an honorable mention, but happens to not be part of the focus today.)

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1730

🎙 EDITOR’S NOTE: On why humanity is better than we seem and how we can save ourselves

💙 Support the show & get AD-FREE main shows and an early and extended audio version of our original commentary show SOLVED! (https://www.youtube.com/), when you become a Member (monthly, annual, or gift!): bestoftheleft.com/support


Image Description: A composite image of a pleased-looking Trump holding up a triangle that says “The Dark Triad” in the center, and “Narcissism”, “Machiavellianism”, and “Psychopathy” along each side. Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Benjamin Netanyahu are pictured underneath. | Credit: “The Dark Triad” by Manitee71, Wikimedia Commons, License: CC-By-SA 4.0 | “Putin-politics-kremlin-russia” by DimitroSevastopol, Pixabay, License: Pixabay | “Xi Jinping 2019” by Palácio do Planalto, Wikimedia Commons, License: CC-BY-SA 4.0 | “31/03/2019 Jantar na Residência do Primeiro-Ministro de Israel” by Palácio do Planalto, Flickr, License: CC-BY-2.0

20/08/2025

There's A LOT going on...need to catch up? The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming.

#1729: "Monthly-ish Mix™: Layers of Authoritarian Control and the Rising Resistance"

This month, we're covering the full spectrum of authoritarian threats—military in the streets, surveillance in our phones, conspiracies in our feeds, and corruption at the top—before turning to the grassroots organizers and Democratic Socialists who are building the resistance and winning.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1729

💙 Support the show & get AD-FREE main shows, and an early and extended audio version of our original commentary YouTube show SOLVED!, when you become a Member (monthly, annual, or gift!): https://www.bestoftheleft.com/support

15/08/2025

#1728: "The Lawfare Presidency: The Case of Trump v. Journalism"

Trump has been condemning the media for all of his professional life and is pretty open about doing it so that people won't believe the negative press he so richly deserves. Now, with the power of the presidency, he's turned his battle with the press into a protection racket complete with payoffs and side deals in an attempt to turn the media into pro-Trump propaganda.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1728

🎙 EDITOR’S NOTE: On the threat of billionaires to democracy and society as a whole

💙 Support the show & get AD-FREE main shows and an early and extended audio version of our original commentary show SOLVED! (https://www.youtube.com/), when you become a Member (monthly, annual, or gift!): bestoftheleft.com/support


Image Description: Photo of Trump with a stern expression at the podium in the White House briefing room, pointing into the crowd of journalists at one with their hand up. | Credit: “White House Press Briefing” (2020) via Trump White House Archived, Flickr | License: Public Domain | Changes: Cropped

15/08/2025

#1727: "Super-Powered Men For Good and Ill: Fascism, Media, and the Manosphere"

This slate of topics may feel disjointed at first until you realize that they're not. We set out to produce an episode in which we explored powerful men, and those who look up to them, from various angles, and so that ended up including both real and fictional men from supervillains to superheroes.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1727

🎙 EDITOR’S NOTE: On why supporting the rich and powerful is pathetic

💙 Support the show & get AD-FREE main shows and an early and extended audio version of our original commentary show SOLVED! (https://www.youtube.com/), when you become a Member (monthly, annual, or gift!): bestoftheleft.com/support


Image Description: Photo of street art depicting Trump singing and Putin playing drums in a band called “The Psychos.” | Credit: “‘The Psychos’ By loretto.Street Art London.” via Loco Steve, Flickr | Changes: Cropped

15/08/2025

Did you catch the last !? Watch Ep. #17 "How to Use the Bullsh*t Machine: A.I. LLMs’ insertion into every aspect of life" in which the team discusses the impacts of A.I. large language models (ChatGPT, etc.) on society at large and how they actually work -- as well as what we mere humans can do to protect our core values while living in yet another unchecked, wild west of new tech that is not going away.

▶️ WATCH & SUBSCRIBE! https://youtu.be/Oau0bFn2tB4

⭐ SOLVED! is brought to you by the podcast team. Get Best of the Left, expertly curating the best of progressive politics, news, and culture (via humans, not A.I. or algorithms) since 2006, wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/listen

💙 Become a member to get ad-free shows, and to get the audio version of SOLVED! a week earlier than the YouTube community at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/support

14/08/2025

14/08/2025

14/08/2025

The first U.S. National Guard troops have deployed to Washington, D.C., a day after President Trump announced a federal takeover of the D.C. police force. Federal officials say some 800 National Guard troops will be deployed alongside 500 federal law enforcement agents.

On Tuesday, The Washington Post revealed the Trump administration is planning a so-called Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force composed of hundreds of National Guard troops set to rapidly deploy to other U.S. cities targeted by Trump. The force would be comprised of two groups of 300 soldiers permanently assigned to the force, stationed at military bases in Alabama and Arizona.

06/08/2025

#1726: "Epstein Forever: Trump flails as criticism finally comes from inside the MAGA house"

Who would have thought that a political movement built almost exclusively on conspiracy theories and a cult of personality would end up being threatened by the cult leader being implicated in the biggest and worst conspiracy cover-up… even though it’s been well documented for decades? **Content warning for detailed accusations leveled against Trump and Epstein by their alleged victims.**

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1726

🎙 EDITOR’S NOTE: On the role of human psychology in conspiracies and authoritarianism

💙 Support the show & get AD-FREE main shows and an early and extended audio version of our original commentary show SOLVED! (https://www.youtube.com/), when you become a Member (monthly, annual, or gift!): bestoftheleft.com/support


Image Description: Photo of a bus stop in the UK with a large photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. An unidentifiable person in a hoodie and yellow vest is closing the bus stop frame. | Credit: “Put this photo everywhere for Trump's UK visit” via Crowdfunder by user Everyone Hates Elon | Changes: Cropped