#1757 Life is But a Game (that you can now bet on)

Air Date: 12-10-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin was out this week) discuss: Ch. 1 - Generational humor, and analysis of Gen Z's absurdist humor and the impact it's having Ch. 2 - The unexpected social side effects of NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's campaign on Gen Z volunteers Ch. 3 - The "App"stinence Movement helping people get off of social media Ch. 4 - How the peak Millennial humor mobile game "Sword and Sworcery" has evolved with the times SOLVED! Backstage: Behind the Algorithm: Elon Musk's "Grokapedia" reminding us of the "Conservapedia" of 2010s punchlines, and the co-opting of Gen Z meme humor by right wing extremists to normalize hate.   REFERENCES Gen Z Humour: What's so funny about something so unfunny? - Hayden Lim Khai Eun via Medium Inside 'Gen Z humor,' the layered and absurdist internet jokes millennials are struggling to keep up with - Business Insider A crash course in Gen Z humor - Pion We Laughed Into The Void—And It Laughed Back: Understanding Gen Z Humor - Berkeley Political Review A Little-Noted Element Propelled Mamdani's Rise: Gen Z Loneliness - The New York Times A mass exit from social media - Mashable Should you practice Appstinence? Gen Z and Gen Alpha are embracing this Harvard student movement - Fast Company 7 Reasons to Think Social Media Has Peaked The platforms have serious problems. - New York Magazine The Mysteries Of Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP - Waltorious Writes About Games Social media is dead – here's what comes next - New Scientist EXTRAS NOT SPONSORS/AFFILIATES Appstinence Brick - Device to help you manage phone use Freedom - App to help you manage device use How to make your smartphone into a dumb phone - (Modern Dumbphone)

Air Date 12/14/2025 Albert Einstein said, "Life is just like a game, first you have to learn rules of the game, and then play it better then any one else." (Or just get some insider knowledge about which team is paid off to lose and bet on the game rather than playing it, am I right?) Now, while it's well known that sports gambling has great potential to corrupt the game, I'm sure being able to bet on literally anything in life all the time right from your phone with billionaires funding persuasion campaigns to convince you to do it will probably work out fine. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: America Is Losing Big on Sports Betting Part 1 - The Gray Area with Sean Illing - Air Date 8-11-25 KP 2: The Nuzzi-Lizza Show & CNN's Prediction Play - The Powers That Be: Daily - Air Date 12-5-25 KP 3: Welcome to the Casino Economy - On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti - Air Date 11-13-25 KP 4: Is the Sports Betting Industry a Huge Mistake? - Good Work - Air Date 2-9-24 KP 5: Why The New Gambling Epidemic Should Terrify You - GEN - Air Date 11-8-25 (00:46:01) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On Best of the Left turning 20! DEEPER DIVES (00:49:22) SECTION A: GAMBLING ON EVERYTHING (01:30:27) SECTION B: THE UBIQUITY OF SPORTS BETTING (01:56:28) SECTION C: SPORTS BETTING IS BAD FOR SPORTS 02:34:14) SECTION D: GAMIFYING LIFE SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Photo of a man staring up at multiple screens showing sports betting updates, along with a live football and hockey game, above the betting counter in a Las Vegas casino. Credit: "Sports Betting at a Las Vegas Casino" by Baishampayan Ghose, Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date 12/10/2025 Dick Cheney used to be thought of as Darth Vader but did he have an end-of-life conversion back to the light side of the force? No, he was bad all along and only thought Trump was worse. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Dick Cheney Invades Hell - Colonial Outcasts - Air Date 11-4-25 KP 2: Weapons of Mass Distraction with Chris Toensing - This Is Hell! - Air Date - 3-23-23 KP 3: Obama Admin: Torture Not Illegal, Just A "Disagreement" - The Young Turks - Aired 3-27-10 KP 4: Living and Reliving the U.S. Invasion of Iraq with Rasha Al Aqeedi - This Is Hell! - Air Date 4-10-23 KP 5: Shock Corridor with Naomi Klein - Blowback - Air Date 8-19-20 KP 6: Never Forget: Lessons of the Post-9/11 Warpath - Empire Files - Air Date 10-1-21 (00:48:24) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the legacies of Dick Cheney and Darth Vader DEEPER DIVES (01:00:59) SECTION A: LEGACY (01:54:23) SECTION B: IRAQ (02:11:15) SECTION C: USING 9/11 FOR POWER & PROFIT (02:31:51) SECTION D: NO ACCOUNTABILITY SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Sidewalk graffiti stencil of Dick Cheney's face and the word "Terrorist" underneath Credit: "Terrorist" by David Drexler, Flickr | CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Slightly cropped   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Re-Air Date: 12–2-25 Unless you were a member in May of 2024, this episode of SOLVED! will be brand new to you! If you were a member back then, THANK YOU and this one is worth a re-listen. We're slowing down production for a little bit to reorganize our production processes, so enjoy this episode from our archives (and B.Y: before YouTube) where Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - How supply and demand economics is not about "distribution of goods with the greatest efficiency" and is instead about nothing more than predatory greed Ch. 2 - How what we value as humans goes far beyond the price of commodities Ch. 3 - More examples of "enshitification" as companies reach inside our homes to control things we already bought Ch. 4 - How companies are restricting functionality to extract even more from us FOLLOW US ON: YouTube (This full episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please share!) Bluesky Instagram Facebook Mastadon   REFERENCES: WELCOME TO PRICING HELL - The Atlantic The Gap Between the Price You See and What You Pay Is Getting Worse - The Wall Street Journal Welcome to the Golden Age of User Hostility - The Atlantic My Printer Is Extorting Me - The Atlantic Bought a Model Y? Tesla may charge you to use the battery's full range - Yahoo! Finance Corporate America Knows We're Miserable. Is a Toilet Bomb the Answer? - The Wall Street Journal   EXTRAS: 00:12:53 "Not everything that counts can be counted" by Billy Bragg 00:42:41 Best of the Left Ep. #1629 - "Hitting Where it Hurts in Our Era of Negative Partisanship: Messaging left-wing politics amid cultish politics" (Air Date: May 2024) 00:48:44 Best of the Left Ep. #1628 - "New Era of Antitrust for a New Era of Capitalism, Mega-Corporations and Big Tech" (Air Date: May 2024)   Join our Discord Server Reach us via Signal: Bestoftheleft.01 Leave a message at 202-999-3991   Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening!

Original Air Date: 1-23-2024 The recent discovery of hundreds of bodies buried behind a jail in unmarked graves sparks a renewed discussion about the futility and counter-productiveness of our system of incarceration and the context of our history that has brought us to this point. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Families in disbelief after hundreds of bodies found buried behind Mississippi jail - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 1-10-24 Ch. 2: The Most Infamous Jail in America - Olurinatti - Air Date 3-29-23 Ch. 3: Behind the News: The State of the Carceral State w/ Wanda Bertram - Jacobin Radio - Air Date 3-20-23 Ch. 4: Angela Davis on the argument for police and prison abolition | UpFront - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 12-17-21 Ch. 5: The Part of History You've Always Skipped | Neoslavery - Knowing Better - Air Date 4-4-22 Ch. 6: Penitence for the privileged - Beyond Prisons - Air Date 7 Ch. 7: Debunking "Norwegian Prison Reform" As Propaganda with Oakland Abolition and Solidarity - Millennials Are Killing Capitalism - Air Date 3-28-23 EDUCATE YOURSELF & SHARE 8 Ways You Can Advocate for Justice Reform in 2024 (Vera) Prison and Jail Reform (Brennan Center for Justice) Criminal Justice Reform (Equal Justice Initiative) Cutting Jail and Prison Populations (Brennan Center for Justice) SHOW IMAGE Description: Photograph of the outside of Coyote Ridge Corrections Center. Barbed wire lines the fences of the entrance in front of the dark gray cement building with tinted windows. Credit: "A sagebrush sea change from behind barbed wire" by U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Air Date 12/2/2025 If you need more evidence for just how far from rationality our politics have slid in recent decades, Zorhan Mamdani is seen by many as a radical for mostly just saying that people should be able to afford to buy the things they need to live. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Affordability & Trump: Here's How Democrats Won Big Across The Country In 2025 Elections - Forbes Breaking News - Air Date 11-6-25 KP 2: How Trump's 2024 Coalition Is Already Falling Apart - TLDR News Global - Air Date 11-12-25 KP 3: Democrats Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory (again) - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 11-11-25 KP 4: Trump's Affordability Tailspin: 50-Year Mortgages, Tariff Checks & Maybe Socialism - The Daily Show and Josh Johnson - Air Date 11-11-25 KP 5: Kurt Andersen & Josh Turek - Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast - Air Date 9-9-25 KP 6: Can Zohran's NYC Win Spark a New Era for Democratic Socialism? - UNFTR Media - Air Date 11-6-25 (00:49:49) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the path forward for the Left: Targeted Universalism DEEPER DIVES (01:07:50) SECTION A: AFFORDABILITY (01:43:42) SECTION C: DEMS CAVE (02:24:44) SECTION D: SYSTEMIC RESISTANCE TO CHANGE SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: A vibrantly colorful artistic rendering of Zohran Mamdani at a podium speaking into a microphone with his hand up. The edges appear to vibrate outwards. Credit: "Zohran Mamdani" by Taymaz Valley, Flickr | CC BY 4.0 | Changes: Expanded background with layers and smudging   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date: 11-25-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:   Ch. 1 - The extremists trying to create race-based neighborhoods all over the U.S. Ch. 2 - What we can learn from Ireland's history of sectarian violence Ch. 3 - How the Irish became white Ch. 4 - An inconvenient truth from Frederick Douglas (and some modern, mild misreadings) Ch. 5 - What you can do to fight back against white supremacists where you live BACKSTAGE! Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): Why some marginalized people cozy up to power   FOLLOW US ON: YouTube (This full episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please share!) Bluesky Instagram Facebook Mastadon Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e   REFERENCES Inside Return to the Land, a new group attempting to legalize segregation - SPLC The reality of ethnic and sectarian divisions - Irish Post Legacy of past hangs over anti-immigrant violence in Northern Ireland - Reuters The Irish Had to Ask to Be White - Medium The white man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery. - Elevate Society The Destiny of Colored Americans - Teaching American History "Missouri Is Next": Neo-Nazi Network Expanding Whites-Only Towns—Here's Where They're Looking - Kansas City Defender   TAKE ACTION: No Kings Next Steps Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY One Million Rising Trainings In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach Use the 5 Calls app for scripts and to reach all your elected officials Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 Find your Indivisible group - or start one Write to the DNC   Join our Discord Server Reach us via Signal: Bestoftheleft.01 Leave a message at 202-999-3991

Original Air Date: 6–22-2020 Today we take a look at the history of racist policing which flows seamlessly into our present racist policing which itself flows into Trump's authoritarian glee at the opportunity to consolidate violent, racist power in response to protests against violent, racist power. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) SHOW NOTES American Police - Throughline - Air Date 6-4-20 From Slavery to George Floyd: The Racist History of U.S. Policing - Democracy Now - Air Date 6-10-20 Protests Sweep Across the Globe - The Daily Show - Air Date 6-9-20 The Truth: Police Are Lynching Black Americans! W/ Dr. Jhacova Williams, PhD - Thom Hartmann - Air Date 6-10-20 Why Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Hopeful - The Ezra Klein Show - Air Date 6-4-20 Unmasking The 'Outside Agitator' - Code Switch - Air Date 6-10-20 "Looting" Concerns Distract From Bureaucratic Violence Toward Black People - Democracy Now - Air Date 6-6-20 The Man Who Teaches Our Cops To Kill - Behind the Bastards - Air Date 6-1-20 Protests Sweep Across America and Beyond - The Daily Show - Air Date 6-9-20 Systemic Exhaustion - In The Thick - Air Date 6-10-20 The Rebellion in Defense of Black Lives Is Rooted in U.S. History, so Too Is Trump's Authoritarian Rule Part 1 - Intercepted - Air Date 6-3-20 Is This Trump's Reichstag Fire Moment? - Deconstructed with Mehdi Hasan - Air Date 6-4-20 The Military Stands Up To Trump - On the Media - Air Date 6-18-20 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X

Air Date 11/25/2025 We live in a world awash with baseless conspiracy theories but that doesn't mean there are no true conspiracies, as exemplified by Jeffrey Epstein. But it bears repeating, that we didn't need the exposure of a massive conspiracy to know that Donald Trump was a sexual predator because he said as much on tape before he was elected the first time in 2016. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Trump Welcomes Murderer to White House; Congress Votes to Release 'Epstein Files' - The BradCast - Air Date 11-18-25 KP 2: How Epstein Email Politics Shifted Over The Weekend Part 1 - Brian Lehrer A Daily Podcast - Air Date 11-17-25 KP 3: 1992 Tape Of Trump And Epstein - The Day That Was - MS Now - Air Date 7-18-19 KP 4: Epstein Emails: The Inbox Of The Rich & Heinous Part 1 - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 11-18-25 KP 5: 16 Women and Donald Trump • Trump's History of Sexual Assault - Brave New Films - Air Date 11-15-17 KP 6: Epstein's Arms Deal And Intelligence Connections With Israel W Murtaza Hussain Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Date 11-18-25 KP 7: Jeffrey Epstein and the American Empire with Van Jackson Part 1 - The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer - Air Date 11-16-25 (00:50:50) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the conspiracy of wealth and power DEEPER DIVES (00:57:28) SECTION A: INBOX FALLOUT (01:45:02) SECTION B: EPSTEIN WORLDWIDE (02:18:32) SECTION C: PREDATOR-IN-CHIEF SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Screen shot of a recently released email from Jeffery Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell with a line highlighted that says "I want you to realize that the dog that hasn't barked is trump…[VICTIM] spent ours at my house with him,, he has never once been mentioned." Credit: Internal composite design. Screen shot of email from files released by U.S. House Oversight Committee.   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X

Re-Air Date: 11–18-25 Unless you were a member in December of 2024, this episode of SOLVED! will be brand new to you! If you were a member back then, THANK YOU and this one is worth a re-listen. We're slowing down production for a little bit to reorganize our production processes, so enjoy this episode from our archives (and B.Y: before YouTube) where Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:   Ch. 1 - The political origins of SimCity and how capitalism warps our choices Ch. 2 - A new video game offering a very different vision of societal management Ch. 3 - Naomi Klein's insights on the Left's missteps responding to the Mirror World Ch. 4 - Applying cynicism and skepticism in moderation   FOLLOW US ON: YouTube (This full episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please share!) Bluesky Instagram Facebook Mastadon Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e   REFERENCES: SimCity Isn't a Model of Reality. It's a Libertarian Toy Land - Wired Build-a-Brrr - The Baffler Naomi Klein on her doppelganger (and yours) - Vox Be Like Claud Cockburn: Tell Truths to the Masses - Counter Punch   TAKE ACTION: No Kings Next Steps Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY - Tell Congress to stand down the federal escalation One Million Rising Trainings In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach Use the 5 Calls app for scripts and to reach all your elected officials Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 Find your Indivisible group - or start one Write to the DNC   Join our Discord Server Reach us via Signal: Bestoftheleft.01 Leave a message at 202-999-3991   Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Contact me directly at [email protected] Review the show on Apple Podcasts!