#1735 Trump's Making Friends of Enemies and Enemies of Neighbors (Foreign and Domestic Wars)

Air Date 9/11/2025 I've always learned the high-level understanding that the Nazis were partly able to come to power because the opposition at the time was too caught up with infighting to create a coherent resistance. With hindsight, it's easy to lament how badly they miscalculated the circumstances but living through the modern day and watching the Democratic Party struggle gives even more clarity to how that kind of inability to get organized in the face of existential threats to democracy can happen. 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: Where Is the Party?: Time for Democratic Leaders to ‘Fight with Both Hands’ or ‘Step Aside’ - Velshi - Air Date 8-30-25 KP 2: This Guy, This Line - The Rational National - Air Date 9-2-25 KP 3: How Elites Destroyed the Democratic Party in the US and Fuelled Populism | The Bottom Line - Al Jazeera English -Air Date 8-31-25 KP 4: Desperate Kyle Begs and Pleads With Democrats - The Kyle Kulinski Show - Air Date 8-28-25 KP 5: Ritchie Torres Talks Zionism, LGBT, The Bronx - The Adam Friedland Show - Air Date 8-27-25 KP 6: Journalist Exposes Dark Money on the Left - UNFTR Media - Air Date 8-30-25 (00:50:07) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the murder of Charlie Kirk DEEPER DIVES (01:04:12) SECTION A: DARK MONEY AND THE INFLUENCER WAR (02:01:36) SECTION B: AIPAC, ISRAEL, AND COMPLICITY (02:46:14) SECTION C: MOSTLY WEAK BUT SIGNS OF LIFE SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: A graphic illustration depicting a donkey colored in red and blue, with stars, looking in shock at its shadow on the ground. Credit: “Democratic Donkey Vector and Icon” by Vectorportal.com | CC BY 4.0   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 9/7/2025 Trump has been setting a new tone both at home and abroad which is shaking up everything from the war in Ukraine to threats of force against Mexico, Venezuela, and our own American cities with the militarization of domestic policing. And we made all of this before Trump posted an Apocalypse Now meme about using the Department of War against Chicago. 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 KEY POINTS KP 1: NATO Lost in Ukraine and the West Is In Denial, W Vijay Prashad Part 1 - BreakThrough News - Air Date 8-20-25 KP 2: What Ukraine Is Fighting For Denys Pilash - The Majority Report W Sam Seder - Air Date 8-24-25 KP 3: Putins Puppet Show Trump Tangled in the Strings Part 1 - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 8-19-25 KP 4: Why Are US Warships Going to Venezuela Part 1 - The Take - Air Date 8-28-25 KP 5: The Dramatic Overhaul Of The Justice Dept. Part 1 - Fresh Air - Air Date 8-20-25 KP 6: Wall Streets Big Admission on Ukraine, Trump's DC Takeover, and How a General Strike Could Happen Part 1 - The Socialist Program W Brian Becker - Air Date 8-28-25 KP 7: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Tells Trump to Stay Out; Decries Authoritarianism, War on Poor People Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-15-25 KP 8: Trumps National Guard Strategy—Plus, the Secret Behind Huck Finn - Start Making Sense - Air Date 8-27-25 (00:56:33) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On encroaching fascism and the Boston Massacre DEEPER DIVES (01:07:01) SECTION A: UKRAINE A1: Normalizing Militarization Part 1 - Main Justice - Air Date 8-27-25 A2: Putin's Puppet Show Trump Tangled in the Strings Part 2 - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 8-19-25 A3: Russia Expert Katrina Vanden Heuvel on Trump Summits with Putin, Zelensky Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-18-25 A4: Wall Streets Big Admission on Ukraine, Trump's DC Takeover, and How a General Strike Could Happen Part 2 - The Socialist Program W Brian Becker - Air Date 8-28-25 A5: NATO Lost in Ukraine and the West Is In Denial, W Vijay Prashad Part 2 - BreakThrough News - Air Date 8-20-25 A6: Russia Expert Katrina Vanden Heuvel on Trump Summits with Putin, Zelensky Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-18-25 (01:47:03) SECTION B: MEXICO & VENEZUELA B1: Trump Admin Prepares to Attack Mexico - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 8-22-25 B2: Is Trump Fading - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 8-22-25 B3: Mexico Rejects Trumps Call for US Military Intervention to Fight Drug Cartels - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 8-26-25 B4: Why Are US Warships Going to Venezuela Part 2 - The Take - Air Date 8-28-25 (02:11:53) SECTION C: THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT C1: The Dramatic Overhaul Of The Justice Dept. Part 2 - Fresh Air - Air Date 8-20-25 C2: Capehart and Ponnuru on the FBI's Raid on Trump Critic John Bolton - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 8-22-25 C3: Weekly Roundup God and the Military in DC + Nazi-Loving Economist Takes Over Jobs Data Part 1 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 8-15-25 (02:37:10) SECTION D: DC AND US CITIES D1: National Guard Troops In Washington Begin Carrying Weapons Part 1 - HasanAbi - Air Date 8-25-25 D2: Normalizing Militarization Part 2 - Main Justice - Air Date 8-27-25 D3: Weekly Roundup God and the Military in DC + Nazi-Loving Economist Takes Over Jobs Data Part 2 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 8-15-25 D4: Bonus Episode Trump Is Dying. Military Occupation Is Happening. What's Next? Part 1 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 8-28-25 D5: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Tells Trump to Stay Out; Decries Authoritarianism, War on Poor People Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-15-25 D6: National Guard Troops In Washington Begin Carrying Weapons Part 2 - HasanAbi - Air Date 8-25-25 D7: Bonus Episode Trump Is Dying. Military Occupation Is Happening. What's Next? Part 2 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 8-28-25 D8: Joy Reid Trump Is Trying to Turn the US Into Apartheid South Africa - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 8-15-25 SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: A sticker depicting a drawing of a police person in full riot gear, gas mask and visor, holding a baton in their hands with a banner underneath that says “Do you feel safe?” Credit: “06a.PeoplesPowerAssembly.BaltimoreMD.8March2017” by Elvert Barnes | CC BY 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: 9–3-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - The surprising origins of Gerrymandering Ch. 2 - The options we have to improve congressional representation for everyone in the country Ch. 3 - Democratic states response to Republican gerrymandering threats Ch. 4 - The argument for DC statehood and the people to blame for why it hasn’t happened yet Ch. 5 - How to end homelessness and what you can do to help those being targeted in DC SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm: The only correct opinion about the Cracker Barrel rebrand YouTube (This episode drops on YouTube on Friday - please share!) Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e REFERENCES: Elbridge Gerry and the Original Gerrymander - The Gilder Lehrman Institute Drawing the Line (“Ratf**cked”: The Innfluence of Redistricting) - The New Yorker (2016) History of Single Member Districts for Congress: Seeking Fair Representation Before PR - FairVote Gavin Newsom’s Retaliatory Redistricting Plan Is Good, Actually - The New Republic How Democrats Should Actually Respond to Republicans’ Attempts to Rig Voting Maps - Slate How Moderate Senate Democrats Enabled Trump’s D.C. Takeover - The American Prospect Trump’s Homelessness Crackdown Has Been Tried Before. It Didn’t Work. - Mother Jones MEMBERS The New Cracker Barrel Logo Sucks And So Does The Mess Around It - Kotaku EXTRAS Congress literally doesn’t care what you think (aka: Corruption is Legal in America) (Represent.US, 2016) Is illegal immigration really a democratic plot to sway congressional apportionment? Americans worry democracy in danger amid gerrymandering fights, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Air Date: 6–20-2023 Today, we take a look at the story of how neoliberalism was born, how corporations were organized to help push it into the mainstream, and how the courts were reshaped to permanently tilt the rules in favor of corporate 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!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Chile, Neoliberalism and the CIA - AJ+ - Air Date 11-29-19 Ch. 2: The Powell Memo. Corporate America's Call to Arms. - Unf*cking The Republic - Air Date 2-9-23 Ch. 3: How the Corporate Takeover of American Politics Began - Robert Reich - Air Date 12-13-22 Ch. 4: Greed Is Rotting America From The Inside Out - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 7-29-22 Ch. 5: Economic False Prophets Part 1 - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 6-10-23 Ch. 6: What has Greed Cost America - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 10-28-14 Ch. 7: Economic False Prophets Part 2 - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 6-10-23 Ch. 8: Wall Street's ESG Scam EXPLAINED - Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar - Air Date 6-16-22 Ch. 9: Anti-Capitalist Investing Is... Absurd — Jen Pan - Jacobin - Air Date 6-11-22 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X  

Air Date 9/1/2025 The way people consume almost every variety of media, entertainment, and art is different now than it was only 10-15 years ago. That means that the way protest music, revolutionary art, and even mass market productions and performances are going to be different, feel different, and likely find you in different ways than in the past. But the drive to create never dies and art will always be part of the resistance to oppression. 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 (00:49:08) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the strength of diversity that comes through in art DEEPER DIVES (00:56:08) SECTION A: CULTURE (01:29:28) SECTION B: ART (02:20:20) SECTION C: MUSIC (02:46:54) SECTION D: ANDOR SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Photo of street art depicting a stenciled version of Putin and Trump kissing a la the art on the Berlin Wall satirically depicting the “fraternal kiss” between the leaders of the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic. Credit: “Hamburg 2020” by Ittmust | CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Slightly cropped

Air Date: 8–28-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - How scientific empires fall Ch. 2 - How fascists of the past have destroyed their country’s scientific progress in fear of inconvenient truths Ch. 3 - How other countries are taking the opportunity to poach American scientists Ch. 4 - Living in a society that is shifting away from believing in evidence based science Ch. 5 - The 1938 pro-science manifesto that defended democracy against fascism BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm - Trump’s eugenicist mindset and what we didn’t have time for from our main articles   FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube (This episode drops on YouTube on Friday - please share!) Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e   REFERENCES: AOL Dial-Up Ending Reminds Us That All Empires Collapse Eventually - Kotaku Every Scientific Empire Comes to an End - The Atlantic What’s Behind the Rejection of Science? - American Laboratory Attacks on the U.S. Innovation Ecosystem Are an Attack on a Wellspring of American Prosperity - American Progress The World Is Wooing U.S. Researchers Shunned by Trump - NY Times Science Caught in a Rip Tide: How Authoritarianism Sweeps Away Evidence-Based Policy - USC.org This 1938 pro-science manifesto defended democracy against fascism - Big Think   MEMBERS ONLY Attacks on the U.S. Innovation Ecosystem Are an Attack on a Wellspring of American Prosperity - American Progress   TAKE ACTION: 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

Air Date 8/27/2025 RFK Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement aren't completely wrong about everything, they often identify the larger structural problems with the US health industrial complex even if their proposed solutions are wildly off the mark. But the problem they failed to see coming when partnering with Trump and the Republicans is that they're only going to be allowed to misguidedly defund and dismantle parts of the government that support health which is in line with the broader burn-it-all-down vibes of the MAGA movement, but under no circumstances will they be allowed to implement new regulations that might actually do the public some good at the expense of corporate interests because that would go against the pro-corporate/deregulation obsession of the Republican Party. So, MAHA might be a mixed bag but what the country is getting is a lose/lose. 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: RFK Jr. Is Putting American Lives At Risk Part 1 - What A Day - Air Date 8-8-25 KP 2: What the Wellness Industry Doesn't Want You to Know Part 1 - More Perfect Union - Air Date 8-4-25 KP 3: Aryn Melton Backus of 'Fired But Fighting' on RFK's War on Public Health Part 1 - The BradCast - Air Date 8-11-25 KP 4: Despite 'MAHA' Fuss, Truth of Trump Admin's Health Priorities Seen in Drastic Cuts - The Briefing - Air Date 5-23-25 KP 5: The Nutrition Lies We All Fell For Part 1 - Rich Roll - Air Date 8-11-25 KP 6: Dr. Mikes Fight to Save Medicine From RFK Jr. Part 1 - Bulwark Takes - Air Date 8-4-24 KP 7: You're on Your Own MAHA Dismantles Public Health Rob Wallace & Rita Valenti Part 1 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 8-7-25 (00:53:06) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On why regulations are written in blood DEEPER DIVES (01:01:33) SECTION A: MAHA AGENDA A1: Kennedy's MAHA Report Targets Vaccines, Food Supply and Prescription Drugs - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 5-22-25 A2: Raul Ruiz Absolutely Hammers RFK Jr. Over MAHA Report 'That's Lying And Dishonest' - Forbes Breaking News - Air Date 6-24-25 A3: 270 Kennedy's Bloodbath Part 1 - Conspirituality - Air Date 8-14-25 A4: RFK Jr.'s New Vaccine Advisors Signal Big Changes to Come - Short Wave - Air Date 6-30-25 A5: RFK Jr. Is Putting American Lives At Risk Part 2 - What A Day - Air Date 8-8-25 A6: 270 Kennedy's Bloodbath Part 2 - Conspirituality - Air Date 8-14-25 A7: You're on Your Own MAHA Dismantles Public Health Rob Wallace & Rita Valenti Part 2 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 8-7-25 (01:53:49) SECTION B: THE GRIFTERS B1: What the Wellness Industry Doesn't Want You to Know Part 2 - More Perfect Union - Air Date 8-4-25 B2: Make America Healthy Again Part 1 - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - Air Date 8-18-25 B3: The Nutrition Lies We All Fell For Part 2 - Rich Roll - Air Date 8-11-25 B4: Dr. Mikes Fight to Save Medicine From RFK Jr. Part 2 - Bulwark Takes - Air Date 8-4-24 B5: Make America Healthy Again Part 2 - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - Air Date 8-18-25 (02:36:28) SECTION C: CON-TRADICTORY POLICIES C1: The Nutrition Lies We All Fell For Part 3 - Rich Roll - Air Date 8-11-25 C2: 4 Ways SNAP Benefits Will Change After Trump's Big Policy Act - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 8-9-25 C3: Aryn Melton Backus of 'Fired But Fighting' on RFK's War on Public Health Part 2 - The BradCast - Air Date 8-11-25 C4: Ending Corporate Harm Undue Influence Within Corporate Product Health and Safety with Dr. Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH - Cult Conversations The Influence Continuum - Air Date 7-28-25 SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Composite image showing a circular screen grab showing from HHS Secretary RFK Jr. wearing the MAHA hat and pulling down the brim to show the “Make America Healthy Again” text, on a green background. Credit: Composite design by A. Hoffman. Image Source: HHS “Netzpolitik Demonstration for press freedom in Berlin” by Sebaso, Wikimedia Commons | License: CC BY-SA 4.0 | 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 8/24/2025 The nature of politics and public policy is that there's always a need to balance opposing interests. Almost nowhere is there a more intractable set of opposing interests than in the attempt to protect children from harmful content on the internet while maintaining free access to adults, particularly because people wildly disagree about what qualifies as harmful and what degree of privacy invasion is an acceptable tradeoff. 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: Age Verification Will Kill Free Speech Online - Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 6-6-25 KP 2: Can the UK Child-proof the Internet? - Front Burner - Air Date 7-31-25 KP 3: Social Media Is Making Us Self-Censor - The Bitchuation Room (with Francesca Fiorentini) - Air Date 8-14-25 KP 4: Republicans Want to Redefine 'Obscenity' - Here's Why That Should TERRIFY You - What A Day - Air Day 5-17-25 KP 5: Meet the Creepy Pro-Trump Billionaire Profiting Off of Internet Censorship - The Humanist Report - Air Date 8-7-25 KP 6: Freedom to Connect: Aaron Swartz (1986-2013) on Victory To Save Open Internet, Fight Online Censors - Democracy Now! - Air Date 1-14-13 (00:46:37) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the need to demand serious arguments about serious issues DEEPER DIVES (00:52:04) SECTION A: AGE VERIFICATION (01:19:18) SECTION B: SAVE THE CHILDREN (01:45:50) SECTION C: CENSORSHIP (02:20:34) SECTION D: ANTI-PORN AGENDA   SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Photo of a stack of protest signs that say “Fight for your digital rights!” Credit: “Netzpolitik Demonstration for press freedom in Berlin” by Sebaso, Wikimedia Commons | License: CC BY-SA 4.0 | Changes: Cropped   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date 8/20/2025 There's been a faction of conservatives who have been trying to instill king-like powers into the presidency for a long time, so it shouldn't be surprising that Trump is getting so much help from the packed court and the apparatchiks in the states who are more than happy to turn their precious federalism on its head as long as their king is in charge. 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: Justifying Democracy w/ Osita Nwanevu - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-11-25 KP 2: Texas Hold Dems - Today, Explained - Air Date 8-7-25 KP 3: Fighting Fire with Fire with Texas Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez - The Practivist Pod - Air Date 8-7-25 KP 4: Bruce Bueno De Mesquita The Five Rules of Power Politics - Big Think - Air Date 5-13-12 KP 5: When Unaccountable People Come for Your Vote - Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 7-26-25 KP 6: Executive Lawlessness w/ Leah Litman on the Supreme Court Enabling Presidential Overreach Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 7-18-25 KP 7: Leah Litman on the Grievance and Conspiracy Theories That Run SCOTUS Part 1 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 8-11-25 (00:50:56) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On how fascists run interference DEEPER DIVES (01:03:07) SECTION A: GRIFT AND FORCE A1: Trump's Presidential Library Grift. Plus, the Hacker Behind the NYTs Mamdani Story. - On the Media - Air Date 7-25-25 A2: Trump Threatens National Guard Deployment to DC - DSR Daily - Air Date 8-11-25 A3: Loyalty Over Competence At Trump's Justice Department - What A Day - Air Date 7-31-25 A4: Trump Deploys National Guard - HasanAbi - Air Date 8-14-25 A5: Trump Press Secs Weird Fawning Rant Goes Awry as Poll Slide Worsens - THE DAILY BLAST - Air Date 8-1-25 A6: U.S. Profoundly Changed by Authoritarian Leader; 'We're Beyond Waiting and Seeing Now' - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 8-4-25 A7: How Today's Tensions Mirror Pre-Civil War America - Why, America? with Leeja Miller - Air Date 8-8-25 (02:00:53) SECTION B: GERRYMANDERING B1: Republicans Ramp Redistricting Fight up to a 10 - No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Air Date 8-10-25 B2: Fighting Fire with Fire with Texas Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez Part 2 - The Practivist Pod - Air Date 8-7-25 B3: TEXAS HOLD DEMS Part 2 - Today, Explained - Air Date 8-7-25 B4: Republicans Ramp Redistricting Fight up to a 10 Part 2 - No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Air Date 8-10-25 B5: U.S. Profoundly Changed by Authoritarian Leader; 'We're Beyond Waiting and Seeing Now' Part 2 - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 8-4-25 B6: Justifying Democracy w/ Osita Nwanevu Part 2 - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-11-25 B7: How Today's Tensions Mirror Pre-Civil War America Part 2 - Why, America? with Leeja Miller - Air Date 8-8-25 (02:52:39) SECTION C: COURTS C1: Stacking the Bench with Creeps and Kooks - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 8-4-25 C2: Leah Litman on the Grievance and Conspiracy Theories That Run SCOTUS Part 2 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 8-11-25 C3: When Unaccountable People Come for Your Vote Part 2 - Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 7-26-25 C4: Stacking the Bench with Creeps and Kooks Part 2 - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 8-4-25 C5: Executive Lawlessness w/ Leah Litman on the Supreme Court Enabling Presidential Overreach Part 2 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 7-18-25 SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Image of a king of diamonds playing card with a king with orange skin and blonde hair, and a nervous expression on his face, against a dark American flag. Credit: “king-card-casino-diamond” via Pixabay | Pixabay License   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: 8–19-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch.1 - The Trump administration’s unprecedented attempts to get your data from the states Ch. 2 - Why Trump’s new private health tracking system is a wolf in sheep’s clothing Ch. 3 - How HIV patients suffering in the 80s, 90s and early 00s from constant health data breaches is a hint of what could come Ch. 4 - Why a new UK law trying to protect children from seeing terrible things online is doing more harm than good Ch. 5 - Tips on keeping your digital privacy intact as best as you can in this data hungry world BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only): How an activist organization used debanking to make video game companies censor their content, where that tactic might lead, and more. A funny thing happened on the way to recording… (blooper)   FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube (This episode drops on YouTube on Friday - please share!) Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e   REFERENCES: States Have More Data About You Than the Feds Do. Trump Wants to See It. - NY Times Trump Announces Plan to Launch Private Health Tracking System With Big Tech Firms - Time HIV & Civil Rights: A Report from the Frontlines of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic - ACLU Blocking Access to Harmful Content Will Not Protect Children Online, No Matter How Many Times UK Politicians Say So - EFF 'A disaster waiting to happen' — Cybersecurity experts react to UK age verification law - Toms Guide UK Age Verification Laws: How to Comply & Stay Safe in 2025 - WizCase MEMBERS ONLY Steam and Itch.io Are Pulling ‘Porn’ Games. Critics Say It’s a Slippery Slope to More Censorship - Wired     EXTRAS SOLVED! #7 - The Deficiency of Efficiency: Why govt is inefficient BY DESIGN, & more - SOLVED! (Recorded April 2025) All 2025 Health Information Data Breaches (Source: HHS.gov) 2025 Data Breach (Account info for Apple, Facebook, Google, GitHub, Telegram, and government platforms)     TAKE ACTION: 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