#1804 Elon Musk, the First Trillionaire, and the Broken System That Made Him

Air Date: 6/27/2026 Today we trace how one man went from receiving a $278 million government grant to becoming the world's first trillionaire who spent .025% of his wealth to get Trump elected, then used his position to slash programs that help people while stoking race riots overseas. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: 'Billionaire CRISIS': How the Country's Wealthiest Are 'bankrolling' U.S. Politics - MS NOW - Air Date 5-27-26 KP 2: We Uncovered a Hidden Wealth Transfer in the SpaceX IPO. You're Holding the Bag. - More Perfect Union - Air Date 5-27-26 KP 3: Trump DOGE Cuts Caused 600,000 Deaths This Year, Fmr. USAID Official Says - The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell - Air Date 11-24-25 KP 4: Everything Is Falling Apart and Americans Aren't Happy About It - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 6-16-26 KP 5: Elon Musk Celebrates Trillionaire Status by Stoking Racist Terrorism in Belfast! - I Doubt It Podcast - Air Date 6-14-26 KP 6: Why The Economist Hates Wealth Taxes - Garys Economics - Air Date 6-14-26 (00:57:37) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR The System That Made Musk a Trillionaire Is the Real Villain My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:15:26) SECTION A: THE TRILLIONAIRE AND WHAT HE REVEALS A1: 'Massive Loser': World Roasts First Trillionaire Elon Musk - The Rational National - Air Date 6-14-26 A2: A Trillion Dollars - Jonathan Pie - Air Date 6-14-26 A3: Trillionaire Welfare Queen - The John Fugelsang Podcast - Air Date 6-15-26 A4: "Land Grab": Trillionaire Elon Musk Sued in South Texas to Block SpaceX Takeover of Wildlife Refuge - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-16-26 (01:49:20) SECTION B: THE HUMAN COST OF CONCENTRATED POWER B1: 9.4M Lives at Risk: The Human Cost of Elon Musk's DOGE Cuts - Holy Post Media - Air Date 6-15-26 B2: Justin Wolfers on Musk, Inequality, and the Price of American Democracy - Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers - Air Date 6-13-26 B3: 'If You Can Keep It': What The Wealth Gap Means For Democracy Part 1 - 1A - Air Date 4-27-26 (02:12:31) SECTION C: THE SPACEX IPO HEIST C1: SpaceX IPO: What They're Not Telling Retail Investors - UNFTR Media - Air Date 6-9-26 C2: The First Trillionaire! - PissedMagistus - Air Date 6-14-26 (02:28:50) SECTION D: BELFAST HOW MUSK FUELS RACIAL VIOLENCE ABROAD D1: Belfast Riots: Why UK Mobs See Racial Violence as 'national Defence' | Amina Shareef | MEE Opinion - Middle East Eye - Air Date 6-18-26 D2: The Truth About the Belfast Riots | Claire Hanna Interview - PoliticsJOE Podcast - Air Date 6-10-26 D3: Major Antiracist Rally Held in Belfast to Condemn Anti-Immigrant Riots - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-15-26 D4: Elon Musk Moves Against German Broadcaster ZDF After Riot Report - DW News - Air Date 6-16-26 (03:00:30) SECTION E: THE RECKONING BILLIONAIRE RHETORIC AND THE CASE FOR TAXING WEALTH E1: Why Jeff Bezos Wants to Cut Your Taxes - Garys Economics - Air Date 5-31-26 E2: Elon Musk & America's Tech Oligarchy - The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart - Air Date 6-10-26 E3: 'If You Can Keep It': What The Wealth Gap Means For Democracy Part 2 - 1A - Air Date 4-27-26 E4: We Need a Wealth Tax on Billionaires. Here's Why | Aaron Bastani Meets Gabriel Zucman - Novara Media - Air Date 5-24-26 E5: The Hidden Danger of America's Wealth Gap - Robert Reich and Inequality Media - Air Date 6-9-26   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: 6/24/2026 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! If you've been pulling back from the news for your own sanity, this one's built for you — a quick recap and reference guide to the past month or two, organized around a single idea: when power can't earn legitimacy, it manufactures it. The performance. Spectacle, religion, and health branding standing in for real consent: Trump collecting a FIFA "peace prize," Christian nationalism worn as a costume the actual church refuses to bless, and RFK Jr. dressing up a gutted vaccine agenda as "moderate," scapegoating immigrants as he goes, while the USAID cuts run up a body count. The machinery. The infrastructure that keeps the performance going while real consent drains away underneath: a legal system bent toward self-dealing and a $1.8 billion slush fund, billionaire money rewriting the rules since Citizens United, an AI gold rush sold as inevitable before anyone voted on it, and an economy booming on paper while the ground shifts under everyone's feet. The vacuum and the reclaiming. What rushes in when legitimacy collapses, from normalized political violence to a manifesto born of that collapse — and then the democratic answer: why the rupture hasn't come, why revolutions tend to devour themselves, and why the slower work wins. Nonviolent movements draw eleven times the participation, and the ballot box the Supreme Court is fighting hardest to narrow is the same one that just turned out 78% of Hungary to remove Orbán. Full Show Notes Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! SECTION 1: THE PERFORMANCE OF LEGITIMACY (00:01:31) #1798 - FIFA Sportswashing Fascism: The World Cup from Mussolini to Trump 1: Trump Is a 'master Marketer' Symone Reacts to President Getting FIFA Peace Prize - Chris Jansing Reports - Air Date 12-5-25 2: Jules Boykoff on World Cup and Sportswashing Part 1 - CounterSpin - Air Date 5-15-26 3: Trump LOSES IT as FIFA SUFFERS MAJOR CRISIS!! Part 1 - MeidasTouch - Air Date 5-6-26 (00:23:20) #1787 - The American President vs The American Pope: Leo XIV, Trump, and the MAGA-Catholic Rift 4: Someone Tell Pete Hegseth That "Pulp Fiction" Isn't in the Bible - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 4-18-26 5: "Two Versions of Christianity": Pope Leo Calls for Peace as U.S. Uses Religion to Justify Iran War - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-1-26 6: Why America and the Vatican Have Fallen Out - TLDR News Global - Air Date 4-11-26 (00:46:03) #1794 - From MAHA to Measles: RFK's Public Health Purge Will Make America Sick Again 7: Why RFK Jr. Is Projecting a More 'Moderate' MAHA Stance - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-27-26 8: RFK Jr Goes Full Eugenics to Congress; IMMIGRANTS BRING DISEASE - Brittany Page - Air Date 4-22-26 9: As WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak a Global Health Emergency, Did USAID Cuts Worsen the Crisis - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-18-26 SECTION 2: THE MACHINERY & THE LEAK (01:13:10) #1796 - 1.8 Billion for the Mob and a Kill List for Dissent: Trump's payout fund and counterterrorism strategy, decoded 10: We Will Find You and We Will Kill You Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 5-15-26 11: Congress Strikes Back as Trump Rushes $1.8 Billion Scam - Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Air Date 5-18-26 12: Dictatorship in Action David Cay Johnston on $1.8B Slush Fund Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-20-26 (01:34:00) #1792 - Capitalist Class Warfare: AI, Billionaire Capture, and the How to Fight Back 13: The Case Against Billionaires | Chuck Collins - Washington Monthly - Air Date 1-5-26 14: How Oligarchs Hijacked America in Just 16 Year - Benaminute - Air Date 4-30-26 15: It Will Be 17 Times Worse Than the .com Crash - Upper Echelon - Air Date 5-7-26 (02:04:29) #1797 - AI Spent $540 Billion to Make You Lonelier: Betting Against Jobs, Art, and Community 16: Will SpaceX and OpenAI Starve the Market? - UNFTR Media - Air Date 5-26-26 17: Astra Taylor on AI Data Center Resistance & Fighting "Billionaire Big Tech Agenda"- Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-13-26 18: The AI Backlash Just Got VERY Public - House of El - AI - Air Date 5-24-26 (02:33:22) #1789 - Boomcession: Why the Economy Looks Great on Paper and Hurts in Real Life 19: Monday Morning Economy Politics Inflation Soars Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-13-26 20: Economic Implications of the U.S. War on Iran Part 1 - Economic Update with Richard Wolff - Air Date 4-14-26 21: These Georgia Swing Voters Do Not Like the Iran War - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-16-26 (02:58:12) #1793 - Anti-Immigrant Brutality Costs Countries More Than Their Morals: ICE, Mass Deportation, and the Global Far-Right 22: Trumps Brutal Immigration Crackdown Continues Part 1 - Velshi - Air Date 3-21-26 23: 'Buyer's Remorse' This Trump Stronghold TURNS on Massive ICE Facility Part 1 - MS Now - Air Date 4-20-26 SECTION 3: THE VACUUM & THE RECLAIMING (03:15:42) #1790 - Assassin Nation: How Political Violence Got Normalized And How To Reverse It 24: "Slow Civil War" Author Jeff Sharlet on the Growing NormalAation of Violence at Home & Abroad - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-27-26 25: The Cole Hard Truth - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 4-28-26 26: The White House Correspondents Dinner Shooting: What the "Political Violence" Framing Is Hiding - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 4-26-26 (03:42:14) #1795 - You Say You Want A Revolution: Successful Revolutions are the Boring Ones 27: Why the Epstein Files Didn't Start a Revolution - Uncivilized - Air Date 4-21-26 28: Is The US In Its French Revolution Era? - Leeja Miller - Air Date 5-13-26 29: Why Nonviolence Wins - Degenerate Art by Andrea Pitzer - Air Date 5-14-26 (04:14:56) #1791 - Jim Crow 2.0 — SCOTUS Kills the Voting Rights Act and Unleashes the Gerrymandering War 30: Louisiana Is Ground Zero for Voting Rights, Abortion Pill Access Part 1 - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 5-7-26 31: Elie Mystal Supreme Court Gutting Voting Rights Act Is About Again Making US an Apartheid State Part 1 - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 5-1-26 32: What Stacey Abrams Thinks About a Recent SCOTUS Decision and the Voting Rights Amendment Part 2 - Soundside - Air Date 5-526   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: 6–20-2026 Today we explore how political revenge became official government policy. The Department of Justice has dropped fraud cases while opening vindictive investigations into Trump's critics. Judges who rule against him face death threats at home with no federal protection and thousands of DOJ lawyers have walked out the door, leaving the agency hollowed out by loyalty tests and bent toward retribution. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: Trump Eyes Personal Lawyer to Run DOJ Part 1 - The Beat W Ari Melber - Air Date 6-4-26 KP 2: This Federal Judge Ruled Against Trump. Then the Death Threats Rolled in Part 1 - 60 Minutes - Air Date 3-1-26 KP 3: Judges Call Out Rising Acts of Violence Against the Judiciary, Slam Trump's 'irresponsible Rhetoric' - NBC News - Air Date 6-3-26 KP 4: How Low Can the DOJ Go - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 4-27-26 KP 5: Fraud on the Court Even as DOJ Drops $1.8B Settlement Fund, Judge Reopens Case Over Collusion Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-3-26 KP 6: 'The Audacity' DOJ Turns to X to Recruit as Prosecutors Flee Trump's Politicization of Department - MS Now - Air Date 2-1-26 KP 7: DOJ in Crisis - Stay Tuned with Preet - Air Date 2-10-26 (00:53:44) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Trump Built a One-Way Ratchet to Tyranny. Here's How We Break It. My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:06:27) SECTION A: A DEPARTMENT OF REVENGE A1: 'The Department of Revenge' Explores Trump's Use of DOJ to Settle Political Scores - PBS Newshour - Air Date 6-11-26 A2: This Federal Judge Ruled Against Trump. Then the Death Threats Rolled in Part 2 - 60 Minutes - Air Date 3-1-26 A3: Trump Eyes Personal Lawyer to Run DOJ Part 2 - The Beat W Ari Melber - Air Date 6-4-26 (01:25:33) SECTION B: MALICIOUS PROSECUTIONS B1: Small DoJ Energy - Opening Arguments - Air Date 2-20-26 B2: The Vindictive DOJ Part 1 - Law and Chaos - Air Date 6-4-26 B3: The Malicious Incompetence of Trump's DOJ - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 6-15-25 B4: The Vindictive DOJ Part 2 - Law and Chaos - Air Date 6-4-26 (02:00:59) SECTION C: WEAPONIZED DEPARTMENT C1: Zero Intelligence Part 1 - UnJustified - Air Date 6-7-26 C2: Fraud on the Court Even as DOJ Drops $1.8B Settlement Fund, Judge Reopens Case Over Collusion Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-3-26 C3: 35 Judges Say Trump's DOJ Committed Fraud on the Court - Opening Arguments - Air Date 6-5-26 C4: Trump Rewards Criminals with Latest Pardons - The Mary Trump Podcast - Air Date 11-11-25 C5: ICYMI Trump Pardons Top Jan. 6 Conspirators - 1A - Air Date 11-11-25 C6: Zero Intelligence Part 2 - UnJustified - Air Date 6-7-26 (02:44:07) SECTION D: HOLLOWED OUT D1: More Frustrated Prosecutors at the U.S Attorney's Office in Minnesota Call It Quits - All Things Considered - Air Date 2-5-26 D2: 2900 DOJ Lawyers SUDDENLY QUIT on Trump IN MASS EXODUS - MeidasTouch - Air Date 12-25-25   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: 6/17/2026 Today we trace a pattern that repeated across half a dozen states this primary season: working-class candidates running on the cost of living beat the opponents party leadership hand-picked and funded. It looks like ordinary election news, but it's more pieces of a larger shift already underway; away from a politics of left against right and toward a new era of the elite vs working people. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: Hayes: Trump Is Chasing Good Press with Bombs - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 6-11-26 KP 2: Bernie Sanders Just Won Them All - The Rational National - Air Date 6-10-26 KP 3: We Sat AOC Down With Republican Voters. Can She Win Them Over? - More Perfect Union and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - Air Date 6-9-26 KP 4: "Fetterman Vibes?" DSA Dem WON'T DEFEND Graham Platner - Breaking Points - Air Date 6-9-26 KP 5: Abdul El-Sayed Thinks the Michigan Senate Race Will Come Down to This One Factor - Slate and Abdul El-Sayed - Air Date 4-30-26 (00:49:39) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Counterfeit Populism Is Dying My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:05:26) SECTION A: READING THE PRIMARY MAP A1: Voters Reject the Establishment in This Week's Primaries - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 6-4-26 A2: Josh Turek, Democratic Senate Nominee, on Why Iowa Will Flip Blue - Brian Tyler Cohen News - Air Date 6-3-26 A3: The Graham Platner Debate Part 1 - Majority 54 - Air Date 6-4-26 A4: Kentucky Senate Seat Is 'most Flippable' Race, Says Democrat Charles Booker - Meet The Press NOW _ NBC News NOW - Air Date 5-19-26 A5: The Democratic Establishment Can Be Defeated - Current Affairs - Air Date 5-15-26 (01:45:20) SECTION B: THE PLATNER RECKONING B1: How Maine Democrats View Platner's Scandals and Chances to Oust Sen. Collins - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 6-9-26 B2: Graham Platner's Billionaire-Bashing Message Resonates in Maine Senate Race, Despite Controversies - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-8-26 B3: Why I Left the (White) Left - Signified B Sides - Air Date 6-2-26 B4: We Need to Talk About The Graham Platner Left (ft@noahsamsen_) - The Kavernacle and Noah Samsen - Air Date 5-27-26 B5: The Graham Platner Debate Part 2 - Majority 54 - Air Date 6-4-26 (02:30:13) SECTION C: THE TEXAS SENATE FIGHT C1: Talarico Derangement Syndrome & Calling Stephen Miller Ugly Part 1 - Head in the Office - Air Date 5-29-26 C2: Can We Win Texas? - Majority 54 - Air Date 5-28-26 C3: Talarico Derangement Syndrome & Calling Stephen Miller Ugly Part 2 - Head in the Office - Air Date 5-29-26 (02:56:11) SECTION D: DEFENDING THE VOTE & THE LONG VIEW D1: MAGA's California Fraud Lie Falls Apart Instantly - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 6-9-26 D2: Their Votes Should Count. Yours Shouldn't. That's the Whole Argument. - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 6-9-26 D3: The Election Interference Evidence No One Is Talking About - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 6-8-26 D4: The Washington Roundtable Live: The Backlash Midterms - The Political Scene | The New Yorker - Air Date 6-5-26   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: 6/12/2026 Today we examine how America caused a loneliness epidemic by tearing down the places where people used to find each other, how big tech is offering AI as a lackluster substitute for connection, and how people are building the opposite of loneliness with block parties, labor unions, and community gardens. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: How Capitalism Causes Loneliness Part 1 - Second Thought - Air Date 6-2-23 KP 2: Anthropic Discovers the Axis of Evil, and AIs Loneliness Economy - The AI Fix - Air Date 2-3-26 KP 3: The Political Economy of Love Attention, Affection, & What Capitalism Can't Buy Part 1 - Rev Left Radio - Air Date 1-19-26 KP 4: What Do We Mean by Humane Tech Part 1 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 6-4-26 KP 5: Stone Soup A Recipe for Community Organizing Marina Barnett Part 1 - TEDxWidenerUniversity - Air Date 10-24-22 KP 6: The Simple Habit for a Happier Social Life Nicholas Epley Part 1 - TEDTalks - Air Date 5-19-26 (00:49:32) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Why the Left Needs to Have More Fun to Build Real Power My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (00:59:32) SECTION A: THE LONELINESS WE LIVE IN A1: Loneliness - Capitalism's Collateral Damage - Democracy At Work - Air Date 8-29-22 A2: How Capitalism Causes Loneliness Part 2 - Second Thought - Air Date 6-2-23 A3: Loneliness - Capitalism's Collateral Damage Part 2 - Democracy At Work - Air Date 8-29-22 A4: The Political Economy of Love Attention, Affection, & What Capitalism Can't Buy Part 2 - Rev Left Radio - Air Date 1-19-26 (01:29:54) SECTION B: AI COMPANION MACHINE B1: Can AI Companionship Cure Loneliness – or Deepen It Part 1 - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 2-27-26 B2: People Are Lonelier Than Ever. Enter AI. - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 5-30-25 B3: The Dark Side of AI Companions, and the 1930s LLM - The AI Fix - Air Date 5-5-26 B4: What Do We Mean by Humane Tech Part 2 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 6-4-26 B5: Can AI Companionship Cure Loneliness – or Deepen It Part 2 - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 2-27-26 (02:18:26) SECTION C: REFRACTIONS AND REACH-OUTS C1: Gladiators, Real Housewives and the Pull of Reality TV Part 1 - Throughline - Air Date 4-30-26 C2: If Hope Is a Muscle, Then How Do I Build It Part 1 - How to Survive the End of the World - Air Date 4-10-26 C3: Gladiators, Real Housewives and the Pull of Reality TV Part 2 - Throughline - Air Date 4-30-26 C4: If Hope Is a Muscle, Then How Do I Build It Part 2 - How to Survive the End of the World - Air Date 4-10-26 C5: The Simple Habit for a Happier Social Life Nicholas Epley Part 2 - TEDTalks - Air Date 5-19-26 (02:58:25) SECTION D: BUILDING IT BACK D1: Stone Soup A Recipe for Community Organizing Marina Barnett Part 2 - TEDxWidenerUniversity - Air Date 10-24-22 D2: How People Are Combatting Loneliness with Community Connections - The Newsfeed - Air Date 5-22-26 D3: Solo How Do We Make the Left Fun Again - The Bardo Podcast - Air Date 3-10-26 D4: Being Human with Marshall Ganz Part 1 - Practical Wisdom for Leaders - Air Date 5-20-26 D5: Biko Koenig, Worker Centered Allyship & Action in the Contemporary Labor Movement (Oxford UP, 2024) Part 1 - In Conversation An OUP Podcast - Air Date 3-11-26 D6: Being Human with Marshall Ganz Part 2 - Practical Wisdom for Leaders - Air Date 5-20-26 D7: Biko Koenig, Worker Centered Allyship & Action in the Contemporary Labor Movement (Oxford UP, 2024) Part 2 - In Conversation An OUP Podcast - Air Date 3-11-26   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: 6/10/2026 Today we explore how Taiwan's own people are stuck between the US and China. Fewer and fewer of them want to rejoin China but their faith in America is sinking just as fast as Trump treats them as a bargaining chip. Their own leaders are split on how to respond. And the place that makes most of the world's advanced chips has almost no seat at the table where its future is being decided. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: Xi, Putin & Trump - Who Really Runs the World? | To the Point - DW News - Air Date 5-21-26 KP 2: Can There Ever Really Be "one China?" - Vox - Air Date 5-28-26 KP 3: How the US Is Trying to Challenge China's Critical Mineral Dominance Part 1 - The China in Africa Podcast - Air Date 5-28-26 KP 4: Why Did Trump Take Elon Musk to China? - Paul Krugman - Air Date 5-14-26 KP 5: Why This Island Could Trigger World War 3 - Johnny Harris - Air Date 12-18-25 KP 6: China Will Never Beat Taiwan, Here's Why - Maxinomics - Air Date 3-37-26 (00:53:26) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR The Stories Nations Tell Will Destroy Us_ China, Taiwan, and Trump My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:04:39) SECTION A: THE MAKING OF TAIWAN A1: The Taiwan Conflict, Explained - Ryan Chapman - Air Date 10-13-22 A2: Inside China's Plan to Take Over Taiwan "peacefully" | If You're Listening - ABC NEWS In-depth - Air Date 11-28-25 (01:24:47) SECTION B: THE MULTIPOLAR WORLDVIEW B1: China Rising Part 1: How the Unipolar World Is Ending - Beyond the Ballot Box - Air Date 2-10-26 B2: US Unipolarity Vs China's Multipolarity: Whose Vision Will Shape the New Global Order? B3: China Rising Part 2: Taiwan, Xinjiang, Sovereignty and Human Rights - Beyond the Ballot Box (01:52:00) SECTION C: TAIWAN IN THE CROSSHAIRS C1: What's Behind the Record-breaking $11 Billion US-Taiwan Arms Deal? - DW News - Air Date 12-19-25 C2: Is Taiwan Moving Away From the US? - TLDR News Global - Air Date 4-20-26 (02:09:55) SECTION D: THE SUMMIT AND ITS FALLOUT D1: Xi Warns Trump of Potential "Conflict" Over Taiwan in Beijing Summit on Iran, Trade, Tech & More - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-14-26 D2: Trump's FAILED Meeting With China's Xi Jinping Was Humiliating - Pod Save the World - Air Date 5-21-26 D3: Strait to the Abyss - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 6-2-26 D4: Xi Hosts Putin in Beijing, Cementing China-Russia Alliance After Trump's Visit - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 5-20-26 (02:39:44) SECTION E: THE RESOURCE WAR AND AFRICA E1: How the US Is Trying to Challenge China's Critical Mineral Dominance Part 2 - The China in Africa Podcast - Air Date 5-28-26 E2: Why 3 African States Said No to Taiwan - The China in Africa Podcast - Air Date 4-23-26   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: 6–5-2026 Today we explore sportswashing past and present, from fascist dictators who first weaponized the World Cup to FIFA's modern extractivism model of corrupt capitalism, and why workers, unions, and fans are now organizing to reclaim the game from those profiting off it. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: Trump Is a 'master Marketer' Symone Reacts to President Getting FIFA Peace Prize - Chris Jansing Reports - Air Date 12-5-25 KP 2: Jules Boykoff on World Cup and Sportswashing Part 1 - CounterSpin - Air Date 5-15-26 KP 3: The Fascist World Cup Part 1 - Power Plays - Air Date 5-21-26 KP 4: Exploring the Sportwashing, Greed and Corruption of the 2026 World Cup - The Blazing Musket Podcast - Air Date 5-6-26 KP 5: Trump LOSES IT as FIFA SUFFERS MAJOR CRISIS!! Part 1 - MeidasTouch - Air Date 5-6-26 KP 6: Jules Boykoff on World Cup and Sportswashing Part 2 - CounterSpin - Air Date 5-15-26 (00:45:01) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR FIFA, Trump, and the Patriotism Scam They're Running on America My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:01:55) SECTION A: TRUMP'S PLAYBOOK A1: Is This the Most Political World Cup of All Time Part 1 - The Global Story - Air Date 5-25-26 A2: As the World Cup Arrives in Seattle, so Do the Contradictions Part 1 - Soundside - Air Date 5-18-26 (01:14:02) SECTION B: FASCIST ORIGINS B1: Sportswashing Explained Part 1 - Rights & Wrongs - Air Date 5-25-26 B2: Soccers Shadow And Sunlight the Fascist History of the World Cup and 20 Years of Soccer Without Borders Part 1 - Edge of Sports - Air Date 5-28-26 B3: The Fascist World Cup Part 2 - Power Plays - Air Date 5-21-26 B4: Soccers Shadow And Sunlight the Fascist History of the World Cup and 20 Years of Soccer Without Borders Part 2 - Edge of Sports - Air Date 5-28-26 (01:55:31) SECTION C: GREED MACHINE C1: Trump LOSES IT as FIFA SUFFERS MAJOR CRISIS!! Part 2 - MeidasTouch - Air Date 5-6-26 C2: As the World Cup Arrives in Seattle, so Do the Contradictions Part 2 - Soundside - Air Date 5-18-26 C3: Exploring the Sportwashing, Greed and Corruption of the 2026 World Cup Part 2 - The Blazing Musket Podcast - Air Date 5-6-26 (02:19:47) SECTION D: PUSHBACK D1: Cuba Latest, Louisiana Primary, World Cup Travel - Up First From NPR - Air Date 5-16-26 D2: Trump Gets HIS KARMA as FIFA WORLD CUP COLLAPSES!!!! - MeidasTouch - Air Date 4-16-26 D3: Sportswashing Explained Part 2 - Rights & Wrongs - Air Date 5-25-26 D4: Is This the Most Political World Cup of All Time Part 2 - The Global Story - Air Date   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: 6–3-2026 Today we examine the AI industry's economic house of cards, the ideology Silicon Valley uses to sell a broken product, and the very real human costs being paid by workers, the lonely, and communities bulldozed for data centers nobody asked for. Direct Download Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: The AI Backlash Just Got VERY Public - House of El - AI - Air Date 5-24-26 KP 2: The AI Industry Is Losing - Better Offline - Air Date 5-26-26 KP 3: The Aesthetic Pipeline to Techno-Fascism - Alice Cappelle - Air Date 5-27-26 KP 4: Joe Rogan Accidentally Exposed AI in Four Words - Mo Bitar - Air Date 5-22-26 KP 5: How AI Companions Are Destroying Human Intimacy | Angela Ivy Leong | TEDxWest Vancouver - TEDx Talks - Air Date 1-14-26 KP 6: Astra Taylor on AI Data Center Resistance & Fighting "Billionaire Big Tech Agenda"- Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-13-26 (00:51:20) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR AI Is a Drug and We're All Self-Medicating My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:09:29) SECTION A: THE BUBBLE ECONOMICS A1: Will SpaceX and OpenAI Starve the Market? - UNFTR Media - Air Date 5-26-26 A2: Karen Hao: AI Creating a DESPERATE BASE OF WORKERS with No Full-time Employment - Channel 4 News - Air Date 5-22-26 A3: AI and Cancer: Why Superintelligence Won't Get Us to a Cure - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 4-30-26 (01:37:24) SECTION B: IDEOLOGY OF THE TECH ELITE B1: The Left Doesn't Hate Technology with Gita Jackson - Tech Won't Save Us - Air Date 3-12-26 B2: Why We Should Care About the Pope's AI Crusade - The Tech Report - Air Date 5-26-26 B3: The UK Government's AI Obsession Is a Big Risk with Will Dunn - Tech Won't Save Us - Air Date 5-14-26 B4: Maybe It's a Bad Idea To Put Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sam Altman In Charge of AI - Some More News - Air Date 5-23-26 B5: Have We Trained AI to Lie to Itself — And to Us? - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 4-16-26 (02:21:29) SECTION C: THE HUMAN COST C1: Why AI Friends Will Never Work - The Upgrade with Makai Allbert - Air Date 5-25-26 C2: Richard Dawkins Fell for a Chatbot - Steve Shives - Air Date 5-4-26 C3: She Spent 12 Years Fighting Amazon. Now She Wants to Cut the Power to AI. - For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast - Air Date 5-2-26 C4: There Is No Such Thing as AI Art ♥️ - Matt Bernstein - Air Date 5-22-26 (02:50:10) SECTION D: RESISTANCE & HOW TO FIGHT BACK D1: How to Talk About AI Risk Without Scaring People Away (With Philip Trippenbach) | For Humanity 82 - For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast - Air Date 3-28-26 D2: Why AI Doom Content Is Everywhere- Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 5-27-26 D3: How to Talk About AI Risk Without Scaring People Away (With Philip Trippenbach) | For Humanity 82 - For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast - Air Date 3-28-26 D4: Those Graduation Speakers Getting Booed Right Now - Man Carrying Thing - Air Date 5-23-26   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: 5–30-2026 Today we examine how Trump turned a sham lawsuit into a $1.8 billion reward fund for his political allies who attacked the Capitol on January 6th while implementing a counterterrorism strategy that erases right-wing extremism from the threat landscape, refocuses on left-wing violence that hardly exists and threatens to "find and kill" those they deem enemies. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche Defends New $1.8B Anti-Weaponization Fund - Trump's Terms - Air Date 5-20-26 KP 2: Congress Strikes Back as Trump Rushes $1.8 Billion Scam - Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Air Date 5-18-26 KP 3: Dictatorship in Action David Cay Johnston on $1.8B Slush Fund Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-20-26 KP 4: Some Republicans in Congress Are Standing up to Trump - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 5-22-26 KP 5: Why Jan. 6 Officers Are Suing to Stop Trump's $1.8 Billion Allies Fund - Here & Now Anytime - Air Date 5-21-26 KP 6: We Will Find You and We Will Kill You Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 5-15-26 KP 7: Daily Take Republicans Found $1.8 Billion Overnight for Trumps Thugs — So Why Are Seniors Choosing Between Food and Medicine - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 5-22-26 KP 8: Dictatorship in Action David Cay Johnston on $1.8B Slush Fund Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-20-26 (00:53:15) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Trump's $1.8B Slush Fund & the Corruption We Saw Coming My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:11:48) SECTION A: ANATOMY OF THE HEIST A1: Andrew Weissman on Trumps $1.8 Billion Settlement with Himself Part 1 - Brian Lehrer: A Daily Podcast - Air Date 5-20-26 A2: Trump's $1.8 Billion DOJ-Facilitated Taxpayer Heist; Guest Robert Weissman of Public Citizen Part 1 - The BradCast - Air Date 5-18-26 A3: McConnell RIPS Trumps Jan. 6 Slush Fund as Utterly Stupid, Morally Wrong - All In W Chris Hayes - Air Date 5-21-26 (01:34:28) SECTION B: THE BIGGER PATTERN B1: Trump's $1.8 Billion DOJ-Facilitated Taxpayer Heist; Guest Robert Weissman of Public Citizen Part 2 - The BradCast - Air Date 5-18-26 B2: Andrew Weissman on Trumps $1.8 Billion Settlement with Himself Part 2 - Brian Lehrer A Daily Podcast - Air Date 5-20-26 B3: Craven Corruption - The Practivist Pod - Air Date 5-21-26 (01:57:06) SECTION C: ENEMIES OF THE STATE C1: Sources & Methods Trump's Counterterrorism Plan Part 1 - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 5-25-26 C2: Trumps New Counterterrorism Strategy and the Spectre of Left-Wing Violence Part 1 - It Could Happen Here - Air Date 5-12-26 C3: Sources & Methods Trump's Counterterrorism Plan Part 2 - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 5-25-26 C4: We Will Find You and We Will Kill You Part 2 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 5-15-26 C5: Trumps New Counterterrorism Strategy and the Spectre of Left-Wing Violence - It Could Happen Here - Air Date 5-12-26   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: 5–26-2026 Today we examine what separates successful revolutions from failed ones, ask why so many revolutions of the 2010s fell short, understand how revolutionary energy gets neutralized, and explore the strategic case for nonviolent resistance. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] 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! TOP TAKES KP 1: What Makes a Revolution Successful? - The Inquiry - Air Date 5-16-18 KP 2: Left Behind: the Failed Revolutions of the 2010s - The Politics Show - Air Date 2-5-24 KP 3: Is The US In Its French Revolution Era? - Leeja Miller - Air Date 5-13-26 KP 4: How Progress Erases Itself - Dan Harumi - Air Date 5-18-26 KP 5: Why Nonviolence Wins - Degenerate Art by Andrea Pitzer - Air Date 5-14-26 (00:54:11) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Why the Left Keeps Losing to the Right DEEPER DIVES (01:13:12) SECTION A: ANATOMY OF FAILURE A1: Lessons From a Decade of Failed Revolutions - Front Burner - Air Date 1-2-24 A2: Why Revolutions Fail - Hello Future Me - Air Date 9-9-23 A3: How and Why Revolutions Occur - LegalKimchi - Air Date 12-12-22 A4: Difference Between a Coup and a Revolution? - Sean Munger - Air Date 1-12-21 (01:54:11) SECTION B: REVISITING THE RECORD B1: What Was the Iranian Revolution Really About? With Scott Anderson - Intelligence Squared - Air Date 11-2-25 B2: "Counter-Revolution of 1776": Was U.S. Independence War a Conservative Revolt in Favor of Slavery? - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-27-14 B3: In Defense of Che Guevara (How the Media Lies to You) - Overzealots - Air Date 1-26-25 B4: The Warriors of a Failed Revolution - Narratively Out Loud - Air Date 9-30-20 (02:32:02) SECTION C: THE CURRENT MOMENT C1: Why Fascism Fails - Then & Now - Air Date 5-18-26 C2: What Is the Relevance of the Russian Revolution Today? A Debate with Kshama Sawant & Eric Blanc - Haymarket Books Live - Air Date 9-26-22 C3: To Save The World, Stop Working - Extra Andrewism - Air Date 5-19-26 C4: Why the Epstein Files Didn't Start a Revolution - Uncivilized - Air Date 4-21-26 C5: "Forget What The Ruling Class Deems Unacceptable. Revolution Is Illegal" - Ed Mead On A Life In Struggle - Millennials Are Killing Capitalism - Air Date 5-26-22 (03:25:38) SECTION D: STRATEGY AND PRACTICE D1: How To Start A Revolution Part 1 - Andrewism - Air Date 12-7-22 D2: Revolution: A How-To Guide - Hakim - Air Date 5-29-21 D3: How To Start A Revolution Part 2 - Andrewism - Air Date 12-7-22   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]