#1629 Hitting Where it Hurts in Our Era of Negative Partisanship: Messaging left-wing politics amid cultish politics

Air Date 6/14/2024 We're in the middle of Supreme Court opinion season, which is not going well for non-extreme conservatives in the country, at the same time as scandal, corruption, and justices Thomas and Alito's refusal to recuse in the face of clear bias is reaching a modern peak. Call or text 202-999-3991 or email [email protected] Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS 1: Opinionpalooza A Bad June Rising At SCOTUS Part 1 - Amicus 2: How The Mifepristone Case Reached SCOTUS - Amicus 3: Way Too Close Insane SCOTUS Case Could've Sunk The Country w Mark Joseph Stern - The Majority Report 4: Fact-Checking the Supreme Court - 99% Invisible 5: The IVF Decision We Should Have Seen Coming - Amicus 6: SCOTUS Flag Neighbor Exposes Alito’s BS Story- The Majority Report 7: Delegitimize The Court - Contempt of Court (1:03:35) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On some of Alito's finer absurdity Articles: Alito says the Supreme Court’s fake ethics code allows him to be unethical The Republican Party's man inside the Supreme Court The Supreme Court's new voting rights decision is a love letter to gerrymandering DEEPER DIVES (1:14:19) SECTION A: DO FACTS MATTER? (1:45:47) SECTION B: POLICING MEDICAL CARE (2:15:48) SECTION C: THE REPUBLICAN COURT WE’VE ALL WAITED FOR (2:42:24) SECTION D: SCOTUS IS A FLAWED SYSTEM Description: Photo of the U.S. Supreme Court building with an ominous red filter. An image of golden, uneven scales of justice sits on top. Credit: Composite design by A. Hoffman. / Photo: “The Supreme Court” by Glenn Beltz, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Overlaid with red and imagery as part of composite. / Illustration: “Uneven scales of justice” via TheDigitalArtist, Pixabay.

Air Date 6/11/2024 Democracies don't break all of a sudden in a moment of crisis, they fail slowly over time and only by knowing the warning signs and responding effectively to the threat before it's too late can the worst be averted. Call or text at 202-999-3991, email [email protected] Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS 1: Why and Where is Democracy in Decline? - TLDR News 2: Is Democracy Under Threat? - Tufts University 3: The decline of American democracy won't be televised - Vox 4: How Republicans are fueling Russia and China_s global effort to undermine democracy - Velshi 5: How Republican Attorneys General are Undermining Voting Rights - Democracy Docket 6: Democracy vs. Autocracy: An Unproductive Dichotomy - Marxist Project 7: When Democracy Breaks: Final Thoughts with Archon Fung, David Moss and Arne Westad - Democracy Paradox 8: Protecting Voting Rights with Eric Holder - Why Is This Happening? 9: Rich Logis Escaped the Trump - MAGA Cult -- Heed His Warnings About Its Power and Extreme Danger to America - Chauncey DeVega Show 10: "The President of Forgetting" - Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good (1:03:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Those who defend authoritarians against criticism during D-Day commemoration Conservatives Angry at Biden’s Anti-Nazi D-Day Speech Fighting Trump on the Beaches DEEPER DIVES (1:09:52) SECTION A: DISSECTION OF DEMOCRACY (1:31:56) SECTION B: INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRACY (2:09:54) SECTION C: THE CULT OF TRUMP (2:36:47) SECTION D: DEMOCRACY IN ACTION IMAGE: Description: Black and white photo of a person holding a homemade sign that says “Fighting for Democracy” Credit: “For Democracy” by Alisdare Hickson, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Change: Cropped

Air Date: 06-09-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - how focusing on the "politics" of an event trivializes the impact that event has on real people - the detrimental effects combining the daily news grind and the prioritization of profits forces has on news coverage - how keeping news coverage light and ignoring the effects of neoliberalism leaves desperate people vulnerable to fascism - the way history is repeating itself when it comes to news media not treating a demagogue's rhetoric as the emergency it is - the difference between symbolic beliefs vs factual beliefs REFERENCES: Why Americans Hate the Media The Media Still Doesn’t Grasp the Danger of Trump Don’t Believe What They’re Telling You About Misinformation   Join our Discord Server Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft  Contact me directly at [email protected]  Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Air Date 6/7/2024 Banning abortion is wildly unpopular and also one of the primary motivators for the group most strongly supporting the Republican Party and Donald Trump, the Christian Right, which has transformed both the party and politicians into extremists made in their own image, threatening the lives and health of millions and sacrificing democracy in the process. Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email [email protected] Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS 1: Abortion and Reproductive Rights - Lectures in History 2: Abortion and the erosion of privacy - The Weeds 3: Digital surveillance and reproductive rights - Technically Optimistic 4: Anti-abortion hardliners want restrictions to go farther. It could cost Republicans - Consider This 5: Abortion and Reproductive Rights Part 2 - Lectures in History 6: Rakeen Mabud on Greedflation, Rachel K. Jones on Mifepristone - CounterSpin 7: Abortion and the erosion of privacy Part 2 - The Weeds 8: Digital surveillance and reproductive rights Part 2 - Technically Optimistic (57:00) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the abuse produced by abortion restrictions DEEPER DIVES (1:02:40) SECTION A: CRIMINALIZING ABORTION (1:21:07) SECTION B: ABORTION EXTREMISM OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY (1:36:40) SECTION C: ABORTION IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM (1:53:45) SECTION D: WHAT IS THERE TO DO? SHOW IMAGE:  Description: A person dressed in a red cape and white conical bonnet with a red sash over their nose and mouth (referencing the Handmaid's Tale) stands outside the U.S. Supreme Court at dusk holding a cardboard sign with the words "This is NOT fiction." Credit: Photo by Tyler Merbler, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

Air Date 6/4/2024 The problems that arise within the systems of sports are the same problems we all face everywhere which makes them a good lens through which to understand the mechanisms of broader society. Fair pay, both journalism and addictive games functioning under capitalism, and benefits for billionaires all resonate far beyond the bounds of the players, owners and fans of sports clubs. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email [email protected] Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Pay for Play Part 1 - University of Iowa KP 2: What the historic $2.8 billion settlement to pay NCAA players means for college sports - PBS NewsHour KP 3: Pay for Play Part 2 - University of Iowa KP 4: Sports Media has changed forever. - Brett Kollmann KP 5: Dan Le Batard Tells Stephen A. Smith He Hates What He and Skip Bayless Did to Sports Media - LeBatardShow KP 6: Report Finds That Sports Owners Use Their Teams To Avoid Millions In Taxes - MSNBC Reports KP 7: The Sports Stadium Scam - Robert Reich KP 8: The gambling problem in sports - The Current (1:01:43) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the value of sports to building community DEEPER DIVES (1:06:18) SECTION A: PAY FOR PLAY A1: Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger: What NCAA Suit Settlement Means for Paying Players - The Rich Eisen Show A2: "Amateurism Is Dead" - The Rich Eisen Show A3: Pay for Play Part 3 - University of Iowa (1:23:57) SECTION B: STADIUMS, OUR GREAT FOLLY (1:40:18) SECTION C: SPORTS JOURNALISM (1:59:15) SECTION D: SPORTS GAMBLING SEE FULL SHOW NOTES   SHOW IMAGE:  Description: A grocery store display of Coca-Cola soft drinks stacked in the shape of a basketball and “NCAA!”. Credit: “Coca Cola NCAA Cases Display” by Mike Mozart, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

Air Date: 6-2-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How one MIT study used AI to reduce belief in conspiracy theories - How a new AI tool is attempting to make comments sections less awful - Some advice from Korea's litigious political environment on how to deal with Trump BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) REFERENCES: America’s Worst Time Zone Chatbots can persuade conspiracy theorists their view might be wrong The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet South Korea Has a Warning About Donald Trump’s Trial   Join our Discord Server Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft  Contact me directly at [email protected]  Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Original Air Date: 9/19/2017 Today we look not so much at hurricanes and the climate science behind them (though we touch on that as well) but focus more on what we can see more clearly when it’s illuminated by so-called “natural” disasters, the structural inequality and legacies of decision-making that make these disasters worse than they need to be BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email [email protected] Show Notes Act 1: Mark Hertsgaard: It's not politics, it's science - Start Making Sense from @TheNation - Air Date 9-13-17 Act 2: What is environmental racism and environmental justice? - #PoliticallyReactive with @wkamaubell and @harikondabolu - Air Date 9-7-17 Act 3: Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: U.S. Storm Edition - On The Media - Air Date 9-1-17 Act 4: Disasters call attention to inequalities if we care to notice - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 9-1-17 Act 5: Preventing future floods with data and regulation - @DecodeDC - Air Date: 09-14-2017 Act 6: The Human Causes of Natural Disasters - Popaganda from @BitchMedia - Air Date 12-8-16 Act 8: Dr. Michael E. Mann on attribution science and the tactics of inaction and delay - Bradcast from @TheBradBlog - Air Date 9-13-17 (Music from Blue Dot Sessions)  EDUCATE YOURSELF: We will not be silenced. Stand up for a strong NEPA! (Earth Justice) Trump CEQ rolls out plans for swift NEPA reviews (Governors' Wind & Solar Energy Coalition) US people of color still more likely to be exposed to pollution than white people (The Guardian) Christine Todd Whitman: How Not to Run the E.P.A. (New York Times) Boston Communities Unite to Democratize Their Economy (Next City) Written by BOTL Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman

Air Date 5/28/2024 Today we look at the most disappointing yet most idolized false heroes of our day, the titans of tech and the zany hijinks they've been getting up to recently. Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email [email protected] Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS 1: When a tech company like OpenAI doesn't get the dark message at the heart of science fiction 2: How Peter Thiel Got Rich | The Class Room ft. Second Thought 3: Google's Sundar Pichai on AI-powered search and the future of the web 4: Elon's Reputation is Hurting Tesla 5: Crypto’s crown prince in court 6: The Entire OpenAI Chaos Explained 7: Scarlett Johansson's Open AI voice fight shows the need for consent in tech 8: Fascism and the Failure of Imagination   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES 1:03:38 NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the misplaced excitement in private corporations pushing big technological advancements 1:09:33 DEEPER DIVE A: THAT WORD YOU KEEP USING… 1:36:58 B: SiliCON VALLEY, emphasis on the CON 1:53:05 C: MICROSOFT THE DESTROYER 2:10:35 D: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE SHOW IMAGE:  Description: Composite image where the faces of Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Elon Musk are seen through an overlay of stock prices and a growth chart arrow. Credits: Composite by A. Hoffman. Photos: 1) "Open AI co-founder & CEO Sam Altman" by TechCrunch, Flickr | CC BY 2.0 ; 2) "Peter Thiel" by Gage Skidmore, Flickr | CC BY 2.0 ; 3) "Sam Bankman-Fried" by Cointelegraph, Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 3.0 ; 4) "Elon Musk Presenting Tesla's Fully Autonomous Future" by Steve Jurvetson, Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 2.0

Air Date: 5-26-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - the con of supply and demand economics being about distributing goods with the greatest efficiency, and is instead nothing more than predatory greed - what we value as humans goes far beyond the price of commodities - even more examples of the enshitification of life via hostile experiences from things we've already paid for - how companies restrict functionality to create artificial price points as a way to extract even more from us REFERENCES: WELCOME TO PRICING HELL The Gap Between the Price You See and What You Pay Is Getting Worse Welcome to the Golden Age of User Hostility My Printer Is Extorting Me Bought a Model Y? Tesla may charge you to use the battery’s full range Corporate America Knows We’re Miserable. Is a Toilet Bomb the Answer? Billy Bragg - Not Everything That Counts Can Be Counted Join our Discord Server Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft  Contact me directly at [email protected]  Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Air Date 5/24/2024 Assessing the impacts of new diet drugs on physical and mental health in the context of our unhealthy food system and societal fat phobia Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email [email protected] Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: The world after Ozempic - The Gray Area - Air Date 5-13-24 KP 2: The Ozempic economy - Today, Explained - Air Date 2-23-24 KP 3: Have the new weight-loss drugs changed what it means to be body positive - Consider This - Air Date 5-13-24 KP 5: Body Neutrality - What The Actual Fork Podcast - Air Date 8-11-23 KP 6: Examining America's Unhealthy Obsession With Fitness w. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela - The Majority Report - Air Date 6-24-23 KP 7: What Ozempic can't fix - Today, Explained - Air Date 2-26-34   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES (56:10) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the metaphor of the new show format (1:01:22) DEEPER DIVE A: BUSINESS OF DESIRE A1: Examining America's Unhealthy Obsession... Part 2 A2: The Ozempic economy Part 2 A3: The world after... Part 4 (1:20:48) DEEPER DIVE B: BIAS AND RISK B1: What Ozempic can't fix Part 2 B2: The world after... Part 5 B3: What Ozempic can't fix Part 3 (1:31:00) DEEPER DIVE C: BODY NEUTRALITY MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE: Description: Overhead photo of a bunch of Ozempic pens in a plastic pharmacy basket.  Credit: "Bundle of Ozempic Pens" by Chemist4U, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped