Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Air Date: 10/17/2026 Today we look at how being poor in America is made harder on purpose. The hours of paperwork it takes to keep food assistance or Medicaid are there to shrink the programs quietly by attrition and make failure feel like a personal problem. The same design runs through a healthcare system that profits when care is denied and the patient doesn't have the time to fight back. The alternative is the kind of program you'd design if you thought everyone living in a wealthy society was worthy of a dignified life. Full Show Notes Transcript Leave a Voice Message BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: The Time Cost of Bureaucracy Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 8-28-26 KP 2: The Vague, Capital-Serving Co-Optation of Affordability Politics Part 1 - Citations Needed - Air Date 6-17-26 KP 3: No One Can Escape The Time Tax Part 1 - What A Day - Air Date 9-3-26 KP 4: The $29 Trillion Social Security Crisis We Already Know How to Fix ( with Rey Fuentes) Part 1 - Pitchfork Economics - Air Date 9-8-26 KP 5: The Time Cost of Bureaucracy Part 2 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 8-28-26 KP 6: Merchants of Death The Men Who Killed Healthcare in America. Part 1 - UNFTR - Air Date 9-4-26 (00:52:13) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the Launch of Our Social Media System My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (00:58:24) SECTION A: SOCIAL INSURANCE AND WORKER PROTECTIONS A1: The New Deal - Everything Everywhere Daily - Air Date 10-9-26 A2: Terri Gerstein on Gig Workers Rights Part 1 - CounterSpin - Air Date 10-9-26 A3: The $29 Trillion Social Security Crisis We Already Know How to Fix ( with Rey Fuentes) Part 2 - Pitchfork Economics - Air Date 9-8-26 A4: Terri Gerstein on Gig Workers Rights Part 2 - CounterSpin - Air Date 10-9-26 (01:32:26) SECTION B: THE TIME TAX AND BURDEN BY DESIGN B1: How the Government Wastes Our Time Part 1 - Fresh Air - Air Date 8-31-26 B2: No One Can Escape The Time Tax Part 2 - What A Day - Air Date 9-3-26 B3: How the Government Wastes Our Time Part 2 - Fresh Air - Air Date 8-31-26 (01:57:46) SECTION C: HEALTH CARE UNDER ATTACK C1: The Cost of Drugs From Canada Is Set to Soar for Millions of Americans - CBS Pittsburgh - Air Date 10-8-26 C2: Merchants of Death The Men Who Killed Healthcare in America. Part 2 - UNFTR - Air Date 9-4-26 C3: Hidden Cuts to Health Care - Letters From An American - Air Date 8-20-26 (02:23:21) SECTION D: AFFORDABILITY POLITICS AND THE RISING LEFT D1: Raina Lipsitz on DSA Politics Part 1 - CounterSpin - Air Date 9-25-26 D2: The Vague, Capital-Serving Co-Optation of Affordability Politics Part 2 - Citations Needed - Air Date 6-17-26 D3: Raina Lipsitz on DSA Politics Part 2 - CounterSpin - Air Date 9-25-26 D4: El-Sayed Affordability Crisis Is Destroying Dreams - The Moment - Air Date 8-28-26   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date: 10/13/2026 Today we look at rape culture as a system that contains far more than the crimes. This topic was prompted by the Cornell 7 story but it starts with little boys annoying girls and having it excused as affection, runs through the "nice guy" who treats kindness as a down payment, and ends with the false claim that men can't be expected to control their sexual urges. We're organizing the episode a little differently than normal, with the material everyone should hear in the first hour and the deeper dives being reserved for that which men particularly need to face but that assault victims may want to skip. Full Show Notes Transcript Leave a Voice Message BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: It's Not About Sex: How Rape Culture Actually Works - Therese - Air Date 10-7-26 KP 2: AOC on the Campus Sexual Assault Factory - The Bitchuation Room (with Francesca Fiorentini) - Air Date 9-30-26 (Excerpt) KP 3: Is It True That Men Can't Control Themselves Sexually? Consequences Vs. Temptations - Huey Li and the News - Air Date 10-5-26 (Excerpt) KP 4: The Cornell 7: What Really Happened in Those 19 Days? - Therese - Air Date 10-3-26 KP 5: LSU Finds Student Responsible For Sexual Assault & DOESN'T CHARGE HIM - Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey - Air Date 9-28-26 KP 6: Turns Out The "Nice Guy" Is Actually TERRIFYING... Marina McBain - Air Date 6-6-26 KP 7: Jacob Geller, Cornell & the Future We Save for Men Part 1 - Jessie Gender - Air Date 10-7-26 KP 8: Men Scare Me and Good Men Make Excuses - Kat Blaque - Air Date 10-3-26 (Excerpt) KP 9: Jacob Geller, Cornell & the Future We Save for Men Part 2 - Jessie Gender - Air Date 10-7-26 (Excerpt) (01:04:10) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Blaming Assault on Men's Lack of Self-Control Is Toddler Logic My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:14:34) SECTION A: WHAT BOYS ARE TAUGHT ABOUT BEING MEN A1: Why Do Men Struggle with Empathy: The Problem of Transactional Relationships - Expatriarch - Air Date 11-5-24 A2: The Complicity of Geek Masculinity on the Big Bang Theory - Pop Culture Detective - Air Date 9-29-17 A3: Why Every Character in Obsession Failed Nikki - Kimbaland - Air Date 6-27-26 A4: The Problem With Porn - Breaking Down Patriarchy - Air Date 10-2-26 A5: Dulce Sloan: Will You Be My Valentine? - What Now? With Trevor Noah - Air Date 2-14-26 (01:54:33) SECTION B: HOW RAPE CULTURE IS BUILT AND WHO IT PROTECTS B1: What Is Rape Culture? - Do You Really Know? - Air Date 8-19-26 B2: Alisa Kessel, "Rape Fantasies: Rape Culture and the Persistence of Sexual Violence" Part 1 - New Books in Political Science - Air Date 4-16-26 B3: Is It True That Men Can't Control Themselves Sexually? Consequences Vs. Temptations - Huey Li and the News - Air Date 10-5-26 B4: Alisa Kessel, "Rape Fantasies: Rape Culture and the Persistence of Sexual Violence" Part 2 - New Books in Political Science - Air Date 4-16-26 B5: Should Women Share the Blame for R**e Culture? Not the Way They're Normally Blamed - Huey Li and the News - Air Date 10-5-26 (02:28:37) SECTION C: THE CORNELL AND LSU RECORDS AND THE APOLOGISTS C1: The Cornell 7 Is Business as Usual - The Bitchuation Room (with Francesca Fiorentini) - Air Date 9-30-26 C2: The Cornell 7 Case EXPLAINED - Hysteria - Air Date 10-1-26 C3: LSU Football Player UNDER INVESTIGATION After DISTURBING ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS!! - Katie Phang - Air Date 10-3-26 C4: NEW EVIDENCE From the Cornell 7 Case: Will THIS Be Enough For Justice? Part 1 - Hysteria - Air Date 10-3-26 C5: Michael Tracey, Shoe0nHead, Cornell - Edgier Than Thou - Air Date 10-2-26 C6: Jacob Geller, Cornell & the Future We Save for Men Part 2 - Jessie Gender - Air Date 10-7-26 C7: NEW EVIDENCE From the Cornell 7 Case: Will THIS Be Enough For Justice? Part 2 - Hysteria - Air Date 10-3-26 (03:25:54) SECTION D: ENABLERS, EXCUSES, AND WHAT MEN OWE D1: Graham Platner and the Left's Misogyny Problem (with Yasmin Nair) - Current Affairs - Air Date 8-11-26 D2: I Feel Differently About the Cornell 57... - Kat Blaque - Air Date 10-3-26 D3: Thomas Jefferson Survives: The Cornell 7 and the Price of Great Men - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 10-2-26 D4: Do You Really Care About Assault? - Cam James - Air Date 10-7-26   Featured song: "Not All Men" by Morgan St. Jean, used with permission. Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Publish Date: 10-11-2026 Original Air Date: 9-16-2014 Today we dig through the archives to give context to the news that the Pentagon plans to execute the Fort Hood shooter by firing squad, the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years. Full Show Notes BestOfTheLeft.com/Support Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Death Penalty - @LastWeekTonight with John Oliver - Air Date 5-4-14 Ch. 2: Americans Back Death Penalty, Whether It's Lethal Injection or Not - @majorityfm - Air Date 05-29-14 Ch. 3: Death Penalty Ruled Cruel And Unusual Punishment In California - @theyoungturks - Air Date 07-18-14 Ch. 4: Botched Lethal Injection Takes TWO HOURS to Kill Man - @davidpakmanshow - Air Date 07-24-14 Ch. 5: Two Hours To Cease Existence - @theharryshearer (le Show) - Air Date 7-27-14 Ch. 6: Why Is No One Talking About The Innocent Man Texas Executed? - @RedactedTonight - Air Date 8-8-14 Ch. 7: Study: More Than Half of People Executed Have Severe Mental Illness - @davidpakmanshow - Air Date 07-25-14 Ch. 8: Bill Blum on the death penalty, both beheadings and lethal injections - @truthdig - Air Date 9-12-14 Ch. 9: The Truth, Finally, After 30 Years In Prison & The Truth Is Ugly - @theyoungturks - Air Date 03-13-14   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date: 10/7/2026 Today we trace the "Exxon Knew" story through a decade of our own archive, because that history is what the Supreme Court is weighing in Suncor v. Boulder in their first case this term. Exxon's scientists confirmed the climate science in the early eighties and the company chose to manufacture doubt. Communities like Boulder County have paid ever since and the question before the Supreme Court is whether any lawsuit like this will be allowed to go to trial. Full Show Notes Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: Trump's Big Oil Case Heads to the Supreme Court - What A Day - Air Date 3-16-26 KP 2: Exxon's History of Climate Change Research - On The Media - Air Date 9-18-15 KP 3: Brendan DeMelle on Exxon's Climate Cover-Up - CounterSpin - Air Date 4-29-16 KP 4: Bill McKibben on Exxon, the Power of Divestment, and Being Targeted by Shadowy Right-Wing Group - Democracy Now! - Air Date 05-26-16 KP 5: Five Lies Republicans Tell About the Climate Crisis - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 8-9-26 KP 6: Nationalizing Oil It's About Saving the World - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 4-11-22 KP 7: Ex Oil-Engineer Turned Climate Whistleblower: We Face Collapse. with Kevin Anderson - Downstream - Air Date 8-10-26 (00:59:46) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR   My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:09:07) SECTION A: THE INDUSTRY'S PLAYBOOK A1: The Climate Deniers Began in 1940 - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 04-14-16 A2: Naomi Oreskes: Climate Change Disinformation Is Like Pro-Tobacco Lobbying - The David Pakman Show - Air Date 03-08-16 A3: Kert Davies on How the Climate Denial Industry Works - The David Pakman Show - Air Date 12-04-15 A4: Ari Rabin-Havt on the Climate Change Lie Machine - In Deep W/ Angie Coiro - Air Date 6-11-16 (01:37:18) SECTION B: TRUMP'S ROLLBACK AND THE LEGAL FIGHT TO STOP IT B1: Why Trump Will Go Down In History As The Exxon President -The Majority Report with Sam Seder - Air Date 03-18-17 B2: Trump SHREDDING Obama's Environmental Rules - The Young Turks - Air Date 03-30-17 B3: Rolling Back Obama's Clean Energy Policies Will Be Harder Than Trump Thinks - The BradCast W/ Brad Friedman - Air Date 3-29-17 B4: What Happens When the Bedrock of US Climate Policy Is Wiped Away - Climate Court Voices - Air Date 5-15-26 B5: Notes on the Fight Against Fossil Capitalism with Ashley Dawson - This Is Hell! - Air Date 12-14-16 (02:19:01) SECTION C: SUNCOR V. BOULDER AND THE ACCOUNTABILITY FIGHT C1: The Fight for Fossil Fuel Industry Accountability: Understanding Suncor V. Boulder Part 1 - Center for Progressive Reform - Air Date 9-3-26 C2: What's Suncor V. Boulder? And Why Does It Matter to Climate Progress? - Covering Climate Now - Air Date 9-23-26 C3: The Fight for Fossil Fuel Industry Accountability: Understanding Suncor V. Boulder Part 2 - Center for Progressive Reform - Air Date 9-3-26 (02:43:38) SECTION D: NATIONALIZE IT D1: Not Everything That's Profitable Is Good - Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff - Air Date 2-10-17 D2: Climate Incrementalism Is the New Denial with Kate Aronoff - Bad Faith - Air Date 5-15-21 D3: Should We NATIONALIZE the Oil Industry with Matt Bruenig & Johanna Bozuwa - Bad Faith - Air Date 3-21-22 D4: What If The Fed Bought Out The Oil Industry - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 7-18-22 D5: Climate Scientist James Hansen Warns World Is on Wrong Track to Prevent Runaway Global Warming - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-04-15 D6: With Congress Unwilling to Act, Pressure Grows on Biden to Declare National Climate Emergency - Democracy Now! - Air Date 7-21-22 D7: Naomi Klein & Avi Lewis Climate Change Could Be Catalyst to Build a Fairer Economic System - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-05-15   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date: 10/3/2026 Today we examine the mechanisms of complicity. We're not all complicit in the worst atrocities but we are complicit in something so it's good to know how it works. Good people go along with bad ideas and thoughtful people allow themselves to be thoughtless all the time. The reasons are often structural but they can be resisted on both the personal level and collectively. Full Show Notes Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: How To Live Happily Next to a Death Camp | The Zone of Interest - Life Is A Story - Air Date 2-11-24 KP 2: "Do Not Obey in Advance": Timothy Snyder on How Corporate America Is Bending to Trump - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-20-24 KP 3: Harry Potter Is Manufacturing Your Complicity - Jessie Gender - Air Date 8-30-26 KP 4: Politically Neutral? - PissedMagistus - Air Date 9-15-26 KP 5: Ta-Nehisi Coates: American Culture 'complicit' in Dehumanizing Palestinians - Velshi - Air Date 10-12-24 KP 6: The Paramount/WB Merger Is a Disaster - Adam Conover - Air Date 9-24-26 KP 7: I Quit My Job Because of Harry Potter Part 1 - Hoots Hootman - Air Date 9-26-26 (00:53:31) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR The Antidote to Following the Crowd Is One Other Person My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:05:32) SECTION A: LESSONS FROM NAZI GERMANY A1: Confronting Complicity: Exploring Ordinary Germans' Roles in the Holocaust - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Air Date 2-8-24 A2: Before America's Midterms: Hitler Didn't Rise Because of Democracy - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 9-25-26 (01:22:39) SECTION B: COMPLICITY IN GAZA: MEDIA, GOVERNMENTS, AND CELEBRITIES B1: It's Not Complicated: The Israel - Palestine "Conflict" - Doomed - Air Date 5-17-21 B2: UK Sanctions Israeli Settlers. A Breakthrough Or A Cop-Out? - Owen Jones - Air Date 9-8-26 B3: Ed Sheeran's "Safety and Sanctuary" - Brenna Perez - Air Date 9-15-26 B4: Documenting the U.S. Media's Complicity in the Genocide of Gaza (with Robin Andersen) - The Chris Hedges Report - Air Date 8-26-26 B5: Theo Von and Joe Rogan Are Complicit - The Serf Times - Air Date 9-25-26 (01:55:10) SECTION C: THE MYTH OF NEUTRALITY: MEDIA, MODERATES, AND OBEYING IN ADVANCE C1: "It Might Not Be Good for America, But It's Good for Us": How the Media Got Rich on Trump's Rise - Democracy Now! - Air Date 11-9-16 C2: How "Moderates" Serve The Right - Second Thought - Air Date 12-17-21 C3: We Don't Need to Say Unalived! - PissedMagistus - Air Date 9-25-26 C4: Why Centrists and Ezra Klein Are Ruining Everything - Benaminute - Air Date 11-21-25 C5: Should The Press Boycott Trump? - Leeja Miller - Air Date 9-24-26 (02:28:45) SECTION D: FANDOM, CONSUMPTION, AND PERSONAL RECKONING D1: The 7 Levels of Complicity With The System - Extra Andrewism - Air Date 7-6-26 D2: I Quit My Job Because of Harry Potter Part 2 - Hoots Hootman - Air Date 9-26-26 D3: The Hidden Danger of Turning Villains Into Heroes | Plotlines - Storied - Air Date 9-22-26   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]