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

Air Date: 8/8/2026

Today we examine the mass deportation machine that's been intentionally designed to inflict suffering, from the conditions inside immigration jails to the reckless actions of ICE agents, and the systematic dismantling of accountability. All of this in service of a blatant demographic engineering program to forcibly Whiten the country.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Lauren Bonds on ICE Murders Part 1 - CounterSpin - Air Date 7-17-26

KP 2: Trumps National Killer Police Force Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 7-24-26

KP 3: Uncovering Abuse Inside America's Largest ICE Detention Center Part 1 - Fresh Air - Air Date 7-14-26

KP 4: ICE Took Mom and Dad. Now the Kids Are on Their Own. Part 1 - Reveal - Air Date 7-25-26

KP 5: ICE Deports Family To Their Deaths In Guatemala - The Majority Report - Air Date 7-29-26

KP 6: ICE Took Mom and Dad. Now the Kids Are on Their Own. Part 2 - Reveal - Air Date 7-25-26

(00:58:33) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Mass Deportation and the Birth Rate Panic Are One Project

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DEEPER DIVES

(01:18:16) SECTION A: INEVITABLE BRUTALITY

A1: What We Know About the Recent ICE Killings Part 1 - Radio Atlantic - Air Date 7-20-26

A2: ICE Kills Again Part 1 - Today, Explained - Air Date 7-13-26

A3: What We Know About the Recent ICE Killings Part 2 - Radio Atlantic - Air Date 7-20-26

A4: ICE Kills Again Part 2 - Today, Explained - Air Date 7-13-26

A5: Trump Endorses Non Citizen FBI Stops Investigating ICE Shootings Maine Dems Pick Platner's Sub - David Feldman Show - Air Date 7-19-26

A6: ICE Murders and the Maine Senate Scramble with David Dayen and David Weigel - Factually! with Adam Conover - Air Date 7-17-26

(02:15:18) SECTION B: DESIGNED TO BE UNBEARABLE

B1: Killer ICE Agent's Ex-Wife Tells Us Everything We Need To Know - The Majority Report - Air Date 7-17-26

B2: Unco…

Publish Date: 8-5-2026
Original Air Date: 8–13-2021

Today we dig through the archives to give context to the news of the 2021 IPCC report ringing the alarm bells for the climate crisis.

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: The IPCC's new report - @greennewsreport - Air Date 4-3-14

Ch. 2: Green News Report w/ Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen - Air Date 8-10-21

Ch. 3: Global Water Shortages Pose Threat of Terror & War - @davidpakmanshow - Air Date 02-16-14

Ch. 4: The World's On Fire and There's Money in the Flames - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 8-10-21

Ch. 5: Why humans are so bad at thinking about climate change - Vox - Air Date 4-19-17

Ch. 6: Report confirms the effect of climate change happening today, spurs action - @greennewsreport - Air Date 5-6-14

Ch. 7: When Republicans believed in climate change - @allinwithchris Hayes - Air Date 04-22-14

Ch. 8: Geoff Mann: Transforming and Democratizing Institutions to Address Climate Change - Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson - Air Date 8-9-21

Ch. 9: Climate crisis and jobs with Naomi Klein - What Comes After What Comes Next - Air Date 6-11-20

Ch. 10: Extreme Heat in the News, Naming Heat Waves, Thermal Equity and more with Dr. Ladd Keith - America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast - Air Date 7-5-21

Ch. 11: Putting the Freeze on Global Warming - @BillMoyersHQ And Company - Air Date 4-25-14

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Air Date: 8/1/2026

Today we investigate how the argument moved from what the Supreme Court decides to whether the Court should be rebuilt. Only about one in five Americans has strong confidence in the Court, and the proposals on the table would end lifetime seats, set fixed terms, and add judges across the federal bench. We're arguing that these reforms are necessary for a functioning democracy.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: 'Unhinged and Racist': Hayes EVISCERATES Trump's Birthright Argument - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 6-30-26

KP 2: "We Continue to Fight": Chase Strangio on the Supreme Court's Ban on Trans Girls & Women in Sports - Democracy Now! - Air Date 7-1-26

KP 3: Supreme Court Guts Voting Rights Act in "Devastating Blow" to Democracy & Civil Rights: Maya Wiley - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-30-26

KP 4: The Term the Court Stopped Pretending Part 1 - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, Justice, and the Courts - Air Date 7-7-26

KP 5: "The Most Destructive Chief Justice in My Lifetime": Dissecting John Roberts with Lisa Graves Part 1 - 5-4 - Air Date 6-23-26

KP 6: Did the Birthright Citizenship Ruling Prove It's Time for SCOTUS Reform? Part 1 - Stateside with Kai and Carter - Air Date 7-1-26

(00:48:11) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Court Reform Has to Start With Filibuster Reform

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DEEPER DIVES

(01:02:17) SECTION A: THE RULINGS

A1: Supreme Court RUSHES Through SHOCK RULINGS - Legal AF and Lawyers for Good Government - Air Date 7-24-26

A2: In "Devastating" Immigration Ruling, Supreme Court Allows Trump Admin to "Turn Back" Asylum Seekers - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-26-26

A3: What Haitians and Syrians With TPS Need to Know Now - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 6-30-26

(01:26:07) SECTION B: THE CHARACTER OF THE COURT

B1: The Term the Court Stopped Pretending Part 2 - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, Justice, and the Courts - Air Date 7-7-26

B2: SCOTUS Doubles Down on Bigotry in Final Decisions of the Term - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 6-30-26

B3:

Air Date: 7/25/2026

Today we look at the idea that America has become a gerontocracy, a country run by the old, and then interrogate the premise a bit. The wealth, the politicians, and the voting electorate really do concentrate at the top of the age ladder, and benefits for the old tend to stay protected while younger people wait their turn. But several of our sources argue age is the wrong name for the problem, that it is really a story about money and who the whole system was built to serve.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: What Is There to Say About Lindsey Graham - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 7-12-26

KP 2: Where Is Mitch McConnell? - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 7-10-26

KP 3: The Mitch McConnell Mystery Part 1 - Today, Explained - Air Date 7-14-26

KP 4: Why Is Congress Like This Part 1 - Civics 101 - Air Date 6-30-26

KP 5: Mitch, Lindsey and the Gerontocracy Part 1 - What Next - Air Date 7-13-26

KP 6: Gerontocracy with Samuel Moyn Part 1 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 7-1-26

(00:52:22) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

How Congress Got Crippled, A True Crime Story

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DEEPER DIVES

(01:07:37) SECTION A: THE MCCONNELL & GRAHAM MOMENT

A1: A Grave Situation In The Senate Part 1 - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 7-14-26

A2: The Mitch McConnell Mystery Part 2 - Today, Explained - Air Date 7-14-26

A3: A Grave Situation In The Senate Part 2 - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 7-14-26

A4: The Attractive Anti-Politics of 'Gerontocracy' Discourse Part 1 - Citations Needed - Air Date 9-21-22

(01:49:14) SECTION B: THE GERONTOCRACY CASE

B1: Mitch McConnell and Our Very Old Congress Part 1 - What A Day - Air Date 7-9-26

B2: Mitch, Lindsey and the Gerontocracy Part 2 - What Next - Air Date 7-13-26

B3: Mitch McConnell and Our Very Old Congress Part 2 - What A Day - Air Date 7-9-26

B4:

Air Date: 7/25/2026

The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on the news from June and July without being overwhelming! Organized around a single idea: the same politics that left America friendless abroad is keeping Americans apart at home. The war with Iran ends and America's word counts for less around the world, so Europe starts building its own software instead of buying ours, NATO war-games its own doubts, and China quietly steadies the world's oil markets, while Taiwan shows that real security comes from connection, not threats. At home, the administration revives the red scare, hands the Justice Department to the president's personal lawyer while judges face death threats, and turns the country's 250th birthday into a fight over who counts as American, and billionaires cash out while everyone argues. And the way back starts small: a psychologist's simple habit for a happier social life, organizers who treat loneliness as a political problem with a political cure, and a Michigan Senate campaign built on talking to people instead of donors.

Covering: June–July 2026

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SECTION 1: A SUPERPOWER WITHOUT FRIENDS

(00:01:30) #1805 - Trump Giving Iran $300 Billion to End His Own War

1: The Iran Deal, Boy, I Don't Know - Takes by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 6-18-26

2: J.D. Vance Iran Deal Fall Guy Part 1 - On the Media - Air Date 6-19-26

3: Trump Weakened U.S. Allies While Strengthening Iran Part 1 - UNFTR - Air Date 6-19-26

(00:26:23) #1810 - Post-American Europe: How to Lose Friends and Influence People to Protect Themselves Against You

4: TODAY: Europe Replaces ENTIRE American Software Stack - Google OUT, Microsoft OUT June 9 - House of El - Air Date 6-4-26

5: Would NATO Hold if Russia Tested Article 5? Lessons From a War Game | Berlin Briefing Podcast Part 1 - DW News - Air Date 7-17-26

6: China Quietly Saved the World Last Month Part 1 - Max Fisher - Air Date 7-17-26

(00:54:17) #1799 - The US and China Are Fighting Over Taiwan, Semiconductors, and Africa's Minerals

7: Can There Ever Really Be "one China?" - Vox - Air Date 5-28-26

8: Trump's FAILED Meeting With China's Xi Jinping Was Humiliating - Pod Save the World - Air Date 5-21-26

9: China Will Never Beat Taiwan, Here's Why - Maxinomics - Air Date 3-37-26

SECTION 2: DIVIDED ON PURPOSE

(01:23:27) #1809 - Democrats Seek a Blue Wave, Progressives Push Democratic Socialism, GOP Revive the Red Scare

10: The Red Scare Returns Trump Is Calling Us Communists -…

Air Date: 7/22/2026

Today we look at how three things Europe thought were features turned out to be leverage that could be held against them: American military protection, Silicon Valley software, and cheap Chinese goods. From a French government office running Linux to a secret European defense coalition that bypasses Washington, Europe is quietly swapping out the old architecture rather than dismantling it, one operating system migration and one secret war game at a time.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: TODAY: Europe Replaces ENTIRE American Software Stack - Google OUT, Microsoft OUT June 9 - House of El - Air Date 6-4-26

KP 2: Inside the Second China Shock Sweeping Across Europe - Bloomberg Television - Air Date 2-8-26

KP 3: NATO's Secret Plans to Defend Europe Without the US - Times Originals - Air Date 7-17-26

KP 4: China Quietly Saved the World Last Month Part 1 - Max Fisher - Air Date 7-17-26

KP 5: How I View the US After 13 Years Living in Europe - Evan Edinger - Air Date 10-5-25

KP 6: Europes Quiet Breakup with U.S. Big Tech - Brit in Germany - Air Date 3-15-26

(00:54:13) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Why Europe Quitting US Big Tech Proves the Left Was Right

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DEEPER DIVES

(01:04:56) SECTION A: CAN EUROPE STAND ALONE

A1: Would NATO Hold if Russia Tested Article 5? Lessons From a War Game | Berlin Briefing Podcast Part 1 - DW News - Air Date 7-17-26

A2: 250 Years of USA: Is Germany Ready for a Post-American Europe? | Berlin Briefing Podcast Part 1 - DW News - Air Date 7-3-26

A3: Can Nato Survive Without the US? | The Security Brief - BBC News - Air Date 6-11-26

A4: 250 Years of USA: Is Germany Ready for a Post-American Europe? | Berlin Briefing Podcast Part 2 - DW News - Air Date 7-3-26

A5: Would NATO Hold if Russia Tested Article 5? Lessons From a War Game | Berlin Briefing Podcast Part 2 - DW News - Air Date 7-17-26

(01:51:44) SECTION B: THE CHINA FACTOR

B1: Why the EU Is Starting a Trade War with China - TLDR News EU - Air Date 5-29-26

B2: Why the EU Has More Leverage Over China Than You Think - TLDR News EU - Air Date 6-24-26

B3: China Quietly Saved the World Last Month Part 2 - Max Fisher - Air Date 7-17-26

(02:13:12) SECTION C: THE TECH SOVEREIGNTY PLAYBOOK

C1:

Air Date: 7/18/2026

Today we examine recent primary elections and how the political smear of crying 'socialism' has been dusted off and aimed at a new generation of candidates. What's changed is that the people being smeared are actually winning elections, and the more the establishment called them dangerous, the stronger their numbers got.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: The Red Scare Returns Trump Is Calling Us Communists - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 7-8-26

KP 2: Brooks and Capehart on What's Next for Democrats in the Maine Senate Race - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 7-10-26

KP 3: Why Dems Like Him Are Crashing Out Right Now with Jeet Heer Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Dat 7-3-26

KP 4: A Progressive Compact for America Part 1 - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 6-20-26

KP 5: Democratic Socialist Electoral Victories and the Implications for American Politics Part 1 - Rev Left Radio - Air Date 7-12-26

KP 6: Unsticking Congress with Maya Kornberg Part 1 - Future Hindsight - Air Date 5-7-26

(00:48:08) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

The Democrats Are Losing Because They Chose Wall St. Over Workers

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DEEPER DIVES

(00:59:58) SECTION A: WHO THEY ARE

A1: Can a Democratic Socialist Win in a Swing State This Progressive in Wisconsin Thinks so - MS Now Reports - Air Date 7-8-26

A2: Stop Trump's Project 2025 Scheme to Kill Science; Guest Dr. Colette Delawalla of Stand Up for Science Part 1 - The BradCast - Air Date 6-24-26

A3: How Colorado Spooked the Establishment with David Sirota - The Majority Report - Air Date 7-4-26

A4: Primary Fights - The Practivist Pod - Air Date 6-4-26

A5: How Colorado Spooked the Establishment with David Sirota Part 2 - The Majority Report - Air Date 7-4-26

A6: Stop Trump's Project 2025 Scheme to Kill Science; Guest Dr. Colette Delawalla of Stand Up for Science Part 2 - The BradCast - Air Date 6-24-26

A7: Why Dems Like Him Are Crashing Out Right Now with Jeet Heer Part 2 - The Majority Report - Air Dat 7-3-26

(02:00:45) SECTION B: WHAT THEY BELIEVE

B1: The Socialists Are Coming! Part 1 - Today, Explained - Air Date 7-2-26

B2: DSA & Justice Democrats on Changing the Democratic Party, Mamdani, Gaza & More - Democracy Now! - …

Re-Air Date: 7-14-2026

Original 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.

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: Abortion and Reproductive Rights - Lectures in History - Air Date 3-16-24

KP 2: Abortion and the erosion of privacy - The Weeds - Air Date 4-10-24

KP 3: Digital surveillance and reproductive rights - Technically Optimistic - Air Date 5-15-24

KP 4: Anti-abortion hardliners want restrictions to go farther. It could cost Republicans - Consider This - Air Date 5-23-24

KP 5: Abortion and Reproductive Rights Part 2 - Lectures in History - Air Date 3-16-24

KP 6: Rakeen Mabud on Greedflation, Rachel K. Jones on Mifepristone - CounterSpin - Air Date 4-5-24

KP 7: Abortion and the erosion of privacy Part 2 - The Weeds - Air Date 4-10-24

KP 8: Digital surveillance and reproductive rights Part 2 - Technically Optimistic - Air Date 5-15-24

(56:09) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On the abuse produced by abortion restrictions

DEEPER DIVES

(01:01:35) SECTION A: CRIMINALIZING ABORTION

A1: Abortion and Reproductive Rights Part 3 - Lectures in History - Air Date 3-16-24

A2: Digital surveillance and reproductive rights Part 3 - Technically Optimistic - Air Date 5-15-24

A3: Abortion and the erosion of privacy Part 3 - The Weeds - Air Date 4-10-24

(01:20:04) SECTION B: ABORTION EXTREMISM OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

B1: Texas Republicans Want To Execute Women Who Defy Them - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 5-30-24

B2:

Air Date: 7/10/2026

Today we look at what it means to live in an economy that has quietly split in two with a soaring stock market driven by AI on one side, a collapsing job market on the other, and the subtle shift in the right to own things, from your music and movies to your car's software, which all underlie the slide toward technofeudalism.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: America Is Entering a New Socialist Era — and It Might Stick - The Recount - Air Date 6-30-26

KP 2: America's Job Market Is Collapsing - Max Fisher - Air Date 4-10-26

KP 3: The Richest Country Is Pretty Mid Now Part 1 - Benn Jordan - Air Date 6-28-26

KP 4: We Uncovered The Master Plan That Peter Thiel Doesn't Want You To See - More Perfect Union - Air Date 6-29-26

KP 5: The End Of Capitalism Is Here. - Second Thought - Air Date 6-5-26

(01:06:28) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Humanity Is About to Be Optimized Out of Existence for the Sake of Profit

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DEEPER DIVES

(01:06:46) SECTION A: THE RISING LEFT

A1: Trump's Speech At America 250 BACKFIRES, Sony Ends PHYSICAL MEDIA | Zaid Talks Part 1 - Zaid Tabani - Air Date 7-5-26

A2: Do Democrats F*ck Now? How Democratic Socialists Are Taking Over The Party - Some Some More News Clips and Some More News - Air Date 7-5-26

A3: How the Democratic Party Captures and Subverts Revolutionary Energy (with Kshama Sawant) - The Chris Hedges YouTube Channel - Air Date 6-29-26

A4: AI Is Losing and the Left Is Winning, with Brennan Lee Mulligan and Ed Zitron - Factually! with Adam Conover - Air Date 6-26-26

A5: Democrats Don't Know What "Affordability" Actually Means, with Dino Guastella - Factually! with Adam Conover - Air Date 6-24-26

(01:49:40) SECTION B: EVERYDAY EXTRACTION

B1: The American Economy Is Broken—Here's Why - Established Context Part 1 - Air Date 4-13-26

B2: Why Owning Nothing Is So Expensive - Business Insider and Insider - Air Date 1-24-26

B3: NEW WARNING: Your Vehicle Can't Be FIXED After 2026 - Motor Feed - Air Date 6-28-26

B4: Trump's Speech At America 250 BACKFIRES, Sony Ends PHYSICAL MEDIA | Zaid Talks Part 2 - Zaid Tabani - Air Date 7-5-26

B5:

Air Date: 7/7/2026

Today we use the 2026 World Cup to pull everything that runs under the game up into the light. Nearly a quarter of the players are representing a country other than the one they were born in, praised as national heroes when they score but scorned as foreigners when they lose. The history of colonialism built the machinery that turns immigrants into targets, and the results are playing out live around this year's tournament, in the towns that throw their arms open and the borders that slam shut, in who a country will claim and who it leaves outside.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Always Root for the Underdog - Pop Culture Detective - Air Date 7-1-26

KP 2: Colonial Wars Played On The Pitch - AJ+ - Air Date 6-21-26

KP 3: How the U.S. and France Ruined Haiti - Bianca Graulau - Air Date 8-14-25

KP 4: Who Gets To Enjoy The World Cup? - AJ+ - Air Date 6-19-26

KP 5: US Soccer Star Shows MAGA's Racism With Zero Effort - Rick Strom - Air Date 6-23-26

KP 6: How Colonialism Created Mbappe and Zidane, Explained - Uncivilized - Air Date 7-12-24

KP 7: Iran's World Cup Team Divides the Diaspora in the US | DW Reporter - DW News - Air Date 6-26-26

KP 8: Keep My Culture Out Your Mouth! - PissedMagistus - Air Date 6-27-26

(00:59:27) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

The World Cup Exposes How Racism Is a Tool, Not a Belief

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DEEPER DIVES

(01:11:20) SECTION A: COLONIALISM'S LONG GAME

A1: Colonialism Never Ended – It Just Became Debt - AJ+ - Air Date 9-6-25

A2: They BANNED Haiti World Cup Jersey to HIDE Black History - THE MERC - Air Date 6-21-26

A3: Belgium Hands Over Remains of Patrice Lumumba to DR Congo - DW News - Air Date 6-20-22

A4: DR Congo's Lumumba Super Fan Arrives at FIFA World Cup After Delays | Firstpost Africa | N18G - Firstpost - Air Date 6-23-26

A5: How a Football Team Fueled Algeria's Fight for Independence - Uncivilized - Air Date 8-1-24

(01:44:54) SECTION B: DIASPORA AND DUAL IDENTITY

B1: Tim Weah on World Cup Dreams, the African Diaspora and USMNT's Fair-Weather Knicks Fandom | PTFO - PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT - Air Date 6-19-26

B2:

Air Date: 7/4/2026

Today we examine what America has celebrated for 250 years and what it keeps refusing to look at. The Declaration promised government by the consent of the governed, but the Constitution protected slavery, concentrated power in elites, and left the definition of "the people" deliberately vague. Every generation inherits that same unresolved contradiction and has to address it for themselves.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: The Constitution's Preamble, Plain and Powerful - Civics In A Year - Air Date 10-9-25

KP 2: Trump 250 Gala Grows More Humiliating as Fox Grapples with Low Turnout - THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent - Air Date 6-26-26

KP 3: Thom Hartmann -The Myth of Corporate Personhood - Brave New Foundation - Air Date 3-3-10

KP 4: The Constitution (Melissa's Version) - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 5-11-26

KP 5: The Declaration of Independence and Democracy Renovation Part 1 - Democracy Works - Air Date 4-6-26

KP 6: America's 250th Birthday Must Reckon with Racism, Historian Says - Here & Now Anytime - Air Date 6-19-26

(00:52:07) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

America's Birthday Lie: The Constitution Didn't Promise Democracy

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DEEPER DIVES

(01:10:03) SECTION A: FOUNDING IDEAS

A1: Promote The General Welfare - Siena and Toast The Podcast - Air Date 11-18-2020

A2: The Ideas at the Heart of the Declaration and the Constitution Part 1 - We the People - Air Date 6-25-26

A3: Bill of Rights Institute's Tony Williams & David Bobb on America 250 Part 1 - The Takeout with Major Garrett - Air Date 6-16-26

A4: Ep.289 Divided Over the Declaration How an Enduring Debate Sustains the Vision of America with Author Tony Williams 480 - Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America - Air Date 2-13-26

A5: Bill of Rights Institute's Tony Williams & David Bobb on America 250 Part 2 - The Takeout with Major Garrett - Air Date 6-16-26

(01:47:48) SECTION B: RACE & RECKONING

B1: The Fantasy of America at 250 Part 1 - On the Media - Air Date 6-26-26

B2…

Air Date: 7/1/2026

Today we examine how four months of American bombardment accomplished what decades of diplomacy never could, making Iran, still run by oppressive theocrats, a regional superpower. An Iranian woman told a reporter she endured the bombing hoping it would topple the regime. Instead, it entrenched it.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: J.D. Vance Iran Deal Fall Guy Part 1 - On the Media - Air Date 6-19-26

KP 2: The Cards Held by Iran in a Badly Written Memorandum - Explainer - Air Date 6-18-26

KP 3: Trumpworld Quietly Shivs JD Vance as Damning Leaks Discredit Iran Deal - THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent - Air Date 6-17-26

KP 4: Trump Weakened U.S. Allies While Strengthening Iran Part 1 - UNFTR - Air Date 6-19-26

KP 5: What the End of War Could Mean for Iranians - The Current - Air Date 6-17-26

KP 6: The Iran Deal, Boy, I Don't Know - Takes by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 6-18-26

(00:54:18) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Trump's Iran War Gave the Regime Everything It Wanted

Steve Bannon Has Called His "Army" to Do Battle—No Matter Who Wins in November

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DEEPER DIVES

(01:07:37) SECTION A: THE DEAL ITSELF

A1: Executive Disorder Iran Deal, UFC at the White House, Dialog Hack - It Could Happen Here - Air Date 6-19-26

A2: For His Own Birthday, Trump Gifts Iran $300 Billion - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 6-16-26

A3: Iran Conflict Brief The US-Iran Deal and a New Phase of Accommodation - Columbia Energy Exchange - Air Date 6-16-26

A4: The Cards Held by Iran in a Badly Written Memorandum Part 2 - Explainer - Air Date 6-18-26

(01:43:52) SECTION B: THE STRATEGIC LOSS

B1: Iran Deal Winners, Losers, and Regional Impact Part 1 - Sources & Methods - Air Date 6-19-26

B2: Trump Weakened U.S. Allies While Strengthening Iran Part 2 - UNFTR - Air Date 6-19-26

(01:58:52) SECTION C: VOICES F…

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.

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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

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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:

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.

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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…

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.

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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.

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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:

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.

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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

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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:

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.

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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

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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:

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.

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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

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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 SUMMI…

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.

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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

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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:

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.

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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

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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 H…

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.

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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

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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 Publi…

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.

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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<…

Air Date: 5–23-2026

Today we examine the real-world cost of dismantling America's public health infrastructure, the dangerous pseudoscience driving RFK Jr.'s health agenda, and the contradictions fracturing the MAHA movement from within.And now on to the show

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Trump Looks Foolish for Choice of Kennedy and Deep Cuts at CDC as Real-world Perils Play Out - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 5-12-26

KP 2: 'The Wheels Are Coming Off': Trump Already Less Popular Than After Jan. 6 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-22-26

KP 3: How RFK, Jr.'s Beliefs Echo a Troubling Ideology | Science Quickly Podcast - Scientific American - Air Date 3-13-26

KP 4: MAHA Moms Are Mad - Today, Explained - Air Date 3-3-26

KP 5: As WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak a Global Health Emergency, Did USAID Cuts Worsen the Crisis - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-18-26

KP 6: How People with Disabilities Could Bear the Burden of Medicaid Funding Cuts - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 2-3-26

KP 7: RFK Jr Goes Full Eugenics to Congress; IMMIGRANTS BRING DISEASE - Brittany Page - Air Date 4-22-26

(00:54:35) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

RFK's Public Health Descruction is Easier than the Rebuilding We'll have to do Later

DEEPER DIVES

(01:05:28) SECTION A: THE DAMAGE DONE

A1: From COVID to Hepatitis to Measles, RFK Jr. Is Gutting Vaccine Science' Ex-CDC Expert Speaks Out - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-12-25

A2: FDA Chief Pushed Out in Latest Sign of Public Health Chaos Under RFK Jr. - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-13-26

A3: WaPo Bombshell: RFK's CDC Burying Report on Covid Vaccine Success - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-9-26

A4: WATCH: Warnock Criticizes RFK Jr. for CDC Cuts to Rabies Emergency Line - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 4-22-26

A5: World Health Organization Issues Hantavirus Alert - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 5-16-26

A6: Can We Trust RFK Jr. On Hantavirus? - The Bitchuation Room (with Francesca Fiorentini) - Air Date 5-13-26

(01:47:09) SECTION B: IDEOLOGY AND THE MISINFORMATION MACHINE

B1:

Air Date: 5/20/2026

Today we examine how the Trump administration is quietly reshaping its unpopular immigration crackdown by moving enforcement out of public view. Plus, we explain how anti-immigration politics is spreading through the post-colonial world, highlighting how it's reshaping political parties and public debate in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Trumps Brutal Immigration Crackdown Continues Part 1 - Velshi - Air Date 3-21-26

KP 2: 'Buyer's Remorse' This Trump Stronghold TURNS on Massive ICE Facility Part 1 - MS Now - Air Date 4-20-26

KP 3: Does Legal Immigration Still Exist Part 1 - What Next - Air Date 2-23-26

KP 4: What TPS Recipients Might Experience if They're Sent Back to Haiti - Brian Lehrer A Daily Podcast - Air Date 4-30-26

KP 5: How The British Made The Far Right Acceptable Daniel Trilling Part 1 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 5-11-26

KP 6: How To Beat The Anti-Immigration Playbook Zoe Gardner Part 1 - Bold Politics with Zack Polanski - Air Date 9-10-26

(00:53:33) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

How ICE Hands Billions to Trump's Donors

DEEPER DIVES

(01:05:43) SECTION A: THE RESET IS THEATER

A1: Trumps Brutal Immigration Crackdown Continues Part 2 - Velshi - Air Date 3-21-26

A2: Trumps ICE Detention Scam with Katie Blankenship Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Date 4-28-26

A3: Kornacki Large Number of Independents Strongly Disapprove of Trumps Immigration Agenda - NBC News - Air Date 2-11-26

A4: Trump Voters REBEL Against Proposed ICE Detention Centers In Their Backyard - The Logical Leftist - Air Date 1-12-26

A5: Border Czar Promises Mass Deportations On the Way - The DSR Network - Air Date 5-7-26

A6: US President Backs ICE Rebrand Amid Scrutiny as Poll Shows Trump's Immigration Approval Falling - WION - Air Date 4-28-26

(01:42:03) SECTION B: DUE PROCESS DISMANTLED

B1: Does Legal Immigration Still Exist Part 2 - What Next - Air Date 2-23-26

B2: Trump Vs. Dreamers Justice Dept. Moves to Make It Easier to Deport 500K+ DACA Recipients - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-28-26

B3:

Air Date: 5/15/2026

Today we examine what it would actually take to claw back democracy from billionaire capture — and why some people think it's more possible than it looks. We'll hear about California's proposed billionaire wealth tax, AOC's vision for change that doesn't depend on positional power, and why Peter Thiel's new "AI Tribunal of Truth" may have accidentally revealed exactly what the ruling class fears most.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Possible 2028 White House Run - C-SPAN - Air Date 5-8-26

KP 2: One State Found a Way to Make Billionaires Pay. Your State Could Be Next. - More Perfect Union, Inequality Media Civic Action, & Robert Reich - Air Date 4-1-26

KP 3: Tech Billionaires Want Us Dead - Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 1-19-26

KP 4: Jeff & Lauren Bezos Make 'Gratitude Lists' as AMAZON WORKERS DIE AT WORK - Brittany Page - Air Date 4-14-26

KP 5: Why Philanthropy [STILL] Isn't the Answer with (with Anand Giridharadas) - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 5-5-26

KP 6: The Case Against Billionaires | Chuck Collins - Washington Monthly - Air Date 1-5-26

(00:47:44) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Who Owns the Upside?

DEEPER DIVES

(00:59:03) SECTION A: TECH POWER, SURVEILLANCE, AND THE END OF TRUTH

A1: Do Tech Billionaires Want Us Dead? (with Taylor Lorenz) - Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff - Air Date 2-18-26

A2: The End of Work: Why Your Kids Won't Have Careers in 15 Years - Trevor Noah - Air Date 4-19-26

A3: This Is Actually Terrifying - Struthless - Air Date 4-16-26

(01:23:24) SECTION B: BEZOS, AMAZON, AND THE HUMAN COST

B1: "Tax the Rich" Is Hate Speech!? - PissedMagistus - Air Date 5-11-26

B2: Why I Support The California Billionaire Tax - Robert Reich and Inequality Media Civic Action - Air Date 4-7-26

(01:32:00) SECTION C: HOW THE TAX CODE BUILT THE ARISTOCRACY

C1: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy / Ray Madoff Part 1 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 11-13-25

C2: The Second Estate: Where Billionaires Don't Pay. You Do. (with Ray D. Madoff) - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 4-14-26

C3: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy / Ray Madoff Part 2 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 11-13-25

C4: The $79 Trillion Price of Inequality (with Carter Price)…

Air Date: 5/12/2026

Today we examine the redistricting scramble unleashed by the Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act. We'll hear how Southern states moved within days to crack majority-Black districts, how Tennessee banned public input to rush through new maps, and why every governor's race, state legislative seat, and secretary of state contest in 2026 is now a redistricting fight.

Full Show Notes

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on Redrawing Congressional Maps and Testing Trump's Power - PBS Newshour - Air Date 5-4-26

KP 2: Louisiana Is Ground Zero for Voting Rights, Abortion Pill Access Part 1 - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 5-7-26

KP 3: 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

KP 4: Did Trump's Supreme Court Rig the Midterms Part 1 - Pod Save America - Air Date 5-1-26

KP 5: What Stacey Abrams Thinks About a Recent SCOTUS Decision and the Voting Rights Amendment Part 1 - Soundside - Air Date 5-5-26

KP 6: 'Foolish' Lone Tennessee Dem Rep. Speaks Out Against GOP's Redistricting Push - Ana Cabrera Reports - Air Date 5-6-26

KP 7: Backtalker Kimberlé Crenshaw on New Memoir, Voting Rights, Critical Race Theory & Clarence Thomas - Democracy Now - Air Date 5-6-26

KP 8: What Stacey Abrams Thinks About a Recent SCOTUS Decision and the Voting Rights Amendment Part 2 - Soundside - Air Date 5-526

(00:53:57) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

How One Senate Rule Is Destroying Voting Rights

DEEPER DIVES

(01:05:18) SECTION A: THE RULING & THE LAW

A1: SCOTUS 86s Voting Rights Part 1 - #SistersInLaw - Air Date 5-2-26

A2: The Death Of The Voting Rights Act EXPLAINED Part 1 - Why, America? with Leeja Miller - Air Date 4-30-26

A3: SCOTUS 86s Voting Rights Part 2 - #SistersInLaw - Air Date 5-2-26

(01:24:35) SECTION B: HOW WE GOT HERE

B1: John Lewis and the Struggle for Voting Rights - Equal Justice Initiative - Air Date 3-9-26

B2: Tennessee GOP Just Embraced Jim Crow 2.0 to Silence Black Voters Just as Trump Demanded - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 5-7-26

B3: Loui…

Air Date: 5–9-2026

Today we examine how political violence has always been woven into the fabric of American life and who gets to decide what counts as violence in the first place. We'll hear about presidential assassinations, the assassination of Fred Hampton, the MOVE bombing in Philadelphia, and the long history of state-sanctioned violence. And I'll discuss the only real way to bend the curve back away from endemic violence in the US. 

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: The Real 'Political Violence' in America - Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 9-12-25

KP 2: The Largely Forgotten History of Philadelphias Police Bombing of Black Organization MOVE - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 5-17-25

KP 3: America's History of Assassinations and Political Violence - Front Burner - Air Date 7-16-24

KP 4: America's Addiction to Gun Violence, Racism, and White Rage Will Be Its Downfall Part 1 - The Chauncey DeVega Show -Air Date 9-19-25

KP 5: "Slow Civil War" Author Jeff Sharlet on the Growing NormalAation of Violence at Home & Abroad - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-27-26

KP 6: The World Is Broken and on Fire. Use Your Anger to Remake It for the Better - The Chauncey DeVega Show - Air Date 3-25-26

(00:50:50) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Why Billionaires Now Fear Civil War

DEEPER DIVES

(01:04:57) SECTION A: THE FRAMING WARS

A1: The White House Correspondents Dinner Shooting: What the "Political Violence" Framing Is Hiding - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 4-26-26

A2: Who's to Blame for Political Violence? - WSJ Opinion: Free Expression - Air Date 9-17-25- Air Date 9-17-25

A3: We're MASSIVELY Overstating Our Political Violence Problem — and That's Dangerous! | Sean Westwood - People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast - Air Date 9-16-24

A4: Assassination Nation – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor - The Bunker – News Without the Nonsense - Air Date 4-27-26

(01:32:09) SECTION B: THE LONG AMERICAN TRADITION

B1: The Pen or the Sword? How Lincoln and John Brown Disagreed on Achieving Emancipation Part 1 - History Unplugged Podcast - Air Date 2-23-21

B2:

Air Date: 05-06-2026 

Today we examine how the U.S. war on Iran is producing an economic crisis with echoes of the 1970s stagflation era which explains why Trump is now less popular on inflation than Jimmy Carter. We'll also be exploring various element of the structure of our economy, including how GDP became a deeply misleading measure of welfare, why consumer spending increasingly goes toward things people don't want to buy, and how gambling and junk fees are literally counted as economic growth.

Full Show Notes

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 1 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26

KP 2: Economic Implications of the U.S. War on Iran Part 1 - Economic Update with Richard Wolff - Air Date 4-14-26

KP 3: These Georgia Swing Voters Do Not Like the Iran War - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-16-26

KP 4: Monday Morning Economy Politics Inflation Soars Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-13-26

KP 5: Fiasco for Trump as Leaked GOP Memo Warns of Epic Midterm Bloodbath - The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent - Air Date 5-1-26

KP 6: From Safety Net to Power Base Reclaiming Economic Power for Working People (with Jamie Keene) Part 1 - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 4-21-26

KP 7: Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 2 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26

(00:56:48) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Trump's Iran War Is Crashing the Economy And It's Time To Get Ready

DEEPER DIVES

(01:05:14) SECTION A: THE PUMP AND THE WAR

(01:28:41) SECTION B: LIES, SPIN, AND THE ROARING ECONOMY

(02:00:33) SECTION C: THE BOOMCESSION

(02:39:10) SECTION D: WHAT THIS COSTS REAL PEOPLE

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Air Date: 05/01/2026

The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we open with Jesse Jackson's death as a reckoning with the multiracial coalition America chose not to build, trace the American playbook from the 1953 Iran coup to Cuba to the current war on Iran, examine how the same logic of control operates at home through AI monopolies, sports money, and captured courts, and close with the religious and labor traditions that have always driven change — plus Orbán's defeat in Hungary as proof that authoritarian projects don't last forever.

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PART 1: AMERICA, CONTESTED

(00:01:19) #1775 - Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition and the Remaking of American Politics

(00:23:12) #1776 - Trump's Pharaoh Complex, Our Flawed Constitution, and the 250th Anniversary

PART 2: THE AMERICAN WAY

(00:45:27) #1777 - How Christian Nationalism, Oil, and Zionism Built The War Against Iran

(01:06:48) #1782 - Cuba's Crisis: Trump's Deadly Embargo, Blackouts, and Dream of Regime Change

(01:29:45) #1785 - Iran and the Chain Reaction: The War Nobody Thought Through (Or, Bomb First, Think Never)

PART 3: CONTROLLING THE GAME

(01:51:40) #1778 - AI, the Pentagon, Labor and Capitalism: The Fight Over Who Controls the Future

(02:15:29) #1781 - Your Team Is a Hedge Fund Now: How Gambling and Billionaires Captured American Sports

02:29:38) #1783 - The Ideology of a Cancer Cell: AI, Surveillance, and Silicon Valley's Psychopath Problem

(02:51:36) #1784 - Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides

PART 4: HISTORY'S ENGINE

(03:17:49) #1779 - Community After God: Why the Left Needs What Church Provided

(03:43:07) #1780 - Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped

(04:09:26) #1786 - Defeating Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Authoritarian Playbook Worldwide

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Air Date: 4–29-2026

Today we explore the extraordinary clash between Pope Leo XIV and the Trump White House — a feud involving military threats, medieval papal history, and an American-born pope who refuses to back down. We'll hear why analysts say MAGA's religiosity is pure aesthetic, and what that hollowness means for the millions of Americans still taking their faith seriously.

Full Show Notes

Transcript

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: "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

KP 2: What's Driving the Surge of Catholic Converts? Plus Gabriel Salguero - The Holy Post - Air Date 4-1-26

KP 3: What's Behind a Growing Rift Between Conservative U.S. Catholics and the Vatican - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 12-16-23

KP 4: Why Are US Catholics Like That !? - The Kavernacle - Air Date 4-16-26

KP 5: Pope Bob Vs. Trump World Part 1 - Conspirituality - Air Date 5-22-25

KP 6: Did Trump Officials Threaten the Vatican' The Avignon Papacy Warning Explained - SWAJ with Brad Onishi and Dan Miller - Air Date 4-11-26

KP 7: Republicans .0002 Seconds After the Pope Says Anything - Man Carrying Thing - Air Date 4-18-26

(00:47:36) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Pope Leo vs. Trump: The Catholic Opening Democrats Are Blowing

DEEPER DIVES

(00:56:09) SECTION A: TRUMP AND COMPANY'S LOVE/HATE PAPAL RELATIONSHIP

(01:39:29) SECTION B: ANTI CATHOLIC SENTIMENT IN AMERICA

(02:05:17) SECTION C: THE POPE VS THE TRUMP

(02:49:26) SECTION D: SOME MISC HISTORICAL CONTEXT

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Composite image of Pope Leo XIV and Trump against the background of Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus.

Credit: Internal design. Components: 1. "Pope Leo XIV 3 (3x4 crop)" by Edgar Beltran, The Pillar via Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Changes: Transparent background | 2. "Donald Trump" by Gage Skidmore, Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Transparent background | 3. Trump as Jesus, AI image, Truth Social, Public Domain