Best Jay Wolff Podcasts (2024)

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#1648 Power Grabs, Elections Optional: The threat of minority rule through election denialism 3:05:39

3h ago3:05:39

3:05:39

Air Date 8/13/2024 Spirits among Kamala Harris supporters, Democrats, and anyone opposing Trumpism are at an all-time high right now. That's both fortuitous and crucial to the upcoming election. By the very nature of Trumpism, this election will be the most flagrantly contested in history with far more Trump loyalists in place ready to throw wrench…

1
Bonus Sample #316 How are you gonna fix that garden?! 18:43

1d ago18:43

18:43

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 8-11-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - Understanding the New Right - JD Vance's mangled metaphor - The best headline about RFK Jr. - Where the anti-trans movement has taken us - What Star War controversies through the years can teach us REFER…

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#1248 There you go again. Venezuela and America's addiction to imperialism (Throwback) 1:03:25

4d ago1:03:25

1:03:25

Original Air Date: 2/8/2019 Amid the ongoing fallout of a contested presidential election, we take a look back, briefly, at the last 100 years of Venezuelan history to understand how they went from oil riches and inequality to revolution and social progress only to run afoul of American imperialism Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at…

1
#1647 How to Eliminate Homelessness While Maintaining Our Humanity 1:49:04

7d ago1:49:04

1:49:04

Air Date 8/6/2024 After the recent Supreme Court ruling that allowed governments to constitutionally purge unhoused people from public spaces, we are getting an immediate lesson in the difference between addressing systemic problems with solutions and using the police to clean up after governments that failed to act. Be part of the show! Leave us a…

1
Bonus Sample #315 You Do You, You Weirdos 16:03

9d ago16:03

16:03

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 8-4-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The use of strategic ambiguity as a way to ensure everyone hears what they want to hear - How weird Republicans are now - How the joke about JD Vance having sex with a couch is viewed as plausible because …

1
#1646 The Kamalanomenon and the Inevitable Misogynoir Backlash of Racism and Sexism 2:07:47

11d ago2:07:47

2:07:47

Air Date 8/2/2024 The Kamala Harris presidential campaign has been on a wild ride since it unexpectedly began less than two weeks ago. Record fund raising, organic enthusiasm not seen since Obama, and the ugly pushback to match. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcri…

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#1645 J.D. Vance, Faux Republican Economic Populism And The Real Pro-Worker Policies We Need 1:44:41

14d ago1:44:41

1:44:41

Air Date 7/30/2024 The Republican Party is making it sound like they're trying to transform themselves into the party of working people. There's a mountain of evidence suggesting that you shouldn't believe them but there's also plenty of reason to sit up and take notice of the situation. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-39…

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Bonus Sample #314 The Lesson of The Grinch 18:29

16d ago18:29

18:29

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 7-29-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - All of our hope-y, fearful feelings about this political moment - The sexist, racist insults already being hurled at Harris - The perceived threat of a woman's laugh - Men's deep-seeded struggle with masc…

1
#1644 State of Play: The RNC Cultish Clown Show, Continued Calls for Violence, and Biden Bows Out 2:28:44

18d ago2:28:44

2:28:44

Air Date 7/26/2024 It's clear where the vast majority of violent rhetoric is coming from in the country and it's clear which party is a cult of personality and which puts country before personal power. This is the state of play in our politics. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript…

51
#1526 A History of Political Violence in the US (Throwback) 1:13:06

21d ago1:13:06

1:13:06

Original Air Date: 11/15/2022 Today, we take a look at our extremely steady history of political violence from the Revolution, through the Civil War, Reconstruction and Jim Crow, into the Civil Rights era, the Militia Movement and domestic terrorism, and now to our current once-again-radicalized, right-wing movement willing to use and tacitly condo…

51
Bonus Sample #313 Consistency When it Matters 16:36

23d ago16:36

16:36

Air Date: 7-21-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin couldn't join us) discuss: - Deon's hatred of old people - How the media industry's failing state led to ineffective coverage of the Biden age story - Amanda's excellent sports analogy - The factors that have lead to America's worsening gerontocracy REFERENCES: Did the media botch the Biden age …

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#1643 Extremism Comes in Many Forms: SCOTUS goes hard-right, Project 2025 in the spotlight, and Christian Nationalism unmasked in Assassination Nation 2:30:54

27d ago2:30:54

2:30:54

Air Date 7/20/2024 Extremism comes in many forms and we live in an era in which way too many of them are on display simultaneously, but it's not coincidence. The far right has been working toward an extremist Supreme Court for decades. Christian Nationalists have similarly been trying to impose their rigid view of far-right Christianity on the rest…

1
#1642 Tumultuous Year of Democracy: Left-Wing victories in the UK, France and Mexico with lessons for the US 2:09:10

28d ago2:09:10

2:09:10

Air Date 7/17/2024 Recent elections in the UK, France and Mexico spanned the spectrum from confirming inevitabilities to completely upending expectations but they each have lessons for politics in the US Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (20% off in Ju…

1
Bonus Sample #312 In a Dinghy of Hope 21:55

1M ago21:55

21:55

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 7-14-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin couldn't join us) discuss: - How we're feeling - The philosophy of liberal patriotism - The positive policies Democrats should be running on to inspire voters - The reckoning the current Democratic Party desperatel…

1
#1641 Green Energy and Public Transport: Feeling blue and seeing red about the inevitable messiness of transitioning to a low-carbon economy 1:52:13

1M ago1:52:13

1:52:13

Air Date 7/12/2024 From solar scams to controversial congestion pricing and the smart grid that's needed to connect it all, we look at the messy and difficult path to a low-carbon future. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No …

1
#1247 The Fight for the Four Freedoms (FDR vs. Libertarianism) (Throwback) 1:01:04

1M ago1:01:04

1:01:04

Original Air Date: 2/5/2019 Today we take a look at the history of FDR's "Four Freedoms" and "Economic Bill of Rights" that laid the groundwork for the fight for economic freedom for all that continues to this day. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE S…

1
Bonus Sample #311 Primal Scream of Catharsis 18:09

1M ago18:09

18:09

Air Date: 7-7-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Some stuff that we planned and A LOT more that we did not. REFERENCES: The Cause That Turned Idealists Into Authoritarian Zealots 'Extreme wealth as power must be regulated’: 31-year-old heiress is letting 50 strangers give her $27 million fortune away The Baffling Disaster Unfolding at…

1
#1640 China Explained: From Cars to Computer Chips, Communism to Carbon Emissions, the South China Sea to Space, and Clinton to Biden 2:54:11

1M ago2:54:11

2:54:11

Air Date 7/5/2024 China is an undeniable force in the world relating to several major political issues and to address their influence without a deep understanding of the history, context, and current dynamics would be to invite 100 years of humiliation. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com T…

1
#1639 Migrants and Refugees on Fortress Earth: Our politicized, fortified, industrialized borders in the US and Europe 2:06:35

1M ago2:06:35

2:06:35

Air Date 7/2/2024 Border security around the world continues to take turns for the dark and dystopian as right-wing sentiment against migrants and refugees continues to escalate to the extreme. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript Air Date 7/2/2024 Border security around the world…

1
Bonus Sample #310 - The Torment Nexus 14:56

2M ago14:56

14:56

Air Date: 6-30-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - the baffling trend of tech companies using cautionary tales from dystopian fiction as a blueprint for what to create next - how the people who build or champion tools of oppression never think those same tools will inevitably be turned on them - the use of drones as first responders, a…

1
#1638 AI: From Killer Apps to Killer Robots, the Present and Future of Artificial Intelligence Spans the Spectrum 2:21:19

2M ago2:21:19

2:21:19

Air Date 6/28/2024 AI, like all new technologies, won't be all good or all bad. In fact, my favorite understanding of emerging technologies is that they often bring simultaneous utopia and dystopia, though many tend to focus on the benefits while only discovering the drawbacks later. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 o…

1
#1590 Red Caesar and Project 2025: A fascist fever dream by the Claremont Institute and the Heritage Foundation (Throwback) 1:01:44

2M ago1:01:44

1:01:44

Original Air Date: 10/23/2023 The people who want to pull the country in directions that are only supported by a small minority of the population have to develop very intricate plans to have any hope of succeeding. This is the story of the latest plan to establish unchecked rule to implement unpopular policies supported only by the far right. Be pa…

1
Bonus Sample #309 Of Kidults and Puppets 23:26

2M ago23:26

23:26

Air Date: 6-23-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The Kidult trend in depth (since we had to cut it short last time) - A right-wing attempt at a puppet-based kids show to draw in young viewers early - How Nanalan' - a kids puppet show from the 90s - is helping some Millennials with reparenting REFERENCES: Adults Are Spending Big on To…

1
#1637 Shifting Populations, Shifting Politics: The European elections show a shift toward the hard right over fears of immigration and scarcity 1:48:30

2M ago1:48:30

1:48:30

Air Date 6/21/2024 The European elections could have been worse but they weren't great. Shifting politics among mainstream parties is legitimizing far-right policies at the same time as people's concerns over immigration is being reflected in a willingness to vote for far-right parties. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-399…

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#1460 The Growing Threat of Minority Rule (Throwback) 1:07:14

2M ago1:07:14

1:07:14

Original Air Date: 12/11/2021 Today we take a look at the many structures of American government that tilt to favor minority rule and conservatism which, in our case, is one and the same. Some structures like the Senate and the filibuster were intentionally designed to give extra weight to the minority while others like gerrymandering and the influ…

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