Air Date 10/25/2025

Trump's attacks on free speech, particularly with the use of the Federal Communications Commission, goes far beyond the Jimmy Kimmel story. We're in the middle of an all-out assault on freedom of speech, a free and unbiased press, and freedom of association.

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Full Show Notes

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KEY POINTS

KP 1: FCC's Anna Gomez & Axios' Sara Fischer - Axios - Air Date 9-19-25

KP 2: Bari Weiss, CBS News, And The Conservative Media Takeover - Lever Time - Air Date 10-9-25

KP 3: Trumps Horrifying Plan to Destroy Free Speech W/ Ken Klippenstein - Current Affairs - Air Date 10-10-25

KP 4: ‘They’ll Be Others’: Trump THREATENS More Indictments of Foes After Comey - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 9-26-25

KP 5: Is ANTIFAscism Really a Violent Extremist Movement? - Matthew Cooke - Air Date 10-14-25

(00:48:56) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On 'Working the Refs'

DEEPER DIVES

(00:53:51) SECTION A: ANTIFA

(01:15:09) SECTION B: POLITICAL ENEMIES

(01:53:02) SECTION C: FREE SPEECH

(02:29:52) SECTION D: MEDIA TAKEOVER

(02:52:28) SECTION E: MOCKING THE FACISTS

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Black and white version of the official portrait of FCC Chair Brendan Carr with the list of words banned by the Trump administration in red over his face.

Credit: Internal composite design. | Carr official portrait via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Original Air Date: 10/13/2020

Today we take a look at the myths of Columbus and American Exceptionalism™ that we cling to and turn our gaze to some of the less-understood but more accurate and important aspects of our collective history

Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Full Show Notes

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Can You Handle The Truth? - Native Opinion Podcast an American Indian Perspective - Air Date 10-20-19

Ch. 2: Why the US celebrates Columbus Day - Vox - Air Date 10-8-20

Ch. 3: Columbus In His Own Words - Let's Talk Native TV - Air Date 10-12-19

Ch. 4: In Search of a Better American Myth - Progressive Faith Sermons, Dr. Roger Ray - Air Date 10-11-20

Ch. 5: Jon Schwarz on social silence, hidden history, and why Trump is our most honest president - The Katie Halper Show - Air Date 11-22-18

Ch. 6: City Upon A Hill: A History Of American Exceptionalism - BackStory - Air Date 1-22-16

Ch. 7: The American Exceptionalism Mythology - Loud & Clear - Air Date 7-5-19

Ch. 8: Columbus redux! - Let's Talk Native - Air Date 7-17-19

Ch. 9: Why The Right Is So Dishonest About American History - Cracked (Some More News) - Air Date 11-21-17

SHOW IMAGE

"Christopher Columbus Statue Torn Down at Minnesota State Capitol" by Tony Webster, Flickr | License | Modifications: Cropped

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Air Date: 10–14-25

Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:

• Ch. 1 - The cartoonish conservative and libertarian responses to Trump’s state capitalism

• Ch. 2 - Trump’s interest in sovereign wealth funds, and the lie the right sells its supporters about getting money back

• Ch. 3 - The left spectrum of reactions to Trump’s state capitalism

• Ch. 4 - Why Trump is definitely, 100%, not in any way a socialist

• SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm: Ayn Rand’s nearly psychotic opposition to altruism

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REFERENCES:

The Danger of Trump Seizing Private Companies - Time magazine

Trump’s “State Capitalism … a Hybrid Between Socialism and Capitalism” Won’t Make America Great Again - Cato Institute

Trump Is Embracing 'Daddy State' Economics - Reason

Trump's brand of US capitalism faces 'socialist' backlash from conservatives - BBC

Trump, national-capitalism at bay - Heterodox

Don’t Let Trump Define What State Capitalism Can Be - The New Republic

What State Capitalism Can Do—and What It Can’t - The American Prospect

Unfortunately, Donald Trump is Not a Socialist - Current Affairs

EXTRAS

Were the Nazis Socialists? - Britannica

r/AskHistorians: “Is Nazism right wing or left wing?”

Interview with Hitler - Interviews (Anthology 1859-1993)

BACKSTAGE

I’ve spent my entire career studying stress—the No. 1 cure for it might ‘surprise’ you - CNBC

Leonard Peikoff - Wikipedia