#1751 Monthly-ish Mix: Institutions Fall, Reality Breaks, Empire Rises

#1751 Monthly-ish Mix: Institutions Fall, Reality Breaks, Empire Rises

Author: Best of the Left: Perspectives on Politics, Culture, and Economics November 11, 2025 Duration: 3:47:06

Air Date: 11/11/25

The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we examine how power is being quietly consolidated across institutions, how propaganda and AI are reshaping our sense of reality, and how division and fear are fueling both domestic repression and global aggression. From the Supreme Court to state media manipulation, from dismantled voting rights to foreign influence campaigns, we trace the machinery of authoritarian control—and spotlight the journalists, educators, and activists still pushing back to keep truth and democracy alive.

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Full Show Notes

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PART 1: INSTITUTIONAL CAPTURE & CONSOLIDATION

(00:01:44) 1742 Captured Court, Captured Nation: SCOTUS Serves Trump's Authoritarianism

(00:16:53) 1743 Trump and Project 2025: Blitzkrieg Against America

(00:43:56) 1749 Democracy: In Theory, In Practice, and Under Threat

PART 2 INFORMATION WARFARE & REALITY CONTROL

(01:08:35) 1746 What an actual attack on free speech looks like

(01:40:37) 1745 Fake New World: The Age of AI Slop, AI Education, and AI Fascism

(01:54:27) 1744 Sell Outs, Shills, and Scandals: Saudi Arabia and Israel are buying the credibility they can't earn honestly

PART 3 OTHERING & EXPANSION

(02:13:08) 1747 Racism in the United States, it turns out, is a problem

(02:31:27) 1741 Global Uprisings: Dissatisfaction Roiling France, the UK, and Nepal

(02:56:07) 1750 "American's Backyard" - The War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs

(03:20:01) 1748 Patriotism in Peril: Democracy, the Military, and the Fight Over What America Means

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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For over fifteen years, Best of the Left-Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy has served as a vital, human-curated digest of voices from across the progressive spectrum. Instead of presenting a single opinion, each episode is built around a specific theme-from economic inequality to climate policy to cultural shifts-and weaves together insightful commentary from a diverse array of journalists, activists, and thinkers. This approach allows you to efficiently grasp the nuances of complex issues by hearing multiple expert angles in one sitting, all while discovering new commentators and sources you might not have encountered otherwise. The result is a richly layered analysis that algorithms simply cannot replicate, offering depth and context often missing from the daily news cycle. Since 2006, this award-winning podcast has cut through the noise, drawing from hundreds of independent and established sources to provide a coherent, thoughtful examination of the forces shaping our society and governments. Tuning in means joining a long-running conversation dedicated to understanding and advancing democratic principles, social justice, and a more equitable economy, all through the focused lens of leftist thought.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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