#1784 Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides

#1784 Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides

Author: Best of the Left: Perspectives on Politics, Culture, and Economics April 14, 2026 Duration: 2:39:55

Air Date: 4/14/2026

Today we examine the legal battles shaking the foundations of American citizenship and voting rights as Trump's legal team uses the courts as a weapon against democratic participation — and how advocates are fighting back. We'll hear about the three-D playbook of deceive, disrupt, and deny used by authoritarians and being deployed by Trump ahead of the midterms, and what ordinary people can do right now to protect their votes before November.

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

Full Show Notes

Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)

Join our Discord community!


TOP TAKES

KP 1: SCOTUS Hears Birthright Citizenship Arguments - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-1-26

KP 2: Will SCOTUS Join the GOP War on Mail-in Ballots Part 1 - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 3-30-26

KP 3: Arizona Secretary of State Trump Is Trying to Pick His Own Voters by Restricting Mail-in Ballots - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-3-26

KP 4: Desperate Election STUNT in California BLOCKED by Supreme Court - Legal AF - Air Date 4-9-26

KP 5: Mark Joseph Stern of Slate on SCOTUS Arguments to Block Late Arriving Mail Ballots Part 1 - The Bradcast - Air Date 3-24-26

KP 6: Voting Rights & Wrongs, According to SCOTUS with Steve Vladeck - Stay Tuned with Preet - Air Date 3-25-26


(00:52:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Conservatives' Judicial Originalism Isn't Principle — It's a 40-Year Political Project


DEEPER DIVES

(01:07:20) SECTION A: BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

(01:39:42) SECTION B: ELECTION INTERFERENCE

(02:03:37) SECTION C: MAIL-IN VOTING


SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

 

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!

Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com


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
Podcast Episodes
#1751 Monthly-ish Mix: Institutions Fall, Reality Breaks, Empire Rises [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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…
#1750 "America's Backyard" - The War on Terror Meets the War on Drugs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:05:57
Air Date 11/7/2025 The United States claiming a divine (and imperialist) right to tamper in the politics of South American countries is nothing new. As is so often the case with Trump, the biggest difference is that he's…
#1749 Democracy: In Theory, In Practice, and Under Threat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:02:14
Air Date 11/4/2025 Elections are always coming up, some sooner than others, so we thought we would take a look at the state of our democracy and what we must do to maintain it in the face of the greatest direct assault o…
#1747 Racism in the United States, it turns out, is a problem [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:10:15
Air Date 10/28/2025 As we were looking for episode topics, I came across an article making the case that racism is a real problem in the country and that there were lots of recent examples that proved the point. And I wa…
#1746 What an actual attack on free speech looks like [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:12:46
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 spee…
#1745 Fake New World: The Age of AI Slop, AI Education, and AI Fascism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:18:56
Air Date 10/19/2025 Robber Barons™ of The Gilded Age™ told themselves stories about how they were ushering in progress for all which is why, they argued, they shouldn't be constrained by things like safety regulations or…