SOLVED! SAMPLE! #24 - Attacking the Medium is the Message: Trump's Media Oligarchs and the Assault on Free Speech

SOLVED! SAMPLE! #24 - Attacking the Medium is the Message: Trump's Media Oligarchs and the Assault on Free Speech

Author: Best of the Left: Perspectives on Politics, Culture, and Economics October 14, 2025 Duration: 24:32

Air Date: 10–5-25

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

 

  • Ch. 1 - The state of American media consolidation
  • Ch. 2 - The debate over free speech and the how the history of the right proves they have never been in favor of it.
  • Ch. 3 -  The Trump administrations latest aggressive anti-free speech moves, and the Jimmy Kimmel suspension
  • Ch. 4 - A look at how independent media was absorbed in the early days of Putin's regime, and the dire importance of not complying in advance
  • Ch. 5 - A perspective on why the Trump administration will lose the war on free speech, and some other hopeful notes
  • SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm: Ezra Klein's bizarre interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates

 

FOLLOW US ON:

YouTube (This full episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please share!)

Bluesky

Instagram

Facebook

Mastadon

Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e

 

REFERENCES:

You Think the Bari Weiss–CBS News Story Is Bad? No—It's Much Worse. - The New Republic

The Billionaire Trump Supporter Who Will Soon Own the News - The New York Times

We Have Seen the 'Woke Right' Before, and It Wasn't Pretty Then, Either - The New York Times

Trump Administration Wields Its Full Toolbox to Bring Media to Heel - The New York Times

We Can No Longer Tell Ourselves This Isn't Really Happening - The New York Times

Is Trump's Attack on the Media Following Putin's Playbook? - The New Yorker

Trump is going to lose the war on free speech - New York Magazine

 

EXTRAS

Carsie Blanton " God Bless the Grass" (by Malvina Reynolds)

**Carsie Blanton and ~450 other unarmed humanitarians from more than 40 countries have been abducted by Israeli forces from the Global Sumud Flotilla. Call your members of Congress: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/contact-officials/

 

BACKSTAGE

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines - The Ezra Klein Show (The New York Times)

 

TAKE ACTION:

No Kings National Day of Action - Oct. 18th

Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY - Tell Congress to stand down the federal escalation

One Million Rising Trainings


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
#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…
#1743 Trump and Project 2025: Blitzkrieg Against America [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:15:00
Air Date 10/10/2025 The strategy that Trump and the masterminds behind Project 2025 are following is to move as fast as possible to implement their agenda because they know perfectly well how unpopular it is and will be…
#1526 A History of Political Violence in the US (Throwback) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:44
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 Mo…
#1739 The Charlie Kirk Assassination and the Plans to Weaponize It [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:29:37
Air Date 9/23/2025 All that is happening in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination was quite predictable because we've actually seen this game plan play out before. The only thing we didn't know was what would be the…
SOLVED! #22 - The Culture Wars at 10,000 Feet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:51
Air Date: 9–20-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - The right-wing's continued attempts at satire Ch. 2 - Manufactured outrage about male cheerleaders and sorority dances Ch. 3 - How political outsider…