{"podcast":{"title":"Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy","slug":"best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587","podcast_index_feed_id":457587,"rss_url":"https://hippiesympathizer.libsyn.com/mp3.rss","website_url":"https://www.bestoftheleft.com/listen","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/a/7/a/a/a7aad30e2da4890d/BotL_Scaled_up_Portrait_Logo.jpg","author":"Jay Tomlinson","episode_count":550,"summary":"Expertly-curated progressive politics, news, and culture produced by leftist humans, not algorithms or AI. This is an award-winning podcast that dives deeply into a wide range of national and international issues facing society and governments. We draw from hundreds of sources of progressive news and commentary. Est. 2006. Save time by listening to a range of perspectives on a focused topic in each episode and be introduced to new sources you will not have come across on your own!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-12T00:18:23.422370+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587"},"episode":{"title":"#1801 Counterfeit Populism: Trump, the 2026 Primaries, and the Era That's Ending (Transcript)","slug":"1801-counterfeit-populism-trump-the-2026-primaries-and-the-era-that-s-ending-transcript","published_at":"2026-06-18T02:26:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587/1801-counterfeit-populism-trump-the-2026-primaries-and-the-era-that-s-ending-transcript","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587","url":"https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1801","audio_url":"https://pdrl.fm/829673/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/hippiesympathizer/1801_Midterm_Madness.mp3?dest-id=22784","summary":"Air Date: 6/17/2026 Today we trace a pattern that repeated across half a dozen states this primary season: working-class candidates running on the cost of living beat the opponents party leadership hand-picked and funded. It looks like ordinary election news, but it's more pieces of a larger shift already underway; away from a politics of left against right and toward a new era of the elite vs working people. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message , message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community ! TOP TAKES KP 1: Hayes: Trump Is Chasing Good Press with Bombs - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 6-11-26 KP 2: Bernie Sanders Just Won Them All - The Rational National - Air Date 6-10-26 KP 3: We Sat AOC Down With Republican Voters. Can She Win Them Over? - More Perfect Union and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - Air Date 6-9-26 KP 4: \"Fetterman Vibes?\" DSA Dem WON'T DEFEND Graham Platner - Breaking Points - Air Date 6-9-26 KP 5: Abdul El-Sayed Thinks the Michigan Senate Race Will Come Down to This One Factor - Slate and Abdul El-Sayed - Air Date 4-30-26 (00:49:39) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Counterfeit Populism Is Dying My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:05:26) SECTION A: READING THE PRIMARY MAP A1: Voters Reject the Establishment in This Week's Primaries - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 6-4-26 A2: Josh Turek, Democratic Senate Nominee, on Why Iowa Will Flip Blue - Brian Tyler Cohen News - Air Date 6-3-26 A3: The Graham Platner Debate Part 1 - Majority 54 - Air Date 6-4-26 A4: Kentucky Senate Seat Is…","meta_description":"Air Date: 6/17/2026 Today we trace a pattern that repeated across half a dozen states this primary season: working-class candidates running on the cost of…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":13697,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587/episodes/1801-counterfeit-populism-trump-the-2026-primaries-and-the-era-that-s-ending-transcript/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-left-leftist-perspectives-on-progressive-politics-news-culture-economics-and-democracy-457587/1801-counterfeit-populism-trump-the-2026-primaries-and-the-era-that-s-ending-transcript.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}