Join us this week as we explore the slow-motion collapse of expertise and institutions in America through the lens of Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction story "Nightfall." We examine how the MAGA mob's assault on knowledge mirrors the fictional planet Lagash, where civilization periodically burns itself down in fear of what it doesn't understand. We're witnessing a Cultural Revolution-style purge of expertise - except this time, the things being feared are lies manufactured by Fox News and d...
Jul 11, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 916
We dive into the Republican party's latest identity crisis as their own media machine turns on itself. We explore how decades of conspiracy theories and manufactured outrage have created a base that demands their leaders deliver on impossible promises—and what happens when reality finally catches up. We examine the MAGA movement's relationship with truth, the cult-like devotion that prevents accountability, and how certain recent developments have exposed the gears of the right-wing propaganda m...
Jul 09, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 915
We're visiting America in the ICU on her 249th birthday, hoping the old girl still has some fight left in her. A sad day as Trump's disastrous bill passes the House. We are still fighting. This week, we explore the dark matter of American politics - that invisible force that explains why so many voters can't see what's right in front of them. Spoiler alert: it's not really dark at all. We examine the original No Kings manifesto and ask some pointed questions about which "dark matter" has trained...
Jul 04, 2025•56 min•Ep. 914
Hat tip to John Fetter-Manchin (copyright Driftglass), we're grudgingly back from our beach vacation (okay, we never actually left the Cornfield Resistance) to bring you the political chaos that just won't quit. This week, we dive into the summer breakup season hitting Washington hard. From senators throwing tantrums and storming out over Trump's latest budget disaster... to billionaire Twitter feuds that read like celebrity gossip... to Trump supporters getting a harsh reality check about what ...
Jul 01, 2025•45 min•Ep. 913
We had severe technical difficulties with our audio with Charlie Pierce (thanks for your time, Charlie!) so that interview had to be scrapped. But the show must go on! So this evening we recorded a podcast just the two of us. Bluegal's opinion of Republicans has changed. Someone FINALLY says, "Liberals were right all along," buuuuut... Enjoy this more spontaneous-than-usual show. Stay in Touch! Email: proleftpodcast@gmail.com Website: proleftpod.com Support via Patreon: patreon.com/proleftpod Ma...
Jun 27, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 912
This week, we examine Trump's pathological relationship with Fox News and how his morning TV viewing sessions led directly to bombing Iran. We trace the disturbing line from Fox pundits praising Israeli strikes to Trump launching his own attacks—strikes that Rolling Stone reports were "based on vibes" rather than intelligence. We explore how a president who spent years tweeting that Obama would "play the Iran card" has now done exactly that himself, abandoning his "no foreign wars" promise the m...
Jun 25, 2025•57 min•Ep. 911
We're back from the Cornfield Resistance with another episode examining the eerie echoes of 2003 as familiar faces dust off their war-hungry talking points for another Middle Eastern adventure. We dive into the fascinating split happening in MAGA-land between isolationists and hawks, plus how certain unrepentant ghouls somehow found their way back onto our screens. There's also a delightful trip through our spam folder and the usual Trump chaos, including his latest "two weeks" promise. Oh, and ...
Jun 20, 2025•57 min•Ep. 910
Anyone else notice the growing cracks in the MAGA coalition as supporters openly question whether they've been played? We dive into the spectacular failures that defined this week in MAGA-land. From Trump's embarrassingly sparse tank parade that drew more protesters (Yay, No Kings Marches!) than supporters, to the horrific Minnesota political assassinations that exposed how quickly the right-wing propaganda machine can pivot from one set of lies to another, especially when reality and facts get ...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 909
NOTE: The shocking news of Senator Alex Padilla being forcibly removed and handcuffed at a Kristi Noem press conference simply for trying to ask questions as an elected official? We cover that in the news round-up. In this week's episode, we take a brief break from documenting Republican authoritarianism to explore the 1948 film noir masterpiece "The Big Clock," but quickly return to the fascist dumpster fire by introducing you to Bo Loudon, an 18-year-old MAGA influencer who represents the toxi...
Jun 13, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 908
We dive into the chaos on the right as their messaging machine encounters serious technical difficulties. While they're busy thrashing between conflicting loyalties and scrambling for the next official lie, we explore how power always finds someone else to blame and why Rebecca Solnit's brilliant "she made him do it" theory seems to explain everything in politics these days. Plus, we celebrate a spicy email from our friends at Penzey's and remind everyone that paper straws and pronouns are NOT t...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 907
We're back from the Cornfield Resistance with the messiest billionaire breakup of the century—complete with explosive social media threats and some very familiar names getting dragged into very damning files. We're watching Pride Month get weaponized, civil rights heroes getting erased from naval vessels, and Republican voters acting shocked when the leopards they voted for start eating their own faces. Plus: billionaire-funded "centrist" PACs, AI writing coaches at major newspapers, and why dis...
Jun 06, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 906
We're talking about Trump's "Move Fast and Break Things" presidency - from Tulsi Gabbard wanting to turn intelligence briefings into Fox News shows, to Elon Musk's deadly DOGE disaster that's killed hundreds of thousands worldwide. Senator Joni Ernst delivers peak Republican callousness by dismissing Medicaid death concerns with "We're all gonna die!" while strolling through a cemetery. Plus, we show you what honest economic reporting would look like versus the both-sides garbage we actually get...
Jun 04, 2025•56 min•Ep. 905
This week, we take you back to the "Before Time" - specifically 2011 - to trace the toxic road that led us to where we are today. We revisit the birther movement, explore how "Conservatism cannot fail; conservatism can only be failed" evolved into "Trump cannot fail; Trump can only be failed," and examine what happens when an entire political movement becomes nothing more than loyalty to one man. We discuss the courts blocking Trump's tariffs (and then unblocking them), judges using 26 exclamati...
May 30, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 904
This week, we’re diagnosing a political condition we’re all feeling — what we’re calling Political Cabin Fever . It’s not hopelessness, it’s exhaustion, and if you're part of the Democratic Base, we bet you know exactly what we mean. We remember before-time examples of MAGA from Archie Bunker to Bill Hicks to RoboCop, and we talk about how liberals like us have been sounding the alarm for decades while elite opinion-havers closed their eyes. Plus, we take a look at the Rahmbo revival tour (Why a...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 903
We're serving up some hard-won advice about winning elections - and it's not pretty. While our Never Trump allies and high-paid consultants keep screaming the same tired strategies at Democratic politicians, we're here with a bolder approach inspired by David Bowie's wisdom about language and a certain scene from "Better Call Saul." We dive deep into what undecided and independent voters actually want (spoiler: it's not what you think), examine the post-election interviews that reveal the uncomf...
May 23, 2025•54 min•Ep. 902
This week on The Professional Left: Weather woes! Driftglass and Blue Gal welcome some special guests - tornado refugees (the two younger kids!) - as severe weather interrupts podcast preparations. A "No Fair Remembering Stuff" segment takes us back to 2008's bizarre tire pressure inflation controversy - and why it matters as a "telling detail" in the trajectory of Republican politics. Science Fiction University returns with a look at a particular time travel novel and its eerie parallels to cur...
May 21, 2025•47 min•Ep. 901
Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea! Flash! Those audio chatterboxes they call "The Professional Left Podcast" are taking to the airwaves tonight with a retrospective that'll curl your permanent wave! From the swanky studios of downtown Springfield, Illinois, to your very own listening device comes "Nine Hundred Episodes in Sixty Minutes" — a piping hot sample platter of American political whoop-de-do spanning fifteen years of ballot box bedlam and legacy media failures t...
May 16, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 900
This week on The Professional Left, we're asking the question that's suddenly on everyone's mind: "Does motivated reasoning have any limits?" When a president accepts a $400 million jet as a "gift" from Qatar and his administration floats suspending habeas corpus, are we finally reaching a tipping point? We'll explore why even some of the most devoted right-wing voices are squirming uncomfortably as Trump's corruption moves from the shadows into broad daylight. Is this his "Katrina moment," or j...
May 14, 2025•55 min•Ep. 899
In our 898th episode, we examine a puzzling question: why has political persuasion become seemingly impossible in America today? We explore how the landscape has fundamentally shifted beyond mere policy disagreements into something that looks surprisingly like religious conflict. We connect historical patterns of how religious movements evolve and rewrite their narratives to what we're witnessing in contemporary politics. Drawing parallels between ancient religious transformations and today's po...
May 09, 2025•55 min•Ep. 898
In this episode of The Professional Left Podcast, we return from our break to tackle the media's misuse of political vocabulary and how a certain pundit twists language to avoid placing blame where it belongs. We break down a prominent columnist's appearance on PBS that perfectly illustrates this problem, while examining how his myth of the "Sensible Center" continues to poison our discourse. Our news roundup covers troubling developments from the Trump administration alongside a few rays of hop...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 897
We discuss Chicago politics as 26-year-old progressive influencer Kat Abughazaleh challenges veteran Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who may be announcing her retirement after 14 terms in Congress. Then we take a look at Trump's latest projection scheme as his DOJ targets ActBlue while conveniently ignoring WinRed's shady operations. Both sides don't! Only one for-profit fundraising platform skims millions off donations; we connect the dots on how money flows through our political system—and who's really p...
Apr 29, 2025•46 min•Ep. 896
Today’s episode is going to be a little more unstructured than usual because we have a very special guest. He is a renowned political journalist and staff writer for Esquire, where he writes the popular blog "Politics with Charles P. Pierce." He's known for his sharp political commentary, incisive humor, and encyclopedic knowledge of American politics and history. He previously wrote for outlets including The Boston Globe , Grantland , and Sports Illustrated . He is also the author of "Idiot Ame...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 895
In Episode 894, "The Shipping News," we explore Pope Francis's passing, compare Easter messages from presidents past and present, and examine how "Mr. Fix The Economy On Day One" is actually doing with tariffs and trade wars. We reveal alarming economic indicators, presidential gaslighting about grocery prices, and share some outrageous local political news. Join us as we connect the dots between Trump's promises and the reality hitting American farmers, workers, and consumers. Stay in Touch! Em...
Apr 23, 2025•52 min•Ep. 894
This week, we're examining the disturbing parallels between past and present as we approach the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. We'll explore how the extremist rhetoric that drove Timothy McVeigh has found new life in today's political landscape. We dive into the Republican propaganda machine's decades-long strategy of relentlessly blaming liberals for everything—from Newt Gingrich's exploitation of tragedies to the current rewriting of January 6th as patriotic heroism. We'll show...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 893
In this week's episode, we examine the disturbing realities of Trump's America in 2025, where Supreme Court rulings are ignored, critics face politically motivated investigations, and erratic tariff policies create economic chaos. We connect these developments to warnings we shared a year ago about the rise of fascism, reminding listeners that what's happening now was entirely predictable. (Kamala Harris said she wasn't gonna say "I told you so" as she DID.). As we document the administration's ...
Apr 15, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 892
In this week's episode, we dive into why Republicans keep winning the messaging war despite their policies hurting average Americans. We explore how stories consistently triumph over facts in political discourse and why Democrats' reliance on statistics isn't working. From "The Inspector General" to parables in the Bible, we examine how powerful narratives shape public perception more effectively than cold, hard facts. We also break down the absurdity of Trump's tariffs, the mainstream media's u...
Apr 11, 2025•49 min•Ep. 891
Time to dive into Donald Trump's tantrum-driven manufacturing policy and catastrophic tariff regime. We follow the destructive path of his administration as it systematically dismantles Biden's successful manufacturing initiatives - from shutting down EV charging stations to threatening billions in loans for electric vehicle factories. We explain how manufacturing jobs create a powerful multiplier effect (each job creates nine other jobs), and how Trump's policies are now subtracting jobs from t...
Apr 09, 2025•55 min•Ep. 890
In this week's episode, we break down Trump's chaotic new trade war and its immediate devastating impact on the markets. We draw parallels between this administration's trade "liberation" and the Bush-era Iraq War disaster, examining: The fallout from Trump's sweeping tariff announcements that wiped $1.65 trillion from the US stock market in minutes The mass layoffs hitting public health agencies, senior services, and cultural institutions How Elon Musk's DOGE (Department of Government Efficienc...
Apr 04, 2025•46 min•Ep. 889
AKA There Is No Trump without Newt. In episode 888 of The Professional Left Podcast, hosts driftglass and Blue Gal dive into the political landscape of April 1st, 2025, where April Fools Day is effectively canceled at the Cornfield Resistance due to the real Fool occupying the Oval Office. The hosts examine how Republicans have weaponized language over decades, tracing the destructive path from Newt Gingrich's slash-and-burn politics through Rush Limbaugh's hate radio to Trump's presidency. They...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 888
Tulsi Gabbard's memory seems as selective as Alberto Gonzales's infamous "I don't recall" testimony from 2007. Imagine a Director of National Intelligence who can't remember being part of a classified Signal chat from just yesterday. She's also not good at lying, which is a requirement included in her job description as Trump's DNI. From the Bush-era playbook of political corruption to Trump's current circus of catastrophic mismanagement, we trace the alarming pattern of Republican administratio...
Mar 28, 2025•59 min•Ep. 887
