Episode Details
Back to Episodes
They Need You in the Dark: Information, Journalism, and the Fight Against Fascism
Description
Air Date 2/15/2026
Today we explore the gap between free speech rhetoric and the reality of arrested reporters. We'll hear how a decade of cancel culture panic over college students gave way to actual government suppression of journalists, why the DOJ is perverting a law designed to fight the Ku Klux Klan to prosecute Black journalists, how the administration that promised to "bring back free speech" is maintaining lists of forbidden words, and what history teaches about humor as a weapon against authoritarianism.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
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!
TOP TAKES
KP 1: AG Bondi Confirms FBI Executed Search Warrant at WaPo Reporter's Home - MS Now - Air Date 1-13-26
KP 2: Why Trump Arresting Journalists Is a Sign of Weakness - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 1-30-26
KP 4: Stars and Stripes in Peril Part 1 - On The Media - Air Date 1-28-26
KP 5: Humor Can Topple Dictators Part 1 - Why, America with Leeja Miller - Air Date 10-18-25
KP 6: The Effectiveness of Nonviolent Activism - Inside International Affairs - Air Date 2-28-24
(00:52:02) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On why authoritarians are so afraid of the media
DEEPER DIVES
(01:02:13) SECTION A: STATE REPRESSION
A1: One Authoritarian's Playbook - Rights & Wrongs - Air Date 6-2-25
A2: Following Independent Journalists Fighting for Free Press in Russia - Fresh Air - Air Date 2-5-26
A3: Stars and Stripes in Peril Part 2 - On The Media - Air Date 1-28-26
(01:26:49) SECTION B: LEGAL ATTACKS