The Robber Barons were some dudes who got rich and were pretty sketchy about it all, but then founded a bunch of universities and stuff like that, so I guess we're cool?

Ch. 2: Jane Mayer / The Koch Brothers and the Weaponizing of Philanthropy - EthicsinSociety - Air Date 4-6-16

Why is America living in an age of profound economic inequality? Why, despite the desperate need to address climate change, have even modest environmental efforts been defeated again and again?

Ch. 3: “Sportswashing & Greenwashing”: Ex-Soccer Player Jules Boykoff on Qatar Hosting World Cup - Democracy Now! - Air Date 11-29-22

We speak with author Jules Boykoff about the climate and political implications of the 2022 World Cup.

Ch. 4: How One Industry Controls Football - Athletic Interest - Air Date 11-5-21

Who controls football?

Ch. 5: Why Billionaire Philanthropy Won't Solve Anything - Second Thought - Air Date 2-25-22

You ever notice how oligarchs like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates are cast as these uber-wealthy saviors who are singlehandedly raising the world out of poverty? That doesn't happen by accident.

Ch. 6: What Is Sportswashing (and Does It Work)? - Freakonomics - Air Date 6-8-22

In ancient Rome, it was bread and circuses. Today, it’s a World Cup, an Olympics, and a new Saudi-backed golf league that’s challenging the P.G.A. Tour.

Ch. 7: Why Billionaires Won't Save Us - Our Changing Climate - Air Date 5-21-21

I look at how the elite philanthropy of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk function as more of a billionaire preservation of wealth and self than as an act of altruism.

Ch. 8: Anand Giridharadas: Why We Should Be Skeptical of Billionaires - Amanpour and Company - Air Date 9-19-18

Anand Giridharadas believes we should be a bit more skeptical about embracing billionaires as the change-makers of our era.

MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 9: The 2022 FIFA World Cup And The Rise Of 'Sportswashing' (In The Loop) - Scripps News - Air Date 11-21-22

Christian Bryant explores why sporting events are and can be held in countries with authoritarian regimes in this segment of "Scoreboard."

Ch. 10: Fixing the Economy - Garys Economics - Air Date 11-27-22

After having opened up the publics eyes to the problem of Wealth Inequality, Gary reveals to the Channel his own idea for a possible Wealth Tax.

VOICEMAILS

Ch. 11: Reaching a conclusion on understanding the J.K Rowling episode - Boris from Belgium

Ch. 12: The is/ought malfunction in our pattern recognition - Dave from Olympia, WA

FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 13: Final comments on the is/ought problem of politics

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)

SHOW IMAGE

Description: A diptych of photos of Mohammad bin Salman and a painting of John. D. Rockefeller. A drop of black oil falls into a splash over the center of the image.

Credits: Composite design by A. Hoffman. Photo of “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis stands with Deputy Crown Price of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud” by U.S. Secretary of Defense, Flickr | License: CC by 2.0) | Changes: Cropped / Photo of painting of J.D. Rockefeller by John Singer Sargent, Flickr | License: Public Domain | Changes: Cropped / Oil drop and splash from Pixabay.

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of the Left podcast and which we shall
0:07.1	take a look at the history and present of the labor movement to demonstrate how times
0:11.9	may change but the fundamental struggle, including many of the exact tactics remain the same,
0:18.2	plus get ready to get excited about salts, the secret ingredient in the labor movement.
0:23.7	Clips today are from rattling the bars from the Real News Network, the Young Turks, the
0:28.8	Zero Hour Bloomberg Originals and by the way if you are surprised there's a clip from
0:34.0	Bloomberg in a Best of the Left episode about the labor movement just know that I am too,
0:39.7	but you're not going to want to miss that one.
0:41.8	And there's also Counter-Spin and the Majority Report with additional members only clips
0:46.5	from rattling the bars and jack-a-bin.
0:55.7	I'm going to just read to you all a bit of a passage from a great article that was written
1:00.7	in 2019 by the brilliant author Rachel Angeline for the magazine in these times, shout out to
1:07.9	our comrades over at In These Times Magazine.
1:12.1	So this article was called Why May Day Continues to Capture the Hearts and Imaginations
1:17.7	of Workers.
1:19.5	And Rachel writes in this article, quote, May Day was born in Chicago in 1886.
1:26.6	During the late 19th century, workers tired of 10 to 16 hour days and little pay began
1:32.8	to organize along socialists and anarchist principles.
1:37.0	Whether in formal unions, political parties, or cultural groups, working class people in
1:42.0	the United States were motivated by their dismal conditions and the hope they found in
1:46.6	any capitalist ideas.
1:49.4	With discussion about unfair working conditions spreading like a fever, the 1884 convention
	...

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