#1737 State of the Resistance: Labor, Anger, and Knowing That We've Been Here Before

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Jay Tomlinson

Marx, Political, Feminism, Jacobin, Left, Hightower, Politics, Counterspin, News, News Commentary, Maddow, Hartmann, Democracynow, Antiracism, Marxism, Socialism, Capitalism, Ezra, Liberal, Intercepted, Hayes, Progressive, Intercept, Intersectionality, Wolff

4.6 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2025

⏱️ 212 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Air Date 9/16/2025

Between recent Labor Day rallies and Republican Town Hall meetings, we're seeing that resistance to Trump's deeply unpopular policies is alive and well. Plus we're going to look at some historical legacies of resistance movements that can both inform and inspire us today.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected]

Full Show Notes

Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)

KEY POINTS

KP 1: While We Were Out An Eye-opening Roundup of Everything We Missed or Wished We Had Over the Past Week - The Bradcast - Air Date 9-2-25

KP 2: How Labor Unions Shape Society Margaret Levi (re-release) - TED Talks Daily - Air Date 9-1-25

KP 3: This Is An Invasion - Pritzker, Trump, and the Union Coming Apart + Venezuelan Boat Attack - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 9-5-25

KP 4: What A Raucous Nebraska Town Hall Says About The Country's Mood - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 8-6-25

KP 5: Microsoft Is an Active Partner in the Genocide! Inside the Tech Worker Revolt for Palestine - Working People - Air Date 9-4-25

KP 6: Rules for Surviving Authoritarian Times - How to Fix It - Air Date 6-22-25

KP 7: We Are All D.C. Massive Protests Rock US Capital in Defiance of Trump - The Real News Network - Air Date 9-7-25

(00:53:35) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On what our history can tell us about our present political conflict

A Senator Just Unapologetically Declared the U.S. a White Homeland

DEEPER DIVES

(01:03:18) SECTION A: LABOR DAY

(01:36:45) SECTION B: PROTESTS

(02:08:57) SECTION C: STATE-LEVEL PUSHBACK

(02:39:21) SECTION D: LEGACIES OF RESISTANCE

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Photo from the Labor Day rally in Boston depicting Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren holding a “Workers” banner with other participants. Tall, vertical rally flags are held behind them that say “Justice”, “Solidarity,” “Fairness,” “Security,” and “Freedom”

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of the Left podcast. Between recent Labor
0:08.3	Day rallies and Republican Town Hall meetings, we're seeing that resistance to Trump's deeply
0:13.6	unpopular policies is alive and well. Plus, we're going to look at some historical
0:18.4	legacies of resistance movements that can both inform and inspire us today.
0:24.0	For those looking for a quick overview, the sources providing our top takes in about 50 minutes today
0:29.1	includes the Bradcast, Ted Talks Daily, straight white American Jesus, the Brian Lehrer show,
0:35.9	Working People, How to Fix It, and the Real News Network.
0:39.7	Then, in the additional deeper dives half of the show, there will be more in four sections.
0:43.8	Section A, Labor Day, followed by Section B, protests, Section C, state-level pushback, and Section D,
0:51.3	Legacies of Resistance.
0:53.2	But first, a reminder to check out our new show solved on the Best of Left YouTube channel. We are very proud of the show we're making. We know you will get real value out of it. And you checking it out actually helps us find new viewers on YouTube. So thanks in advance for all of your reviews, like, subscribes, and comments. That's all on the Best of Left YouTube channel, linked in the show notes.
1:13.0	And now, on to the show.
1:18.6	First, on Monday, Labor Day, the New York Times reported that more than 445,000 federal employees have had their union protections stripped from them by the Trump administration since he took office for his second term, even as the administration is responding to hundreds of thousands of protesters all over the country on Labor Day,
1:46.1	claiming, and I quote, that, quote,
1:48.7	no one has done more for working men and women than President Donald Trump.
1:54.6	Smell the gaslighting.
1:55.9	Please hold your laughter.
1:58.5	We got a full hour to get through today.
2:06.1	On that note, crowds gathered in hundreds of cities and towns, big and small, across the nation on Monday, on Labor Day, the Labor Day
2:12.5	holiday, to denounce the overwhelming corrupt influence of America's business tycoons and corporations over the second Trump administration. As Washington Post reports, May Day Strong, a coalition of labor and advocacy groups organized more than 1,000 events, including protests and parades in more than 900 cities on Monday.
2:36.5	The event called Workers Over Billionaires was backed by the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest
2:42.5	federation of labor unions, national political advocacy groups like Indivisible and Move
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jay Tomlinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jay Tomlinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.