Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of Left podcast. It's said that money can't buy a variety of things like peace, happiness, loyalty, and more relevant to today, integrity and trust. But in a world in which impressions, a very multi-layered word in this context, can be bought and sold

in the open market, and an audience's loyalty to influencers, entertainers, and athletes

can be leveraged in an attempt to transfer the credibility from the talented to the tyrannical.

You better believe that places like Saudi Arabia and Israel

are going to try it.

For those looking for a quick overview, the sources providing our top takes in about

45 minutes today includes current affairs, TYT Sports, Al Jazeera English, Adam Conover, Taylor

Lorenz power user, and DW News.

Then in the additional deeper dives have of the show, there will be more in three sections.

Section A, sellouts and shills, followed by Section B, influencers, and Section C, Saudi Arabia, buying soft and hard power.

But first, a reminder to check out our new show Solved on the Best of Left YouTube channel. We're really proud of the show we're making, and we know you'll get real value out of it. And you checking it out actually helps us get new viewers on YouTube. So thanks in advance for all of your views, likes, subscribes, and comments. That's all on the Best of Left YouTube channel linked in the show notes. And now, on to the show.

I know deep down in my heart that Matthew McConaughey is not my friend.

Despite my lingering soft spot for his charming Texan accent, his role in my life amounts to nothing more than pixels

on a screen. Still, but did little to ease the pang of betrayal I felt after spotting him in this

commercial for the software company Salesforce, nursing a broken arm in the back room of an overcrowded

hospital. Hey, doc. Feed instir-ups, please.

Wait, why? Because you're a Nogie, Y, Y, N. Breathe from your diaphragm, brother. Aid and force helps health care providers prevent medical mishaps. It's what AI was meant to be. It's going to be cold. Notice his sweet, sweet Texan drawl just completely camouflaging the dystopian premise of that ad.

Apparently, in our dysfunctional hospital system in America, your odds of healing a broken bone now depend on the use of a new AI program. Watching this, I couldn't help but conjure a word

from deep within my psych that I hadn't heard in literally eons. Sell out.

In recent years, it feels like our pop culture landscape has become so dominated by athletic wear brand deals and laxative pill endorsements that it's kind of hard to remember

an alternative.

A-listers now seem to treat art like a side hustle, and advertising is their main career.

...