Episodes
Published 05/13/20
Content Warning: This episode covers topics including bullying, sexual assault and doxing. In this week's episode, Corn and Jay discuss a follow-up to our last episode where we discussed the Joshua Collins doxxing scandal where Joshua Collins, a candidate for Washington's 10th Congressional District, got wrapped up in drama where a voter in his district was wrongfully accused of sexually aggressing a staff member of Joshua's campaign by Joshua. Corn and Jay talk about follow-ups that came out...
Published 05/13/20
Content Warning: This episode covers topics including bullying, sexual assault and doxing. In this week's episode, Corn and Jay discuss bullying and the misuse of positions of power from those on the left. Join us as we examine a complaint filed with the Thurston County Democrats regarding Washington's 10th Congressional Candidate Joshua Collins who is alleged to have doxed a progressive voter in his own district. We also discuss other problematic actions from the Collins campaign including...
Published 04/28/20
We apologize for the quality of our audio. We're getting settled with our respective home studios during quarantine, and we are eternally thankful to Jay for his superlative editing skills and patience. We'll get better! Don't forget to give us some stars and subscribe! We hope you are all staying safe, sane, and healthy. Want to talk about it? Send a note to [email protected]! Follow The Better Left Cast on Twitter Follow the Better Left Cast on Facebook Follow the Better Left Cast on...
Published 04/07/20
Right now Team Better Left are sequestered in our respective homes and preparing to coordinate our all-remote call-in podcast, the first time we've done that, so it should be both technically challenging and entirely frustrating- for everyone! We'll keep you posted! In the meantime, here's the latest episode: The Next Episode! We sit down with King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove and talk about the recent firing of two teachers because they were marrying same-sex partners and his...
Published 03/17/20
Ash sits down with local community activists/poets; Kamali, Maven and Seneca “Rosie Rocket” Rose to celebrate Black History Month and discuss a wide range of related topics spanning from Racial and Gender Identity to Youth Culture and Voting. They do it all through the sociopolitical lens they colloquially refer to as “Blackness”. Join us for this spiritual and often unconventional ride that we hope will inspire more questions and better solutions! References From The Show:...
Published 03/01/20
Jay and Troy talk with Cassidy "Corn" Butler and Mark "Krouton" Routon, who were in Iowa working the caucus, Corn was there as Field Director, and Krouton as a volunteer in the field, both called to Iowa by their commitment to a Bernie Sander's Presidency, they're back to tell their stories from the field! Run-ins with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michael Moore, trapping national press in an elevator, and more importantly, stories from the people of Iowa. It's a real adventure and you'll want to...
Published 02/21/20
Discussed in this show: Greetings friends. We had some concerns about this week's show. The topics of race, gender, violence against marginalized communities, pervasive, systemic racism with tendrils so deep into the foundation of the systems we've built that places ostensibly created to mete out justice with impartiality have instead reinforced inequity and inequality, institutionalizing bias against race, gender, and class, that we end up codifying exclusion to the point of excess. How in...
Published 02/17/20
Brothers Michael and Brian and special contributors to the Better Left Network, sit down for an in-depth conversation with Shannon and Jazz from the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club. John What is The Three Percenter Militia? The four discuss The Three Percenters (also styled 3 Percenters, 3%ers and III%ers[1]) are an American far-right militia movement[2] and paramilitary group.[3] The group advocates gun ownership rights and resistance to the U.S. federal government's involvement in local...
Published 02/12/20
Warning: This episode contains vivid descriptions of a brutal attack from the perspective of a survivor. It's powerful, it's heartwrenching, and we were honored that our guest chose to share her story with us. You may want to skip this episode, or at least jump over the 1:22:00 through 1:30:00 and skip to the end.Welcome to the Better Left Podcast! We picked the best guest to join us after our brief hiatus. Queen of the Dirty South? Leader of the Rebel Alliance? Trouble if you make it? Maybe...
Published 02/04/20
Warning: This episode contains vivid descriptions of a brutal attack from the perspective of a survivor. It's powerful, it's heartwrenching, and we were honored that our guest chose to share her story with us. You may want to skip this episode, or at least jump over the 1:22:00 through 1:30:00 and skip to the end. Welcome to the Better Left Podcast! We picked the best guest to join us after our brief hiatus. Queen of the Dirty South? Leader of the Rebel Alliance? Trouble if you make it?...
Published 02/03/20
Wow. You are going to love this. Jay and Sarah bring on a very special guest, and we talk about losing your religion, having a best selling book turned into a hit Hollywood movie, unwittingly picking a fight with The Internet, moving to a remote island cabin in the woods in order to turn off distraction and focus on his work and the fans of it. Seattle-based author Isaac Marion is an extremely interesting guy. Do you remember the hit movie Warm Bodies? In this episode, we continue our...
Published 01/06/20
In this episode, Ash leone is back in the studio for the prequel to our conversations from episode #26, with your hosts Sarah and Troy, and Producer Jay at the helm. This episode we talk about: Gender identity and its impacts on the creation of music, and how it influences the creative process. We talk about what it means to not fit into the gender binary, and how black, non-binary people are processing what it means to be young, black, and queer in America. Non-binary Perspectives: We talk...
Published 12/22/19
Wow! A man named Bernard came and stole our Corn and took her all the way to Iowa! Oh whyyyowa!? Because she's a badass political organizer and Bernie knows what's up. So this episode we send Corn away with some: What the s**t?! We talk about the human-shaped garbage pile responsible for the murder of Treyvon Martin. Trayvon's attacker has taken an indignant, loud, put-upon stance as he theatrically crisscrossed his way through the sewage spillway that is the FOX (and really all our modern...
Published 12/16/19
Our guests on this episode: Kamali Senior, Writer, community activist, and organizing director for Seattle Against Foreclosure and Eviction (S.A.F.E.), and Ash León, activist for S.A.F.E., hip hop artist, and public speaker on the intersectionality of queer black culture and hip hop. We explore the issue of housing insecurity and affordability in Seattle, as Jay and Atom interview Kamali and Ash of S.A.F.E on the topics of redlining, Seattle's racist past and present, and what is and is not...
Published 12/03/19
You've worked hard, now play hard! Listen to the show and let us know what you think about it. Like us! Subscribe to us! Share a thought with us! Have a topic idea? Want to be a guest? Know a great guest? Want to come hang out when we record? You can! Just reach out to us after listening to the show and let us know what's on your mind. What the Shit? Eric Swalwell rage farted at Chris Mathews on MSNBC during a Trump rant or something. Or was he framed? Who knows for sure - all we know is that...
Published 11/25/19
Shout-out to Abraham! It's Jesus, and he's in Seattle - he's leading the Pride parade, he's marching in the Women's March, he's testifying in front of Seattle City Council, and he is hanging out with the Better Left crew as our special guest this episode. Why is this Muslim man dressed as Jesus leading Pride Parades and engaging directly with the braying hate-donkeys haunting the public events of Hellward bound heathens? Did it get dangerous? Was it remarkable? A.. miracle? Well, we find...
Published 11/11/19
Our guest is a Congressional candidate Peter Khalil and his campaign manager Nicolette Horaites joins Sarah and Jay Smith to talk about why he is running for office in Washington State's 3rd Congressional District. This from the Khalil for Congress campaign Facebook Page: "My name is Peter Khalil. I am the child of immigrants. My father grew up a Coptic Christian in Egypt. Faced with discrimination at home, he came to America with $200 and the hope that he could make a better life for...
Published 11/04/19
In this episode, we talk with Shaun Scott! Shaun Scott is a candidate for Seattle City Council District 4, the area comprising the U-District, Wallingford, Eastlake, Roosevelt, and NE Seattle, and we like him! It's a great conversation - listen to learn more about Shaun Scott's race for Seattle City Council, his vision for Seattle, and the quality of his character. Sarah Smith, Jay, Atom, Troy, and Corn are your hosts. These are their stories: Shout out to Kelly Bachman, the comedian that...
Published 10/27/19
Our friend Kiesha stops by at the end of our show to help celebrate Jay's birthday. Kiesha started a non-profit called Opportunities in Our Communities, and we hang out to do the Palate Cleanser! Also in this epi: Sarah Smith, Jay Smith, Corn Smith, & Atom Smith. Failed Attack on Synagogue Atom speaks to the terrorist attack on a German Synagogue during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community. Thwarted by a door, it was streamed live on Twitch for over 30...
Published 10/21/19
Spoiler Alert! Mike Yestramski Jr. came to visit to talk about his run for President of the AFSCME Council 28 WFSE, then Jay slipped into something more comfortable (a giant Penguin suit), and Yestramski won his race! So if you are running, you might want to hire Jay for your campaign, your children's birthday party, and bat mitzvahs. Jay Inslee ignores the Indigenous people assembled at the State Capitol begging for an audience, Inslee has no time because just so busy fighting mango-flavored...
Published 10/15/19
Sarah is joined by hosts Troy, Corn, and Atom, with producer Jay on the dials. In this episode, we visit with our old friend Franciose and Adam and talk their political activism via their roles with ASUCD, or Associated Students of the University of California Davis. We also talk Facebook dating, Aliens, What the ^? Blink 182 invented UFOs. I beg the powers that be in this, the worst timeline, that we don't have to talk more about this in the future. Facebook Dating, wherein we discover...
Published 10/02/19
This interview with journalist and author Dahr Jamail sits with hosts Jason Stephens, Michael Graham, and Troy Hewitt to explore aspects of Dahr's new book, The End of Ice, and the ongoing climate crisis that you probably have not heard before. Dahr tells of his plans for writing the book, and how his original plans took a turn through his experiences in the field researching it. He explains and describes for us the state of sensitive eco-systems that are undergoing dramatic change right now,...
Published 09/20/19
Sarah is back, as is our friend Pun Master Adam! Bill is traveling to the South, so we've invited our old pal Adam to join us for this episode. You've also got Jay and Troy, which makes this very special for all involved. What the S**t?! A Bank Error... NOT IN YOUR FAVOR! UFO's are real, in that they are objects, they fly, and they remain unidentified. Big News Breakdown Michael Bolton had nothing to do with this episode, but John Bolton was fired. Or did he resign? No Quorum?! The FEC...
Published 09/19/19
The team is together again, and this time it's for the last time for one of, just like the first time again. High school community organizer Andrew Hong talks mobilizing yourself and your community, we talk about all the crazy stuff going on inside our President's mind, and subsequently his tweets, and win riddles. What the S**t: Here I am, Nuking Up Your Hurricane Andrew uncovers the real scoop: HIGH SCHOOL FLAT EARTHERS We open our Florida Man advent calendar, only you begin on January...
Published 09/09/19