Air Date 12/24/2022 Today, we compare the far-right religious extremists who are fighting to gain power in the US with the protests against the theocratic regime in Iran supporting women's rights in the country. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) BestOfTheLeft.com/HOLIDAY (BOTL GIFT GUIDE!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: How a new Christian right is changing US politics - BBC News - Air Date 11-28-22 A new battle of faith is being driven by some pastors and politicians in the United States. Their central message is that the country's conservative Christian way of life is under threat, and American society is moving in the wrong direction. Ch. 2: Women's Rights Activist on Protests Sweeping Iran, the Intensifying Gov't Crackdown & Executions Part 1 - Democracy now! - Air Date 10-15-22 "Iranians voted multiple times for over two decades for some process of reform … but the state has not given in to those demands," she says. "What we're seeing now is the result." Tahmasebi is the director of FEMENA Ch. 3: The Taliban’s Far-Right Fan Base - VICE - Air Date 10-18-21 In chat rooms and message boards on the darker corners of the web - far-right groups have been praising the Taliban’s takeover, lauding their religious fundamentalism, execution of opponents, and hatred of so-called liberalism. Ch. 4: Complete Dissatisfaction with the Current Order - Why Protests in Iran Are Not Slowing Down - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-6-22 "Today's movement is not calling for reform. Today's movement is calling for a new vision of politics … with women at the helm of it," says Narges Bajoghli, professor of anthropology and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University Ch. 5: Are We Prepared For Anti-Democratic Extremist Threats? Featuring Peter Montgomery - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 12-15-22 Far Right, Anti-Democratic Extremist groups are not slowing down. Some even have connections with ‘mainstream’ Republican politicians. Peter Montgomery joins Thom Hartmann to discuss the threat the far right still poses. Ch. 6: Inside the Iran Protests: What You Need to Know Nahid Siamdoust - The Majority Report - Air Date 12-18-22 Sam and Emma host Nahid Siamdoust, Assistant Professor of Middle East and Media Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss the recent political protests in Iran. Ch. 7: Republican Leader Trump's Dinner With Racist Forces Reckoning For Normal Americans - The Rachel Maddow Show - Air Date 11-28-22 Rachel Maddow shares some of the fringe perspectives of the racist, Christian fascist who Donald Trump hosted for dinner at Mar-a-Lago Ch. 8: Women's Rights Activist on Protests Sweeping Iran, the Intensifying Gov't Crackdown & Executions Part 2 - Democracy now! - Air Date 10-15-22 MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 9: Will SCOTUS Turn America Into A Theocracy? (w/ Rachel Laser) - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 4-18-22 Joseph Kennedy, a football coach, pressured his students to pray with him. He was asked not pressure students into religion during Public School activities. but he refused. Rachel Laser joined Thom to discuss the case and the pressure on students. Ch. 10: Hayes: Supreme Court conservative majority is ‘high council of Fox News viewers’ - All In w/ Chris Hayes - Air Date 12-5-22 “Because the conservative majority has tossed away all pretense of being anything other than, essentially, a high council of Fox News viewers, they decided her case should be heard before the Supreme Court,” says Chris Hayes FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 12: Final comments on why Christian Nationalists would be better off not installing a dictatorship MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) Produced by Jay! Tomlinson