# BEST OF THE LEFT APP — user reviews > 68 indexed App Store user reviews of BEST OF THE LEFT APP by Wizzard Media, rated 4.70/5 from 74 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/best-of-the-left-app/id334671649/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/best-of-the-left-app/id334671649.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 66 · 4★ 3 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 3 ## Newest reviews (18 of 68) ### 5/5 — Good stuff *2015-10-01, version 1.20.17* Great clip show if truly independent media. Good stuff. ### 5/5 — A great podcast *2015-09-30, version 1.20.17* Jay collects the best podcast segments and magically weaves them into a must listen event twice weekly. Enjoy. ### 5/5 — Absolutely love this podcast/app *2015-09-29, version 1.20.17* This is really a must have app. I listen to the podcasts during my commute. It truly is an awesome summary of the best clips and interviews out there discussing a number of topics. It does not shy away from controversial subjects. Expect to have your worldview challenged. ### 5/5 — Best show ever *2015-03-08, version 1.19.3* I like that it compiles the best of weekly shows for you to source all at the same time. Shows are thoughtful, current and relevant and it's a good departure from the crap on TV. ### 5/5 — Great Show Concept! *2015-01-20, version 1.19.3* Best of The Left is so well produced that I find it to be the most entertaining recap of recent political events. It's a great way to get a handle of the lefts perspective, spoken by some of its strongest spokesmen. I do miss the Daily Show and Colbert Report bits, but I suppose it became too difficult to include. Bravo and "May the Schwartz Be with You" Couldn't have said it better myself! ### 5/5 — Best app in the store. *2014-12-21, version 1.19.3* Truly this is the best app out there. This app will make you cry, have you howling with laughter, and screaming with rage, and at the same time you will be actually learning something about this world that we all live in. ### 5/5 — Exceptionally Well Done! *2014-11-14, version 1.19.3* The Best of the Left is a fantastic weekly compilation of left leaning news outlets. But it's more than that it's a place where u can get a sane perspective on things away from corporate media and away from the crazies. ### 5/5 — Great app, even better content *2014-09-30* The app is easy to use and a great way to sort, save and listen to the BOTL. The shows are very well put together - a good collection of clips from a variety of sources on a specific topic. The messages from listeners as well as Jay's occasional comments are interesting to listen to. I'd recommend the app. The only hitch would be that when you're on the main list of shows, it's difficult to decipher what the topic is because the titles are so long and there isn't enough space on the screen. I'd appreciate it if the topic were put in parentheses first with the actual title to follow. Thanks! ### 5/5 — Excellent *2014-08-31, version 1.19.3* Not only does the team deliver excellent news, but the execution of the app is great. It's (painfully) affordable and conveniently intuitive (gotta love buzzwords, but hey...). Great product. ### 5/5 — Only Awesome, that's all *2014-08-20, version 1.18.1* What a well out together show. I spread the word when I can! ### 5/5 — Life changing *2014-08-10, version 1.19.3* Listen to this for a few months and it will change your life for the better. Guaranteed. ### 5/5 — Love this app *2014-04-25, version 1.19.3* Very easy way to keep up with all the crazy things happening in the world. ### 5/5 — Indispensable *2014-03-14, version 1.19.3* What a record of the progressive movement in the early 21st century. ### 5/5 — Addictive *2014-02-21, version 1.19.3* Can't say enough good things...educational ### 5/5 — Excellent program! *2014-02-18, version 1.19.3* Absolutely wonderful shows. Start listening now! ### 5/5 — First rate *2014-02-04, version 1.19.3* Always informative and interesting. Always well-researched, carefully and creatively presented with discussion segments balanced by thoughtful opinion solos and music selections. All of this —plus it's hilarious! ### 5/5 — Best App for Progressive Voices *2013-11-08, version 1.19.3* I love this app. The app introduced me to many other Progressive Voices like The Young Turks, Citizen Radio and the Majority Report. ### 5/5 — BOTL *2013-07-29, version 1.19.3* One of my top 3 podcasts. A perfect blend of clips, music and listener input. If I have one political podcast I wouldn't do without, this is it. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Good news, sub-par app *2020-04-14* Very unstable on new iPad. Can’t finish watching a clip before it stops, reverts to previous page. Disappointing. ### 1/5 — “Left” *2018-09-06* Can’t really fault the app, since neo-liberal welfare capitalism is what passes as “leftist” in the US. Still, one star for perpetuating the Overton window’s inexorable slide to the right. “Ten degrees to the left of center in good times... ten degrees to the right of center if it affects them personally...” ### 1/5 — Great show, lousy app *2012-12-20, version 1.18.1* Love the podcast but will go back to watching through iTunes for free. There is no convenient fast forward or rewind nor a selection for viewing videos. Another over-priced Apple app. Similar but better app free for the droid. ### 1/5 — Can't open this app! *2012-02-01, version 1.9.9* Would love to see and hear this, but it's not working?! ### 1/5 — Poor app *2012-01-28* This app doesn't work at all. I love best of the left podcast but this app is a real let down. ### 3/5 — Great Cause, Buggy App. *2012-06-17, version 1.17* Crashes on startup,iPhone 4 GSM iOS 5.1.1. ### 3/5 — A start *2012-02-29* To experience my main point about the app, I invite you to read this, breathing only between sentences. I have no issue with the content of this app, but I am troubled with the difficulty I have had in accessing that content given that the material is presented in daily packets, each over an hour long accompanied by a sort of table of contents in which you either dedicate yourself to spending over an hour to sit through the entire show, including several musical interludes, or attempt to hunt for a desired segment by sliding the progress bar to where the part you want to hear might be only to have landed several segments away then in your third attempt, land in the middle of what you were looking for and in backing up, find yourself listening to several minutes of some nice but irrelevant song or the tail end of the prior story all of which by now has rendered you out of time for that visit. It's like I'm back in the seventies with a cassette tape player, blindly searching for that favorite cut. I might have given this app a fourth star had it been free or a buck but for $3, it was a stretch to give it three. I expected a little more functionality. for example, converting that ToC to hypertext so that tapping on a selection causes the playback of the podcast to jump to the beginning of that selection. ### 3/5 — Love the show, hate the app. *2010-08-09, version 0* I love the show and don't much mind coughing up the 2 bucks to try the app. No multi-task support and it takes too long to boot up. The whole experience leaves you wanting more. Simply navigating through iTunes on the phone to the podcast and downloading or streaming it there is a much more pleasant experience. ### 3/5 — Great content, but podcast is better delivery mechanism *2010-02-10, version 0* I love the podcast. I won't begrudge the $2 donation. However, the app has serious disadvantages: can't use other apps while listening, loading in real time is slow, and if some glitch tosses you out of the app, it doesn't remember where you were after it reloads the episode. ### 4/5 — Could be better *2013-06-24* Love the content, but I'm sure most who know what Best of the Left does loves the content. However, I downloaded the app hoping there would be a way to share individual links on facebook, twitter, etc, like on the main site. The only functionality like this is the ability to share the whole episode. It's hard enough to get people who aren't into BotL to sit through a ten minute piece, let alone try to get them to listen to a +60 minute episode. PLEASE include this functionality in an update, otherwise will just keep using my old way of listening to the show, via iTunes and the Podcasts app. Keep up the Good work! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Simply the Best *2021-05-05* Well edit ### 5/5 — Great app, excellent content *2018-09-26* I love listening to the podcast on the way to work, making it carplay compatible would be awesome. ### 5/5 — Essential listening *2017-07-12* This is a terrific way to get a lot of information on whatever topic is being covered in any given episode. I always learn something I hadn't thought of and learn better ways to discuss issues without devolving into expletives. 🙃 ### 5/5 — My favorite Podcast *2017-05-22* I love this show! It is great to hear the different perspectives of the current issues. I also love the activism portion! Thanks Jay! ### 5/5 — Real news *2016-11-22* A functioning democracy requires the participation of informed citizens. You owe it to yourself and society to listen to and support the best of the left. A true progressive beacon in a storm of disinformation and petty drivel that passes for U.S. "news". ### 5/5 — Accurate Title *2016-08-17* It lives up to its title in content as well as its utterly amazing and intuitive web page. Always has links to the information it provides, and should have far more recognition than it does. We need more rational and welcome conversation like the ones Best of the Left provides every single episode. Thanks J!. ### 5/5 — My Desert Island podcast *2016-08-08* The quality Jay puts into each episode makes this the one I'd choose if I could only listen to one podcast. I frequently recommend BOTL to folks from the right. This kind of thoughtful programming is a huge contribution to what I hope is the ventral recovery of democracy. ### 5/5 — The best podcast in both content and organization *2016-06-24* More podcasts need to follow this example by reviewing one specific thread of our society whether it be a social issue, cultural aspect, or scientific field. This podcast, and its creator, is extremely creative and keeps the listener engaged through exploring the many facets of a single topic. I really want a scientific podcast like this that reviews not just one interesting article, but all of the related articles that contributed to the incredible scientific discovery! People need to know that science and technology doesn't simply advance in steps, it advances constantly due to the efforts of thousands of researchers. ### 5/5 — Great app for lefties! *2015-11-12, version 1.20.17* Timely topics and diverse speakers. ### 5/5 — All the aggregation I need without the risk of overloading my phone with podcasts *2015-10-06* There’s plenty of room for disagreement (just don’t tell Jay that; he’s not as good a listener as he thinks), but the host brilliantly collects themed clips from all the sources I would normally go to, and a few I wouldn’t. In so doing, he basically lays out the standard liberal position points with a fair amount of variety so that liberals like myself can see what others are thinking on a variety of subjects, and take it or leave it. Really appreciate having the app in addition to the podcast downloads, since they’re well organized and it allows you easy access to episodes you may have deleted. Search functions solve the problem of referencing past episodes in a haphazard way, and my phone ends up much less cluttered. Do both: get the app and subscribe to the podcast, then go further to help him continue this invaluable project. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*