About Me

Thanks for being so interested in the show that you care to any degree who’s actually behind it! That’s me over on the right during a trip to NYC. Sorry I don’t look anything like you imagined.

My name is Jay! Tomlinson, I spell it with an exclamation point like that to add a bit of excitement to my life (and it’s worked!). I was born in 1983 so that makes me [you do the math] years old now.

Getting started
I became (much more) interested in politics in 2003 during the Iraq war invasion. I began listening to Air America radio just months after it became available in my home town at that time, Sacramento, CA. Thanks to my (horrible) job as a FedEx delivery driver I developed a habit of listening first to terrestrial radio, then satellite radio (where I first found The Young Turks in 2004), then podcasts (once they were invented) for around 9 hours each weekday. By the way, one of my nerdiest bragging points is that I started listening to podcasts before they were integrated into iTunes, true fact. Now, having heard so much great political commentary and news each day I found myself with an overwhelming desire to share what I had been hearing with others. This was the very first seed of the idea for the Best of the Left Podcast.

With zero experience editing audio or managing a website I launched Best of the Left on January 29, 2006.

Moving to and from DC
In January 2007 I packed the entirety of my possessions into a VW Golf and headed out from California to Washington, DC to get involved doing good in the world and become an agent of positive change. Listen to the final comments of this episode to hear a fully produced radio story I created to tell the very interesting tale of where I landed in the DC area when I arrived. Two years later I volunteered at Barack Obama’s Inauguration and, having solved all of the world’s problems, packed up and moved away from Washington, DC one year later in February, 2010.

My personal economic recovery package
To back up for just a moment, the great recession of 2008/2009 (and beyond) was the instigation to convert my long-time podcasting hobby into a part-time job to supplement my shrinking income. It started as a (very-poorly-paying) part-time gig in June 2009 and and turned into a (slightly-better-paying) full-time gig in February 2010. Now able to pour all my time and efforts into the podcast, thanks entirely to members of the show, I feel like I’m finally able to have the greatest impact for positive change that I’m capable of, all while doing something I truly love.

Don’t delay happiness
I’ve been dreaming of figuring out a way to not have a boss for as long as I’ve had bosses. Now that I have the chance to do just that I’m not wasting any time. Though I will be maintaining a very frugal existence by choice, but also imposed by the relatively small income from the podcast, I feel like the richest man in the world for being given the chance to follow my aspiration to an extent I never dared dream possible with a project so dear to me. The support of listeners who simply believe in what I’m doing enough to donate their hard-earned dollars to allow me to continue on this path never ceases to amaze and inspire me.

Thanks for reading, Jay!

Best of the Left is now on Facebook and Twitter! Become a Fan or Follow Me!


join our mailing list
* indicates required field