Krystal Kyle & Friends

Welcome to Episode 199 of KK&F, with special guest Ettingermentum for election results analysis. Watching many voters shift away from Harris, whether toward Trump or rejecting voting entirely, reminded us that many groups — for example, the disaffected young bros that seem to have broke for Trump in surprisingly massive number — were moved by the message of Bernie Sanders but, now that the only ch...

Listen to our contentious debate with Will Chamberlain on this week’s episode of KK&F. A major point of contention comes up between us and our guest around analysis of the conflict in Israel-Palestine, which Will makes clear he’s unwilling to perceive as a genocide. As we see it, events and tactics like the current starvation strategy Israel’s using in north Gaza make it clear that this event shou...

In this week’s conversation with Sam Butler about how Elon Musk amassed the wealth and influence to make a play for political power, Sam gives us necessary context about why this plan seems feasible. In places like Texas, where Elon has moved both his personal residence and the headquarters of some of the companies he owns, corporations have far more political sway, far fewer financial constraints...

As the election looms, we’re debating a pair of fellow YouTubers, Hutch and Pondering Politics, on what the Harris-Walz campaign has shaped up to be. We’ve got an exciting debate for you on whether Kamala’s decision to pander to Republican voters instead of making meaningful concessions to the left is a necessary, sound piece of political strategy or a total miss. We’re nothing if not fair, of cou...

Welcome back to Krystal Kyle & Friends! This week’s conversation is on the escalating conflict in Lebanon and the ties we and our guest, Omar Baddar, see between this crisis and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Omar provides insights into the “opportunities” for military escalation and struggle for dominance over Hezbollah that Israel sees in its current campaign in Lebanon. Because the U.S. plays su...

Welcome to Episode 194 of KK&F, where we’re sitting down with the Vanguard to discuss whether the Harris campaign is poised to win it all — or whether they’re wasting this crucial moment. We talk about Democrats snubbing their base by leaning right on immigration, Republicans leaning left on abortion, and why the name of the game right now is trying to expand the party coalitions, courting indepen...

This week on KK&F, we’re talking to conservative journalist Sohrab Ahmari in order to figure out what’s missing from the Trump campaign’s political calculations for 2024. To cut to the quick of what made Trump 2016 so compelling for millions of Americans it seems necessary to assess Trump’s relationship with the media — which isn’t as antagonistic as Trump has successfully made it out to be. While...

Adam Johnson of Citations Needed and Column blog is here for Episode 192, where we’re discussing his great new piece on Republican media strategy in the face of this latest Republican slander campaign. It gives us valuable insight into what Vance adds to the far-right playbook. As he points out, Trump doubles down when he’s called out for crazy stories like this! However, “slick former Yale law st...

This week’s episode features our analysis of the debate and our conversation with David about his exciting new podcast, “The Master Plan,” detailing how big money launched a successful coup to steal our democracy. Social media (especially X; we shudder to think about what’s making the rounds on Facebook) has been blowing up, since Tuesday’s debate, with both memes and rightful outrage about former...

Welcome back to another week of KK&F! This week’s guest, Jordan Chariton, is an independent reporter known for his coverage of left movements and protests like those at Standing Rock, the grassroots organizing around the Sanders campaign, and much more. Over repeated trips to Flint, Jordan has been on the ground, understanding how local government actively covered up its failure to protect the pub...

What is classical liberalism? We get into the weeds with Joshua Reed Eakle of Project Liberal. Hearing “Project Liberal,” you might anticipate something cooked up by the American Democratic Party. But this is different: Joshua is making the case for a political and economic system governed by principles of free trade and competition. As per his own admission, it’s not a system premised on equality...

Our guest this week, Jesse Ventura, former star wrestler, Governor of Minnesota, and Green Party presidential candidate, talks about the collusion between Dems and Republicans, his electoral history, the corruption of money in politics, and the shortcomings of third-party runs in the current presidential election cycle. He’s been on the show before to discuss these issues, and we’re excited to hav...

In Episode 187 of KK&F, we sit down with your favorite Twitter account Ettingermentum to talk about Kamala and the Democrats’ political fortunes for 2024. Back when Biden had just landed a real dud of a debate performance in late June, you’ll remember that his fellow Dems were quick to criticize, and a few started calling for his exit from the 2024 Democratic ticket. Kamala Harris, his successor t...

When we last convened for an episode of KK&F, Kamala was still looking to fill the VP slot on the Democratic ticket. Since then, VP pick Tim Walz has received an outpouring of enthusiasm from the left-of-center and relief from progressives, but at the same time, the right has looked for weak points to hit him on (and it must be said, Walz doesn’t make it as easy as Vance does). Now, after some com...

In her comments on the current state of the ‘24 race and on the current Biden presidency, this week’s guest, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, talks us through what would come after a ceasefire for her administration. To her, it’s vital that the U.S. joins negotiations with a strict adherence to international law, not clear and bloodthirsty favoritism for Israel, as is the current policy. It must...

The old Kamala is back. That’s our guest Cenk Uygur’s pronouncement as he glosses Kamala’s shifting fortunes over the course of her political career. Initially favored as a rising star in the Democratic Party, Kamala looked like an early favorite for the nomination in the 2020 cycle, sweeping the first debate, before things seemed to go wrong suddenly and without clear cause. As Krystal points out...

Compared to the tired, infuriating binary of Biden-Trump, our guest this week, Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver, has his pitch ready: “I'm under the age of 80, I speak in complete sentences, I'm not a convicted felon.” Indeed, Oliver’s age, opposition to two-party politics, anti-war political commitments, and more make him, for many voters, a viable alternative to Biden-Trump. Browse his w...

Well, folks… In the words of a Democratic House member, “I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.” Thursday wasn’t the time to be a sentient, rational person with coherent thoughts about our country’s strategy and future — that held true for the presidential debate audience and for its two participants. Exchanging blows over golf handicaps and engaging in some he-said-he-said over Trump’s all...

With this week’s guest, Briahna Joy Gray, we discuss the upcoming debate and the two main presidential candidates’ respective prospects. But we also dive into Briahna’s recent firing at The Hill, with her insight into why this is part of a larger, worrying trend. Briahna takes us through her experience at The Hill, why questioning a guest about her Zionist beliefs led to the loss of professional o...

Annelle Sheline, our guest this week, previously worked in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in Near Eastern Affairs. She had only been there a year when she decided to publicly resign. Annelle tells us that while she was unsure of the impact her resignation would have, since she was a relatively junior employee, others encouraged her to reconsider and to go public even though they...

Ben Norton is our guest this week, talking to us about the context and implications of the recent presidential election in Mexico. Claudia Sheinbaum will be taking office after running on a platform involving the alleviation of poverty and the expansion of social support systems. It’s thrilling to think about what she and her administration are prepared to do for the working people of Mexico, and...

Welcome back to KK&F, where we’re joined by Norman Finkelstein to go behind the scenes on the prosecution of Israel in the international courts. South Africa, according to Norm, has repeatedly showed up to the courts demanding new provisional measures, and while none were given in February, the courts judged in March that the situation had sufficiently deteriorated to require new measures. Then, a...

Thanks for tuning in to Episode 175 of KK&F with Ken Roth. A growing number of countries support arresting Netanyahu for Israel’s grievous crimes against humanity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Biden stands alone in the way he has used his position of power to shut down critique, and now judicial proceedings, against Netanyahu. He’s made it clear the U.S. won’t play the role it’s promised to pla...

In the multi-track beef that’s unfolded in the past few months between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake, reputations have been tarnished, #1 hits have been released, and parents have been pulled into the fray. Beginning in late March with “Like That,” the beef now encompasses nine songs (and counting?), giving each rapper a platform to call his opponent’s character into question, slight his rappin...

Hundreds of people around the country, largely on college campuses, have been arrested and assaulted by police for peacefully engaging in pro-Palestine encampments. The persecution of these people, and the infringement of their First Amendment rights, reveals how solidly our political establishment backs Israel at any cost, and how willing it is to compromise the so-called foundational values of t...