Krystal Kyle & Friends

This week, we’ve prepared a conversation for you with the brilliant scholar Gary Gerstle, whose research on what defines the global neoliberal order can also help us understand what might bring that order to a close. We’re sharing this conversation on the heels of the news that Manchin, who’s made no secret of his opposition to Biden’s most meager proposals for social welfare, will oppose the shel...

In an episode months in the making, Krystal Kyle & Friends’s Kyle Kulinski is joined by psychologist and political commentator Dr. Jordan Peterson. For Kyle, it’s the “perfect situation” of getting to speak with someone whose work in psychology and philosophy has been particularly interesting to him — but who differs from him significantly on most political issues. They’re here for a back-and-fort...

Sixty-one percent — a majority — of Americans support the legalization of abortion. Yet in last week’s Supreme Court decision, five out of nine judges voted to overturn the prior decision that federally protected abortion as a right. As we’ve seen from the extremely contentious appointments of Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and more, everyday people don’t even have a direct say in who gets to...

This week, the Supreme Court landed the death blow to Roe vs. Wade, a decision which federally protected the right to abortion. Trigger laws are taking effect; abortion clinics are closing. It will take the grassroots struggle of working people to make abortion — an essential element of basic healthcare — not only legal across the nation, but also free and easy to obtain in a way it has never been...

Welcome back to Krystal Kyle & Friends, where we’re joined by Humanist Report host Mike Figueredo. Our conversation with Mike is wide-ranging: We talk with him about everything from his experiences as a “veteran” leftist commentator and the way his work has evolved over the years, to the invigorating prospects of the energized labor movement, to the personal story of Mike’s coming out to his famil...

This week’s guest, journalist David Wallace-Wells, speaks with us about the defining issue facing humanity, climate change — and the task of getting our government to treat it as such. Currently, fossil fuel corporations are free to chase endless profit at the expense of our health and safety, and our planet’s future. When we wonder why our representatives don’t take on these corporations in defen...

Thanks for joining us for another week of KK&F — this one centering on the Colombian presidential elections, drug wars, and more. A left-wing candidate has taken the lead in the first round of voting; his right-wing opponent, who has styled himself as anti-establishment and anti-corruption, has his own charges of corruption to deal with. To get a fuller sense of what’s happening and what’s to come...

The brutal killing of nineteen children and two teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas has left us in national mourning, as the sickeningly familiar news of a school shooting continues to trickle in. As we learn more about the inaction of law enforcement on the scene and the agony of the children seeking help in their final moments, we confront one question above all: What will it take to ma...

This week’s guest is the inimitable Doug Henwood, economic journalist and analyst — and the person we’ve come to in order to discuss the crypto crash of just a few weeks ago. Whether you have a deep understanding of all things blockchain and are looking to hear a left-wing perspective on the recent turmoil, or whether you’ve never heard of a “stablecoin” before, we think you’ll enjoy Doug’s sharp...

Professor and historian Harvey Kaye and Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America Alan Minsky join us on episode seventy-two of Krystal Kyle & Friends. These two give their sharp insight into how Democrats are doing on the issues we care most about, like economic inequality and poverty — and how they’ve positioned themselves on these issues in the past. Dr. Kaye, whose work focuses on...

This week, we’re joined by Ari Rabin-Havt, deputy campaign manager for Bernie 2020. Ari recently released a book, The Fighting Soul: On the Road with Bernie Sanders , that gives an insider’s view of the groundbreaking campaign. The book provides funny, surprising, and moving anecdotes that give the reader unusual insight into the man behind the campaign — a campaign that deliberately steered away...

In this episode, Marianne explains how the divide between Turner and Brown — and some current “progressive” electeds’ rush to side with the status quo — bears lessons not only for this singular race, but for the Democratic Party more broadly. Progressives can earn their name by standing behind essential policies like debt cancellation and Medicare for All time and time again — choosing to back awa...

After inspiring millions through her work as a campaign chair for Bernie 2020, Nina Turner has gone on to fight for the democratic-socialist vision of single-payer healthcare, student debt cancellation, and housing as a human right through two campaigns for a congressional seat in Ohio’s Eleventh District. She’s rejoining us on KK&F to talk about her political vision and work since she last came o...

This week, author and Starbucks union organizer Daisy Pitkin joins KK&F to break down the Amazon Labor Union’s thrilling win — but also to give us a sense of what comes next and what this victory means for workers attempting to keep up the momentum of unionization at Amazon, Starbucks, and other mega-corporations. Daisy herself has spent decades in the union fight, organizing with laundry and garm...

This week, for Episode 67 of Krystal Kyle & Friends, we sit down with Paul’s Ego of Deep Fat Fried. Self-described as “an educational show made by and for the uneducated,” the beloved show offers everything from a review of President Biden’s first year in office to a meticulous takedown of Marjorie Taylor Greene — plus lots of hilarious and thoughtful content on Waffle House, space travel, and “co...

In this episode, we talk to progressive candidate Amy Vilela about the campaign trail for Nevada’s First District and the fight for Medicare for All — why we can’t get discouraged, why there’s never going to be a “perfect moment” for this policy to be enacted, but why we can’t wait any longer. Amy’s voice is an essential one within the discussion of strategy for Medicare for All, and we think you’...

This week’s guest, Amazon union organizer Christian Smalls, describes how solidarity between workers sets the stage for the massive unionization efforts currently being mounted by Amazon workers in different parts of the country. While Amazon can hire union-busting firms, pay for endless propaganda, and so on, these workers are tirelessly holding conversations, negotiating, and building support fo...

This week’s guest is Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, who shares his insight on how the situation relates to Middle Eastern politics Reflecting on the resounding call for sanctions that’s currently coming from Washington, Dr. Parsi recalls the U.S.’s recent seizing of the Afghan central bank’s funds. This move, which attempted to paint a ven...

We’re joined by foreign policy advisor Matt Duss to discuss the future of the conflict in Ukraine. What comes next? Matt is wary of the calls to sanction, ramp up military action, and escalate the conflict — after all, so many of these calls are coming from the Beltway, where war hawks and defense contractors would love to see a World War III. To him, the question for this moment is “How do we pro...

With the war in Ukraine on our minds, we talk to author Catherine Liu about how class position affects daily life, particularly on the issue of war and peace. How does your class identity shape your understanding of and interactions with American militarism? Catherine makes the great point that the massive wealth commanded by the American military’s adventurism is a cost paid by American civilians...

The “million-dollar question” on the table, according to this week’s guest Michael Levitin, is how the Occupy ethos — rejecting corporatist obstruction of the people’s agenda — can galvanize American leftists looking to take on the current corporate henchmen of the Democratic Party. We know that policies like Medicare for All are widely popular, but candidates bringing them to the table face serio...

Joining us this week is Chapo Trap House co-host Felix Biederman. We get into the Chapo origin story, what it’s like when your podcast is on the front page of the Times , and Felix’s analysis of the period of precarity and despair that everyday people are living through. And we return to take a look at the 2020 election. As he does in projects like Chapo and Fighting in the Age of Loneliness , Fel...

This week, Ben Burgis joins us to talk about the current events at the front of your mind. One of the major lightning rods for political discussion in the past weeks has been the movement to push Spotify to censor podcaster Joe Rogan. Among the things we discussed with Ben are what the prevailing narrative gets wrong about Rogan, how to understand his politics amidst the accusations of far-right s...

Our conversation with this week’s guest, Johann Hari, moves from the individual to the collective as we discuss the digital algorithms that keep us locked into online life and the ways of resetting our consciousness — both personally and societally — that can lead us to a better way of being. You might know Johann Hari from his books, including Lost Connection: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depres...

In this conversation with author and journalist Peter Goodman, we delve into Peter’s argument for “how billionaires devoured the world” — how a few people with a lot of money are able to command massive control over our politics, our culture, our society at large. It’s also an opportunity to think about the world we might build instead. What rules and regulations could be implemented to stop our b...