Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

Episode: Europe Freaks Over Greenland, OnlyFans Visas, Epstein Iran Contra Explained
Date: January 7, 2026
Hosts: Ryan Grim (subbing for Saagar and Krystal), Jake, Special Guest: Noah Colwyn (Blowback Podcast)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into three distinct and provocative topics making headlines:

• The escalating geopolitical controversy over American ambitions to buy (or otherwise acquire) Greenland, and the resulting European backlash.
• The rise of social media influencers and OnlyFans models dominating the U.S. “extraordinary ability” visa program, with heated debate about social and legal norms around sex work, technology, and banking.
• An in-depth, historical explainer of the network of financial, covert, and criminal operations connecting Jeffrey Epstein, Iran-Contra, bloody conflicts in Angola, and broader patterns of U.S. foreign policy — featuring guest analyst Noah Colwyn of the “Blowback” podcast.

The hosts bring their signature blend of left-right crossfire, irreverence, and tough questions, challenging mainstream narratives and inviting expert insight.

1. The Greenland Saga: U.S. Ambitions, European Panic

Segment Start: [02:10]

Key Points

• Stephen Miller’s Declaration: The hosts air a CNN excerpt where Stephen Miller asserts, “Greenland should be part of the United States. The president has been very clear about that. That is the formal position of the US Government.” [02:24]
  • Pressed repeatedly, Miller refuses to explicitly rule out military action to secure Greenland, dodging by saying, “Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.” [03:16]
• European Response:
  • European leaders are “freaking out” (Ryan Grim) over aggressive U.S. rhetoric and a viral image of Greenland wrapped in an American flag, tweeted by Miller’s wife.
  • Marco Rubio is cited as trying to “calm the waters,” clarifying the U.S. goal is to buy, not invade, Greenland.
• Comedy and Skepticism:
  • The hosts crack jokes about building a wall around Greenland’s coastline, with Grim quipping, “We don’t need a wall. Who’s gonna get there? …It’s in the middle of nowhere.” [04:53]
  • “If anybody from Venezuela can sail a boat from Venezuela to Greenland, you can stay,” Grim jokes, likening the notion to the infamous journeys of Shackleton. [05:14]

Historical Context and Analysis

• Legacy of U.S. Interest: Grim details the long-running American strategic interest in Greenland — from an 1868 report favoring purchase, to the U.S. Virgin Islands deal, to FDR’s defensive occupation of Greenland during WWII. “We ended up purchasing the US Virgin Islands… because we needed it for power projection… with the Panama Canal and as a coaling center.” [06:51]
• Modern Justification: U.S. claims are reinforced by Arctic security, melting sea routes, and old U.S. ambitions. “Even Arctic experts… say Trump idiocy aside, this has been a kind of thing for a long time… In context of melting ice caps, it makes it more viable in terms of shipping lanes.” [07:38]
• Moral Questions: The hosts scrutinize Denmark’s colonial claim, with Jake reading a European joint statement: “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland…” and questioning, “What’s Denmark have to do with this? …That makes no sense whatsoever.” [10:30–11:00]
• Host Position: Grim advocates a peaceful “buyout”—“Pay them all 2 million bucks each, make it tax-free, make them all filthy rich,” [08:12] noting the population’s “decent enough life” and desire for independence from Denmark.

Notable Quotes

• “Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.” — Stephen Miller [03:16]
• “If anybody from Venezuela can sail a boat from Venezuela to Greenland, you can stay. That is such an impressive journey, that’s like Shackleton’s journey.” — Ryan Grim [05:14]

2. OnlyFans Visas: The Rise of Influencer Immigration

Segment Start: [15:22]

Key Points

• O1B Visa Surge: The O1B “extraordinary talent” visa has seen a spike in approvals for “influencers and OnlyFans models,” now making up half of such visas since the pandemic, according to the Financial Times.
• Socio-Cultural Commentary:
  • Grim expresses concern and sarcasm: “Is there anything better than a foreign woman coming to America, selling naked photos of herself, charging extraordinary amounts to our deracinated, marijuana, gambling addicted, morbidly obese... population? I guess it’s the American dream, Ryan.” [15:50]
• Debate on Morality, Stigma, and Law:
  • Jake, identified by Grim as a likely “decriminalize sex work” advocate, counters: “I don't want to criminalize any of this stuff, but I do believe in... social and community stigmatization.” [17:08]
  • Cites lessons from drug epidemics—how “community immunity” and social stigma, not legality, reduce abuse.
  • Both hosts debate roles and limits of law vs. culture; they compare approaches to drugs, tobacco, and gambling.
• Banking and Regulatory Issues:
  • The hosts discuss why banks “debank” porn and OnlyFans industries—not moral squeamishness but fear of legal and regulatory risk (e.g., child sexual abuse material, revenge porn compliance).
  • “Banks have no morals. The reason they don’t do business with porn is because they’re deeply worried… about CSAM regulations and revenge porn… That’s the reason.” — Ryan Grim [21:22]

Technology and AI Risks

• Grim highlights a recent AI scandal: Elon Musk’s “Grok” model used for undressing women and children in user-submitted images. “It’s fucking disgusting.” — Jake [23:42]
• “Technology is value-neutral. The value comes from you and I. The only way to express value on these companies is through the government. Social shaming isn’t enough.” — Grim [24:19]

Notable Exchange

• “It’s like: ‘Money is money, all money is green.’ …This is the world we live in now. It’s bad.” — Ryan Grim [24:19–24:50]

3. Epstein, Iran Contra, and the Deep State Angola Connection

Segment Start: [25:35]

Guest: Noah Colwyn (Co-host, Blowback Podcast)

Setting the Stage

• Investigative Scoop: Jake and Ryan Grim recount a new investigation tying Jeffrey Epstein, Israeli and U.S. intelligence, and CIA-backed Southern Air Transport to diamond smuggling and arms trafficking in Angola following the Iran-Contra era.
• Historical Goldmine: Colwyn provides critical background from the latest season of “Blowback,” focusing on U.S. involvement in Angola’s civil war, Cold War geopolitics, and the wider web of covert financial and military operations.

Angola Explainer

• CIA & Angola: In 1975, under CIA Director William Colby, U.S. intelligence briefed the White House on Angola's complex civil war, boiling vast local politics into crude categories of "good guys," "bad guys," and "unknowns." [27:44]
• Legacy of Colonialism: Namibia, occupied by apartheid South Africa, is key to understanding regional power struggles following German and then South African colonization.
• Cold War Proxies: The U.S.-backed FNLA and UNITA fought the socialist MPLA government, which received decisive military support from Cuba. South African military intervention, CIA arms, and mercenary operations further complicated matters.

The Cuban Game-Changer

• Colwyn’s Analysis: “The Cuban hand is shown. The U.S. condemns Cuba in the UN for expanding Soviet influence… but the Cubans, at great cost, commit to fifteen years of military and humanitarian support that help the Angolan government survive and repel South Africa." [34:21]
• “It is a very special and important historical understanding that the Cuban intervention was one of the decisive, indisputable factors that led to the South African apartheid regime ultimately agreeing to end itself.” [44:58]
• Aftermath: Though Cuba’s intervention is a Cold War flashpoint, the most enduring “blowback” is Angola’s devastation and enduring instability.

Epstein’s Entrée: Planes, Diamonds, Arms, and Money Laundering

• Southern Air Transport: Colwyn reveals, “Epstein arranged the sale and relocation [of this CIA front]... to Les Wexner (Victoria’s Secret).” [31:22]
• Southern Air’s role in Angola included cargo flights for the MPLA, then later air trafficking “blood diamonds.”
• “At one point [Epstein] told a journalist he made his money from guns, drugs, and diamonds,” says Jake. [31:50]
• Web of Connections: Epstein linked to Adnan Khashoggi (arms broker at the heart of Iran-Contra), Douglas Leese (British arms trafficker), and Stan Pottinger (who facilitated Iran-Contra money laundering).
• Iran-Contra’s Structure: Israel shipped arms to Iran, the U.S. replenished Israel, and the profits funded Nicaragua’s Contras and Angola’s anti-government forces (“the profits from Iran selling the weapons to Iran went not only to the Contras, but also to Angola. And into that rides Jeffrey Epstein.”) [50:35]

The Enduring Legacy

• “Villains Profit from War’s Ruins”: Colwyn: “Even after these wars are over… the world historical villains who walked the earth until recently are able to profit immensely. Like Jeffrey Epstein.” [41:44]
• “The Cuban victory… is one of the decisive, indisputable factors that led to the South African apartheid regime ultimately agreeing to… end itself.” — Colwyn [44:58]
• The hosts stress this pattern is not unique, but emblematic: deregulation, covert wars, and transnational profiteers (like BCCI, Khashoggi, Wexner) “are how our contemporary mafias operate, and were born out of Iran-Contra.” [50:50]

Takeaways

• The episode ends by plugging further deep dives on the Blowback Podcast — tracing the interconnectedness of wars, covert ops, white-collar crime, and elites from the 1980s to today.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Europe: “Can you really, Europe, lecture us about territorial integrity whenever you’re openly supportive of the Venezuelan operation and then bleeding about Greenland…?” — Ryan Grim [09:08]
• On OnlyFans Visas: “It’s bleak. …But even if you’re rabidly pro-immigrant, under what basis is this good? Make you an extraordinary talent and benefit to our society?” — Ryan Grim [16:51, 24:19]
• On AI Porn: “Grok is undressing children at the request of people… even against children, which we’re not even going to show you the examples. But yeah, this is the end point.” — Ryan Grim [23:42]
• On Angola: “The legacy of suffering… at some points in the late 80s and early 90s was perhaps the deadliest in the world… and that suffering… is still with us.” — Noah Colwyn [39:57]
• On Cuba's Legacy: “The one time in history that a poor country comes to the defense of another poor country and is successful.” — Colwyn, paraphrasing historian Piero Gliejes [44:58]
• On Iran-Contra: “Iran-Contra as a signifier… the birth pangs of neoliberalism… a moment where deregulation and foreign intervention enable profit from wars… spies, drug runners, white collar criminals… immediately take advantage.” — Noah Colwyn [48:00]

Timestamps for Sections

• Greenland Segment: [02:10–12:32]
• OnlyFans/Visas Segment: [15:22–24:50]
• Epstein/Iran-Contra/Angola Segment: [25:35–51:56]

Final Thoughts

This episode of Breaking Points is a sharp, often darkly humorous, and ultimately sobering examination of the entanglement between American power, global capital, and political hypocrisy — whether in the rush to buy Greenland, the commodification of sex and influencer culture, or the sordid, shadowy history linking U.S. policy, war, and criminal profiteering from Africa to Wall Street.

If you want laughter and learning, outrage and insight — or references to cannibalism in polar exploration and AI porn all in one package — this episode delivers.