1/8/26: Trump To Run Venezuelan Oil Forever, Trump Iran Bombing Likely, Blackstone Stock Craters

Summary

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Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

Episode Date: January 8, 2026
Episode Title: Trump To Run Venezuelan Oil Forever, Trump Iran Bombing Likely, Blackstone Stock Craters

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Overview

In this episode, Krystal and Saagar tackle the monumental shifts in U.S. foreign and domestic policy following Trump’s recent Venezuelan oil takeover, the increased likelihood of military confrontation with Iran, and new moves to curb corporate control in the housing market. They’re joined by Dr. Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute to break down U.S.–Iran tensions and the global reverberations of America’s assertive role abroad. The tone is candid, skeptical, and occasionally exasperated as the hosts emphasize the cycle of empire, economic insecurity, and populist politics in 2026.

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Key Themes & Discussion Points

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1. Trump’s Effective Nationalization of Venezuelan Oil

[02:00 – 18:33]

• The U.S. Secretary of Energy announced plans for the U.S. to continue to “control indefinitely” the revenues from Venezuelan oil sales, depositing proceeds either with the U.S. or handpicked Venezuelan accounts.
• The move is described by Saagar as an “effectively nationalization of the entire Venezuelan oil industry” ([03:39]).
• Krystal and Saagar question the sustainability and morality of this arrangement, drawing analogies to old-school colonialism.
• They emphasize that most Venezuelans are not celebrating; opposition is suppressed and political instability is high, with regime loyalist militias reportedly checking phones for any hint of dissent ([03:26]).
• Trump’s rhetoric suggests a plan to “stay there for years,” likely without any democratic transition, only strengthening the status quo Maduro regime.
• U.S. oil companies demand multi-year guarantees due to the lack of faith in the stability of Venezuela’s political and security environment.

Notable Quotes:

• Saagar:

  “Arguably that is the most important and direct, effectively nationalization of the entire, entire Venezuelan oil industry. Trump is saying for now that the Venezuelans have basically agreed to this. They haven’t confirmed any of it per se, and it may work … Are the Venezuelan people just really going to take this? Like, it just seems very unlikely if you look at the entire history of colonization and of everything …” ([03:39])

• Krystal:

  “There’s a reason why this kind of direct colonization went out of fashion. And it’s not because the great powers decided out of the goodness of their hearts … They couldn’t afford it, there was too much local resistance.” ([06:21])

• Saagar (on empire):

  “We can have a republic or we can have an empire, but you can’t have both.” ([10:41])

Memorable Moment:

• Krystal draws a direct analogy between Trump’s Venezuelan policy and outdated, overt colonial “technologies,” pointing to the pitfalls and costs historically associated with occupation and extraction.

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2. Cycle of Empire and Military Expansion

[13:12 – 18:33]

• Trump calls for a $1.5 trillion military budget, up from the previous record $1 trillion—Krystal and Saagar note the hypocrisy considering previous deficit-cutting rhetoric.
• They argue that ever-bigger military budgets often result in increased corruption and ineffectiveness, not increased security.
• Saagar recounts how empires tend to “repeat the follies of empire” and warns that bureaucratic and corporate interests grow entrenched with such budgets.
• There is skepticism about the prospects for sustained, responsible use of such huge public resources.

Notable Quotes:

• Krystal:

  “$1.5 trillion. Okay. He just became the first president ever to get a $1 trillion military budget. And that is an insane extraordinary number for far beyond what any other country in the world spends on their military.” ([13:20])

• Saagar:

  “With the Defense Department, the more money, the less good that we actually seem to be … we become this like F1 race car which can just spend to spend … That’s how you win a war. Ammo. Exactly. You just roll it.” ([15:07])

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3. Interview: Dr. Trita Parsi on U.S.–Iran Tensions

[21:43 – 31:25]

• Trump has issued a thinly-veiled threat: If Iran cracks down on protests, the U.S. will “come to their rescue, locked and loaded.”
• Dr. Parsi warns that both Israel and the U.S. are now more likely than ever to strike Iran, noting that Netanyahu has persuaded Trump to take the lead in any military action.
• Trump’s euphoria after the “success” of the Maduro extraction operation in Venezuela has distorted his risk assessment. He may now be convinced similar operations (e.g., against Iran) will be just as “easy.”
• Manipulation is at play: “If you can convince him that the war will be easy...he doesn't have a tremendous amount of resistance."
• The logic connects the Venezuelan oil move and a potential war with Iran—not because the oil is interchangeable immediately, but because U.S. control over more oil reserves is seen as strategic leverage.
• Parsi points out Israel’s effort to move the discourse from Iran's nuclear program to its missile capabilities, expanding rationale for military action.
• The current Iranian protests are much smaller than 2009 or 2022 but are being used as imagery to push U.S. intervention.

Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Parsi:

  “Trump is quite surprised and quite euphoric about the success [of] the military aspect of Venezuela, and that has now skewed his risk assessment of what other operations that may be tremendously different and far more difficult…he is now thinking that, well, this was easy. Why don’t we do more of it?” ([24:01])

  “It is not about security for Israel. No, it’s about securing Israel’s dominance. Not actual security, but dominance.” ([27:35])

  “[The protests are] not at that level in which this talk that seems to be the buzz in the media, that seems to be like, oh, the regime is on the verge of collapse, etc. I’m not seeing. I’m speaking to folks every day inside of Iran, ordinary people, as well as journalists and others that are plugged in. That is not the sense I’m getting.” ([29:39])

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4. Trump Targets Corporate Ownership of Homes (Blackstone Stock Craters)

[31:30 – 42:09]

• Trump vows to ban institutional investors—like private equity and hedge funds—from buying more single-family homes and presses Congress to make it law.
• Blackstone stock suffers a 9% hit following the announcement.
• The hosts view this as a rare positive populist move from Trump, potentially addressing the real anxiety about housing and the American dream.
• Discussion of the actual impact: Even if institutional investors only own “1%” nationally, their concentration in certain hot markets (e.g., Florida) has outsized effects on price and availability.
• Saagar and Krystal both stress the value of home ownership’s role in wealth building and warn about the “American dream” being crowded out by speculative financial interests.

Notable Quotes:

• Saagar:

  “Part of the reason why I think that there has been so much consternation around this idea of these large private equity companies or large like corporations owning and managing so much housing stock because it does make you feel like a slave, you know, to a bigger economic system.” ([33:28])

• Krystal:

  “If Trump just did stuff like this, he would have like a 70%, 90%—like I dunno about 90%, right, but 70%—he would be wildly popular.” ([37:14])

• Saagar (on home ownership):

  “It’s not just you don’t invest in it or buy one simply, you know, just because you have to have a place to live, you have to have one. And it’s a forced savings mechanism which over a period of time can appreciate marginally that you own equity in that can then propel you to a next or a different step potentially, if you want to pass it on to your children or any of that.” ([41:26])

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5. Crackdown on Defense Contractor Compensation

[42:10 – 43:33]

• Trump proposes capping all executive compensation in the defense industry at $5 million, banning stock buybacks and dividends until maintenance and delivery issues are resolved.
• Saagar suggests this would be a good policy but is deeply skeptical that Congress would actually pass it, given the power of the defense industry.

Notable Quotes:

• Saagar:

  “Banning stock buybacks for defense companies, capping their salary … it would be great. It really would.” ([43:17])

• Krystal:

  “There’s no way in hell Congress would pass something like that. Not a chance. Defense industry has Congress on lock.” ([43:33])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Venezuelan Oil “Nationalization”: [02:00 – 18:33]
• Military Spending/Empire: [13:12 – 18:33]
• Dr. Trita Parsi Interview (Iran): [21:43 – 31:25]
• Blackstone/Housing Market: [31:30 – 42:09]
• Defense Contractor Compensation: [42:10 – 43:33]

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Overall Tone & Style

The episode is candid and analytical, with the hosts’ signature blend of skepticism toward both elites and “the swamp,” open criticism of the bipartisan status quo, and support for populist reforms—when they see any. The conversation is wide-ranging but tightly focused on high-impact, controversial issues.

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Key Takeaways

• The U.S. effectively nationalizing Venezuelan oil is a textbook case of neo-colonialism in the eyes of the hosts, creating a powder keg scenario.
• Trump’s focus on military power—now exemplified by his push for a $1.5 trillion budget—is alarming, hypocritical, and likely to breed further inefficiency and corruption.
• Risk of war with Iran has increased, driven by Trump’s perceived foreign policy “successes” and Israel’s ongoing pressure to maintain regional dominance.
• Trump’s moves to curtail Wall Street’s grip on housing are rare populist steps that the hosts welcome, though they’re cautiously skeptical about whether the policies will be fully realized.
• Proposals to cap defense industry pay and ban buybacks are praised as good ideas but deemed politically implausible.

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Standout Quotes

• “There’s a reason why this kind of direct colonization went out of fashion… they couldn’t afford it, there was too much local resistance.” — Krystal Ball ([06:21])

• “We can have a republic or we can have an empire, but you can’t have both.” — Saagar Enjeti ([10:41])

• “Trump is quite surprised and quite euphoric about the success [of] the military aspect of Venezuela, and that has now skewed his risk assessment… he is now thinking that, well, this was easy. Why don’t we do more of it?” — Dr. Trita Parsi ([24:01])

• “If Trump just did stuff like this [housing], he would have like a 70%, 90% … he would be wildly popular.” — Krystal Ball ([37:14])

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Conclusion

The episode delivers an incisive, critical perspective on America’s growing imperial tendencies and populist undercurrents, urging caution, realism, and skepticism about policy shifts which promise easy fixes—at home or abroad.

Transcript

[Krystal Ball]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

When you feel uncomfortable, what do you put on Biggie. You put on Biggie when you feel uncomfortable.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Because I want to get confident.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

This is DJ Hester Prynne's Music is Therapy, a new podcast from me, a DJ and licensed therapist. 12 months, 12 areas of your life, money, love, career, confidence. This isn't just a podcast. It's unconventional therapy for your entire year. Listen to DJ Hester Prynne's Music is Therapy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Brad (Brad vs Everyone)]

The social media trend is landing some gen zers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired and the massive tick tock boycott against Target. That actually makes no sense. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad vs Everyone podcast. Listen to the Brad vs Everyone podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Saagar Enjeti]

If one of us wins, would we all win? I'm Ashley Rayfeld, the host of the podcast.

[Krystal Ball]

Good Luck with that.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Good Luck with that is a skateboarding.

[Krystal Ball]

Podcast about the past, present and future.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Of women and gender. Expansive skateboarding.

[Krystal Ball]

In our show, we'll talk with skaters.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Like Bobby Delfino on pushing style, culture and the conversation forward. You break down the door sick now, like hold the door for everyone. I believe in that solely. So listen to Good Luck with that on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Hey guys, Sagar and Krystal here.

[Krystal Ball]

Independent media just played a truly massive role in this election and we are so excited about what that means for the future of this show.

[Saagar Enjeti]

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[Krystal Ball]

So if that is something that's important to you, Please go to BreakingPoints.com, become a member today and you'll get access to our full shows, unedited ad, free and all put together for you every morning in your inbox.

[Saagar Enjeti]

We need your help to build the future of independent news media and we hope to see you@breaking points.com turning now to Venezuela, some major comments from the Secretary of Energy about indefinitely running Venezuela's oil companies. He was confronted on it on Capitol Hill. Here's what he had to say. Narrative in Venezuela that you are stealing our oil. I have not heard that narrative. I've Seen celebrations in the street. Libre Venezuela out. I think people are thrilled. They've lived under between chavez and maduro 26 years in a brutal dictatorship that's only devastated that country and hurt the whole hemisphere. So I've not heard that narrative at all. And of course, if it's, that narrative is out there, it's untrue. We're just controlling the flow of revenues from their oil. We're just controlling the flow of revenue from their oil.

[Krystal Ball]

We're not taking over the celebration thing too.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Like, yeah, we focused on it. Yeah, that's right. Because, you know, people, I, I, I got an email. Why did you guys care so much about the celebrations? I'm like, because I know how this stuff works is that it goes into people. Oh, didn't you see the video of people in Buenos Aires or whatever? Or in Miami and Doral? It's like, yeah. On the streets of Venezuela, very, very different. It's like armed dudes who are going, trying to round up anybody who actually did celebrate.

[Krystal Ball]

That's right.

[Saagar Enjeti]

And then a lot of people who are actively angry that this all happened. So little bit different.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, people's phones are getting checked by like, you know, armed militias to see if they sent any text message that was supportive of Maduro being kidnapped. So, yeah, so, you know, not, not great to be in the opposition there right now.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Totally. Let's put the next one up here because this is the actual story is about the quote, control indefinitely from the Secretary of Energy. He says that after the United States will sell Venezuelan oil, after completing sales of the crude currently accumulated that are currently in storage, it will then be deposited into accounts controlled by the Venezuelan government or by the US Government, which will then flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people. Instead of the oil being blockaded, we're going to let the oil flow to US Refineries and around the world to bring better oil supplies. But those have to be done by the US Government. We're going to market the crude first. This backed up stored oil, and then definitely going forward, sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace. I mean, arguably that is the most important and direct, effectively nationalization of the entire, entire Venezuelan oil industry. Trump is saying for now that the Venezuelans have basically agreed to this. They haven't confirmed any of it per se, and it may work. You know, in the interim with the stored up amount of oil and the limited amount of capacity, the big question is going to be, I mean, and I think this is one where, look, it is possible, but Are the Venezuelan people just really going to take this? Like, it just seems very unlikely if you look at the entire history of colonization and of everything, that unless that they're not only in control but they're getting a pretty significant amount of revenue, that this is not going to be a longstanding arrangement. And reportedly, you know, yesterday Trump sat for some four hour interview with the New York Times. He said we could stay there for years down in Venezuela, setting up, by the way, no democratic transition, more likely kind of solidification of the current Maduro regime under Delsey Rodriguez and the security apparatus. So that means more repression. But yeah, it just, it just, just seems so completely untenable. You're only in power for three more years. He even acknowledged it's going to take years to build out the oil infrastructure of the country, to even marginally increase it from its very low production of where it is right now. And then you just have the general instability of trying to run this country by proxy, you know, from Washington. And yes, you know, the immediate sanctions relief, it will be a boon to the Venezuelan economy immediately because sanctions have, what I mean, ultimately will crush their oil industry and crush them. So maybe they will be okay with it. But more broadly, I mean, you know, you are literally looking at a lifting the sanction and a nationalization of their entire oil industry and selling it going forward. Just historically, again, most countries just don't sit there and take it. I mean, would you take it? Would I take it? I probably wouldn't and most people wouldn't either.

[Krystal Ball]

There's a reason why this kind of direct colonization went out of fashion. And it's not because the great powers decided out of the goodness of their hearts that this wasn't something that they wanted to do anymore. They couldn't afford it, there was too much local resistance. And so they moved to a more modern technology of colonization where it's like, okay, well we'll use these other financial levers, especially the United States of America, which set up all of this post war financial infrastructure and the international institutions to benefit us. So it's like we can get all the benefits of the extraction without having to own all of the local tumult and deal with these uprisings, et cetera. So in effect we're going back to this like very retrogate grade technology, which is completely outdated. And I think Trump really believes that because he did this one successful like strike and kidnapping operation, that now he's just gonna be able to very easily control all of Venezuela. And that just seems insane. I mean that Seems like a complete and utter fantasy. The world does not work in this very simple way. You think just because you did this one action, that's going to be enough to compel the behavior of this state indefinitely? Not to mention, you know, then there's the other piece of this too, which is any oil company that, you know is wanting is being offered the chance to go into Venezuela. They're asking the government for guarantees and for financing, taxpayer financing for the build out that would be required because the infrastructure is so degraded, because it would take so, you know, such a significant amount of investment, billions and billions of dollars over years to bring significant Venezuela pumping capacity back online. So there's just a lot of pitfalls here. A lot of pitfalls and a lot of questions. I mean, the other question is there were reports that they wanted to, whatever revenue is brought in, they don't want to put it in the US treasury, they wanna hold it in private bank accounts.

[Saagar Enjeti]

That Trump, they deny that. That Trump can, I mean, who knows?

[Krystal Ball]

Well, they sort of, they actually didn't directly deny it, but, you know, so who has control over that? Again, like there seems to be this fantasy that we, the American people are gonna own this, we are gonna benefit directly. And you know, it's possible there's some reduction of prices at the pump or something, but this is largely for the benefit of, of elites. This is like, you know, a seizure for the benefit of like ExxonMobil and Paul Singer and Citgo and whoever else stands, you know, at the top of the chain to really benefit from this. And for some of those companies as well, they're not even sure that they want to get involved. Well, they're going to directly benefit too.

[Saagar Enjeti]

The key point is, and I saw this today, is that oil companies who are expected to meet at the White House tomorrow are like, we need a multi year guarantee, multi year guarantee. And that foreign policy won't change, which you can't expect that from the current administration because that literally doesn't. In fact, you can't really expect that from any administration unless Congress literally were to declare that we are going to finance this operation indefinitely. You know, I was thinking about this in kind of the interesting way. One of the reasons that one of the things that usually happens when you explicitly decide you need to be an empire like we did after World War II, well, what do you need to run an empire? You need a permanent bureaucracy. By definition it's called the State Department, the CIA, the Defense Department. You need a vast array of people who don't Change. This is what happened in the British Empire. You know, the government may change, liberal or conservative, but the empire itself was always explicitly managed. It's just that the governance departments at the very, very top would occasionally change hands. But the build out of that bureaucracy and of that deep state of what we've long, I think left and now right, are kind of united against, is the very idea of a permanent bureaucracy which works against the interests of its people, which wants to enrich itself, which wants to run faraway lands into metal. Ultimately, that is kind of entrenching the very thing that Trump originally was running against the idea of the swamp and of the deep state. And that's why one of the reasons that arch nationalists in the past were deeply skeptical of colonization, they used to say, we can have a republic or we can have an empire, but you can't have both. Because what they were watching was the very way that the aristocracy in Britain would use the empire to solidify its control over the domestic population and to run it and to enrich it for itself. And I think that that is ultimately one of the reasons why the way that we would traditionally run empire, like you're saying, you know, look, you know, to deny we're an empire is ridiculous. Obviously, with foreign outposts and, and preferential trade deals or, you know, international norms which are fake and only enforced to the benefit of the U.S. it's not just about that per se. It was an acknowledgment, as you just said, of being able to try and do this in a different way while though retaining kind of the unelected bureaucratic class. And I think looking at this, it's going to solidify more of this idea where the Secretary of Energy is now trying to, of our energy is trying to manage the Venezuelan oil supply. And in general, all this leads to is more enmeshment and more problems. So, for example, when the Venezuelan or when the oil companies, the US Oil companies say we need to a guarantee of the safety of our people, well, who's going to do that? It's not going to be the Venezuelan military. It would have to be the US military. Or let's say initially it is the Venezuelan military, but then something happens. Not exactly the most competent folks, right? They just allow their president to be kidnapped, literally. And the most secure person in the country. So if they can't even defend them, and if you're an oil company, would you really want to trust those people? Well, that would lead perhaps to a US person having to come and that's exactly how the chain reaction goes. You know, I was thinking about Juan David Rojas and he talked about Vietnam and something everybody forgets about Vietnam, and this is what the Pentagon Papers actually showed is it started under the Truman administration, like it became a multi administration, multi decade long boondoggle before 500,000 troops just show up. Remember, it only starts with a few advisors. It starts with allowing a coup. It's exactly the chain reaction where it can take a decade, maybe even two, before these things start to materialize. And that's what we originally had learned, I think through Iraq and Afghanistan. But we're right back to where we started. We defeated Iraq in three weeks with shock and awe. That wasn't the hard part. The hard part was trying to run the country. And even if you'd want to just quote, take the oil and you know, there are a lot of different ways that it could have gone bad, even in the initial kind of Trumpian view of occupation and of trying to run something for literally years to come, which he's declaring right now.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, and that was actually crazy comments that he made to Joe Scarborough recently is like, well, the problem with Iraq was that we didn't take the oil.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Well, he said that from day one.

[Krystal Ball]

No, but not, not that the problem was we went in at all. I mean, now he's like, yeah, it was all good, except we just didn't take the oil. It's like, what part of this do you think went well? I mean, we're still dealing with the fallout of having created isis. And you know, we've got the ISIS guy in charge of whatever. But to bolster your point, let's put B3 up on the screen. Trump is now saying he wants a $1.5 trillion military budget. $1.5 trillion. Okay. He just became the first president ever to get $1 trillion military budget. And that is an insane extraordinary number for far beyond what any other country in the world spends on their military. Now he wants to up that by 50%. Just to put this in perspective, you guys, remember Build back Better and all of the, like, social welfare programs, all that that entailed, that was going to add to the deficit like 400 billion over a decade. We're talking about $1.5 trillion. So you're tight, like the amount of tax dollars shifted into the military and that apparatus, I mean, that tells you everything about what his focus is and the way he wants to run the whole world. Like this is how he wants to operate. And so it's also what, I mean, listen, the hypocrisy thing is just like, you can't even make it up. Here they are talking about fraud. Meanwhile, this agency, of course, never passes an audit, cannot account for 61% of their own assets. Okay, so much fraud and extortion throughout the Defense Department. Not to mention last year at this time we were ramping up into Doge and Elon was about to run around with the chainsaw. Oh my God, we got to cut the debt. We got to cut the deficit. Nah, not when it comes to, you know, waging random wars around the world for resource extraction.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Yeah.

[Saagar Enjeti]

The 1.5 trillion is just so insane.

[Krystal Ball]

It's insane.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Yeah, yeah. And, and this is, I've always said this money does not. In fact, with the Defense Department, the more money, the less good that we actually seem to be. Like, we become more hyper, inefficient, more precise. I talked a lot about this yesterday in our show. We become this like F1 race car which can just spend to spend instead of focusing on things like the B17, things that are just easy, cheap to roll, but with vast production and scale that you can just pump off of the assembly line. That's how you win a war. Ammo. Exactly. You just roll it.

[Danny Shapiro]

Yeah.

[Saagar Enjeti]

And that is the literal opposite. And this is also, you know, to my bureaucracy point, to effectively and properly spend $1.5 trillion, which would be double what we were spending just two years ago. Imagine the level of competence and staff that that would require to be able to come in and to be able to do this. And again, you would have to do this over a two year period as long as you're in office. And I guess potentially if your vice president wins the election, that that person could do it as well. But like, this is exactly the problem. This is how you get not just runaway spending, but you get corruption and yes, stock buybacks and executive compensation, which we'll talk about here in a little bit, that they're trying to crack down on is great. But the very idea that money equals more is the problem in my opinion. Like everything should always be here is what we actually need. Sometimes you need more, sometimes it's actually about the supplier, it's about the prime contractors, it's about the industrial base, it's about lacking certain types of rare earth minerals or others that you may need in order to produce something. The question should come from necessity, not from the top line number. Because now everybody in Congress is just going to salivate over this and turn it in into even more of some, you know, hyper Exactly. And it's like, look, we all ridiculed, remember, with Ukraine, the Ukraine bill, they're like, well, we're not sending it to Ukraine. We're sending it here. And then we're going to send the weapons to Ukraine. So actually, it'll be good for everyone here. It's like, well, it usually doesn't work out that way as you. You know. And, yes, setting executive compensation at 5 million, good, I guess seems like too much money to me, but all right, $5 million. Anybody who's running a defense contract or a middle manager at a defense contracting company. But more importantly, I mean, just, you know, what I took away from this is repeating the follies of Empire. Like, these things fell apart usually for a reason, and maybe it was inevitable. I mean, I remember I was on Lex Freeman once. He's like, well, the American empire fall. And I was like, well, you know, on a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everything. Yeah, yeah, the survival rate for everything drops to zero, as they famously said in. In Fight Club. But for this one, you can see that this explicit oil bureau, Venezuela, it repeats the very same problems that it always bedeviled people who try to do this. And, you know, the better option from the beginning just seems to have been make a deal with Maduro and buy it from him, and then we don't have to run it, be responsible, and now have to threaten to kill or any of that. He was governing fine of extraction.

[Krystal Ball]

You know, that's the way it's done, right? And threaten.

[Saagar Enjeti]

And he'll make a deal, which he wanted to. He literally was able.

[Krystal Ball]

Paul Singer will get his payoff. You know, he'll be able to get his Venezuelan oil into his Citgo refineries. You don't have to do this whole thing. And now you break it, you own it.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Okay, Trisha Parshi, standing by. Let's get to it.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

When you feel uncomfortable, what do you put on Biggie? You put on Biggie when you feel.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Uncomfortable, Because I want to get confident.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

This is DJ Hester Prynne's Music is Therapy, a new podcast from me, a DJ and licensed therapist that asks one simple question. Who do you want to be? And what's the song that can take you there? Music changes what you feel, and what you feel changes what you do, Right? That moment where a song shifts something inside you, that's where transformation starts. This year, I'm talking to experts across every area of life, like personal finance icon Gene Chatky, New York Times journalist David Gellis, relationship legend Dan Savage. Human Connection, teacher Mark Groves and the man who shaped my ear more than anyone, Questlove. They'll bring the strategies. I'll pair them with the right records and will teach you how to use the music to make change stick. This isn't just a podcast. It's unconventional therapy for your entire year. Listen to DJ Hester Prynne's Music is Therapy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Shapiro]

Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro, host of the hit podcast Family Secrets.

[Saagar Enjeti]

We were in the car like a.

[Krystal Ball]

Rolling stone came on and he said.

[Saagar Enjeti]

There'S a line in there about your mother. And I said, what? What I would do if I didn't feel like I was being accepted is choose an identity that other people can't have.

[Krystal Ball]

I knew something had happened to me.

[Rhianna Dillon]

In the middle of the night, but I couldn't hold on to what had happened.

[Danny Shapiro]

These are just a few of the moving and important stories I'll be holding space for on my upcoming 13th season of Family Secrets. Whether you've been on this journey with me from season one or just joining the Family Secrets family, we're so happy to have you with us. I'll dive deep into the incredible power of secrets, the ones that shape our identities, test our relationships, and ultimately reveal who we truly are. Listen to Family secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ed Helms]

Hey, everyone, it's Ed Helms.

[Krystal Ball]

And I'm Kal Penn and we are.

[Saagar Enjeti]

The hosts of Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.

[Ed Helms]

This week on the podcast, I am talking to film and TV critic, radio and podcast host and Harry Potter super fan Rhianna Dillon to discuss Audible's full cast adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What moments in this audiobook capture the feeling of the magical world best for you or just stood out the most?

[Rhianna Dillon]

I always loved reading about the Quidditch matches and and I think the audio really gets it because it just plunges you right into the stands. You have the crowd sounds like all around you. It is surround sound, especially if you're listening in headphones.

[Ed Helms]

Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audio Book Club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Shapiro]

All right, guys.

[Krystal Ball]

To talk more about geopolitics, especially with regard to the US and Iran, we are joined by Dr. Trita Parsi, who of course is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Politics and a friend of the show, probably a fan of the show, too, but I meant to say friend of the show.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Definitely.

[Krystal Ball]

It was great to see you. Appreciate it.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Good to see you as well.

[Krystal Ball]

So let's go ahead and start with this truth from President Trump threatening Iran, where there are ongoing protests. And this does tie into the very lengthy discussion Sagar and I had at the beginning of the show about ice. He says if Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. Trump so, you know, how serious do you take these threats? How serious do you think the Iranian government takes these sorts of threats?

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

I think the Iranian government would be extremely mistaken if it didn't take it seriously that both the United States and Israel are likely to strike Iran. I think we've spoken about this before as well. The Israelis did not finish the job from their standpoint in June, even though Trump said that he had obliterated the program. It was never just about the program. So the Israelis are very much likely to go forward. But I think the result of the December meeting that Netanyahu had with Trump is not only that they got a green light. It seems like Trump actually was convinced to take the lead on this or at least take a big part of it, which is unlike what happened in the summer in which initially the US Had a defensive role in terms of shooting down Iranian missiles, but then later on stepped in more further into the war itself by taking out the Iranian fordo plan. But this time around, it looks as if he has been convinced, just looking at who he's hanging out with. He's on the airplane with Lindsey Graham, et cetera, using that language, posing with hats of make Iran great again. It would be a mistake for the Iranians not to take this very seriously, I would say.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Dr. Parsi, I'm curious here. One of the things that has come out is Trump's own infatuation with the Midnight Hammer operation and now with the successful rendition of Nicolas Maduro. Does how does that play into his expectation or what the Israelis are telling him about possible action against Iran versus the reality of what something like that would look like.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

I think what has happened here is that Trump is quite surprised and quite euphoric about the success the military aspect of Venezuela, and that has now skewed his risk assessment of what other operations that may be tremendously different and far more difficult, mindful of the fact that he's in a completely different geography. What that may be, but I think he looks as if he is now thinking that, well, this was easy. Why don't we do more of it? In fact, he said, why don't we do more of it? And I think in combination with the fact that you are seeing a very determined campaign to portray the Iranians as weak as possible, to then convince him this is not going to be difficult, you just need a little push, the regime will fall, et cetera. I think it's important to recognize that Trump doesn't seem to have a real commitment to oppose war or to oppose regime change. He has a real commitment to things that he thinks are costly and complicated and won't make him look good. But if you can convince him that the war will be easy, if you can convince him that regime change will be easy, then I don't think he has a tremendous amount of resistance. And I think what we've seen in the last two weeks or so is a very significant campaign to make it look as easy as possible in order to get Trump in on it himself.

[Krystal Ball]

Some of the analysis I've seen, Dr. Parsi directly does connect the strike and kidnapping of Maduro in Venezuela and the takeover of Venezuelan oil with potential war with Iran. Because the idea being, okay, well, then we'll have control of more oil reserves. We don't have to worry if there are implications in terms of the oil trade regionally in the Middle East. Do you read it that way? Do you think that is part of the calculus for why we did this insane thing in Venezuela?

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

I think oil is a huge part of the calculation here. I don't think it is. For this reason, getting Venezuelan oil, which is a very different kind of oil than what the Iranians have, requires completely different type of refineries, et cetera. You're not going to be able to just stabilize the oil markets because you have Venezuelan oil pumping, first of all, it's going to take quite some time for that to be able to really get on the market. So I don't think there is.

[Krystal Ball]

You think Trump knows that, though?

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Well, that's a different question. It's a very different question. But I do think that oil does have a central role in the calculation behind Venezuela. This is, as I understand their reasoning, which is that this gives the United States greater control over the oil markets down the road, not immediately. And that is a critical thing. They believe in terms of competition with China. Now, setting aside the complete illegality of it, the complete immorality of it, as well as relying on a very best case Scenario reading of this, because it's one thing to do a military operation. It's a completely different thing to make sure that this actually works out in the long run. Remember, Iraq looked as a success up until August of 2003, when they blew up the UN building during. In the middle of that conference, press conference that was being held, and the insurrection really started. Up until that point, there was euphoria, and everyone thought, oh, this is so successful, and you have mission accomplished. Same thing with Afghanistan, same thing with Libya. We're still in that initial phase where, what, day eight or so. Making judgments on that, which I do fear the administration is making, particularly Trump himself, is a huge mistake.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Dr. Parsi, one of the things I've seen move from Israel is a line about the Iranian nuclear program. They're now turning it into talk of ICBMs. I know that that was very important at the December meeting. Could you just explain that a little bit to the audience? The moving of the goalposts to try and get the bombing of Iran to restart?

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Yeah, I think that's a very important question, Sagar, because it also shows that this, at the end of the day, was not ultimately about the nuclear program. The nuclear program is a very important part of it. But what it ultimately is about is the balance in the region and the ability of Iran or any country in the region that Israel deems hostile. In the case of Iran, of course it is. And their ability to deter Israel, to challenge Israel's domination, challenge or minimize or reduce Israel's maneuverability. A nuclear program, a latent nuclear leverage that the Iranians had, or an actual nuclear weapons program, obviously would be a challenge to it. But that's not the only thing. Also, if the Iranians have missiles that actually can reach Israel and that are effective enough to be able to penetrate Israel's defense shields, that too is a limitation to Israel's domination in the region. And that gets to the core of the matter here. It is not about security for Israel. No, it's about securing Israel's dominance. Not actual security, but dominance. But that's because the Israelis believe that they can only have security through dominance, not through balance, not through coexistence, not through the management of threat with others. And the ultimate logic of that means in order for Israel to feel safe in the region, it needs to have total security, and everyone else needs to have total insecurity vis a vis Israel. That's part of the reason you're also now seeing tensions between Israel and Turkey, because Turkey is getting closer to what Israel now is craving out as its sphere of influence. Now, if the Israelis want to pursue this type of approach, which ultimately is not going to be successful, in my view, that's one thing. But to have the United States pay for it and have the United States be the backstop for it is a completely different proposition. And that's then coming back to over here. What kind of decision do we make? Do we want to be the funders and the support system for an Israeli project of hegemony in the region? What's in it for the U.S. do you think?

[Krystal Ball]

First of all, I'd love for you to talk a little bit about the protests, how widespread, what are the core issues? And then do you think that that has also helped to persuade Trump that, oh, it'd be easy to just topple this regime in Iran?

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Yeah, first of all, I think, absolutely, it had a huge impact on it because of the imagery. I mean, this is not a president that is necessarily moved that much by intelligence briefings, but the imagery, and I think that's part of the reason also, we're seeing that the protests are continuing. They're actually not particularly large, historically speaking. This is Nothing compared to 2009. This is still smaller than 2017, definitely smaller than 2022 as well. They are important. They're not insignificant in any way, shape, or form, but they're not at that level in which this talk that seems to be the buzz in the media, that seems to be like, oh, the regime is on the verge of collapse, et cetera. I'm not seeing. I'm speaking to folks every day inside of Iran, ordinary people, as well as journalists and others that are plugged in. That is not the sense I'm getting. They're all talking about it. They're all seeing it. They oftentimes are in support of a lot of the different demands. Undoubtedly. I mean, this is a deeply, deeply unpopular regime. It was triggered by the currency crisis, which is very much connected to the sanctions because Iranians don't have access to their own funds. But it quickly went beyond that. But it is not in the major cities. It is in smaller places. It is not in huge numbers. But nevertheless, it does provide imagery that gives the impression that something, particularly if you're only looking at that imagery, you think that something much bigger is happening. And I think that has been a very deliberate strategy of some people who want to push Trump in this direction, to use that in order to tell him, look, this is gonna be so easy, and Lindsey Graham going over to him with a hat that says make Iran great again and he's posing with it. I'm not so sure that this is really thought through from Trumpson. It seems to be very thought through from those who want to take advantage of the protest.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Well, sir, that was very enlightening. Thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Turning now to homes, actually a very good action here being taken by the President. We'll see if it's stakes. Let's go put it up there on the screen. Donald Trump saying, for a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American dream. It was the reward for working hard, doing the right thing. But now, because of record high inflation, blah, blah, blah, the American dream is increasingly out of reach. It is. For that reason and much more, I'm immediately taking steps to ban institutional investors from buying more single family homes. And I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations. I will discuss this topic, including further housing and affordability proposals and more at my speech in Davos in the next two weeks. Maybe not the venue that I would choose, but the policy I will take. The policy I will take as I understand it. Actually, this was a policy project that was very near and dear to Charlie Kirk's heart. And now, as the president and his team are gearing up for the midterms and they understand that they have an affordability problem on their hands, this is the type of executive order that they want to make public. You will note, as he said, that he hopes that Congress codifies it. We can put the next one up on the screen. Senator Josh Hawley had said that, quote, this is a terrific idea, long overdue. I will gladly introduce this bill in the Senate. And what's kind of interesting is that the Trump administration knows it has a problem on their hands economically. They know that inflation, housing, many of these other things are hurting them at the potential ballot box for 2026. But also in just the general minds of people. People understand very deeply that housing is like a major barrier for them into their ability to have the American dream. Part of the reason why I think that there has been so much consternation around this idea of these large private equity companies or large like corporations owning and managing so much housing stock because it does make you feel like a slave, you know, to a bigger.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

When you feel uncomfortable, what do you put on Biggie? You put on Biggie when you feel uncomfortable.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Because I want to get confident.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

This is DJ Hester Prynne's Music Is Therapy, a new podcast from me, a DJ and licensed therapist that asks one simple question. Who do you want to be? And what's the song that can take you there? Music changes what you feel, and what you feel changes what you do, right that moment where a song shifts something inside you, that's where transformation starts. This year I'm talking to experts across every area of life, like personal finance icon Gene Chaty, New York Times journalist David Gellis, relationship legend Dan Savage, human connection teacher Mark Groves, and the man who shaped my ear more than anyone, Questlove. They'll bring the strategies, I'll pair them with the the right records and will teach you how to use the music to make change stick. This isn't just a podcast. It's unconventional therapy for your entire year. Listen to DJ Hester Prinze Music is Therapy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ed Helms]

Hey everyone, it's Ed Helms and I'm.

[Krystal Ball]

Kal Penn and we are the hosts.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Of Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.

[Ed Helms]

This week on the podcast, I am talking to film and TV critic, radio and podcast host and Harry Potter super fan Rhianna Dillon to discuss Audible's full cast adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What moments in this audiobook capture the feeling of the magical world best for you or just stood out the most?

[Rhianna Dillon]

I always loved reading about the Quidditch matches and I think the audio really gets it because it just plunges you right into the stands. You have the crowd sounds like all around you. It is surround sound, especially if you're listening in headphones.

[Ed Helms]

Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Shapiro]

Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro, host of the hit podcast Family Secrets.

[Saagar Enjeti]

We were in the car like a.

[Krystal Ball]

Rolling stone came on and he said.

[Saagar Enjeti]

There'S a line in there about your mother and and I said what? What I would do if I didn't feel like I was being accepted is choose an identity that other people can't have.

[Krystal Ball]

I knew something had happened to me.

[Rhianna Dillon]

In the middle of the night, but I couldn't hold on to what had happened.

[Danny Shapiro]

These are just a few of the moving and important stories I'll be holding space for on my upcoming 13th season of Family Secrets. Whether you've been on this journey with me from season one or just joining the Family Secrets family, we're so happy to have you with us. I'll dive deep into the incredible power of secrets, the ones that shape our identities, test our relationships and ultimately reveal who we truly are. Listen to Family secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Economic system. So at the very least, you know, wanna give credit where it's due. You know, hopefully it does become policy. But I do think, you know, at a smaller level like this, this is also a victory for shows like ours and for, for a lot of other people on the Internet. You and I talked about this on our very first or first week, I believe, of Breaking points.

[Krystal Ball]

Wow.

[Saagar Enjeti]

So almost five years ago.

[Danny Shapiro]

Wow.

[Saagar Enjeti]

At this time, just to give people an idea of like this has been at the center, I think the forefront of online politics, things like this, things like stock buybacks. And I do think the audience and others, you know, you guys are the ones who deserve credit because you made it into a thing and now it's bubbled, it's up all the way to the White House. So I think, I actually think it's a good story.

[Krystal Ball]

If Trump just did stuff like this, he would have like a 70%, 90%, like I don't know, about 90%. Right, but 70% just because of partisanship. But he would be wildly popular. I mean it's. The thing is I don't think the American people expect you to like have a magic wand and fix everything. And look, is this gonna fix everything? No. In housing market, no. But at least it gives a sense of like I am focused on this.

[Saagar Enjeti]

I care about this.

[Krystal Ball]

I am not just making Venezuela great again. I am doing Netanyahu's bidding and like thinking of bombing 10 other countries. I actually, I hear your concerns and I'm doing something and something that you know, a wealthy, powerful interest in this country are not gonna be happy about. So look, all the caveats, we'll see what happens. If it comes to, you know, he can't do it really through an executive order, it would have to go through Congress. You're gonna have lots of lobbying from a lot of well heeled institutions that will be funneling money to a bunch of Republicans in particular since they're in control, but plenty of Democrats too to make sure that this never happens. So there's still a long way to go before we get this. But the idea, yes, let's do it. And look, I don't wanna understate cuz there's a lot of like, oh, I think overall permanent capital only owns like 1% of the housing stock, et cetera. But if you look at D4, there are certain places in the country where this is. There's been a concentrated effort and it has had a real impact. So put D4 up on the screen, guys. This is the map. You can see, actually Florida is one of the hotspots for this sort of buying up of housing. So you can see areas in the country where it's fairly concentrated activity. And the thing is, when you have these large institutional investors come in, they can pay in all cash and they can just come in and it's like not a hassle. And so even if they're not outbidding you, they're able to do this with such ease and with cash upfront that it's very appealing for a lot of sellers. So you will no longer have that particular entity competing with you in the housing market if, if, if this all actually comes to pass.

[Saagar Enjeti]

That's right. Let's put the next one up there on the screen. D5 about the stock hit. You know, Blackstone took a huge hit. Their 9% drop immediately with this announcement. This is exactly, you know, what I would like to see. And you know, you know, to bolster your point, it's very disingenuous to just, for people say only 1%. It's like, guys, it also matters by population, where people live, how it shapes the market. By the way, keep in mind that graphic you put up was only people who own 100 single family homes. 100. So if you own, you know, even 20, I mean, think about what a large landlord that you already are, you're rolling in it from that point forward. So it is totally, you know, belies the point. And it's very obvious. Housing has been a play for a lot of these, from small to giant private equity giants, you know, that they've been getting involved in. Griffin actually found a good one as well. Can we put D3 up there on the screen? What you can see in front of you is it's not just it's single family homes, but 9% of residential land. And it's well understood that land and the connection to the housing market is deeply connected, not only in terms of speculation, but literally the ability to buy. And what you can see in front of you are so many different localities which have a significant population, especially in the city of New York. I mean, these are very populous places, a lot of places in Florida, some of the growing areas there in the United States. So I think that the people, because I've seen quite a bit of yimby critique of this, there's like an abundance kind of idea that actually it's a good thing for more housing stock and. Or for more. For more money to be involved in housing. But like, this has always been my critique of that movement is it belies individuality, Americanness, pursuit of the American dream, and of that ability to attain wealth. It's not just a place where you park your bag, you know, put your bags. It's a place where you raise your children. And it also gives you at least a bit of a, you know, lift into be able. Being able to attain some level of wealth and potential forced savings and accumulation over a long period of your life. Which is ultimately why the house in and of itself is such an important financial asset. It's not just you don't invest in it or buy one simply, you know, just because you have to have a place to live, you have to have one. And it's a forced savings mechanism which over a period of time can appreciate marginally that you own equity in that can then propel you to a next or a different step potentially, if you want to pass it on to your children or any of that. So I do think it is very, very important, good policy. Hope it actually becomes a thing.

[Krystal Ball]

I hope so too. And I like the sentiment that people live in houses, not corporations. And if we can get that ethos, you know, that's a real start in terms of sort of, you know, really focusing on what houses are supposed to be about. They're not just for financial speculation. It's supposed to be about, you know, people actually living there. So.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Well, 100%.

[Krystal Ball]

We'll give him credit on this one.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Let's do the defense contractor one quickly, just because I think it's interesting. D2 can we put that up there on the screen, guys? This was a truth that the president put out. He said all executive pay packages in the defense industry are exorbitant and unjustifiable. Given how these companies are delivering vital equipment. He is saying there no executive should be allowed to make in the excess of $5 million, which is as high as it sounds, is a mere fraction of what they are making now. Additionally, maintenance, repair equipment, once sold, is far too slow, must be immediately enhanced. As president, I am demanding maintenance be spot on and on time. Therefore, I will not permit dividends or stock buybacks for defense companies until such time as these problems are rectified. Likewise for salaries and executive compensations, military equipment is not being made fast enough. So, you know, look, I think this is, you know, banning stock buybacks for defense Companies capping their salary will remember the outrage Crystal, during the Great Recession when Wall street gave it all of its guys bonuses immediately after bailouts. Like you said, if you could just do stuff like this, it would be great. It really would.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, absolutely. And not up the defense budget to $1.5 trillion, which is what we propose. We'll probably put that.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Unfortunately, their stocks did surge because of that and not. And did not take a hit as a result of this. Yeah, 1.5 trillion.

[Krystal Ball]

I'm more skeptical of this one just because first of all, there's no way in hell Congress would pass something like that. Not a chance. Defense industry has Congress on lock. And number two, you know, okay, maybe direct compensation is 5 million. What about the stock packages, which is where they make most of their money? I don't know. We'll see. We'll see on this one. All right, guys, we broke a record for our A block and it was like an hour and a half. So we're not gonna. We're not gonna be able. But I think it was important to go deep on that one and evaluate all the angles. And I hope you guys appreciated that. And we're gonna move the stuff we were gonna do in the latter half of the show. You'll just have to wait for it in the Friday show. Griffin is very excited to talk about Tony Decopolz.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Griffin begged me not to do it.

[Danny Shapiro]

Not at all.

[Krystal Ball]

That we didn't do yesterday.

[Saagar Enjeti]

So now he gets to do it and that's fine. Let's everybody hope and pray that this norovirus doesn't continue to make its way through my body.

[Krystal Ball]

Thoughts and prayers.

[Danny Shapiro]

Yeah.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Thank you to everybody for watching the show. You know, look, I'm very thankful to be able to do it in times like this. I know it's very difficult, but I do think it's important. And I'll tell you this, you're definitely not going to see this anywhere else. Okay. Which is all just blathering propaganda at. At. At other people react videos to not actually talking to somebody who you disagree with. So I'm grateful to be able to do it with you today, Crystal. I wish I could have been there in studio. And thank you guys so much for watching and we will see you all later.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

When you feel uncomfortable, what do you put on Biggie? You put on Biggie when you feel uncomfortable.

[Dr. Trita Parsi]

Because I want to get confident.

[DJ Hester Prynne]

This is DJ Hester Prinz, Music is Therapy, a new podcaster from me, a DJ and licensed therapist. 12 months, 12 areas of your life, money, love, career confidence. This isn't just a podcast, it's unconventional therapy for your entire year. Listen to DJ Hester Prinz Music is Therapy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ed Helms]

Hey everyone, it's Ed Helms and I'm.

[Krystal Ball]

Kal Penn and we are the hosts.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Of Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.

[Ed Helms]

This week on the podcast I am talking to film and TV critic, radio and podcast host and Harry Potter super fan Rhianna Dillon to discuss Audible's full cast adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What moments in this audiobook capture the feeling of the magical world best for you or just stood out the most?

[Rhianna Dillon]

I always loved reading about the Quidditch matches and and I think the audio really gets it because it just plunges you right into the stands you have the crowd sounds like all around you is surround sound, especially if you're listening in headphones.

[Ed Helms]

Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audio Book Club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Saagar Enjeti]

Foreign.

[Brad (Brad vs Everyone)]

That's landing some gen zers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired and the massive TikTok boycott against Target. That actually makes no sense. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad vs Everyone podcast. Listen to the Brad vs Everyone podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Krystal Ball]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.