Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

Episode Date: August 19, 2025

Main Theme: Critique and analysis of elite media, establishment narratives, and current political controversies—including Gavin Newsom's social media tactics, the ADL's attacks on New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Western media denialism about Gaza, and further evidence of extremism in Israeli policy.

1. Gavin Newsom’s Trumpian Twitter Era & Fox News Reaction

Overview

Krystal and Saagar open by dissecting California Governor Gavin Newsom’s embrace of aggressive, meme-heavy, Trump-like social media tactics. They analyze conservative media’s overblown outrage in response, and draw parallels to past political polarizations.

Key Points & Insights

• Newsom’s Twitter persona:

  • Newsom’s official press office account has replied to provocative or controversial tweets—frequently leaning into meme culture and even trolling Republicans and conservative figures (Tomi Lahren, Scott Pressler, Nancy Mace, Chaya Raichik [Libs of TikTok]).
  • Notably, Newsom retweeted a meme from a Nazi account and responded "I missed that scarf", and mocked J.D. Vance in old photos.
  • Newsom is intentionally "going Trump" in his online strategy—using humor, aggression, and directness as a means to energize Democratic support.

• Polarization and Performative Politics:

  • Republicans and Fox News are now pearl-clutching over Newsom’s “mean tweets”, despite having celebrated Trump’s similar online behavior in the past.
  • Saagar critiques the hypocrisy:
    • "The only reason that I think any of this is interesting is that Gavin is basically just going Trump. Like, he's going all, like, Trumpy in terms of his posting with the memes and all of that." (04:14)
    • "The more that the Tomi Lahrens and Fox News are mad at Gavin, the more happy that these Democrats are gonna be. They love that Trump owned the libs ... now if Gavin's able to trigger the conservatives, like the Democratic base is gonna eat that up." (08:33)

• Democratic Primary & "Fighter" Energy:

  • Recent Echelon Insights poll (cited at 07:00) places Newsom at #2 for 2028, behind Kamala Harris.
  • Newsom’s success is partly due to his "fighter" stance; Democratic base now wants a figure who triggers the right, as Trump did for Republicans.
  • Krystal:
    • "It’s shocking that more of these idiotic Democratic politicians haven’t realized that that is the case. And actually, it took Gavin a while to get it." (08:33)

• Fox News Outrage Montage:

  • A series of Fox News clips show conservative pundits reacting melodramatically to Newsom’s tweets, decrying his supposed lack of seriousness for trolling figures like Texas Governor Greg Abbott (“he rolled over for Trump”).
  • Krystal sums up the dynamic:
    • “It’s just so funny. Do you not realize who the president is that you like, you know, glaze all the time?” (11:11)

• Limits and Pyrrhic Victories:

  • Krystal and Saagar caution that viral online “hype” around Newsom doesn’t always translate to actual electoral power—citing similar social media-driven surges for previous candidates (e.g. Kamala Harris).
  • Newsom’s podcast is underperforming in views; virality may be deceptive (“sometimes he has a good guest, but sometimes it’s a total bust”—17:09).

Notable Quotes

• Saagar: "He believes nothing. He will say anything. That is absolutely true. That is what you need more than anything to be president. You have to have the black hole in your soul. And he has it." (19:36)
• Krystal: "If sort of leveraged in the right way [his presence and fighting style] are certainly very appealing to a Democratic base right now that again, is just so desperate for anyone who has anything to say and is gonna like, have any sort of a spine or a backbone at all." (18:54)
• Saagar (on Newsom's ambitions): "He reminds me a lot, actually, of Bill Clinton, like, in terms of just that tick inside from the very beginning of, like, have to have it, gotta have it." (20:21)

2. ADL’s Attacks on Zohran Mamdani: Lies and Media Influence

Overview

Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the ADL, went on CNBC and other networks, falsely smearing Democratic NYC mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani as antisemitic. Krystal and Saagar break down these claims and analyze established institutions’ waning grip on public opinion.

Key Points & Insights

• Greenblatt’s False Claims:

  • Greenblatt accuses Mamdani of refusing to condemn “globalize the intifada” and of never visiting synagogues or engaging with Jewish communities.
  • Krystal and Saagar methodically debunk these lies, pointing to social media evidence and fact-checked reports that Mamdani did attend synagogues, engaged in Yiddish-language press, and maintains strong Jewish campaign staff/supporters.

• Institutional vs. Popular Power:

  • Despite ADL’s legacy and media reach, its political influence is declining—especially among younger, progressive Jewish voters.
  • Recent NEA (teachers union) attempted to sever ties with the ADL over its pro-Israel stance—the executive committee overruled members, showing lingering institutional control.
  • Saagar:
    • "The ADL has a lot of institutional power, but it is increasingly losing a lot of its political power. And I think that's what's very important." (29:37)

• Media Collusion & Elite Bubble:

  • Greenblatt appears on financial networks (CNBC) not just for news, but to help mobilize Wall Street and elite opposition to Mamdani.
  • Krystal:
    • "They do not want to grapple with reality. That's why he's like I don't believe the polls. Actually if you'll recall, in the Democratic primary the polls wildly understated Zorin's support." (32:35)

Notable Quotes

• Krystal: "What brazen... nearly every word out of his mouth is just a brazen lie there." (26:45)
• Saagar: "Institutional power they have... but if you really want to like dismantle it, it's important politically to actually have candidates who outright reject them. But those candidates then need to look at all of the other areas that they're influencing." (31:39)

3. The Free Press, Bari Weiss, and Starvation Denial in Gaza

Overview

Krystal and Saagar profile The Free Press (Bari Weiss’s media venture) and its egregious attempts to deny and minimize Gaza’s famine by cherry-picking and distorting facts about starving Palestinian children.

Key Points & Insights

• Starvation Denialism:

  • The Free Press published a story claiming that 12 Palestinian children, highlighted as famine victims, actually had underlying medical problems like traumatic injuries or rickets—implying they weren’t really dying of starvation.
  • Krystal calls out the moral bankruptcy:
    • "Is that supposed to be a propaganda win for Israel? That in addition to the fact you're starving this child to death, you also blew up part of his head?" (34:30)
  • The absurdity of using rickets (a disease caused by vitamin deficiency) as a counterargument against malnutrition.

• Holocaust Denial Parallels:

  • Saagar and Krystal draw a direct analogy between these arguments and classic Holocaust denial tropes ("victims had other preconditions", "some people had access to food/restaurants") being weaponized to minimize current atrocities.
    • Saagar: "A key tenant of Holocaust denial is trying to claim that many of the initial victims or purported victims had other preconditions and that's part of the reason why they died." (37:28)

Notable Quotes

• Krystal: "So disgusting. Of course the first people who are on the brink of death or who have in hundreds of instances at this point already starved to death... it's the sick, it's the weak, it's the vulnerable. Those are the first people, often children, often infants or the elderly, to die in famine conditions." (36:04)

4. Gaza Ceasefire Moves, Israeli Military Leaks, and Sickness in Israeli Society

Overview

Krystal and Saagar cover new reports on ceasefire negotiations, shocking leaked audio from top Israeli intelligence, and data on Gaza’s population collapse. They discuss growing evidence of systemic dehumanization and violence.

Key Points & Insights

• Ceasefire Attempts:

  • Hamas has accepted a Qatari/Egyptian ceasefire proposal for a 60-day halt, but Israel’s response is pending and likely to reject, as previous negotiations have failed due to Israel’s “poison pill” demands for total occupation.
  • Krystal’s pessimism:
    • "I don't feel very hopeful that the Israeli side is going to accept this because they seem hell bent on their complete ethnic cleansing plan and are moving forward with effectuating that outcome." (41:50)

• Leaked Israeli Military Audio:

  • Israeli head of military intelligence openly states:
    • “For every person [killed] on October 7th, 50 Palestinians should die. It does not matter if they are kids. There is nothing to be done. They need a Nakba now and then to feel the price.” (translated at 44:18)
  • Krystal calls this direct evidence of genocidal intent within the Israeli establishment—a chilling mask-off moment.

• Gaza: Demographic Collapse Data:

  • Life expectancy in Gaza has dropped by about 35 years since 10/7/2023—far worse than previous wars in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Yemen (visuals at 47:53).

• Israeli Recruitment and Diaspora:

  • The IDF, facing a manpower crisis, is openly encouraging the Jewish diaspora (notably in the US and France) to enlist.
  • Saagar draws Nazi parallel:
    • "It's very Nazi blood and soil behavior. The Nazis… any loyal German must return to the fatherland to come and fight for Hitler." (51:11–51:13)

• Systemic Abuse of Foreign Workers:

  • Israeli Knesset found 100% of Thai farm workers in the country reported sexual assault (52:07)—evidence of deeply rooted problems beneath Israel’s self-marketing as a democracy.

• Society-Wide Radicalization & Propaganda:

  • Krystal and Saagar discuss how even Israeli “liberals” now support ethnic cleansing, and compare this moral breakdown to American society’s WWII anti-Japanese propaganda—but noting the added ideological power of religious and supremacist justifications.
  • Krystal:
    • "If you have an ideology that says one group is better, more deserving, gets more rights than another group, then all sorts of horrors flow directly from there. Because if they're not truly human, you can do anything to it." (56:28)

5. Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Saagar (on cable news): "Every time I watch cable news, I'm like, oh, that's why people like our show. Okay, I get it." (11:50)
• Krystal (on elite Israel-Palestine narrative): "There has been a almost complete loss of public support [for Israel] outside of like boomer Republicans. But there is still a lot of elite support and elite pushing of this narrative." (33:48)
• Saagar (on self-censorship): "It's a lot harder to understand in the year 2025, in the age of the smartphone. It actually makes me doubt whether the information age makes people more informed at all. I actually think we may all be less informed than ever." (54:31)

Key Timestamps for Segments

• Gavin Newsom’s Twitter and Fox News Reaction: 02:13–21:44
• ADL’s Attack on Zohran Mamdani: 24:23–34:30
• Starvation Denial/Free Press & Bari Weiss: 34:30–39:13
• Gaza Ceasefire, Israeli Leaks, Demographic Catastrophe: 41:50–52:07
• Abuse of Foreign Workers, Radicalization in Israeli Society: 52:07–End

Tone and Summary

The episode’s tone is fiercely critical, irreverent, and unsparing—Krystal and Saagar blend sharp analysis with gallows humor and frustration. They call out establishment hypocrisy, media disinformation, and elite consensus, particularly relating to Israel/Palestine, Democratic politics, and the mechanics of manufactured outrage. Their intent is to “hold the powerful to account,” echoing their anti-establishment ethos by exposing the mechanisms by which the political and media elite shape, distort, and weaponize narratives against genuine grassroots or antiwar opposition.

For Listeners Who Missed It

If you didn’t hear the episode, you’ll find a detailed deconstruction of how both American political discourse and pro-Israel propaganda are manufactured and defended—from Newsom’s social media games, to the ADL’s influence, to grotesque denial of suffering in Gaza. The show provides rich analysis, numerous receipts, and a forceful call to look past memes, cable news dramatics, and institutional gaslighting.