8/29/25: Adam Friedland TEARS INTO Ritchie Torres, Dark Money Funds Dem Influencers, Gaza Doctor Returns w/ Shocking Photos

Summary

Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

Episode: August 29, 2025 – Adam Friedland vs. Ritchie Torres, Dark Money Funds Dem Influencers, Gaza Doctor Returns with Shocking Photos

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Breaking Points crew—Krystal Ball, Emily Jashinsky, and Ryan Grim—dive deeply into three core segments:

1. Adam Friedland confronts Rep. Ritchie Torres on Israel & Gaza: A raw, emotional exchange highlights the disconnect between lived experience and political talking points.
2. Taylor Lorenz exposes dark money behind Democratic influencers: Discussion of a Wired article revealing secretive funding and messaging control on the Left’s influencer ecosystem.
3. Dr. Mohammed Khalil shares harrowing experiences from Gaza: Firsthand accounts and disturbing medical evidence from humanitarian missions in Gaza.

The episode is rich with candid exchanges, sharp critique of power, and personal, often uncomfortable, truths from all sides.

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1. Adam Friedland’s Showdown with Ritchie Torres on Israel & Gaza

Main Theme:
Adam Friedland, a Jewish comedian and podcaster, presses Rep. Ritchie Torres for human empathy and accountability regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza, resulting in a tense, revealing back-and-forth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Emotional vs. Political Disconnect ([04:07–06:04])

  • Friedland describes the trauma of watching the Israeli-Palestinian conflict play out as a Jew:

    "People live in a world where they're demeaned and dehumanized and surveilled constantly... and this isn't in Gaza, by people in SWAT team outfits with semi automatic weapons. And that's what the world is seeing. And you keep telling me that the problem is someone's getting yelled at at a restaurant." — Adam Friedland (04:07)

  • He expresses personal conflict, noting voicing these feelings will "hurt people in my own family."
  • Torres responds with standard pro-Israel talking points, referencing historical massacres, and resolutely sticking to a traditional narrative.

• Identity & Criticism Within the Jewish Community ([06:10–11:11])

  • Panel reflects on whether criticism of Israel is dismissed as self-hatred or denied validity.
  • Ryan Grim counters critique that Jewish voices against Israel are "centering Jewish feelings":

    "If a country is waging a Genocide and saying they're doing it in your name, it's not just appropriate for you to speak up about it—it's morally imperative." — Ryan Grim (07:33)

  • Debate over identity policing—whether being "really Jewish" is contingent upon political stance on Israel.

• Media and Political Performance ([12:55–16:56])

  • The unique, awkward discomfort of the Friedland/Torres interview is lauded for breaking away from sanitized political exchanges.
  • Krystal Ball observes:

    "Maybe 20 years ago, you would have seen something uncomfortable like this on the Daily show... but this is really new that we see confrontations like this... which is a good thing." — Krystal Ball (16:30)

  • Panel notes some on the Right saw Friedland’s vulnerability as weakness, missing its importance for Jewish dialogue.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Adam Friedland:

  "...this is, feels like a stain on our history and it feels like it's changed what being Jewish is, because what being Jewish is, isn't Israel. Judaism has existed for 4,000 years. This is a country for 75 years." (04:40)

• Krystal Ball:

  "That's the exact argument conservatives detest when it is applied to Clarence [Thomas]... this idea that your identity isn't true unless you have the ideology baked into it." (09:32)

• Emily Jashinsky:

  "Adam's almost success, but simultaneously fatal mistake, is assuming Richie Torres is a human and trying to relate to him on a human level..." (15:00)

• Ryan Grim:

  "Humanity is capable of deep evil." (15:31)

---

2. Taylor Lorenz’s Exposé: Dark Money & Democratic Influencers

Main Theme:
An investigative piece from Taylor Lorenz (Wired) uncovers secret funding (up to $8,000/month) funneled by a dark money group to “independent” Democratic influencers who are required to follow strict messaging guidelines and maintain secrecy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• The “Chorus” Network and The 1630 Fund ([21:41–25:58])

  • Democrats have centralized a system to fund and train content creators.
  • The 1630 Fund, a notorious dark money group, powers this project, obscuring donor identities.
  • Recipients must not produce unsanctioned political content using program-funded resources, potentially gagging dissent within primaries.

• Discussion On Influence and Corruption ([25:58–32:19])

  • David Pakman defends the system as necessary to catch up with the Right’s media infrastructure:

    "The right has won even arguably presidential elections because they're organized with regard to online and independent media. They're killing us. We've been so behind." — David Pakman (26:10)

  • Emily suggests trainings are more likely about message discipline than technical skills.
  • Ryan outlines how subtle corruption seeps in, likening the situation to “promise of future wealth” that shapes political incentives.

• Comparison to the Right’s Media Apparatus ([33:14–37:12])

  • The Right was forced into independent spaces due to cancel culture, leading to greater podcast/media success—often but not always supported by partisan funding.
  • Emily and Krystal note the irony that “independent” leftist media often advances party talking points, while the Right more freely embraces ideologically adjacent figures as wins.

Notable Quotes

• Ryan Grim:

  "Corruption doesn't mean that it influences every single person... The idea is that you tilt the scales enough." (30:03)

• Krystal Ball:

  "You're not independent media." (33:14) "Partisan Republicans support... the Washington Free Beacon and Partisans. I'm trying to think of a Daily Wire funder..." (35:14)

• Emily Jashinsky:

  "It's like you're doing the stanky leg at the DNC... I hope you're getting paid for that." (32:21)

---

3. Dr. Mohammed Khalil’s Gaza Testimony

Main Theme:
Dr. Khalil, a Dallas spine surgeon, recounts his latest mission to Gaza, sharing logistical challenges, malnutrition, and graphic accounts of systematic violence—including photos and medical case studies.

Segment Timestamps

• Start of Interview: [39:53]

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Getting In/Out & Aid Distribution Dangers ([40:06–44:23])

  • Entering Gaza has become much harder, passage depends on last-minute Israeli approval.
  • Doctors’ ER shift intensity correlates with aid deliveries:

    "If you're lucky, there will be no aid distribution tonight. If you're unlucky, the ER is going to overflow." (41:41)

  • Aid distribution sites are considered “death traps”; patients arrive with both blast and gunshot wounds.

• Famine, Malnutrition, and Infections ([44:23–46:34])

  • Dramatic increases in malnutrition, affecting medical staff and severely impeding wound healing.
  • Medical supplies and general conditions are dire; hospital beds are overcrowded with patients lying on floors.

• Specific Cases & Pattern of Targeted Gunshot Injuries ([51:48–56:32])

  • Multiple cases of children shot in the genitals, suggestive of systematic sniper "target practice."
  • Detailed examination of X-rays and surgeries, including shrapnel removal from a 16-year-old’s cervical spine, and a miraculous but partial recovery post-brain injury.

• Risks and Restrictions on Doctors ([47:47–59:56])

  • Even aid workers face increasing danger; close calls with drone and airstrikes are common.
  • Increasing number of medical professionals denied entry, possibly due to speaking out.
  • International doctors feel a responsibility to bear witness and break the information blockade.

Notable Quotes

• Dr. Khalil:

  "They always know, I think, where we are. But there were a few times where there were strikes very close to us because we were in Gaza City." (47:47) "In two days, we had three patients with gunshot wounds to the scrotum... There is the suggestion that these kids are being used for target practice." (52:57) "Once you go there, like it's hard to describe in words the camaraderie that you get from the people... but at this point everyone is pretty committed to speaking up because a lot of the doctors there kind of see it as an end game..." (58:44)

• Ryan Grim:

  "If it's Friday or Saturday... you tell me, like, the ERs know to brace themselves here [in the US]. Now, in Gaza, if there is an aid distribution site open... the ERs brace themselves every single time." (42:35)

---

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Adam Friedland vs. Ritchie Torres discussion: [04:07–19:23]
• Taylor Lorenz, dark money in Democratic influence: [21:41–37:12]
• Dr. Mohammed Khalil interview: [39:53–60:19]

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Episode Tone & Language

• Authentic, candid, and occasionally confrontational. The hosts maintain their anti-establishment, adversarial approach to mainstream narratives and are unafraid to criticize both Democratic and Republican establishments.
• Language is direct and personal, especially in the Adam Friedland and Dr. Khalil segments, emphasizing human experience over sanitized political soundbites.

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Conclusion

This episode of Breaking Points carves out space for uncomfortable truths—whether it’s the emotional burden of Jews scrutinizing Israel, the money quietly guiding social media talking points on the Left, or the unspeakable suffering on the ground in Gaza. The team unpacks these stories with nuance, skepticism, and a passion for independent inquiry, providing essential listening for those seeking to understand power dynamics beyond the headlines.

Transcript

[Krystal Ball]

This is an iheart podcast.

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[Emily Jashinsky]

Future of independent news media and we hope to see [e-mail] all right, Friday show.

[Emily]

How we doing?

[Ryan]

Ryan and Emily, happy Labor Day weekend.

[Krystal Ball]

Yes, comrades.

[Emily]

Working on the weekend, comrades. We're seizing the means of the breaking points here.

[Krystal Ball]

What are we going to take a 10% stake in?

[Emily]

Ooh, what is. Was it black rifle coffee? That was really big in the studio for a minute there.

[Emily Jashinsky]

That's pretty good.

[Emily]

There was two months where we got a bunch of free black rifle coffee. It was, it was out of control.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, Saga would love that.

[Emily]

Yeah. So I don't know, consider keeping.

[Krystal Ball]

Actually it would be Lucy. Lucy Gum, something like that.

[Adam Friedland]

Lucy.

[Emily]

Yeah, Lucy. I like Lucy, but Lucy doesn't ship to California for some reason.

[Krystal Ball]

They're tough stuff.

[Emily]

They're tightening, tightening down here in Gavin Newscomb's California. All right, we got a lot to talk about. We've got Adam Friedland versus Richie Torres, the matchup everyone has been waiting for. We've got an interview with Gaza doctor, Dr. Muhammad Khalil. We've got a Taylor the Renz article and much, much more. But why don't we get right into it here. The Adam Friedland Show. He is a podcast comedian and he recently had Congressman Richie Torres on to discuss many topics including Israel, Gaza. Let's take a listen.

[Adam Friedland]

The understanding in our community is that we have to defend Israel. But it's. I lived there and I went to a set a settlement at the end of my year there and I looked down a hill at a Palestinian village and I saw how they lived and I turned back and I looked at the settlement and saw how they live and people live in a, in a world where they're demeaned and dehumanized and surveilled constantly by people in, and this isn't in Gaza, by people in SWAT team outfits with, with semi automatic weapons. And that's what the world is seeing. And you keep telling me that the problem is someone's getting yelled at at a restaurant. I'm sorry, you're conflating two different issues. Please, just please. Me saying this to you right now will hurt people in my own family. Okay, because, because this is a very important thing to us. And the fact that I still care about being Jewish is embarrassing. I should just be a guy. But, but it, but this is, feels like a stain on our history and it Feels like it's changed what being Jewish is, because what being Jewish is, isn't Israel. Judaism has existed for 4,000 years. This is a country for 75 years. I. I want to. I feel like I'm here to be lectured, not shut up. That's not nice. You can't talk that way. Why are one set of Jews but more important than others? No one's saying any. You're. What happened. You had. You went to the beach at the. In Israel. What, you went to a restaurant or something? A nice restaurant. Like, listen, never even been to the Tel Aviv Pride Parade. So this is the year 2025.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

The world is seeing something that looks terrible, and it's being done in my name, and I don't know what to do. But the war began on October 7th. No, it didn't. Yes, it did. Yes. When Hamas systematically murdered.

[Emily]

All right, that was clip number one. What are we to make of that?

[Ryan]

Well, the whole conversation is. Is raw and I think just worth worth watching as it's like cinema almost, as Adam is sitting there kind of begging Richie Torres to reach him on a human level, to meet him on a human level. And Richie Torres just flatly refusing throughout it. Like, Richie just kind of sticks to Wikipedia level talking points. Hebron massacre in the 1920s. And so this juxtaposition, this point counterpoint of like, raw emotion being met with talking points creates this. This just disturbing scene. I've. And there's also been a lot of criticism you've seen from the kind of more ultra left saying that why are we. Because this has gotten so much attention. Why are we, quote, unquote, centering Jewish feelings? And to me, that's. To me, that's completely unfair criticism. Because on the one hand, you have heard a repeated criticism of the American Jewish community that they haven't spoken up enough to criticize and to separate themselves from Netanyahu's and Israel's genocide, which is being waged, according to Israel, on behalf of the. The Jewish community writ large with a flag that has a Star of David on it. Like, that is their claim that they stand for the Jewish people. So if Jewish people who do not agree with that are silent, that is affirming. That is. That is used as affirmation, that, in fact, the Israeli government does indeed speak for them. So the criticism has been, they're not speaking up enough. So he speaks up. And now saying, well, why are you centering Jewish feelings? Like that, to me, is utterly inconsistent and unfair. Like, in fact, if a country is waging a Genocide and saying that they're doing it in your name. It's not just appropriate for you to speak up about it. It's morally imperative for you to speak up about it, because if you don't, then it's a silent acknowledgment that that's true. They are doing that. And meanwhile, like, Richie Torres kind of jokingly adopted George Santos's claim in this interview that he's Jewish.

[Krystal Ball]

Yep.

[Emily]

He was kind of New Yorkers, two gay Latino New Yorkers who are both Jewish.

[Ryan]

So the, the questions of identity are kind of shot through this, like two. And yeah, we can. If you want to put up this, this next. This capo tweet, like, to some defenders of Israel, Richie Torres really is the more Jewish. Like, your, your ideas around your approach to Israel, your, your, your thoughts as it relates to this genocide determine whether or not you are Jewish in the eyes of some people. I just want to say very quickly, I can't read this. You want me to read that, Griffin?

[Emily Jashinsky]

Oh, yeah, I just want to read that real quick.

[Emily]

I'll go for it.

[Krystal Ball]

Well, I just want to say very quickly, that is the exact argument conservatives detest when it is applied to Clarence or whomever else. Right. That this, this idea that is you are not, you know, people will use the, the Uncle Tom slur, but it's this idea that your identity isn't true, even though it's, it's literally true. It isn't true unless you have the ideology baked into it.

[Ryan]

So anyway, like, you're right.

[Krystal Ball]

That's what you're seeing in this, this tweet that Griffin just put up on the screen about.

[Ryan]

It's from the senior editor from the Free Press here. Yeah.

[Emily]

The role Friedland is playing is that of the capo, the Jew, articulating and. Or acting out the wishes, conscious or unconscious, of the gentile majority. This is literally the world's oldest or second oldest profession.

[Ryan]

But, okay, literally, it is not like I don't even understand like, what remotely the guy's talking about there. And in the post right before that, he used a bunch of fancy words to call himself hating as well.

[Emily]

Yeah, because you know what, what Adam says in that clip, I guess, is that he's like, oh, I shouldn't even have to care about this. And I think he's. He should just be a guy, not a Jewish person. And he, I think, is speaking to, like that as a comedian. Like identity politics and all that stuff is typically something that you try to steer away from that it's typically construed as lame to like lead with your identity when speaking on a subject. But when it comes to this subject specifically, like they're doing it in people like Adam's name.

[Krystal Ball]

And Adam kind of crashed out in the interview. And I don't mean that in a bad way. It was obviously like, no, truly, that's where some people on the right are who don't know Adam Friedland are watching this and saying this was such a win for Richie Torres. Richie Torres probably thinks it was a win for him too. He looks like he was calmly sitting there while he got badgered and pestered by a mentally unstable comedian. But if you follow Adam Friedland's work and you know Richie Torres from other appearances, it was a really, I think it was a really important clash for someone who is Jewish to relay a lot of Jewish people's feelings about the conflict. I remember Ryan when it, when the campus, when the encampments were happening, you set up an interview for us with somebody, I think she was a senior at Columbia. They were doing Shabbat in their tent at the encampment. And it's just so absurd. Were there some anti Semitic hangers on? Of course. But it's so easy to dismiss people with those labels. And it just falls into the exact same territory that has the left, I think, dismissing black conservatives, female conservatives. You're, you're anti woman. You're not a real woman. You're self loathing. It's the same thing. And I, I'm saying that just in the context of we're using an example from the free press that would editorialize against all of those uses, all of those applications of, of identity litmus tests.

[Emily]

So in this next clip, you know, we also get, I think this is a clip where Adam kind of is able to totally break the sort of pro Zionist talking point facade with some just really simple, straightforward rebuttals that you don't typically see on any mainstream news or in many of these conversations with Zionists. Let's take a listen.

[Adam Friedland]

What we're seeing right now is that members of the Israeli government are talking about clearing that shit out and Trump, our president, is talking about putting a Jet Ski museum there. And you're. That's the reality. The far right. Yes, it's that I reject. So what the far right. I'm talking about the government and the generals that are, that are in charge of Israel, the Bengavir, the Smoles of the world. That's a view Cabinet. Yes. And I reject them. That's what Hamas is Saying they want to do to Israel. I'm sorry. I mean, Hamas murdered. I mean, Hamas murdered thousands of people. So there's no. So what does that mean? That Hamas is a terrorist organization for murdering innocent children and civilians? How many civilians have been killed in this war? The war is a tragedy, but 90% of them have been suggesting that. You're suggesting. Killed journalists. They've killed journalists. People have been killed in a war. It's been a tragedy. They've killed people waiting for aid. But you're suggesting that it is the policy of the Israeli government to murder civilians. And that is a notion that I reject. You got it. Like, listen, man, you got to be like a human being about this. People who are dying in the war, which to me is a tragedy, because war is a tragedy. Do you feel in your heart that this is what you're doing? What you're saying is right? If Hamas. If you remove Hamas. Don't actually think I told you what I believe. Don't tell me what I believe. I've told you what I believe. Why would you believe that? Because I. Because there are people who see the world differently. I know it's a shock to you.

[Emily]

Why would you believe that? Yeah, I feel like Adam's almost success, but simultaneously fatal mistake is assuming Richie Taurus is a human and trying to, like, relate to him on a human level when that was just never gonna work out. But maybe that contrast and that attempt.

[Ryan]

But that's the. That's the tragedy too. Richie Torres is a human. Netanyahu is. Humans are capable of horrific evil. And. And we. And that.

[Adam Friedland]

It's.

[Ryan]

That's something we always have to remember, because if we forget that, then we'll set back and be a little bit too comfortable. And then all of a sudden, these humans are doing these all too human things. Like, we're. We're. I think we're a little bit too kind to our idea of humanity. Humanity is capable of deep evil.

[Krystal Ball]

Totally.

[Ryan]

Yeah. But Friedland is a. The unique figure in the way that he engages with. With guests and like, a. Let. Let's. Let's. Pregnant. Pauses. Sit. Says things bluntly.

[Krystal Ball]

Male Ziwa. Yeah, you heard it here first.

[Ryan]

Is that what it is?

[Emily]

No, no. Zweigh's thing was all just about being awkward and usually awkward with, like, her friends and, like, she rarely did, like, contentious stuff with. With, you know, strangers.

[Krystal Ball]

George Santos was pretty good. But.

[Ryan]

Yeah, that whole exchange. Go ahead.

[Krystal Ball]

Well, no, I was just gonna say, I mean, this maybe 20 years ago, you would have seen something uncomfortable like this on the Daily show, maybe, or in a print interview, in, like, a zine. But this is really new that we see confrontations like this, I think, playing out, which is a good thing. I mean, I'm glad that we are able to watch Friedland versus Torres. I think it was actually instructive.

[Ryan]

And the whole thing is just completely crazy because anybody watching it, it's like watching him define what a terrorist organization is as somebody who has, quote, unquote, murdered thousands of people, which, again, whatever. And then the obvious. I think the entire audience is like, wait a minute. That's your definition of a terrorist organization. Somebody who's killed thousands of people. By the way, Hamas on October 7 killed hundreds of civilians. Anybody would call that terrorism. To kill hundreds of civilians is terrorism. But what is it then, to kill tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of civilians and to displace 2 million and to send suicide robots through Gaza City to blow up entire populated blocks. And so I. I just. It just can't withstand the barest amount of scrutiny.

[Emily]

And that's why we don't get a lot of Democrats to come on our show for that very thing right there.

[Ryan]

Well, I think it's actually more. We don't try that much.

[Emily]

Okay, Right inbox.

[Krystal Ball]

Well, so you try harder. But.

[Ryan]

But this is so, like, the interviews are often so boring. The slot in one is good. If we can get more centrists, that'd be good.

[Emily]

But, like, I mean, we've tried Buddha, Judge, Newsome, We've tried every single person that will go on, Brian, Tyler, Cohen, or Pod Save, but will not come on here.

[Ryan]

Oh, they won't come on.

[Emily]

That's interesting reason why?

[Ryan]

Well, I think we should start making that public and, like, shame them.

[Emily]

This is the public side, baby.

[Krystal Ball]

I don't think Richie Torres expected to have that interview go any other way. I think he's pretty happy with how it went and because he's getting support from people that we just like. I actually saw a lot of people on the right. It was sort of like an inkblot experience who definitely don't know the Friedland schtick, jumping in and being like, Richie Torres looked pretty good in this exchange or whatever, seeing it as an L for Freedland. And I think Torres is media savvy enough that he knows that. And there are a lot of Democrats who are media savvy enough that they know it's good to go back and forth with new media podcasts now. Not a lot of Democrats. There's an increasing number of. Of Democrats who want that, you know, they, they, they know people disagree with them and they, they want it. So we'll see. We'll see. We'll see.

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[Emily]

Well, speaking of media savvy Democrats, that leads us nicely to our next story here from our friend from this week. Taylor Lorenz came out with an article in Wired. You know, she was really hiding the big story from us. You know, we were talking about cell phone bans earlier this week, but she came out with an article here in Wired. A dark money group is secretly funding high profile Democratic influencers. An initiative aimed at boosting Democrats online offers influencers up to $8,000 a month to push the party line. All they have to do is keep it secret and agree to restrictions on their content. And you know, it goes through a list of people who are doing it. It's a real who's who. It's people like David Pakman, Brian Tyler Cohen, more youth DNC influencers like Olivia Juliana. And there's been a lot of pushback, a lot of response videos. And where are we right now in this drama, Ryan?

[Ryan]

Well, now you're in the. As is common with a Taylor Lorenz article, you're about in your fourth or fifth phase. It's every single time. So basically what a lot of the people involved say is Brian Tyler Cohen and some others like, it's not secret. We've done videos about it. Chorus has a website. You can apply for a chorus. Basically what this is is Democratic adjacent. And I think the DNC actually took over chorus during the Kamala Harris campaign, took over chorus during the presidential campaign. And there's now some actual, internally I've heard there's some struggle over it. Like different party factions like want to, want to have the relationships with these different creators. And so there's a couple different things going on. One would be, you know, regular stipends to people to say certain things or to not say other things. The other would be stipends for training to, to lift people up so that they can be independent content creators.

[Emily]

And what does that mean? Like, like, oh, here's how to make a thumbnail. Here's how to like, yeah, no, no.

[Ryan]

Like, no, but this is like, this is not dumb. Like this is what the right has done. That it, that it takes time to build up your audience and to build up the skills so that you're self sustaining as an independent creator. Like that anybody who's tried to do it from scratch will tell you that, like you're paying rent. I mean, how are you gonna, how are you gonna pay rent? Like on day one of, with zero Followers.

[Emily]

Well, you don't. You, you, you have a. It, it's a side job till it's a full job like it is with everyone else at the trading Independent.

[Ryan]

And so, so what? Brian, Tyler, Cohen and others went and they basically went to these very rich people and said, why don't you fund this network that will then seed people and help get them off the ground. The people that are doing the funding obviously then are going to fund people that they think are going to be beneficial to what they want. So that. And that's where the corruption comes in. But go ahead.

[Krystal Ball]

Well, no, I was gonna. So I'll get to the right later, but if you could explain. So 1630 Fund, how are they organized and how is Chorus organized? Are we talking packs? Are we talking C3, C4s?

[Ryan]

What's going on? 1630 funds a dark money group. So you don't know, like, I mean, you know, some of the donors who've been public in the past, enormous, enormous dark money organization that is linked directly to the Democratic Party and it, but it does not have to disclose its payments because that's, that's the, that's what a dark money group is. And so 1630 fund is funding Chorus. And so that's where the dark money connection comes from. So the argument that some of these creators are making is this has all been public. We have said we need to create a partisan network of creators, like Democratic partisans, basically.

[Emily]

Yeah, we got David Pakman here. Let's take a listen to him for a sec.

[Adam Friedland]

It's. For years I've been saying the left needs to organize independent media in the.

[Ryan]

Way that all of these words are insane.

[Adam Friedland]

The left needs to fund independent creators the way that the right does. The right has won even arguably presidential elections because they're organized with regard to online and independent media. They're killing us. We've been so behind.

[Ryan Grim]

And this kind of support or creators.

[Adam Friedland]

Is exactly what I've been advocating for.

[Emily]

But what is the like. And keep going back to this question. What is the support? Because, like, I don't think that $8,000.

[Ryan]

A month, I think, yeah, I get.

[Emily]

No, I get the money. I get that part.

[Ryan]

But I'm talking about like, yeah, they.

[Emily]

Had trainings, right, but the trainings, I'm like, I don't buy that some random Democrat company knows how to do a YouTube thumbnail or like, knows how to, like, do.

[Ryan]

Well, they would hire other. They'd hire other content creators.

[Emily]

Well, to me it seems like more like. About. My guess is that the majority of the trainings that happen here are messaging or, like, here's what. Here's what we talk about. Here's how we like to talk about it. We want to push democracy. We want to support the Democratic Party. We don't want to be divisive. We don't want to create circle, like, firing squads. You know, circle.

[Ryan]

I mean, I don't know. I, like, as Chomsky always says, like, you don't need the. The genius of the. Like. There's this famous interview that Glenn likes to play.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

Where he's.

[Krystal Ball]

We played it for Don Lemon.

[Ryan]

Yeah, we played it for Don Lemon.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

Where this hack is like telling Chomsky, you think that I have this job because I've agreed to say certain things and because I've been trained to say certain things. And Chomsky says, no, of course not. But you have this job because they know you're going to say these things, and the things are obvious. Like, to me, you don't need to be trained in what, like, Democratic Party talking points are. So everybody knows them. Let's see if Olivia Juliana has a response yet. I was gonna say checking her Twitter feed, but go ahead.

[Emily]

But, Emily, you go first.

[Krystal Ball]

I have it literally pulled up. But, I mean, I always have a bookmarked, of course, Olivia Juliana's Twitter feed. But in the. In the Wired story, the line is, creators in the program are not allowed to use any funds or resources that they receive as part of the program to make content that supports or opposes any political candidate or campaign without express authorization from chorus in advance and in writing per the contract. So one of the functions here might be like a little catch and kill action. You're not going to get involved in a primary. You're not going to get involved with Mamdani. In fact, you actually might not be able to talk about Mamdani if you know, you're on the streaming equipment that you bought with part of your $8,000 a month, or you're using your Streamyard subscription that you bought with part of your $8,000aMonth, because even though everybody's talking about Zoramdani, you could run afoul of that. And Wired has a pretty hefty update correction on the article, as is customary point Ryan was making. But that is not among them. That there's no. Nothing has been corrected to that point yet. And so I think that's a sort of crucial bit of information.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, exactly.

[Emily]

It's not like they're not teaching you how to make YouTube thumbnails. That's my whole point. They're teaching.

[Krystal Ball]

I bet they are.

[Emily]

I mean, okay, maybe, but, like, how much of that? I don't know. It seems like a. They probably don't know how to do most of that. I work in a lot of media companies where corporations want to start a successful YouTube channel. They have no idea the space or the platform or the mechanics of in the way that someone who's just grinding on their own, doing it every day, analyzing the space. Same with TikTok as well. So, yeah, it leads me to believe that the majority of this is closer to what Emily just described.

[Ryan]

But the way that corruption generally works is it's much more subtle than that. That. That, that point is key. Like, okay, like, they're making it very clear. Like, if it wasn't clear already, we are the Democratic Party. You're gonna, you're gonna get money from us and you're gonna do things that make the Democratic Party happy. Now, there's a couple creators in this list that they pointed to since who have been critical of Gaza. But that just means that they accept some people that go through the training and then continue to be, you know, critical of the Democratic Party's platform towards Gaza. Corruption doesn't mean that it's influences every single person. Some people take APAC money and vote against apac, like it happens. But that, but the idea is that you tilt the scales enough that some, you know, some are going to get away. But so. And it's not just the 8,000amonth, and it's not just the amount that you spend and what you can spend making videos. It's future. So much of corruption in America is about the promise of future wealth, too, where they, where they string you along. And like, that's how members of Congress are thoroughly corrupted, that they know that if they do the right thing while they're in office, once they leave office, they're going to be very, very rich people.

[Krystal Ball]

There's a great documentary on HBO called the Swamp that it's actually like AOCs in it at the time. The woman from California. Oh, I forget her name.

[Ryan]

Katie Hill.

[Krystal Ball]

Katie Hill. Yep. Matt Gaetz and Thomas Massie. And Thomas Massie at one point walks out of the rnc, stands in the middle of first street, and he's. He's literally straddling Capitol Hill Club and rnc nrcc. And he's like, this is how. This is the actual architecture, the physical construction of Washington, that when you walk out of the party headquarters, you are walking right past the fundraising bar, essentially. And that is I feel like the proximity is so powerful.

[Emily]

Yeah. I mean, my last thought is, when I see a lot of the creators on this list, I've always thought, man, I hope they're getting paid for this.

[Krystal Ball]

Totally.

[Ryan]

Right?

[Krystal Ball]

Because it's so pathetic.

[Emily]

It's like, it's like you're doing the stanky leg at the dnc. You're you. I hope you're getting paid for that. Like, do you think chorus is telling you, Brian Tyler Cohen to unbutton his shirt more and more? Like, is that the training they're giving?

[Ryan]

Well, Brian, like, he, you know, he helped create chorus. Like, that's the weird part about this. He is a hardcore partisan Democrat, right? Yeah. Like, nobody needs to tell him to be a hardcore partisan Democrat. That's what he is.

[Emily]

Right.

[Ryan]

He's tried. And so he's trying to build a network of hardcore partisan Democrats and get Democrats to fund it. Right. Like, and it's happening out mostly in the open. It's cool that she got some of these contracts and stuff.

[Krystal Ball]

But I just have a.

[Ryan]

He calls it the left, which is. He calls it left and independent. And in his mind I think he believes that. But it's to us, we're like, I'm sorry, what? And I want.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, you're not independent media.

[Emily]

I wanted to have this specific. Because he mentions, like, how the right succeeded so well and then, oh, this drives me. And I think there is like, you know, we've like seen Tim Pool or other people have gotten like, you know, those big fundings and stuff.

[Ryan]

Daily, Daily Wire, like, with enormous funding.

[Emily]

Daily Wire for sure. But like, my senses of like the whole podcast thing with Trump was like, you know, a lot of this was like people who like, made a platform on their own and be and were kind of culturally right. Like, like Rogan, Theo Vaughn, Andrew Schultz, like, they, they weren't like bred in like a right wing chorus, like think tank to get to their size, right?

[Krystal Ball]

Yes. So I think this is. This does drive me a little bit insane because of course there are situations like the tenant media scandal. I think that was like five high profile creators like Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Chen, something like that. And they were just, over the last couple of years after they were already big, cashing out for just dumb sums of money that they didn't need to be famous. They. It was just like padding their bottom line. It was like ridiculous. But they were already prominent and famous. And the reason that the right has a podcast ecosystem that's booming, if you look at the podcast charts this gets misunderstood a lot. You have the daily npr, Atlantic. All of those guys are up there right alongside Megyn Kelly, Ben Shapiro, Michael Knowles, whomever else. Um, it's because the right was forced. The right, during the, like, wave of cancel culture, was forced out of those outlets, and so was forced to create independent outlets. And sometimes those, quote, independent outlets are made by money from, like, rich Republicans. Of course, in the same way that George Soros at one point didn't have, like, a controlling stake in the New York Times company. Ryan. Like, it was.

[Emily Jashinsky]

Yeah.

[Krystal Ball]

It is not an insane comparison, even though it's on a much smaller scale. But, yeah, partisan Republicans support, you know, like a Paul Singer funds the Washington Free Break. Washington Free Beacon and Partisans. I'm trying to think of a Daily Wire funder.

[Ryan]

Oh, Brian Tyler Cohen, number 10.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, yeah. But if you go to, like, yeah, news podcast.

[Ryan]

Beating Tucker Carlson.

[Krystal Ball]

Yeah, look at that. But anyway, so I just think that's. This is a classic example of partisan centrist Democrats missing, like, look at. I've had it. That's an example of what they should be doing not. Or that's an example of. Yeah, there we are. That's an example.

[Ryan]

I'll take that. Travis Kelce. Oh.

[Emily]

Does that mean our marriage news did better than his.

[Krystal Ball]

Wow. But like, Tim Pool and I've had it. Those are examples of podcasts that actually are going to be more powerful. I'm not saying that it's strategically dumb for Dems to fund this. This vast network, but what they actually are looking for is people like Kyle, for example, who's very successful. They just don't consider Kyle a W for Democrats. And they shouldn't. In the same way that they don't necessarily consider. I've had it. A W for Democrats. And the right has.

[Emily]

Hilarious. Because all they. Which is hilarious because both those podcasts, like, all. All their advice is how the Democrats can win, how they can, like, get back up on their feet.

[Krystal Ball]

I just Is this. And, like, Republicans just see Pool and Benny as our. Or as. As ours. Yes, as ours, but also as W's, because they understand they're moving the needle. But these were people who were forced out of the, quote, mainstream for various reasons, some good, some bad. And that's what happened. It wasn't this, like, puppet master. There are puppet masters, but that wasn't the fuel for what happened on the right.

[Emily]

Gotcha. Okay. Interesting. Well, you know, we always love to tip our cats. Taylor Lorenz and willing to poke the beehives. I saw her TikTok live yesterday where she was getting swarmed by the haters. So, you know, always got to tip my hat to that.

[Ryan]

All right, well, up next, I should bounce.

[Emily]

Yeah, Ryan's gonna bounce. We have an interview we just did with Dr. Mohammed Khalil, who was a doctor who just got back from his third trip in Gaza. So look forward to that right now.

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[Emily]

All right, we are now joined by Dr. Mohammed Khalil. He's a spine surgeon from Dallas and he has just gotten back from his. Correct me if I'm wrong, third trip to Gaza. Welcome to the show, Doctor.

[Emily Jashinsky]

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[Emily]

Yeah. And so I guess, you know, you let, you, you said a list of things that we could ask you about, but I guess we just first wanted to ask you what was it like getting in and out of Gaza this most recent time?

[Emily Jashinsky]

It's, it's actually become increasingly difficult. On the very first trip that I went to, to Gaza In April of 24, we went through the Rafah border. So we were able to bring in a lot of equipment. When I went back in November, as well as this time, you're pretty restricted on what you can bring in. The instructions are to just bring one suitcase, one carry on, and it's limited to personal supplies. Logistically, it can be quite a challenge getting, getting there just because you can get seed from the WHO as far as getting on the UN convoy, but you don't know until the night before if you're cleared by Kogat, which is the arm of the Israeli military that controls movement within Gaza. And so that clearance doesn't come in until about 10 or 11pm the night before. You're supposed to move at 6 in the morning. So we all go to Amman and we find out that night if we're getting in. Last time I went in November, one of my buddies was supposed to go with me and he got turned around and had to come back to Dallas.

[Ryan]

When you, when you first got there, you sent me a text that has kind of sat with me since then. Tell, tell, tell people what the doctor told you. If, see if you remember this. What, what the doctor who is, pal, the Palestinian doctor told you about whether or not you're going to have an eventful shift or not. Like, how, how did doctors know whether or not their shift is going to.

[Emily Jashinsky]

Be, oh, yeah, it's. This time around, it's almost a direct correlation with the GHF aid distribution, as well as when a truck would come through this keen border. So they would say, I mean, his, his words were, if you're lucky, there will be no aid distribution tonight. If you're unlucky, the ER is going to overflow. And I mean, he was 100% right. I mean, I think the, you know, when I had gone before in November, we were at the same hospital at Ali up north, and it was Mostly blast injuries from drone strikes and airstrikes. This time it was a good mix of blast injuries as well as these gunshot wounds from these aid distribution sites. I think everyone knows. I mean, they describe him as death traps and they tell people not to go. But there's such a dire need with the malnutrition and starvation that people are just, they're just taking their chances and, and going and seeing if they can retrieve something.

[Ryan]

Yeah. So I just want to sit so for one second. So, like here, here in the United States, if it's Friday or Saturday or like new. New Year's Eve or something, you tell me, like, the ers know, they. To brace themselves. Like there, there are going to be more people in here, or maybe it's like New Orleans for the super bowl or something. Like, we're going to get, we're going to have. It's going to be a, it's probably going to be a busier night than, than a typical night in Gaza. Now, if there is an aid distribution site open for a few hours, the ers brace themselves every single time. And did that bear out like in your, in your case, if the aid distribution site was open, was his forecast correct? Like, did you, did you then get a. Oh, yeah.

[Emily Jashinsky]

Overwhelmed. Exactly. That. That happened every time. And the thing is that they're already overwhelmed because, you know, one example is Shifa Hospital, that was destroyed when I was there on the prior visit in November. And since then they've been able to get the ER back up and running to some degree. And they, they have, you know, 200 semi functioning beds. And when I say beds, I mean these are stretchers with no mat on them. Like we actually, after operating on a patient, would put them back on a hard, you know, plastic or metal stretcher with no mattress. And I mean, but in those beds, they had over 600 patients, so they're running at 250, 300 capacity. So when these ERs would fill up, I mean, these are patients laid on the floor, getting chest tubes put in, getting procedures done. And so, I mean, every time there was an 8 distribution, you'd have just so many patients on the floor, we would literally have to be walking over patients walking through the error. Emily, you're muted.

[Krystal Ball]

Having done multiple trips at this point, what difference did you notice when it comes to famine and hunger? Can you share your experience in treating patients and whether or not you saw an increase in people suffering from malnutrition and starvation?

[Emily Jashinsky]

Yeah, certainly it takes a lot of calories to heal injuries and to Heal wounds. And so this, this time around, the amount of people that were just visibly malnourished with, with, you know, very skinny arms and legs, like visible ribs was, was very apparent. And you knew that a number of these injuries were going to end up infected and they would end up infected very quickly. Like patients that we operated on at the beginning of the trip were coming back for washouts within a week or so. And it's just usually you don't see infections develop that quickly because the body tries to fight off infection. So there's, there's a remarkable level of malnutrition even among the people that we're working with. I mean, this time around, like I met a lot of the same doctors and hospital staff that I worked with before and they've just lost even more weight. So you know, when they come in for a hug, you can, you can feel their, their spinous processes at the back, you can feel their ribs. And a lot of people will, will, you know, show you what they look like before they lost all the weight. And I mean the weight loss is dramatic even among the staff. You know, I mean like one of the last cases that we actually did, it's outside of orthopedics, it was actually our anesthesia, one of the anesthesia techs. Sweetest lady, always smiling. The day before we left Ali Hospital, I went down to the OR and she was very somber and I walked into the room and the neurosurgeon was operating on her husband who had been shot at any distribution site. Like her husband was also an anesthesia tech at Kamal Adwan Hospital did not leave. When a patient was in the OR was kidnapped for seven months in Israeli prison, she didn't know where he was and, and then he showed up one day so she was happy to have him back. But then he, he went to an aid distribution and got shot in the head. So I mean even the staff that we're working with are suffering the same starvation that the people are.

[Ryan]

How, and did he die? How, how did he survive the gunshot?

[Emily Jashinsky]

Miraculously he survived. Like we were getting updates from now, like so they, the neurosurgeon and one of our orthopedic surgeons scrubbed into the case as well and they picked out shrapnel and you know, he had exposed brain matter so they were taking out pieces of the skull from the brain and he ended up in, you know, in the icu. When we checked on him right before we left, he was still non responsive, but now he is responsive. Still not communicative, but Able to follow commands.

[Emily]

What about your own safety? You know, I mean, we've been covering a lot this week. The double tap strike at the Al Nassir hospital that took out, you know, medics and journalists. Some reports are now saying it may have been a triple or even quadruple tap.

[Ryan]

BBC found a quadruple, you know, two tanks.

[Emily]

It keeps. It just keeps going up. So how did you feel about your own safety? And I guess sort of a part two of this question is, you know, you come on shows like ours after these experiences to share them. Do you feel like the Israeli government is starting to become aware of that? Are you worried that they may not let you back in another time?

[Emily Jashinsky]

I think the first question, yeah, there were definitely this time around, we had more close calls than on prior trips. When you go up north, you have to go between hospitals to get cases done. So I did a few spine cases. I would have to go to another hospital called Sahaba. So they load you up into an ambulance and drive you over to do the cases. And so the last trip, I was a little bit more liberal in going around town. And, you know, there were a couple of close calls just due to that. But this time, you know, they were very. I mean, we're. We're in a privileged position being American and European teams. They take our safety as a. As a high priority, both on the UN Side as well as on the. The side of the other Palestinian teams, and probably from the Israeli side as well, because there are drones overhead, not like continuously. They always know, I think, where we are. And so. But there were a few times where there were strikes very close to us because we were in Gaza City. I think there was that. The push to invade the city. So there were a couple of airstrikes in the building adjacent to us. I saw, you know, a drone strike happen in an apartment that was in the building adjacent to our dormitory. We did, you know, the day that we were leaving, our UN convoy was delayed. You know, you have to wait for a green light to move. So we got loaded up into the cars, and then somebody came by and said, it's going to be another 30, 40 minutes. Why don't you wait outside? So me and one of my. One of my colleagues that came with us walked around to the back of the convoy just to talk. And one of our teammates was in. Stayed in the car because he was taking a nap. And there was a drone strike just a few hundred meters away that, like, rocked the cars. And somebody from the Ocha center ran out and Said that the convoy got hit. So we freaked out because we knew he stayed in the car, but luckily it was a little bit away. But there were definitely some close calls this time. I think, again, we have this sense of security that. Because we're American and European and I think for the hospitals, they also see it as some sense of security that when we leave as a team, they're more nervous about being invaded. So whenever there was a strike, I think Al Jazeera had reported on one of the Sundays that there was a strike in front of the hospital. There was some talk of having us move back down south, but that's what we were saying. Like, you know, if we can serve some protective purpose, then it's good for us to just finish out the mission and stay where. Stay put where we were. I think speaking up is an interesting question. Like, you know, when you arrive, you get a brief from the. From the, you know, the. The teams that have. That are coordinating your travel from the unwho. And they say specifically not to use certain buzzwords and not to assign blame to anything. But then when you do these. These interviews, people will ask pretty directly. And so you're kind of stuck in a hard position where you're like, you're. You're the reporter. Why? Yeah, I mean, you know, you know, who's doing the shooting and stuff. But it's. It's kind of a unique situation to be in. But I think at this stage, you know, it's. Anybody who's following the conflict, I don't think there's too many questions as to the responsible parties. And when we are there, you know, they. A lot of the doctors that are there and, and staff that we work with, they're like, you know, one of the biggest purposes that you serve is going back out to the world and explaining what's going on here, because it's not. It's not right for anybody to. To live under these conditions. And they're. They're very cognizant of what's going on around the world. Like, and so we feel compelled to speak up and at least report what we saw. Like, I mean, one of. One of the girls, for example, like, it's. It's actually pretty hopeful. Like, she. She's a general surgeon, you know, great surgeon. Like, very calm, collected, cool. We were. She wants to be a plastic surgeon. We were like, oh, you could definitely do it, like, you know, down the road, like, take your usmle. You can even get it. You might be able to come out to America for Training. And she's like, yeah, I know, my brother lives in California. Like these are, these are normal people that are not like, you know, cut off from the rest of the world. They know what's going on.

[Ryan]

And speaking of bringing back some of the disturbing stories, one of the things you shared with us, I wanted to get your, get, get you to elaborate on for us. Let me see if I can share this and if not, we could have.

[Emily]

You can put them in post, Ryan. But yeah, actually is this working?

[Ryan]

You guys can see this, right?

[Krystal Ball]

Yep. Yeah.

[Ryan]

So this is, I would call these photos disturbing but not overly graphic. This is a, this is an X ray of a 16 year old girl wounds from, from what you said was a shooting at a GHF site, Gaza Humanitarian foundation site. You told us that you observed a pattern of victims coming in who were shot in the genitals suggestive of some type of depraved target practice. So this is one, we can talk about this in a moment. This is a 12 year old boy who is being operated on. Talk a little bit about what kind of injuries you were seeing this time from the GHF site.

[Emily Jashinsky]

Yeah, so I mean a lot of the, you know, it's a mix of blast injuries and gunshot wounds. And I think for the gunshot wounds in particular, that's, there is this feeling that there, there's target practice being done because they'll, they'll be, they'll come in waves. So in the course of two days, we had three patients with gunshot wounds to the scrotum that had to have an orchiectomy or a testicle removed. And so we were talking to the urologist and he was like, it just happens periodically where you'll get a wave of these shots right to the testicle. There'll be waves of shots right to the head. And you know, I think there is, the, the suggestion is, is that these kids are being used for target practice. I think there's, you know, there is some concept of just spraying into the crowd with, with gunshots. And so that can be a little bit random. But when it comes in waves like that, the physicians there are, they suspect that this is, this is targeted because.

[Ryan]

These are snipers what I just showed there. Right?

[Emily Jashinsky]

Yeah, exactly. And these bullets are large caliber bullets. And so I mean it's, you know, coming from a sniper rifle like it does quite a bit of damage. One of the spines that I operated on was like a sniper shot that, I mean the bullet is huge and it just does an immense amount of damage. So this was an unstable spine where the posterior elements were just completely blasted from. From a gunshot wound. And you just have to kind of span it with screws and rods. But it's. The nature of the injuries from these high powered rifles is pretty remarkable.

[Krystal Ball]

So it looked like sniper fire?

[Emily Jashinsky]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think with the large caliber bullet, that's the suspicion is that it's coming from a sniper rifle.

[Ryan]

And you also showed us this miraculous one here, which I'll put up where you said this was shrapnel that came. This was a spine surgeon before you did this, when you said, can you.

[Emily Jashinsky]

Describe this one here exactly? So one of the neurosurgeons at, at the hospital, like he had done this case a few weeks prior, actually. And this was a piece of shrapnel that had entered the skull and traveled through the frame and magnum and lodged itself in the cervical spine. So he first operated on the patient for a head bleed and then came back a couple days later and retrieved this piece of shrapnel from the cervical spine. And remarkably, the patient regained function. So he was able to kind of move with four out of five strength in his lower extremities in one arm, and the other arm remained paralyzed. But, you know, he was in a. It's actually a really kind of a, a sweet story. Like he, you know, when we got done with cases he went to, he said we had to go, I got to go do something. So him and the, or the attending neurosurgeon and the attending orthopedic surgeon actually when, you know, left us and then we saw him in the hospital courtyard because they had physically gone to take this patient out of his bed and put him in a wheelchair so his family could wheel him around. We were like nowhere else in the world would you see the attending surgeons like go physically mobilize the patient. That's what they were saying. Like these are, these are our kids. You know, we have to look beyond just a physical injury. And any 16 year old just laying in bed shouldn't be. It's not good for his mental health. So they forced the family to kind of get him out and pull them around in a wheelchair. But it's really a miraculous case. Like you wouldn't expect anyone to survive that type of an injury.

[Ryan]

You also sent this one. What, what's the.

[Emily Jashinsky]

That's the same piece of shrapnel that traveled through the head. You can see the track that it took. It went into the frame and Magnum directly got it.

[Emily]

And Dr. Like, you know, if I got shot with a sniper bullet. I'm sure it'd be a very long recovery post the operation. You know, with a lot of these people you're operating on, they're getting sent, once they're done operated on, even if it's successful, they're being thrust back out into a war zone with little food or water. What's your sense of people's ability to survive after these wounds, even if you do patch them up?

[Emily Jashinsky]

So yeah, that's the thing. It's like, it's a long, drawn out recovery for a lot of these things. And unfortunately they're going back into a situation where they're living in a tent without food. There are extended hospital stays for some patients who just really need it. And they're trying right now in the healthcare system to develop a, you know, this Wafa hospital is a rehab hospital that they're trying to convert into more of a longer term stay for people to recover. But it's not online yet. It was, it was actually damaged in a strike before and so they're trying to get it back online to be able to provide some long term care. But a lot of these patients, they just go back out and they have to, you know, figure it out on their own. I mean, even some of the fractures that come in, like as fresh fractures, normally they would get admitted here in the, in the US or in the West. They're just getting a splint put on and being sent back home to follow up again when we can fit them on the OR schedule. But the inflow of traumatic injuries just makes it to where some of these patients are waiting for months with an injury that never gets treated.

[Ryan]

Well, Dr. Khalil, we really appreciate, you know, the work you're doing and also appreciate you, you know, filling us in here. I hope your re entry is as smooth as possible. Have you heard anything from your colleagues that are still there that they wanted to share as like a final word?

[Emily Jashinsky]

Yeah, I mean, I think like, you know, that's there. There's been a number of doc that have been denied. I think the denial rate is getting up to 50, 60% likely. And so, you know, I think like.

[Ryan]

Going, going in like Israel going in.

[Emily]

And what are they getting denied for? Like, are they bringing band aids or what, what's, what are they getting denied for?

[Emily Jashinsky]

There's no explanation. So a lot of times like you get denied before you even get to the border. If you get denied at the border, it's because of, you know, bringing in something or they say like you have, you know, something that might be dual use, like an ultrasound to do fast exams in the er, to check for bleeds in the er. Most of the time the denials are before you get to the border, like before you even get on the UN convoy. And there's no explanation. So there is some suspicion that some of it may be doing interviews and reporting on what was seen. I wish, you know, journalists like yourselves could enter Gaza. Like, I think once you go there, like it's hard to describe in words the camaraderie that you get from the people that are working on the ground there, these other healthcare professionals, but it's, you know, I think at this point everyone is pretty committed to speaking up because a lot of the doctors there kind of see it, the physicians, hospital staff talking to them, they almost see it as an end game at this point. Like they're like, you know, when we talked about Gaza City being invaded directly asked some people like, do you think it's going to get invaded? And one of the, one of the guys was like, it's, it's unlikely because why would Israel accept more personnel losses to take over something that's already this destroyed?

[Ryan]

But, and yet they're doing it anyway.

[Emily Jashinsky]

Exactly, exactly. And for a lot of those docs, that's the, they're there. We always ask, like, what can we do when we go back? And it's always the same answer, like, just don't forget us and tell the world what's happening here.

[Emily]

Okay, well, thank you very much, Doctor for your time here today, your time in the past telling our audience about this and we wish you and the medical community luck as they try to do what they can out there.

[Emily Jashinsky]

Thank you so much.

[Krystal Ball]

Well, thanks everyone for joining us this Friday. We have a great second half of the show coming up. If you want to see that, it's breakingpoints.com to get a premium subscription. We love having those paywalled conversations with our premium subscribers on Friday because we get to do a lot of back and forth question and answers and cover more important stories. So for example, today we'll be covering Jake Sullivan's interview with Tim Miller on the Bulwark Podcast. We'll be covering absolutely hilarious mega viral clip also from Pod Save about just this is a perfect abundance discourse clip about a LA city councilwoman and affordable housing. And Griffin, the last story we're going to cover. I'm having a Rick Perry moment and I'm trying to draw out this outro until I remember what the last story is.

[Emily]

Well, I'm going to, I'm going to force it. Gavin Coin.

[Krystal Ball]

That's why I forgot it, because it's so ridiculous. But no, truly, he's threatening to launch a meme coin.

[Emily]

And speaking of investing, folks, invest in Breaking points so we don't have to take a big chorus deal so you don't have to see Emily at the DNC doing a TikTok dance.

[Krystal Ball]

Okay, we didn't do we were at the DNC thanks to our premium subs, but we did not do TikTok dances.

[Emily]

We did not dance. So if, you know, if you want us to maintain our journalistic dancing integrity breakingpoints.com we've got $10 monthly memberships and to all of our premium members, we'll see you in just a moment.

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[Krystal Ball]

This is an iHeart podcast.