Krystal Kyle & Friends (private feed for slynque@hotmail.com)

Episode 227 Audio: Omar Baddar

Kyle asks our guest Omar Baddar in this week’s episode whether a recent growing consensus in the international community (outside of the U.S) that Israel’s genocidal actions must be stopped is cause for hope. It’s true that countries like the U.K. and France have offered, as Krystal puts it, “strongly worded letters” reacting to the IDF shooting at ambassadors in Jenin, to new and horrifying information about the starvation campaign Israel is imposing on Palestine, and more. Could it be that the world leaders are finally waking up?To Omar, the hard truth is that these measures as they exist right now constitute a “fig leaf” — not enough to put actual pressure on Israel to change, but enough to allow these leaders, down the road, to claim that they stood up to Israel. What would standing up to Israel look like? Omar suggests that cutting off diplomatic relations — ostracizing Israel until it stops killing Palestinians — is the step these countries will have to take if they actually support the Palestinian cause.Thanks for tuning in. Remember that you can listen to this episode as a podcast tomorrow on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit krystalkyleandfriends.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 226 Audio: Hasan Piker

On this week’s episode, Hasan Piker gives us a bombshell report of his recent detention by CBP during his return to the U.S. from France. Like us, he’s heard the stories about people getting stopped at the airport and being asked invasive questions about their support for Donald Trump. On his way out of customs, CBP stopped Hasan and took him to a detention area in the airport, where they proceeded to interrogate him about his views on Israel, his allegiance to Trump, and, of all things, his Twitch fans.It’s a harrowing story that, according to Hasan, likely doesn’t have to do with just one individual agent pursuing an agenda; Hasan felt like they knew who he was. We hope you enjoy this exclusive episode, and remember, you can listen to it as a podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit krystalkyleandfriends.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 225 Audio: Lisa Gilbert

Lisa Gilbert joins the podcast for Episode 225 to help us understand how Trump is pulling a scam right out in the open with his crypto coin. Right now, Public Citizen is calling for Trump’s crypto activities to be investigated, because it’s clear that as Trump hawks crypto, a small fraction of wealthy investors actually see returns on the coin, and (to top it all off) a bill goes through Congress to provide barely-there regulation of cryptocurrency, there’s a whole lot of shady, back-room dealings going on between the people who are supposed to crack down on shady, back-room dealings.Lisa points out that crypto accounts for a significant amount of recent election spending, even though it’s relatively new — and the lack of regulation of this scam means people like Trump can get away with using it to buy power and influence. Under the auspices of a meme coin, Trump is able to line his own pockets, as he tried to do via a crypto-friendly executive order that Public Citizen called out in January, during Trump’s first days in office. The whole thing is a disgusting racket of billionaire self-interest and self-promotion using our own government as a means to private wealth, and we’re grateful to advocates like Lisa who have spent the first days of Trump’s administration calling out his abuses of power.Thanks for tuning in. You can listen to this episode as a podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and other major streaming platforms. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit krystalkyleandfriends.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 224 Audio: David Doel

According to many political commentators, a liberal victory in the Canadian election wasn’t in the cards. So why did it happen? We tackle this question with this week’s guest, David Doel of The Rational National. The answer has to do with Trump. Trump’s trade wars and tariffs on Canada; his repeated jabs about Canada the 51st state; and his isolationist vision of the U.S.’s role on the global stage all made Trumpism deeply unappealing to Canadians. Pierre Poilievre, with his history as a union-buster and a friend to big business, fit into the Trumpian mold. Mark Carney, with his steady hand and focus on key voter issues like affordable housing, offered a viable alternative.We also talk with David about Canadian-American relations, strained by Trump’s aggressive and American-exceptionalist leadership, and the threats of annexation and border changes that Trump has suggested he’d like to impose on our neighbors to the north. The elections serve as a sampling of Canadian national opinion on what they’d like the future of their country to be like; ideally, it seems, Trump is nowhere in the picture.Thanks for watching. You can listen to this episode as a podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit krystalkyleandfriends.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 223 Audio: Richard Wolff

Economics professor emeritus and renowned political commentator Richard Wolff joins the show to turn a critical eye on Trump’s trade war with China. When we think about the U.S.’s unique position in the global economy in the age of Trump, we think about its power to cause harm — to threaten and cow other countries into submission by making them bend to economic pressure. As a nascent economic superpower, China isn’t bending. The 145% tariffs persist, as do China’s 125% tariffs on our goods, meaning a full-blown trade war is still unfolding. Trump is moving the goalposts as he says he claims he’s continuing to negotiate with the Chinese, wavering on the strength of the tariffs he’s projecting into the future.It’s because he knows that the tariffs are not popular and not working. Dr. Wolff walks us through the tariffs’ reception and effects, and it’s not a happy story, either for American consumers or for foreign governments. Increased inflation and job loss threaten working people in America as a result of the tariffs, and they’re sure not to help Trump curry favor with the working class. Globally, Dr. Wolff also shows how other countries cutting or reducing economic ties with the U.S. to lessen the impact of U.S. tariffs on the global economy will result in increased isolation for the U.S. as China continues to grow its power.Thanks for tuning in. This episode is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit krystalkyleandfriends.substack.com/subscribe