Krystal Kyle & Friends (private feed for lars.melander@gmail.com)

Episode 245: Chris Hedges

Welcome back to KK&F! This is Episode 245 with journalist Chris Hedges. Our conversation digs into the rise of American fascism and how it’s manifested lately. MAGA has sanctified Charlie Kirk as a martyr and is using his murder to paint all of their political opponents as radical terrorists. As ICE torments 5-year olds and disappears people into black sites, we’re being asked by the right to believe that they’re the ones under attack. We’re not buying it.Chris also helps us understand, by thinking about the massive unpopularity of fascist regimes in history, that fighting back is possible, and that our overlords don’t have the numbers (even though they have the money. In our conversation with one of the leading voices on why we should reject fascist control, we dig deep into the quickly escalating war our government is waging against the people, and what we can learn from the past. 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 244 Audio: Cenk Uygur

Welcome to Episode 244 of KK&F, where we’re talking to Cenk Uygur about Trump 2.0 and making sense of this week’s chilling implications for the future of free speech in America. After TPUSA founder and right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk was shot last week, the American political landscape has reacted with everything from shock to sympathy to outrage to apathy — and, in the case of conservatives within and beyond the White House, to identifying the shooter as a left-winger and scrambling to demonize trans people for a roommate’s perceived involvement.Things have spiraled quickly into a dark moment for freedom of speech. People have been fired from their jobs for voicing negative opinions about Kirk, others have been doxxed, and as a recent media flurry has focused on, Jimmy Kimmel’s show has been suspended for some pretty benign remarks about the conservative freakout. This week, we discuss and debate with Cenk about where things are headed and what we can do about it.Thanks for tuning in to KK&F. You can listen to this podcast episode via major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and more. See you next week! 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 243 Audio: Joy Reid

We’re back this week with a powerful episode featuring political commentator Joy Reid: she talks us through the issues MSNBC didn’t want her to cover, what political convictions inspired her to take on her media role and informed her decision to speak out on Gaza, and how she sees the current media landscape in an age of conservative disasters.Joy Reid is a household name. Her show on MSNBC has drawn millions of viewers, and she’s covered everything from the Iraq war to the Trump years. Now, after being fired from MSNBC earlier this year, she’s continuing with The Joy Reid Show, a podcast and YouTube series airing daily. What was it like to leave the channel where she built such a massive following, and why did it happen in the first place? She says that after she spoke out on Israel’s violence following October 7, she was getting HR complaints, others cautioning her not to talk about it and risk being fired. Her own convictions — her commitment to the journalistic profession, to its standards of truth and courage, and her desire to use her platform for good — led her to speak out against the mainstream media narrative demonizing Palestinians and denying their genocide.Joy also gives us really important insight into the changing landscape at MSNBC leading up to and through the Trump years. She recalls other commentators — Melissa Harris-Perry comes to mind — who were treated badly and pushed out by the network for not conforming to the demands it made on its employees. Watching the repressive attitude at the outlet over the last decade and more, Joy’s able to give insight into what the network wanted its liberal audience to hear and what it didn’t.We hope you’ll enjoy this conversation; thanks for listening. This episode will be available as a podcast tonight 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 241 Audio: Dr. Mo

In this conversation with the heroic Dr. Mo, Krystal has a heartbreaking and deeply personal conversation with the doctor about the horrors he’s seen in Gaza and why the world can’t turn away. Who gives a fuck about the celebrity news of the week? We’re not engaging at all in whataboutism when we notice the utter lack of coverage given to the defining crime against humanity of this century. While bread and circuses grab public attention in the U.S., there are unbelievably courageous people working with practically no international support or material aid to do what they can in keeping Palestinians alive. Dr. Mo is one such person. He’s made multiple trips to Gaza and seen what many Westerners are too afraid or cowardly to see. The driving force of our conversation is the grief and outrage that he feels when noting the lack of aid coming in from other nations to make the lifesaving work of doctors on the ground in Gaza possible (and also to keep those doctors safe). Quite the opposite, in a place like the U.S., where our tax dollars fund Israel’s genocide and our president completely supports and enables Netanyahu. Dr. Mo’s work has also been to bring attention to this situation, calling on world leaders to pay attention to what they don’t want to pay attention to.There’s nothing harder to listen to than Dr. Mo’s account of the brutality that Palestinians face as they’re murdered and mortally wounded at every moment, while the rest of the world turns away. He’s seen children covered in burns and given them treatment. He was one of the first people to enter Gaza after the Central Kitchen Workers were killed. He’s seen the evil tricks the IOF play to use the humanity of Palestinians against them and kill them in cold blood. But Dr. Mo sees the humanity of Palestinians as the reason why they will be free. That level of care for others, that unrelenting bravery and sense of justice with which they approach every day and care for one another in the face of death, will overcome the brutal, inhuman, and pathetic cruelty of Israel. Our conversation covers both grief and hope, and although it’s difficult to hear, we hope you, too, won’t turn away.Thanks for tuning in. You can listen to this conversation starting tonight on 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

CORRECTED: Episode 240 with Richard Ojeda

Hello all,Please disregard the previous Episode 240 with Richard Ojeda which was sent out as it contained an audio error. This version corrects that issue. Our sincere apologies for the mistake! We are troubleshooting our process to make sure it does not reoccur. Sincerely,The KK&F Team 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