Breaking Points

Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar (or simply Breaking Points) (BP) is an American political news and opinion series created and hosted by Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti. It was launched in June 2021 by Ball and Enjeti, both former hosts of The Hill's Rising web series. They publish an audio-only podcast, and the video program is available on YouTube and Spotify. Its format includes one left-leaning anchor (Ball) and one right-leaning anchor (Enjeti), who give views from both sides of the political spectrum.[2][3]

Breaking Points
Presentation
Hosted by
GenrePolitical news and commentary
Format
  • Video
  • audio
LanguageEnglish
Length60 minutes
Publication
Original releaseJune 7, 2021 (2021-06-07) –
present
Related
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers954 thousand[1]
Total views387 million[1]
Last updated: May 3, 2023

Format

Breaking Points features commentary and analysis of political news and current events, in-studio interviews with journalists, politicians, campaign staff and surrogates, political advisors and strategists, and members of the news media, and occasional live-analysis segments. It is usually published on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Ball and Enjeti each produce, write, and deliver a monologue each episode highlighting an important topic in current events. The hosts analyze the topic, usually organized into three or four bullet-points. This is followed by an open discussion with the other host, available to premium subscribers. Breaking Points spends a substantial amount of its time criticizing mainstream media from a populist perspective.[4]

Business model

The majority of the show's revenue comes from premium subscribers, with some additional revenues from YouTube and podcast ads.[5] Their expenses are around one million dollars a year.[5]

History

On May 28, 2021, Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti announced their departure from The Hill's Rising. On June 7, 2021, the first episode of Breaking Points was uploaded to YouTube.[6]

Ball & Enjeti have spoken about subtle pressure they experienced working under The Hill's corporate umbrella when choosing topics to cover and the angles used in their coverage there. These anecdotes match their thesis about how power is wielded in Washington. With BP, they sought to free themselves of any such corporate influence. They gained complete editorial control over their work.[6] They also lost access to certain resources they enjoyed at Rising, such as a small network of field reporters and regular remote hits with members of Congress from inside the Capitol dome.

Other personnel

In September 2022, former Rising hosts Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinsky also joined Breaking Points,[7] at first filling in on as co-hosts and for special coverage as needed. As of May 2023, Grim and Jashinsky co-anchor their own show, Counterpoints which airs one to two times a week.

The Breaking Points YouTube channel occasionally features contributions from a number of other reporters or writers. The channel also posts cross-over content from other affiliated partners and programs. These have included:

  • Ken Klippenstein
  • Maximillian Alvarez, (The Real News Network, the podcast Working People)
  • Matt Stoller, author and anti-monopoly advocate
  • The Lever
  • Marshall Kosloff (co-host of The Realignment podcast with Saagar Enjeti)
  • Kyle Kulinski (co-host of Krystal Kyle & Friends with Krystal Ball)
  • James Li (51-49 w/ James Li)
  • Spencer Snyder

References
  1. "About Breaking Points". YouTube.
  2. King, Sara Fischer,Hope. "Corporate media backlash fuels new upstarts". Axios. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  3. "The fall of Rising". The Spectator World. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  4. Wulfsohn, Joseph (August 2, 2021). "Breaking Points' Krystal Ball, Saagar Enjeti blast media for 'intentionally fearmongering' over Delta variant". Fox News.
  5. Newport, Cal (June 15, 2022). "The Rise of the Internet's Creative Middle Class". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  6. Berkowitz, Joe. "Why 'Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar' became the No. 1 political podcast in a week". Fast Company. Fast Company. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  7. Baragona, Justin (September 1, 2022). "Two Hosts Exit The Hill's Popular Web Show 'Rising'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
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