Is the YouTube Algorithm Trying to Stifle Krystal and Saagar's New Breaking Points- and the single most important development in the New Media landscape?
Is the YouTube Algorithm Trying to Stifle Krystal and Saagar's New Breaking Points- and the single most important development in the New Media landscape?
It may be just me, but searching for Breaking Points on YouTube seems to throw up a whole list of options, none of which point to Krystal and Saagar’s new show. Admittedly, it seems to be more of a problem searching on a desktop PC through Google than using a firestick, and it may just be a problem unique to the UK- but we know from past experiences that YouTube has a long history of trying to promote any type of media with a corporate logo, at the expense of independent news media, political commentary or cultural viewpoints which stray from the accepted dogmas of corporate wokedom.
Here is a link for anyone interested in subscribing to their show:
Whether it’s Kyle Kulinski and Secular Talk, The Jimmy Dore Show, The David Pakman Show, Vaush, Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper, anything made by Tim Pool, some of the content made by Aba & Peach, or even an up and coming Black British YouTuber calling his feed Laytonicles, who was nerfed for being critical of Robin DiAngelo’s, YouTube has a long history of trying to strangle anyone with anything culturally or politically interesting to stay, whilst simultaneously promoting the bland partisan taking points of the Culture War and the mutual loathing inspired by the Fox, CNN and MSNBC’s of this world.
Which is a shame if true, because Krystal and Saagar’s new show Breaking Points, must surely rank as the most exciting development to occur in Independent media for at least the past year, possibly longer. Matt Taibbi has shown us the dynamics of the modern corporate media landscape, with his book Hate Inc., highlighting for all to see the way that the major players have taken a leaf out of social media’s book to use negative engagement and anger economics to drive clicks and push content.
Breaking Points stands in opposition to all that, and it has formed a devoted following which has only really been seen in the conventional media landscape by Tucker Carlson on one side of the political divide, and Rachel Maddow on the other. If the corporate model encourages us to hate each other more and the elites less, Krystal and Saagar’s approach is to help us hate each other less, and direct our true ire toward those who deserve it- variously, the Washington Establishment, Big Tech and Social Media, Wall Street and the elites in general.
The Conjuror’s Art is distraction, or Divide and Rule- a technique first pioneered by the Romans. If we spend all our time hating each other, then we have little time or energy to criticise the ruling elites, or indeed the structures of a society which keeps so many supressed as little more than economic serfs, whilst promoting the interests of a tiny few who know how to game the system. But people are waking up- the Gamestop Rebellion proved this. And it’s not phenomenon which is any way restricted to America- at least if the eagerness to form r/WallStreetBets in other financial centres, detailed in this Glen Greenwald interview, is anything to go by:
I hope there is no conspiracy afoot to try to limit the spread and reach of Krystal and Saggar’s new show, and that I am just being unduly paranoid- that it is all just the result of their feed operating under a new brand, unfamiliar to the algorithm. But I fear this may not be the case for the simple reason that whilst Krystal and Saagar were tied to The Hill, they were effectively leashed- it may have been an admittedly long leash, only to be used in extremis, but the Establishment probably felt a good deal more comfortable with their coverage knowing that a boss with a corporate brand to protect was only a phone call away.
Apart from anything else, the implied threat of the withdrawal of access to politicians and interviews has, in recent years, proved an effective counter, or mute button, to the vital role the Fourth Estate is supposed to play in questioning the Establishment. One other thing to consider- the Establishment power and desire to censor is by no means limited to Politics. It’s reach can be found running throughout culture, even supressing certain music artists which the Twitterati hate.
Wow. That’s a change. I was going to say that despite having over 15 million views on YouTube, Tom MacDonald was very difficult to find on Twitter (typing his name didn’t used to work- you needed to know the @ address). Anyway, its worth checking out reaction videos to him on YouTube- try No Lives Matter reactions, as he may have since gained more mainstream acceptance.
Anyway, I can feel myself digressing, so I will bring it to an end for today.
Just a brief note about upcoming comment. I’ve been meaning to write quite a detailed article on the Housing market and how millennials got screwed. Along with the inflated cost of education it is ranks as one of the two main ways the younger generation was well and truly fucked over by an Iron Triangle of Interest. I used to work for a supplier to the Housing sector so I’m pretty familiar with this area, and its economics. But in the meantime, I would highly recommend watching this pretty detailed YouTube video on the subject (it may seem as this would only apply to the UK, but from all my research the problem as the same roots in America, especially around cities):
My Newsletter on this subject may be a little while coming, because I have to finish reading his book, but what makes this particular guy so interesting, is that the fact that I suspect a former Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sajid Javid) wanted to implement his core policy idea, and it might well have led to his resignation when he found he was prohibited by Downing Street (Dominic Cummings) from introducing the scheme. It’s the British equivalent of Robert Reich resigning from the Clinton Administration over being unable to curtail executive pay…
"If we spend all our time hating each other, then we have little time or energy to criticise the ruling elites, or indeed the structures of a society which keeps so many supressed as little more than economic serfs, whilst promoting the interests of a tiny few who know how to game the system."
Divide and Rule. mate. Divide and Rule. The media, politicians, Big Tech, and even the less healthy aspects of the finance industry, all have a vested interest in keeping us loathing one another. That way we will never stop and notice the Crony Capitalism which occurs at the heart of government. Regulatory costs generally keep the little guy out of the market, because they naturally favour economies of scale, whilst also making sure that labour markets are loose, rather than tight, because SME's generate more labour.
Don't get me wrong- we need the big guys, because if you're a working poor mother with two kids and only fifteen bucks to last you the next four days, then McDonald's is pretty much your only option. But almost all jobs created in a developed economy comes from new SME's and SME growth. Government interventions which restrict this process lead to wrack and ruin, over the long run.
Yeah, gotta love what I call 'real businesses' and I expect most of them are not very big. I wish the word 'capitalism' did not combine what Wall St. does with what real businesses do since one is parasitic and the other is the foundation of genuine productivity.
I wasn't familiar with Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, but after watching them talk with their inspiration for going independent, Katie Halpern and Matt Taibbi (Useful Idiots) https://youtu.be/wUUsnnsh188 , I got a strong impression of these four really caring about reporting in a way which is both unfettered by big business considerations and which avoids the common pattern of us-good them-over-there-bad which drives polarisation and misunderstanding.
I think their assertion that barriers like race acts as a shield to very real class issues is a particularly astute one. In fact I would posit that many of these problems will remain insoluble until they begin to treated as issues of class, as they rightly deserve to be. America is largely blind to class issues, because Americans believe quite wrongly that they are a a classless society
They probably were in previous eras, but the differential rates of fathers in communities by socio-economic background, the rampant credentialism and the commodification of education, all add up to a society which is rapidly ossifying in terms of stratification and a lack of social mobility.
Thanks for your kinds words, and I will watch the Katie Halper / Matt Taibbi podcast immediately. I just finished my morning chores, having finished my brief little essay at around 5 am (for some reason I woke up at the ungodly hour of 1 am this morning).
The Liam Halligan talk is very insightful BTW, I had previously thought about tacking the land development rentier economics with something as crude as a land banking tax- it was a personal bugbear of mine, even before the 2008 crash, but the planning uplift tax really was something that I had never heard of before- although obviously I had heard of planning uplift payments, made as a part of contractual exchanges between seller and buyer. I only really dealt with Europe through supply chains.
This may be coming out of left field, but relates to a quote your recently shared in an op-ed about anti-Asian bias attacks. “ Even Asians themselves are being pressured to frame the attacks against them in this ideological context. UCLA lecturer Manjusha P. Kulkarni, the aforementioned co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, has admonished Asian Americans for their anti-black and “white adjacent” attitude. “Sadly, immigrants come to the United States often and understand right away the racial hierarchy that we have in our nation,” she states in her widely circulated video. “And so they know that if they want upward mobility, they want economic security, they need to align themselves with whites, essentially. And so you see a lot of that white adjacency in our community or efforts to strive toward white adjacency.” So, here’s the Left Field question: why are Italian-Americans lumped into the category of “white?” The same quote used to describe Asian-American immigrants applies to Italian immigrants....they were NOT considered to be “white” in the late 1800’s & early 1900’s....they were aligned, by the government and by the WASPS in power, with blacks....in fact, Italians and blacks lived in close proximity in the same ghettos....Italians were called monkeys, the N-word, etc. 11 Italians were LYNCHED in New Orleans and lynching of Italians occurred in 7 other states. Teddy Roosevelt was IN FAVOR of the lynchings! Italians were forced to act white, to be “white” in order to survive! But, Italians are NOT WHITE! They are LATIN, just as much and even more so than those who are categorized as an “ethnic minority” called Latino or Hispanic! The origin on Latin was the Romans a d the direct decendents of Romans are ITALIANS! Italians and Italian-Americans are in fact, the ORIGINAL LATINS of this world! Yet, they are denied COVID loans because they are considered to be “white.” Italians are NOT WHITE! They are LATIN and that designation needs to be recognized IMMEDIATELY! Italian-Americans are an ethnic minority and should be recognized as such! If Columbus was considered to be Latino, would his statues be desecrated or would he instead be offered more “understanding?” See what I’m getting at? In today’s society, “white”=EVIL. But, Italian-Americans are not “white”, they are LATIN just as much as any Hispanic or Latino! Italian-Americans deserve to be considered to be an “ethnic minority” and removed from the “white” designation! It is historically inaccurate and being used as a cudgel against them!
The same might be said of the Irish. Remember the old signs "No Irish, No Blacks, no dogs". Enlightenment Universalism has been slow to come for many, but the fact remains the West is the only culture in history which has even attempted it. Islam came close at its inception (for children of the book), but over time, their civilisation was moving from contract to status, the complete reverse of equality under the Law.
I didn't know about the Italian lynchings, and I certainly didn't know that about Teddy Roosevelt. Isn't it interesting how some things are conveniently forgotten to support certain grand narratives, whilst other are central to whatever creation myth happens to be the story of the era.
Thanks for your reply. Here’s what Roosevelt said, “Monday we dined at the Camerons; various dago diplomats were present, all much wrought up by the lynching of the Italians in New Orleans. Personally I think it rather a good thing, and said so.”
Re: Breaking Points - I have only watched the intro, and have downloaded the podcasts for later, but found myself doubtful of these two right-out-of-the-gate: why are they virtue signaling that their merch is (and will be) entirely American made and union made? I'd bet $50 to 50¢ that they both eat non-American, non-union fruits and vegetables every day!
BTW, I always enjoy your posts and Quillette comments.
Well, they both describe themselves as populists, although not of the type associated with Trump. Their main critique of our current culture is that not enough emphasis is placed on class. I don't entirely agree with their pro-union stance, but agree with their anti-elite way of looking at the world. If I did have a criticism of the modern corporate environment it would be that often the incentives don't stretch all the way down to the bottom.
There was an Undercover Millionaire here in the UK a few years back- a CFO wanted to know why cleaning staff at a particular residential park (static homes) were receiving double the wages. The answer was simple- they were doing four times the work. With the use of front-end selection, method study and morale building the woman who ran the cleaners was achieving amazing results.
Years ago, the BSI ran a study which looked at proportional pay (piece work, and other proportional systems) and compared it to management heavy flat rates. On average proportional pay outperforms flat rates by 50% baseline productivity. I've certainly worked for some bosses who didn't like the idea that workers were receiving wages over a certain level, regardless of how productive they were.
"If we spend all our time hating each other, then we have little time or energy to criticise the ruling elites, or indeed the structures of a society which keeps so many supressed as little more than economic serfs, whilst promoting the interests of a tiny few who know how to game the system."
Exactly.
Divide and Rule. mate. Divide and Rule. The media, politicians, Big Tech, and even the less healthy aspects of the finance industry, all have a vested interest in keeping us loathing one another. That way we will never stop and notice the Crony Capitalism which occurs at the heart of government. Regulatory costs generally keep the little guy out of the market, because they naturally favour economies of scale, whilst also making sure that labour markets are loose, rather than tight, because SME's generate more labour.
Don't get me wrong- we need the big guys, because if you're a working poor mother with two kids and only fifteen bucks to last you the next four days, then McDonald's is pretty much your only option. But almost all jobs created in a developed economy comes from new SME's and SME growth. Government interventions which restrict this process lead to wrack and ruin, over the long run.
SME?
Small medium enterprise (basically an entity with less than 250 staff).
Yeah, gotta love what I call 'real businesses' and I expect most of them are not very big. I wish the word 'capitalism' did not combine what Wall St. does with what real businesses do since one is parasitic and the other is the foundation of genuine productivity.
Thanks Geary!
I wasn't familiar with Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, but after watching them talk with their inspiration for going independent, Katie Halpern and Matt Taibbi (Useful Idiots) https://youtu.be/wUUsnnsh188 , I got a strong impression of these four really caring about reporting in a way which is both unfettered by big business considerations and which avoids the common pattern of us-good them-over-there-bad which drives polarisation and misunderstanding.
I think their assertion that barriers like race acts as a shield to very real class issues is a particularly astute one. In fact I would posit that many of these problems will remain insoluble until they begin to treated as issues of class, as they rightly deserve to be. America is largely blind to class issues, because Americans believe quite wrongly that they are a a classless society
They probably were in previous eras, but the differential rates of fathers in communities by socio-economic background, the rampant credentialism and the commodification of education, all add up to a society which is rapidly ossifying in terms of stratification and a lack of social mobility.
Thanks for your kinds words, and I will watch the Katie Halper / Matt Taibbi podcast immediately. I just finished my morning chores, having finished my brief little essay at around 5 am (for some reason I woke up at the ungodly hour of 1 am this morning).
The Liam Halligan talk is very insightful BTW, I had previously thought about tacking the land development rentier economics with something as crude as a land banking tax- it was a personal bugbear of mine, even before the 2008 crash, but the planning uplift tax really was something that I had never heard of before- although obviously I had heard of planning uplift payments, made as a part of contractual exchanges between seller and buyer. I only really dealt with Europe through supply chains.
This may be coming out of left field, but relates to a quote your recently shared in an op-ed about anti-Asian bias attacks. “ Even Asians themselves are being pressured to frame the attacks against them in this ideological context. UCLA lecturer Manjusha P. Kulkarni, the aforementioned co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, has admonished Asian Americans for their anti-black and “white adjacent” attitude. “Sadly, immigrants come to the United States often and understand right away the racial hierarchy that we have in our nation,” she states in her widely circulated video. “And so they know that if they want upward mobility, they want economic security, they need to align themselves with whites, essentially. And so you see a lot of that white adjacency in our community or efforts to strive toward white adjacency.” So, here’s the Left Field question: why are Italian-Americans lumped into the category of “white?” The same quote used to describe Asian-American immigrants applies to Italian immigrants....they were NOT considered to be “white” in the late 1800’s & early 1900’s....they were aligned, by the government and by the WASPS in power, with blacks....in fact, Italians and blacks lived in close proximity in the same ghettos....Italians were called monkeys, the N-word, etc. 11 Italians were LYNCHED in New Orleans and lynching of Italians occurred in 7 other states. Teddy Roosevelt was IN FAVOR of the lynchings! Italians were forced to act white, to be “white” in order to survive! But, Italians are NOT WHITE! They are LATIN, just as much and even more so than those who are categorized as an “ethnic minority” called Latino or Hispanic! The origin on Latin was the Romans a d the direct decendents of Romans are ITALIANS! Italians and Italian-Americans are in fact, the ORIGINAL LATINS of this world! Yet, they are denied COVID loans because they are considered to be “white.” Italians are NOT WHITE! They are LATIN and that designation needs to be recognized IMMEDIATELY! Italian-Americans are an ethnic minority and should be recognized as such! If Columbus was considered to be Latino, would his statues be desecrated or would he instead be offered more “understanding?” See what I’m getting at? In today’s society, “white”=EVIL. But, Italian-Americans are not “white”, they are LATIN just as much as any Hispanic or Latino! Italian-Americans deserve to be considered to be an “ethnic minority” and removed from the “white” designation! It is historically inaccurate and being used as a cudgel against them!
The same might be said of the Irish. Remember the old signs "No Irish, No Blacks, no dogs". Enlightenment Universalism has been slow to come for many, but the fact remains the West is the only culture in history which has even attempted it. Islam came close at its inception (for children of the book), but over time, their civilisation was moving from contract to status, the complete reverse of equality under the Law.
I didn't know about the Italian lynchings, and I certainly didn't know that about Teddy Roosevelt. Isn't it interesting how some things are conveniently forgotten to support certain grand narratives, whilst other are central to whatever creation myth happens to be the story of the era.
Thanks for your reply. Here’s what Roosevelt said, “Monday we dined at the Camerons; various dago diplomats were present, all much wrought up by the lynching of the Italians in New Orleans. Personally I think it rather a good thing, and said so.”
Re: Breaking Points - I have only watched the intro, and have downloaded the podcasts for later, but found myself doubtful of these two right-out-of-the-gate: why are they virtue signaling that their merch is (and will be) entirely American made and union made? I'd bet $50 to 50¢ that they both eat non-American, non-union fruits and vegetables every day!
BTW, I always enjoy your posts and Quillette comments.
Well, they both describe themselves as populists, although not of the type associated with Trump. Their main critique of our current culture is that not enough emphasis is placed on class. I don't entirely agree with their pro-union stance, but agree with their anti-elite way of looking at the world. If I did have a criticism of the modern corporate environment it would be that often the incentives don't stretch all the way down to the bottom.
There was an Undercover Millionaire here in the UK a few years back- a CFO wanted to know why cleaning staff at a particular residential park (static homes) were receiving double the wages. The answer was simple- they were doing four times the work. With the use of front-end selection, method study and morale building the woman who ran the cleaners was achieving amazing results.
Years ago, the BSI ran a study which looked at proportional pay (piece work, and other proportional systems) and compared it to management heavy flat rates. On average proportional pay outperforms flat rates by 50% baseline productivity. I've certainly worked for some bosses who didn't like the idea that workers were receiving wages over a certain level, regardless of how productive they were.
Thanks for your kind words!