#1936 - Krystal Ball & Saagar Enjeti

Joe Rogan (0:06)

Train by day, Joe Rogan Podcast by night, all day.

Krystal Ball (0:09)

Alright, now the first time we did this, my hair was fucked up the whole time. And neither one of y'all told me about it.

Saagar Enjeti (0:22)

You just don't say a word.

SPEAKER_4 (0:23)

Is that recorded? Did you record that? We should leave that part out.

Saagar Enjeti (0:27)

I was just like, you look beautiful, Krystal.

Krystal Ball (0:29)

I watched it afterwards, and I was like, what the fuck?

Okay, number one, it's different. Number two, I had this piece was protruding.

SPEAKER_4 (0:38)

I've been bald, shaved head for 13 years now, or something like that, so I don't even think about it. Your hair is fucked up.

Krystal Ball (0:49)

Sorry. It was a real betrayal, but it's okay. I'm so sorry. We're moving forward. It's really on him, because you and I were just getting to know each other, so it was really his fault.

SPEAKER_4 (1:00)

You guys are a very unusual combination. It's very funny, because having someone who's on the right and having someone who's on the left, it's usually some sort of a formulaic thing. It's like, you know what I think of Hannity and Combs?

Krystal Ball (1:13)

Yes.

SPEAKER_4 (1:13)

Do you remember that? Yeah.

Saagar Enjeti (1:15)

Well, because it was fake.

Krystal Ball (1:18)

It's kind of hard to describe what we do, because if you say, you know, we're on the right, we're on the left, it does sound like this sort of thing.

SPEAKER_4 (1:29)

Remember that?

Krystal Ball (1:30)

Yes, or like that terrible CNN show Crossfire is the other thing.

SPEAKER_4 (1:34)

Who was on that one?

Krystal Ball (1:36)

Well, the original one was Tucker.

Saagar Enjeti (1:37)

Paul Bacala.

Krystal Ball (1:38)

Paul Bacala.

Saagar Enjeti (1:39)

Fuck, there were two others.

Krystal Ball (1:40)

And then they did the reboot of it, which was rough.

SPEAKER_4 (1:43)

Was Tucker was on the right, and Bacala was on the left. And Tucker used to have bow tie on.

Saagar Enjeti (1:50)

That was when he had the bow tie.

Krystal Ball (1:51)

And he's never lived down. People still, in their head, I feel like that's the picture they get of Tucker, even though he hasn't worn it.

But he's just seared into people's memories. That's Peter Hotez, too.

SPEAKER_4 (2:06)

There's something about bow ties. There's Crossfire.

Krystal Ball (2:09)

Oh, that's Carville.

And there's the infamous John Stewart, when he just destroyed that. And then they did the remake with Newt Gingrich. Oh, wow.

Saagar Enjeti (2:20)

Oh, and elegant Spitzer was on there, right?

Krystal Ball (2:23)

No, no, that was another terrible show.

SPEAKER_4 (2:25)

So Newt Gingrich and Van Jones.

Krystal Ball (2:28)

That was Stephanie Cutter, who was one of the most unlikable people ever created. And then Essie Cuff is actually a long time. She and I were at MSNBC together, so she and I are friends, so I can't say anything bad about her. She seems nice.

I love her. Yep, so anyway, that was Crossfire.

Saagar Enjeti (2:48)

Stephanie Cutter? She worked for Obama.

Krystal Ball (2:49)

She didn't laugh. Yeah, I think.

Was she a Hillary person? I can't remember. I can't watch those shows.

It was bad. Anyway, that's not what we're doing, I hope.

SPEAKER_4 (2:58)

What is really... No, you're not doing that at all, but what is really fascinating is that having these long-form discussions, like you guys do, uncensored and undirected, without an executive leaning over your shoulder and telling you what to do, it's the best way to discuss things. And when I get to hear from a reasonable person on the left and a reasonable person on the right who respect each other, it's like...

it gives me hope. Like, hey, we can all get along. Like, we can sort through what's good and what's bad. It's possible.

Krystal Ball (3:32)

That is actually the core goal of the show. Because, I mean, we are living through incredibly politically fraught times where you have a lot of people whose whole business model is to persuade you that half the country hates you and is destroying the country and it's existential and we're headed to civil war.

And so I feel like if Saagar and I can agree on some things, which we do, and have debates on topics that are difficult and tense and fraught and be able to do that day after day in a way that is respectful, that's not just trying to score points, but actually trying to learn from each other, I hope it makes a small difference in the political atmosphere.