Rising with the Hill's Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti

Rising with the Hill's Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti originally appealed to me, especially as alternative programming to the mainstream media coverage leading up to the presidential election of 2020. I appreciated the populist takes and the coverage of the establishment's treatment of Bernie. Fast-forward to after the election. Trump has lost, and Biden is declared President-Elect. The attempts of Trump and the Republican Party by and large to subvert democracy and install him, against a decent electoral margin, massive popular vote margin and no substantive evidence of voter fraud. Krystal, our leftist surrogate has repeatedly failed to convey the severity and damage that will be caused by Trump, and is being caused by Trump currently. The show has turned into somewhat of a farce, with Krystal and Saagar both going at the Democratic Party from different perspectives, and sometimes from the same populist perspective, but don't seem to condemn the Republicans to the same degree, making Rising seem partisan and robbing us of what could be interesting banter. Krystal described Trump's presidency as a WWE spectacle in an episode. This kind of out of touch rhetoric is damaging the Left in America, especially as Trump has increased drone strikes 400% around the world, increased civilian casualties around the world and divided the country. As we plunge deeper into an era of hyper-partisanship, Krystal is not doing enough to counter the corporatism on both sides, and especially the man who has been in charge of the country for the last four years.

At last a source of progressive political commentary with a populist bent that does not suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome! This program will not be to your liking if you are looking for the echo chamber that is currently pervasive in mass media. I appreciate the deeper dives that the hosts take into the "why" behind the decisions of politicians. Clearly, the hosts many times speculate on these reasons but they articulate their rationale, which allows viewers to decide whether their positions have have merit. I appreciate the seemingly unforced, lighthearted manner of their deliveries. The populist in me also appreciates how they report on hypocrisy no matter what the source. I learn from their shows, am entertained, and therefore consider my viewing time a good investment.