| Breaking Points | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Political news and commentary |
| Format |
|
| Language | English |
| Cast and voices | |
| Hosted by |
|
| Production | |
| Length | 60-120 minutes |
| Publication | |
| Original release | June 7, 2021 (2021-06-07) – present |
| Related | |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Subscribers | 2.05 million1 |
| Views | 1.215 billion1 |
| Last updated: June 1, 2026 | |
Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar (or simply Breaking Points) is an American political and news video podcast hosted by Krystal Ball, Saagar Enjeti, Ryan Grim, Emily Jashinsky, and Griffin Davis. It was launched in June 2021 by Ball and Enjeti, both former hosts of Rising on The Hill, with Grim, Jashinsky, and Davis joining as rotational hosts later. Breaking Points is publish on YouTube, Rumble, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spotify.234
Format
Breaking Points features commentary and analysis of political news and current events and in-studio interviews with journalists, politicians, and other political or cultural figures.25 Ball and Enjeti, the primary hosts, usually publish on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays and usually appear in-studio. While the secondary hosts Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinsky appear on Wednesdays also in studio. On Friday episodes the show has a much more informal format with the hosts appearing remotely from their own homes rather than in studio. Since 2025, producer Griffin Davis has appeared on Friday episodes, serving as moderator.
The hosts have editorial control over the show, which has the look and immediacy of live news broadcasting but with independent, populist messaging.26 Unlike The Hill, which has a full-time staff of 30, Breaking Points has a small crew of mainly part-time hourly contractors.2 Most of the show's revenue comes from premium subscribers, with some additional revenue from YouTube and podcast ads.26 In 2022, their expenses were said to be around $1 million per year.2
History
On May 28, 2021, Ball and Enjeti announced their departure from The Hill's Rising.57 The Breaking Points program and channel launched at YouTube on June 7, 2021, and reached 285,000 channel subscribers by June 11.7 Ball and Enjeti spoke about the subtle pressure they experienced working under The Hill's corporate umbrella and their dislike of working in a corporate bureaucracy.25 In September 2022, former Rising hosts Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinsky joined Breaking Points. They serve as replacement hosts when Ball and Enjeti are unavailable and host their own show, Counter Points, on Wednesdays (though as of 2026 Wednesday shows do not use the Counter Points nameplate.)8
Reception
In March 2026, Breaking Points was the 16th-most popular podcast on YouTube in the United States and the 72nd-most popular podcast on Spotify in the United States.910
Breaking Points was awarded Best Political podcast at the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards.11
References
References
- YouTube Staff; Ball, Krystal & Enjeti, Saagar (June 1, 2026). "Breaking Points—About" (podcast). Retrieved June 1, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Newport, Cal (June 15, 2022). "The Rise of the Internet's Creative Middle Class". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
- Fischer, Sara; King, Hope (July 6, 2021). "Corporate Media Backlash Fuels New Upstarts". Axios.com. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- Purushothaman, Karthik (February 18, 2021). "The American 'Populist Right' After Trump". The Wire.
- Berkowitz, Joe (June 12, 2021). "Why 'Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar' Became the No. 1 Political Podcast in a Week". Fast Company. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- Tani, Max (May 7, 2023). "Elite podcasts struggle while the podcast masses thrive". Semafor. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- "New: Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar". Podcast Business Journal. June 3, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- Baragona, Justin (September 1, 2022). "Two Hosts Exit The Hill's Popular Web Show 'Rising'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- "YouTube Music Charts". charts.youtube.com. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- Spotify. "Podcast Charts". Podcast Charts. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
- "2026 iHeartPodcast Awards: Full List Of Winners". iHeart. Retrieved March 26, 2026.