Great Pods
Adam Friedland RIPS INTO Ritchie Torres on Israel, Demfluencers CAUGHT In Funding Scheme

Key Points

Adam Friedland interviewed Congressman Richie Torres about Israel-Gaza, creating a raw confrontation between emotional appeals and political talking points
Friedland expressed feeling that Israeli actions are being done "in his name" as a Jewish person, causing him distress about Jewish identity
Torres refused to engage on a human level, sticking to Wikipedia-level talking points throughout the interview
The war began on October 7th according to Torres, which Friedland disputed, leading to heated exchanges about civilian casualties
Taylor Lorenz published an article exposing that Democratic influencers receive up to $8,000 monthly from dark money groups to push party messaging
The 1630 Fund (a dark money organization) funds Chorus, which pays creators like David Pakman and Brian Tyler Cohen
Creators in the program cannot make content supporting/opposing political candidates without express written authorization from Chorus
Dr. Muhammad Khalil, a spine surgeon, completed his third medical mission to Gaza, describing increasingly difficult conditions
Gaza hospitals are operating at 250-300% capacity with patients lying on hard stretchers without mattresses
Aid distribution sites have become "death traps" where people get shot trying to obtain food due to severe malnutrition
Dr. Khalil observed patterns of targeted shootings, including waves of patients shot in genitals, suggesting deliberate target practice
Medical staff in Gaza have lost dramatic amounts of weight due to starvation, with visible ribs and spine processes
Sniper fire from large caliber bullets is causing devastating injuries requiring complex spine surgeries
Patients are sent back to tent camps after operations with little food, water, or proper recovery conditions
50-60% of medical professionals are now being denied entry to Gaza without explanation from Israeli authorities
The podcast hosts discussed how right-wing media succeeded through forced independence rather than coordinated funding
Breaking Points positioned itself as independent media refusing corporate or partisan funding arrangements
The show emphasized the importance of speaking up when atrocities are committed "in your name" as a moral imperative
Full Transcript

Language: en
All right, Friday show. How you doing,
Ryan and Emily?
Happy Labor Day weekend.
Yes, comrades.
Working on the weekend, comrades. We're
seizing the means of the breaking points
here. Um, we got
we going to take a 10% stake in
uh what is uh was it Black Rifle Coffee?
That was really big in the studio for a
minute there.
There was two months before we got a
bunch of free Black Rifle coffee. It was
it was out of control. Um
Saga would love that.
Yeah. So I don't know. Consider keeping
Actually, it would be Lucy. Lucy gum.
Something like that.
Lucy. Yeah. Lucy. I like Lucy, but Lucy
doesn't ship to uh California for some
reason. They'reough. They're tightening
tightening down here in Gavin Ngum's
California. Um all right, we got a lot
to talk about. We've got Adam
Freriedeland versus Richie Torres, the
matchup everyone has been waiting for.
Uh we've got an interview with a Gaza
doctor, Dr. Muhammad Khalil. We've got a
Taylor the Ren article and much much
more. But why don't we get right into it
here? Uh the Adam Freriedeland show. He
is a podcast comedian and he recently
had Congressman Richie Torres on to
discuss many topics uh including Israel
Gaza. Let's take a listen. The
understanding in our community is that
we have to defend Israel.
But it's I lived there and I went to a
set a settlement at the end of my year
there and I looked down the hill at a
Palestinian village and I saw how they
lived and I turned back and I looked at
the settlement and saw how they lived
and people live in a in a world where
they're demeaned and dehumanized and
surveiled constantly by people in and
this isn't in Gaza by people in SWAT
team outfits with with semi-automatic
weapons. that that's what the world is
seeing. And you keep telling me that the
problem is someone's getting yelled at
at a restaurant. I'm sorry.
You're conflating two different issues.
I don't
Please just please
me saying this to you right now will
hurt people in my own family, okay?
Because because this is a very important
thing to us and the fact that I still
[&nbsp;__&nbsp;] care about being Jewish is
embarrassing. I should just be a guy.
But but it but this is feels like a
stain on our history and it feels like
it's changed what being Jewish is
because what being Jewish is isn't
Judaism has existed for 4,000 years.
This is a country for 75 years. I I want
I feel like I'm here to be lectured. Not
shut up. That's not nice. You can't talk
that way. Why are one set of Jews but
more important than than others?
No one's saying no one's saying any.
What happened? You had you went to the
beach at the in Israel.
What? You went to a restaurant or
something?
A nice restaurant. Like,
Never even been to the Tel Aviv Pride
Parade. So,
this is the year 2025.
The world is seeing something that looks
terrible and it's being done in my name
and I don't know what to do.
But the war began on October 7th.
No, it didn't.
Yes, it did.
Yes. When Hamas systematically murdered
All right, that was clip number one. Uh
what are we to make of that?
Well, the the whole conversation uh is
is raw and I think just worth worth
watching as
uh it's like cinema almost. Um, as Adam
is sitting there
kind of begging Richie Torres to reach
him on a human level, to meet him on a
human level, and Richie Torres just
flatly refusing throughout throughout
it. like Richie just kind of sticks to
to Wikipedia level talking points,
Hebrron Massacre in the 1920s and um
and so this juxaposition, this this
point counterpoint of like raw emotion
being met with talking points creates
uh this just disturbing scene. Um,
I've se and there's also been a lot of
criticism you've seen from the kind of
uh more ultralleft saying that you why
are we because this has gotten so much
attention. Why are we quote unquote
centering Jewish feelings? And to me
um to me that's just completely unfair
criticism because on the one hand you
have heard a repeated criticism of the
American Jewish community that they
haven't spoken up enough to criticize
and to separate themselves from
Netanyahu's and Israel's genocide which
is being waged according to Israel on
behalf of the the Jewish community at
large with a flag that has a Star of
David on it like that is their claim
that they stand for the Jewish people.
So if Jewish people who do not agree
with that are silent that is affirming
that is that is used as affirmation that
in fact the Israeli government does
indeed speak for them. So the criticism
has been they're not speaking up enough.
So he speaks up and now saying well why
are you centering Jewish feelings? Like
that to me is utterly inconsistent and
unfair. Like in fact, if a country is
waging a genocide
and saying that they're doing it in your
name, it's not just appropriate for you
to speak up about it, it's morally
imperative for you to speak up about it
because if you don't, then it's a silent
acknowledgement that that's true. They
are they are doing that. Um,
and me meanwhile, uh, like Richie Torres
kind of jokingly
adopted George Santos's claim in this
interview that he's Jewish.
He was kind
Latino New Yorkers, two gay Latino New
who are both Jewish. Um, so the the the
questions of identity are kind of shot
through this like
to and yeah, we can if you want to put
up this this next this capo tweet like
to some defenders of Israel,
Richie Torres really is the more Jewish
like your your ideas around your
approach to Israel, your your your
thoughts as it relates to this genocide
determine whether or not you are Jewish
in the eyes of some people.
I just want to say I can't read this.
You want me to read that Griffin real
quick? Oh, go for it.
Well, I just want to say very quickly
that is the exact argument conservatives
detest when it is applied to Clarence
Thomas or uh whomever else, right? That
this this idea that is you are not, you
know, people will use the the Uncle Tom
slur. Um but it's this idea that your
identity isn't true, even though it's
it's literally true. Uh it isn't true
unless you have the ideology baked into
it. So anyway, that's what you're
right? That's what you're seeing in this
this tweet that Griffin just put up on
the screen about
senior editor from the free press here.
The role Freedelland is playing is that
of the capo, the Jew articulating andor
acting out the wishes conscious or
unconscious of the gentile majority.
This is literally the world's oldest or
second oldest profession.
Right. Okay. Literally, it is not like
that. I don't even understand like what
remotely the guy's talking about there.
And in the post right before that, he
used a bunch of uh fancy words to call
himself as well. Um
yeah, because you know what what Adam
says in that clip, I guess, is that he's
like, "Oh, I shouldn't even have to care
about this." And I think he's he should
just be a guy, not a Jewish person. And
he I think is speaking to like that as a
comedian like identity politics and all
that stuff is typically something that
you try to steer away from that it's
typically construed as lame to like lead
with your identity when speaking on a
subject. But when it comes to this
subject specifically like they're doing
it in in people like Adam's name.
Yeah. And and Adam kind of crashed out
in the interview and I don't mean that
in a bad way. It was obviously like uh
no truly that's where some people on the
right um are who don't know Adam
Freriedeland are watching this and
saying this was such a win for Richie
Torres. Richie Torres probably thinks it
was a win for him too. He looks like he
was calmly sitting there while he got uh
badgered and and pestered by a mentally
unstable comedian. But if you follow
Adam Freeland's work and you know Richie
Torres uh from other appearances, it was
a really I I think it was a really
important clash for someone who is
Jewish to relay a lot of uh Jewish
people's feelings about the conflict.
Um, I remember Ryan when it when the
campus when the encampments were
happening, uh, you set up an interview
for us with somebody,
I think she was a senior at Colombia.
They were doing Shabbat in their tent at
the encampment and it's just so absurd.
Uh, were there some anti-semitic hangers
on? Of course. Um, but it's it's so easy
to dismiss people with those labels. Um,
and it just falls into the exact same
territory that has uh the left, I think,
dismissing u black conservatives, female
conservatives, you're you're anti-woman,
you're not a real woman, you're
self-loathing. It's the same thing. And
I I'm saying that just in the context of
we're using an example from the free
press that would editorialize against
all of those uses um all of those
applications of of identity litmus
tests. So, in this next clip, you know,
we also get um I think this is a clip
where Adam kind of is able to totally
break the sort of pro-Zionist
uh talking point facade with some just
really simple, straightforward rebuttals
that you don't typically see um on any
mainstream news um or in many of these
conversations with Zionists. Let's take
a listen. What we're seeing right now is
that members of the Israeli government
are talking about clearing that [&nbsp;__&nbsp;]
out. And Trump, our president, is
talking about putting a [&nbsp;__&nbsp;] jet ski
museum there.
And you're that's the reality right now.
The far right. Yes.
I reject. So
what the far right? I'm talking about
the government and the generals that are
that are in charge of Israel.
The Bengavir, the smoltres of the world.
That's a view cabinet.
Yes. And I reject them. That's what
Hamas is saying they want to do to
I'm sorry.
I mean
I mean Hamas murdered thousands of
people. So there's no
So what does that mean?
That Hamas is a terrorist organization
for murdering innocent children and
civilians.
How how many civilians have been killed
in this war?
The war is a tragedy. But
90% of them have been
90% of them have
they've killed journalists.
They've killed journalist
people people have been killed in a war.
It's been a tragedy.
They've killed people waiting for aid.
But you're suggesting that
that it is the policy of the Israeli
government to murder civilians. And
that's that is a notion that I reject.
You got to like listen man, you got to
be like a human being about this. people
who are dying in the war, which to me is
a tragedy because war is a tragedy.
Do you feel in your heart that this is
what you're do what you're saying is
If Hamas if you remove Hamas
don't actually think that.
I told you what I believe. Don't tell me
what I believe. I've told you what I
Why would you believe that?
Because I because there are people who
see the world differently. I know it's a
shock to you.
Why would you believe that? Uh yeah. I
feel like Adam's almost success but
simultaneously fatal mistake is assuming
Richie Torres is a human and trying to
like relate to him on a human level. Uh
when that was just never going to work
out but maybe that contrast and that
but that's the that's the Richie Torres
is a human. Netanyahu is the peop humans
are capable of horrific evil
and and we and that it's that's
something we always have to remember. Um
because if we forget that then we'll set
back and be a little bit too comfortable
and all of a sudden these humans are
doing these all too human things
like we're we're I think we're a little
bit too kind to our idea of humanity.
Humanity is capable of doing deep evil.
Totally. Um yeah. Uh but Freeland is a
the unique figure in the way that he
engages with with guests and like a let
lets lets pregnant pauses sit says
things bluntly. Um
male Zway.
You heard it here first.
Is that what it is?
No. Me and arguing about this off air.
Zway's thing was all Zway's thing was
all just about being awkward and usually
awkward with like her friends and like
she rarely did like contentious stuff
with with you know strangers.
George Santos was pretty good. Um but
but the whole exchange thing go ahead.
Well, no. I was just going to say I mean
you this maybe 20 years ago you would
have seen something uncomfortable like
this on the Daily Show maybe um or in a
print interview in like a Zen, but this
is really new that we see confrontations
like this um I think playing out which
is a good thing. I mean I'm glad that we
are able to to watch Freedelland verse
Torres. I think it was actually
instructive
and the whole thing is just completely
crazy because anybody watching it is
like watching him define what a
terrorist organization is as somebody
who has quote unquote murdered thousands
of people. Um, but which again whatever.
and then the obvious I think the entire
audience is like wait a minute that's
your definition of a terrorist
organization? somebody who's killed
thousands of people. Um, by the way,
Hamas on October 7th killed hundreds of
civilians.
Anybody would call that terrorism. To
kill hundreds of civilians, it's
terrorism.
But what is it then to kill tens of
thousands or hundreds of thousands of
civilians and to displace 2 million and
to send suicide robots through Gaza City
to blow up entire populated blocks?
And so I I just it just can't withstand
the barest amount of scrutiny.
And that's why we don't get a lot of
Democrats to come on our show uh for the
that very uh thing right there.
Well, I think it's actually more we
don't try that much.
Okay, Brian, my inbox.
Well, so
you try harder,
but but but this is
so the interviews are often so boring.
The slacken one is good. If we can get
more centrists, that'd be good. But like
I mean we've tried Buddha Judge Nuome,
we've tried every single person that
will go on Brian Tyler Cohen or Pod Save
but will not come on here. Oh, they
won't come on. Obvious reason why.
Well, I I think
we should start making that public and
like shame them.
This is the public side, baby.
I I don't think Richie Torres expected
to have that interview go any other way.
I think he's pretty happy with how it
went and um because he's getting support
from um people that we just like I I
actually saw a lot of people on on the
right it was sort of like an ink blot
experience uh who who definitely don't
know the Freedelland stick jumping in
and being like Richie Torres looked
pretty good in this exchange or whatever
seeing it as an L for Freerielland and I
think Torres is media savvy enough that
he knows that and there are a lot of
Democrats who are media savvy enough
that they know it's good to go back and
forth with new media podcasts. Now, not
a lot of Democrats. There's an
increasing number of of Democrats who
want that, you know, they they they know
people disagree with them. Um, and they
they want it. So, we'll see. We'll see.
We'll see.
Well, speaking of media savvy Democrats,
that's leads us nicely to our next story
here. Uh, from our friend from this
week, Taylor Loren came out with an
article in Wired. uh you know, and she
was really hiding the the big story from
us. Uh you know, we were talking about
cell phone bans earlier this week, but
she came out with an article here in
Wired. Um a dark money group is secretly
funding high-profile Democratic
influencers, an initiative aimed at
boosting Democrats online, offers
influencers up to $8,000 a month to push
the party line. All they have to do is
keep it secret and agree to restrictions
on their content. Um, and you know, it
goes through a list of people who are
doing it. It's it's a real who's who.
Um, it's people like, uh, David Pacman,
Brian Tyler Cohen, um, more youth DNC
influencers like Olivia Giuliana. Um,
and there's been a lot of um, push back,
a lot of uh, response videos. And where
are we right now in this drama, Ryan?
Uh well, now you're in the uh as is
common uh with a Taylor Loren article,
you're about in your fourth or fifth
phase. Um it's every single time. Um so
basically what a lot of the people
involved say is
uh Brian Tyler Cohen and some others
like it's not secret. We've done videos
about it. Uh Chorus has a website. You
can apply for a chorus. Basically what
this is is Democratic adjacent and I
think the DNC actually took over chorus
during the Kla Harris campaign took over
chorus during the presidential campaign
and there's now some actual internally
I've heard there's some struggle over it
like different party
uh factions like want to want to have
the relationships with these different
creators and so there's a couple
different things going on. One would be,
you know, regular stipens to people to
say certain things or to not say other
things. The other would be uh stipens
for training to to lift people up so
that they can be independent uh content
creators. And
what does that mean? Like like oh here's
how to make a thumbnail. Here's how to
Yeah. No, no. Like no, but this is like
this is not dumb. Like this is what the
right has done. um that it that it takes
time to build up your audience and to
build up the skills so that you're self-
sustaining as an independent creator
like that. Anybody who's tried to do it
from scratch will tell you that like
you're not paying rent.
I mean, how you how you going to pay
rent like on day one of with zero
followers?
Well, you don't you you you have a it's
a side job till it's a full job like it
is with everyone else at the trading
independent meeting. And so, so what
Brian Tyler Cohen and others went and
they basically went to these very rich
people and said, "Why don't you fund
this network that will then seed people
and help get them off the ground? The
people that are doing the funding
obviously then are going to fund people
that they think are going to be
beneficial to what they want."
Uh, so that and that's where the
corruption comes in. But go ahead. Well,
no, I was going to so I'll get to the
right later, but if you could explain so
1630 fund, how are they organized and
how is chorus organized? Are we talking
packs? Are we talking C3s, C4s? What's
going on?
1630 funds a dark money group. Um, so
you don't know like I mean, you know,
some of the donors who've been public in
the past. Uh, enormous enormous dark
money organization that is linked
directly to the Democratic party. uh and
it but it does not have to disclose its
payments because that's that's what a
dark money group is
and so 1630 fund is funding chorus
and so that's where the dark money
connection uh comes from. So the the the
argument that some of these creators are
making is this has all been public. We
have said we we need to create a
uh network of uh creators like
democratic partisans basically.
Yeah. We got David Pacman here. Let's
take a listen to him for a sec.
It's for years I've been saying the left
needs to organize independent media in
the way that
all these words are insane.
The left needs to fund independent
creators the way that the right does.
The right has won even arguably
presidential elections because they're
organized with regard to online and
independent media. They're killing us.
We've been so behind. And this kind of
support for creators is exactly what
I've been advocating for.
But what is the like I keep going back
to this question. What is the support?
Because like I don't think that
$8,000 a month I think.
No, no, no. I get No. I get the money. I
get that part. But I'm talking about
Yeah, they had trainings,
right? But the trainings I'm like I
don't buy that some random Democrat
company knows how to do a YouTube
thumbnail or like knows how to like do
Well, they would hire they hire other
content creators.
Well, to me it seems like more like
about my guess is that the majority of
the trainings that happen here are
messaging are like here's what here's
what we talk about. Here's how we like
to talk about it. We want to push
democracy. We want to support the
Democratic party. We don't want to be
divisive. We don't want to create um
circle like firing squads, you know,
I don't know. I like as Chsky always
says like you don't need
the the genius of the like there's this
famous interview that Glenn likes to
Where he's
We played it for Don Lemon.
Yeah. We played it for Don Lemon. Yeah.
um where this hack is like tell telling
Chsky you think that I have this job
because I've agreed to say certain
things and because I've been trained to
say certain things and Chsky says no of
course not but you have this job because
they know you're going to say these
things and the things are obvious like I
to me you don't need to be trained in
what like Democratic party talking
points are
everybody knows them let's see if Olivia
Giulianiana has a response yet
I was going to checking her Twitter
feed, but go ahead here, but Emily, you
go first.
I have it literally pulled up, but um I
mean, I always I have it bookmarked, of
course, um Olivia Juliana's Twitter
feed, but it's Google in the in the
Wired story. Uh the line is creators in
the program are not allowed to use any
funds or resources that they receive as
part of the program to make content that
supports or opposes any political
candidate or campaign without express
authorization from chorus in advance and
in writing per the contract. So, one of
the uh functions here might be like a
little catch and kill action. You're not
going to get involved in a primary. Um
you're not going to get involved with
mom Donnie. In fact, you actually might
not be able to talk about mom Donnie if
you know you're on the streaming
equipment that you bought with part of
your $8,000 a month. Uh or you're using
your StreamYard subscription that you
bought with part of your $8,000 a month.
Um because even though everybody's
talking about Zora Mamani, you could run
a foul of that and Wired has a pretty
hefty update correction on the article
um as is customary to the point Ryan was
making, but that is not among them that
that there's no nothing has been
corrected to that point yet. And so I
think that's a sort of crucial bit of of
information.
Yeah, exactly. It's not like they're not
teaching you how to make YouTube
thumbnails. That's my whole point.
They're teaching they are.
I mean, okay, maybe, but like how much
of that is I don't know. It seems like a
they probably don't know how to do most
of that. I've worked in a lot of media
companies where corporations want to
start a successful YouTube channel. They
have no idea the space or the platform
or the mechanics of in the way that
someone who's just grinding on their
own, doing it every day, analyzing the
space. Same with Tik Tok as well. Um, so
yeah, it leads me to believe that the
majority of this is closer to what Emily
just described.
But the the way that corruption
generally works is it's much more subtle
than that. Um, that that point is key.
Like, okay, like they're making it very
clear like if it wasn't clear already,
we are the Democratic Party. You're
going to you're going to get money from
us and you're going to do things that
make the Democratic Party happy. Now,
there's a couple craters in this list
that they pointed to since who have been
critical of Gaza, but that just means
that they accept some people that go
through the training and then continue
to be, you know, critical of the
Democratic Party's platform towards
Corruption doesn't mean that it
influences every single person. Some
people take Apac money
and vote against Apac. Like, it happens.
But that but the the idea is
that you tilt the scales enough that
some you know some are going to get away
but so and it's not just the 8,000 a
month and it's not just the amount that
you spend uh and what you can spend
making videos. It's future.
So much of corruption in America is
about the promise of future wealth, too,
where they where they string you along.
And like that's how members of Congress
um are are thoroughly corrupted, that
they know that if they do the right
thing while they're in office, once they
leave office, they're going to be very,
very rich people. There's a great
documentary um on HBO called The Swamp
that it it's actually like AOCC's in it.
Um at the time, the woman from
California,
oh, I forget her name, isn't it?
Katy Hill.
Katie Hill. Yep. Uh Matt Gates and
Thomas Massie. And Thomas Massie at one
point walks out of the RNC, stands in
the middle of First Street, and he's
he's literally straddling Capitol Hill
Club and RNC, NRCC, and he's like, "This
is how this is the actual architecture,
the physical construction of
Washington." That when you walk out of
the party headquarters, you are walking
right past the fundraising bar
essentially. And that is I feel like the
proximity is so powerful.
Yeah. I mean, uh, my last thought is
when I see a lot of the creators on this
list, I've always thought, man, I hope
they're getting paid for this.
Totally. I mean, it's so pathetic.
It's like it's like you're doing the
stanky leg at the DNC. You're you I hope
you're getting paid for that. Like, do
do you think Horus is telling Brian
Tyler Cohen to unbutton his shirt more
and more? Like, is that the training
they're giving? Brian like he, you know,
he helped create chorus. Like that's the
weird part about this. Uh he is a
hardcore partisan Democrat, right?
Like nobody needs to tell him to be a
hardcore partisan Democrat. That's what
he is.
And he's tried and so he's trying to
build a network of hardcore partisan
Democrats and get Democrats to fund it,
Like and it's happening out mostly in
the open. It's cool that she got some of
these contracts and stuff. Um that
I just have a
he calls it the left which is he calls
it left and independent and in his mind
I think he believes that
but it's to us we're like I'm sorry what
and you're not independent media
I wanted this specific because he
mentions like how the right succeeded so
well in this and I think there is like
you know we've like seen Tim P or other
people have gotten like you know those
big fundings and stuff
daily wire like enormous funding,
Daily Wire for sure. But like my sense
is of like the whole podcast thing with
Trump was like, you know, a lot of this
was like people who like made a platform
on their own and be and were kind of
culturally right like like Rogan, Theo,
Andrew Schultz, like they they weren't
like bred in like a right-wing chorus
like think tank to get to their size,
Yes. So, I think this is this does drive
me a little bit insane because it of
course there are situations like the
Tenant Media scandal. I think that was
like five high-profile creators like Tim
Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Chen,
something like that. Um, and they were
just over the last couple of years after
they were already big um cashing out for
just dumb sums of money that they didn't
need to be famous. They It was just like
padding their bottom line. It was like
ridiculous. Um, but they were already
prominent and famous. And the reason
that the right has a podcast ecosystem
that's booming, if you look at the
podcast charts, this gets misunderstood
a lot. You have the Daily, NPR,
Atlantic, all of those guys are up there
right alongside Megan Kelly, Ben
Shapiro, Michael Nolles, whomever else.
Um, it's because the right was forced.
The right during the like wave of cancel
culture was forced out of those outlets
and so was forced to create independent
outlets. Um, and sometimes those quote
independent outlets are made by money
from like rich Republicans, of course.
Uh, in the same way that George Soros at
one point, didn't he have like a
controlling stake in the New York Times
company, Ryan? like it was he he it's is
not an insane comparison um even though
it's on a much smaller scale. Uh but
yeah, partisan Republicans
support, you know, like a Paul Singer
funds the Washington Free B Washington
Free Beacon. Um and partisans I'm trying
to think of a a Daily Wire funer. Um
Brian Tyler Cohen number 10.
Yeah. Yeah. Um but if you go to like
Yeah. News podcast
beating Tucker Carlson.
Yeah. Look at that.
So, I just think that's this is a a
classic example of partisan centrist
Democrats missing like look at I've had
it. That's an example of what they
should be doing. Not or that's an
example of Yeah, there we are. That's an
Take that, Travis Kelce.
does that mean our marriage news did
better than his?
But like Tim Pool and I've had it. Those
are examples of podcasts that actually
um are going to be more powerful. I'm
not saying that it's strategically dumb
for Dems to fund this this vast network,
but what they actually are looking for
is people like Kyle, for example, who's
very successful. They just don't
consider Kyle a W for Democrats. And
they shouldn't in the same way that they
don't necessarily consider I've had it a
W for Democrats. Um, and the right has
because all they which is hilarious
because both those podcasts like all all
their advice is how the Democrats can
win, how they can like get back up on
their feet.
I just is this and like Republicans just
see P and Benny as our or as as ours.
Yes, as ours, but also as W's because
they understand they're moving the
needle. Um, but these were people who
were forced out of the quote mainstream
for various reasons. Uh, some good, some
bad. And that's what happened. It wasn't
this like puppet master. There are
puppet masters, but it that wasn't the
the uh fuel for what happened on the
Gotcha. Okay. Interesting. Well, uh you
know, we always love to tip our cap to
Taylor Loren's and and willing to poke
the beehives. I saw her Tik Tok live
yesterday where she was getting swarmed
by the haters. Um so, uh you know,
always got to tip my hat to that.
Um, all right. Well, up next,
I should bounce.
Yeah, Ryan's gonna bounce. We have an
interview we just did with Dr. Muhammad
Khalil, who was a doctor who just got
back from his third trip in Gaza. So,
look forward to that right now. All
right, we are now joined by Dr. Muhammad
Khalil. He's a spine surgeon from Dallas
and he has just gotten back from his,
correct me if I'm wrong, third trip to
Gaza. Welcome to the show, doctor.
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Yeah. Um, and so I guess you know, you
let you you said a list of things that
we could ask you about, but I guess we
just first wanted to ask you, uh, what
was it like getting in and out of Gaza
this most recent time? Uh, it's it's
actually become increasingly difficult.
Uh, um, on the very first trip that, uh,
I went to to Gaza in uh, April of 24, we
went through the Ruffa border. So, we
were able to bring in a lot of
equipment. Um, when I went back in
November as well as this time, you're
pretty restricted on what you can bring
in. the the instructions are to just
bring one suitcase, one carry-on. Um,
and it's limited to personal supplies.
Um, logistically, it can be quite a
challenge uh getting getting there just
because um you can get a seat from the
WHO as far as getting on the UN convoy,
but you don't know until the night
before if you're cleared by Kogat, which
is the arm of the Israeli military that
controls u um movement within Gaza. And
so that clearance doesn't come in until
about 10 or 11:00 p.m. the night before
you're supposed to move at 6:00 in the
morning. So we all go to Aman and um we
find out that night if we're getting in.
Last time I went in November, one of my
buddies was supposed to go with me and
he got turned around and had to come
back to Dallas.
When you when you first got there, you
sent me a text that has um kind of sat
with me since then. Uh can tell tell
people what the doctor told you if see
if you remember this. what what the
doctor who uh is pal the Palestinian
doctor told you about whether or not
you're going to have an eventful shift
or not like how how did doctors know
whether or not their shift is going to
oh yeah it's it this time around it's
almost a direct correlation with the GHF
uh um aid distribution as well as when a
truck would come through this border. Uh
so they would say I mean his his words
were if you're lucky there will be no
aid distribution tonight. If you're
unlucky uh the ER is going to overflow.
And uh I mean he was 100% right. I mean
I think the you know when I had gone
before in November we were at the same
hospital at Ali up north and it was
mostly blast injuries from uh drone
strikes and air strikes. This time it
was a good mix of blast injuries as well
as these gunshot wounds from these eight
distribution sites. I think everyone
knows that. I mean, they describe them
as death traps and they tell people not
to go. Um, but there's such a dire need
um with the malnutrition and starvation
that people are just they're just taking
their chances and and going and seeing
if they can retrieve something.
Yeah. So, I just want to sort of for one
second. So, like here here in the United
States, if it's Friday or Saturday or
like New Year New Year's Eve or
something, you tell me. Like the ERS
know they to brace themselves like
they're there going to be more people in
here or maybe it's like New Orleans for
the Super Bowl or something like we're
going to get we're going to have it's
going to be a it's probably going to be
a busier night than than a typical night
in Gaza. Now, if there is an aid
distribution site open for a few hours,
the ERS brace themselves
every single time.
And did that bear out? Like in your in
your case,
if the aid distribution site was open,
was his forecast correct? Like did you
did you then get a
overwhelmed? Exactly. That that happened
every time. And the thing is that
they're already overwhelmed. Um uh
because you know one example is Shifa
Hospital that was destroyed uh when I
was there on the prior visit in November
and since then they've been able to get
the ER back up and running to some
degree. Um and they they have you know
200 semi-functioning beds. And when I
say beds I mean these are stretchers
with no mat on them. Like we actually
after operating on a patient would put
them back on a hard you know plastic or
metal stretcher with no mattress. And I
mean the but in those beds they had over
600 patients. So they're running at 250
300% capacity. So when these ERS would
fill up I mean these were patients laid
on the floor getting chest tubes put in
getting procedures done. And so I mean
every time there was an eight
distribution you'd have uh just so many
patients on the floor you we would
literally have to be walking over
patients uh walking through the ER.
Uh Emily, you're muted. Go ahead.
Having done multiple trips at this
point, uh what difference did you notice
when it comes to famine and hunger, can
you share your experience in treating
patients and whether or not you saw an
increase in people uh suffering from
malnutrition and starvation?
Yeah, certainly that you know it takes a
lot of calories to heal uh injuries and
to heal wounds. Um and so this this time
around the amount of people that were
just visibly malnourished with with you
know uh very skinny arms and legs like
uh visible ribs um was was very
apparent. Um and you knew that a number
of these injuries were going to end up
infected and they would end up infected
very quickly. Like patients that we
operated on at the beginning of the trip
uh were coming back for washouts um
within a week or so. And it's just uh
usually you don't see infections develop
that quickly because the body tries to
fight off infection. So I mean there's
there's a remarkable level of
malnutrition even among the people that
we're working with. Um I mean this time
around like I met a lot of the same
doctors and hospital staff that I worked
with before and they've just lost even
more weight. So, you know, when they
come in for a hug, you can you can feel
their spinus processes at the back. You
can feel their ribs. And a lot of people
will will, you know, show you what they
look like before um they lost all the
weight. And I mean, the weight loss is
dramatic even among the staff. Uh you
know, I mean, like one of the last cases
that we actually did um uh it's outside
of orthopedics. It was actually our
anesthesia, one of the anesthesia techs,
sweetest lady, always smiling. The the
day before we left Ali Hospital, um I
went down to the O and she was very
somber. And I walked into the room and
the neurosurgeon was operating on her
husband who had been shot at an aid
distribution site. Like her husband was
also an anesthesia tech at Kamala Dwan
Hospital, did not leave when a patient
was in the O, was uh kidnapped for 7
months um in Israeli prison. She didn't
know where he was and and then he showed
up one day. So, she was happy to have
him back, but then he uh he went to an
aid distribution and got shot in the
head. So, I mean, even the staff that
we're working with are suffering the
same starvation that the people are.
How did he die? How How did he survive
the gunshot?
Miraculously, he survived. Like we were
getting updates from uh now like so they
the the the neurosurgeon and one of our
um orthopedic surgeons scrubbed into the
case as well and they picked out
shrapnel and um uh you know he had
exposed brain matter so they were taking
out pieces of the skull from from the
brain and um he ended up in you know in
the ICU when we checked on him right
before we left he was still
non-responsive but uh um now he is
responsive still not communicative but
able to follow commands.
What about your own safety? you know, I
mean, we've been covering a lot this
week. Um, the double tap strike at the
Alnasir Hospital, um, that took out, you
know, medics and journalists. Um, some
reports are now saying it may have been
a triple or even quadruple tap.
BBC BBC found a quadruple. Yeah. Two
tanks and
it keeps it just keeps going up. So, how
did you feel about your own safety? And
I guess sort of a part two of this
question is, you know, you you come on
shows like ours after these experiences
to share them. Uh do you feel like the
uh Israeli government is starting to
become aware of that? Are you worried
that they may not let you back in
another time?
I think the fir the first question,
yeah, there there were definitely this
time around we had more close calls than
on prior trips. Um you know, when you go
up north, you have to go between
hospitals to get cases done. Um, so like
I did a few spine cases. I would have to
go to another hospital called Sahaba. So
they they you know load you up into an
ambulance and drive you over uh to do
the cases. And um so the last trip I was
a little bit more liberal in going
around town and and you know there were
a couple of close calls just due to
that. But this time, you know, they were
very we're in a privileged position
being American and European teams. uh
they take our safety as a as a high
priority both on the UN side as well as
on the um uh the side of the other
Palestinian teams and probably from the
Israeli side as well because there are
drones overhead not like continuously
they always know I think where we are.
Um and so but there were a few times
where um there were strikes very close
to us because we were in Gaza City I
think there was that the push to to
invade the city. So, um there were a
couple of air strikes in the building
adjacent to us. Um I saw, you know, uh a
drone strike happen in in um an
apartment that was that was in the
building adjacent to our dormatory. Um
we did, you know, uh the day that we
were leaving, uh our UN convoy uh was
delayed. You know, you have to wait for
a green light to move. Um so, we we got
loaded up into the cars and then
somebody came by and said, "It's going
to be another 30, 40 minutes. Uh why
don't you wait outside?" That's when me
and one of my uh one of my colleagues
that that came with us uh walked around
to the back of the convoy just to talk
and one of our teammates was in stayed
in the car cuz he was taking a nap and
there was a drone strike uh just a few
hundred uh meters away that like rocked
the cars and somebody from the Ora
center ran out and said that the the
convoy got hit. So we freaked out and we
were because we knew we knew he stayed
in the car but luckily it was it was a
little bit of weight but um there were
definitely some some close calls this
time. I think you know we again we have
this this sense of security that because
we're American and European and I think
for the hospitals they also see it as
some sense of security that when you
know when we leave as as a team they're
more nervous about being invaded. Um so
whenever there was a strike I think
Elazir had reported on one of the
Sundays that there was a strike in front
of the hospital. there was some talk of
having us move back down south, but
that's what we were saying, like, you
know, if we can serve some protective uh
um purpose, then it's it's good for us
to just finish out the mission and stay
where stay put where we were. Um I think
speaking up is an interesting question.
like you know when you arrive they you
get a debrief a brief from the um uh
from the you know the the teams that
have that are coordinating your travel
um uh from the UN who and they say
specifically not to use certain
buzzwords and not to assign blame to
anything but then when you do these
these interviews people will ask pretty
directly and so you're kind of stuck in
a hard position where you're like you're
the reporter I mean you know you know
who's doing the shooting and stuff but
it's uh um it's kind of a unique uh situ
situation to be in. But I think at this
stage, you know, it's anybody who's
following the conflict, I don't think
there's too many questions as to the
responsible parties. And when we are
there, um, you know, they a lot of the
doctors that are there and and staff
that we work with, they're like, you
know, one of the biggest purposes that
you serve is going back out to the world
and explaining what's going on here
because it's not it's not right for
anybody to to live under these
conditions. and they're they're very
cognizant of what's going on around the
world like um and so we feel compelled
to to speak up and at least report what
we saw like I mean one of one of the
girls for example like it's it's
actually pretty hopeful like she she's a
general surgeon um you know great
surgeon like very calm collected cool we
were she wants to be a plastic surgeon
we were like oh you could definitely do
it like you know down the road like uh
take your USMLE you can even get you
might be able to come out to America for
training and she's like yeah I know my
brother lives in California like these
are these are normal people that are not
like you know uh cut off from the rest
of the world. They know what's going on.
And speaking of bringing back some of
the disturbing stories, one of the
things you shared with us, I wanted to
get your um get get you to elaborate on
for us. Let me see if I can share this.
And if not, we could have
We can put them in post, Orion. But
is this working? You guys can see this,
So, this is I would call these photos uh
disturbing, but not overly graphic. This
is a This is an X-ray of a a 16-year-old
girl um uh wounds from a from what you
said was a a shooting at a GHF site,
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site. Uh
you told us that you observed a pattern
of victims coming in who were shot in
the genitals suggestive of
some type of
depraved target practice. Um, so this is
one. Um, we can talk about this in a
moment. Um, this is a a 12-year-old boy
who is is being operated on. Um,
uh, can you talk a little bit about what
kind of injuries you were seeing this
time from the GHF site?
Yeah. So, I mean, a lot of the uh, you
know, it's a mix of blast injuries and
and gunshot wounds. And I think for the
gunshot wounds in particular, that's um
uh there is this uh feeling that there
there's target practice being done um
because they'll there will be they'll
come in waves. Um so in the course of
two days we had three patients uh with
gunshot wounds to the scrotum um that
had to have an orctomy or a testicle
removed. And so we were talking to the
urologist and he was like it just
happens periodically where you'll get a
wave of these uh shots right to the
testicle. there'll be waves of shots
right to the head. Um uh and you know I
think there is uh the the suggestion is
is that these kids are being used for
target practice. I think there's uh um
you know there is some concept of just
spraying into the crowd with with
gunshots. Um and so that can be a little
bit random. But when it comes in waves
like that um the physicians there are uh
they suspect that this is this is
targeted um because these are snipers.
That's what I just showed there, right?
The thing is
exactly and these bullets are large
caliber bullets and so I mean it's you
know coming from a sniper rifle like it
does quite a bit of damage. Um one of
the spines that I operated on was like a
a sniper shot that um I mean the the
bullet is huge and it it just does an
immense amount of damage. Uh so this was
an unstable spine where the posterior
elements were just completely blasted
from a from a gunshot wound and and you
just have to kind of span it with screws
and rods. It's uh uh the nature of the
injuries um from these high-powered
rifles is pretty remarkable. And
so it looked like sniper fire.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean I think it with the
large caliber bullet um uh that's the
suspicion is that it's coming from a
sniper rifle.
And you also showed us this miraculous
uh one here which I I'll put up where
you said this was shrapnel that came
this was a spine surgeon before you did
this one. said you describe this one
Exactly. So, one of the neurosurgeons um
uh at uh at the hospital like he had
done this case um a few weeks prior
actually and uh um this was a a piece of
shrapnel that had entered the skull um
and traveled through the frame in magnum
and lodged itself in the cervical spine.
So, he first operated on the patient for
a head bleed um and then came back a
couple days later and retrieved this
piece of shrapnel from the cervical
spine. And remarkably the patient
regained uh function. So he was able to
kind of move with four out of five
strength in his lower extremities in one
arm and the other arm remained
paralyzed. But uh um you know he was in
a it's actually a really kind of a sweet
story like he you know when we got done
with cases uh he went to um uh he said
we had to go I got to go do something.
And so him and the orth the attending
nurse surgeon, the attending orthopedic
surgeon actually went, you know, left
us. And then we saw him in the hospital
courtyard cuz they had physically gone
to take this patient out of his bed and
put him in a wheelchair so his family
could wheel him around. We were like,
nowhere else in the world would you see
the attending surgeons like go
physically mobilize the patient. That's
what they were saying, like these are
these are our kids, you know, we have to
look beyond just a physical injury. And
any 16-year-old just laying in bed
shouldn't be uh um it's not good for his
mental health. So they they forced the
family to kind of get him out and pull
him around in a wheelchair. But it's uh
um really a miraculous case. Like you
wouldn't expect anyone to survive that
type of an injury.
You also sent this one. What what's the
that's the same piece of shrapnel that
that traveled through the head. You can
see the track that it took. It went uh
into the frame and magnum directly.
Got it.
and doctor like you know if I got shot
with a sniper bullet I'm sure it'd be a
very long recovery post the operation
you know with a lot of these people
you're operating on they're getting sent
once they're done operated on even if
it's successful they're being thrust
back out into a war zone with little
food or water sense of people's ability
to survive after these wounds even if
you do patch them up
uh so yeah that's the thing is like it's
it's a long drawn out recovery for a lot
of these things and and unfortunately
they're going back into a situation
where they're living in a tent uh
without without food. There are extended
hospital stays for some patients who
just really need it and they're trying
right now in the health care system to
develop a um you know this WA hospital
uh is a rehab hospital that they're
trying to convert into more of a
longerterm stay for people to recover,
but it's not online yet. um it was it
was actually uh damaged in a strike
before and so they're trying to to get
it back online to to be able to provide
some long-term care. But a lot of these
patients, they just go back out and they
have to, you know, figure it out on
their own. I mean, even some of the
fractures that come in like as fresh
fractures. Normally, they would get
admitted here in the in the US or in the
West. Um they're just getting a splint
put on and being sent back home to
follow up again when we can fit them on
the O schedule. But the inflow of
traumatic injuries just makes it to
where some of these patients are waiting
for months with an injury uh that that
never gets treated.
Well, Dr. Khalil, um we really
appreciate, you know, the work you're
doing and also appreciate you um you
know, filling us in here. Um I hope your
re-entry is as as smooth as possible.
Have you heard anything um from your
colleagues that are still there that
that they wanted to share? or as I think
like a final word.
Yeah, I mean I think like you know
that's uh there there's been a number of
doc that that have been denied. I think
the denial rate is getting up to 50 60%
likely and so you know I think uh
going going in like Israel and what are
they getting denied for? Like are they
bringing band-aids or what what's what
are they getting denied for?
There's no explanation. So a lot of
times like you get denied before you
even get to the border. Um, if you get
denied at the border, it's because of,
you know, bringing in something or they
say like you have, you know, something
that might be dual use like an
ultrasound uh to do fast exams in the ER
or to check for bleeds in the ER. Most
of the time, the denial alter before you
get to the border, like before you even
get on the UN convoy, and there's no
explanation. So, there is some suspicion
that some of it may be doing interviews
and and reporting on what was seen. Um,
I wish, you know, journalists like
yourselves could enter Gaza. Like I
think once you go there like you it's
hard to describe in words the the uh the
camaraderie that you get from the the
people that are working on the ground
there. Um the these other healthcare
professionals but it's uh um you know I
think at this point everyone is pretty
committed to speaking up because a lot
of the doctors there kind of see it the
physicians hospital staff talking to
them they almost see it as an endgame at
this point. Like they're like you know
when we talked about Gaza City being
invaded directly asked some people like
do you think it's going to get invaded?
And one of the one of the guys was like,
"It's it's unlikely because why would
Israel accept more personnel losses to
take over something that's already this
destroyed?" But um
and yet they seem to be doing it anyway.
Exactly. Exactly. And for a lot of those
docs, that's the they're they're we
always ask like, "What can we do when we
go back?" And it's always the same
answer like just don't forget us and
tell the world what's happening here.
Okay. Well, thank you very much, doctor,
for your time here today. um your time
in the past uh telling our audience
about this and uh we wish you and the uh
medical community luck as they try to do
what they can out there.
Thank you so much.
Well, thanks everyone for joining us
this Friday. We have a great second half
of the show coming up if you want to see
that. It's uh breaking points.com to get
a premium subscription. We love uh
having those paywalled conversations
with our premium subscribers on Friday
because we get to do a lot of back and
forth question and answers and cover
more important stories. So, for example,
today we'll be covering Jake Sullivan's
interview with Tim Miller on the Bull
Work podcast. Uh, we'll be covering a
absolutely hilarious, mega viral clip uh
also from Podsave about just this is a
perfect abundance discourse clip about
um a LA city council woman and
affordable housing. And uh Griffin, the
last story we're going to cover, I'm
having a Rick Perry moment and I'm
trying to uh draw out this outro until I
remember what the last story is.
Well, I'm going to I'm going to force
it. Gavincoin
Gavcoin. That's why I forgot it because
it's so ridiculous. Uh but no, truly
he's threatening to launch a memecoin.
And speaking of investing, folks, invest
in Breaking Point so we don't have to
take a big chorus deal so you don't have
to see Emily at the DNC doing a Tik Tok
dance. Okay,
we didn't do We were at the DNC thanks
to our premium subs, but we did not do
Tik Tok dances.
We did not dance. So, if you know if you
want us to maintain our journalistic
dancing integrity, breaking points.com.
We've got $10 monthly memberships. And
to all of our premium members, we'll see
you in just a moment. Hey, if you like
that video, hit the like button or leave
a comment below. It really helps get the
show to more people. And if you'd like
to get the full show ad free and in your
inbox every morning, you can sign up at
breakingpoints.com.
That's right. Get the full show. Help
support the future of independent media
at breakingpoints.com.
← All Summaries
Watch on YouTube