How do I love thee, TYT? Let me count the ways

It’s the 19th anniversary of The Young Turks, 🎂the longest-running, most-viewed online news show on the planet. I’ve only been watching TYT for about 5 years now, so there’s a lot I haven’t seen, which is why it’s great that they’re having a special episode, with the main show starting at 6pm Eastern to cover the day’s news, then followed by a look back on the past 19 years.

In honor of this anniversary, here are 19 reasons I love TYT, in no particular order because I wasn’t going to agonize over whether #15 should come before #13. I’m sure I’m missing very important things related to TYT, but that’s what the comment section below is for (well, it wasn’t the original reason, but it is now!) — what did I miss? what do you agree or disagree with? Here’s the list and then let me know what you think!

1) The TYT Family. Like the hosts often say, there wouldn’t be TYT without the viewers, literally. I really do feel like part of a family. We share not just what’s going on in the world of politics, but our personal lives, too. We care about each other, we have each other’s backs. The hosts sometimes give shout-outs to TYT viewers and members going through hard times medically, financially, emotionally. And it doesn’t feel like pandering, it’s genuine.
2) Election coverage. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Here comes Rick Trevino! Guessing how many cups of coffee will be in front of John Iadarola to help him get through a super long day (since he has The Damage Report duty every morning, too). Michael Shure’s analysis, which I love although some (accurately) say he’s less progressive than pretty much everyone else who appears on TYT.

3) There’s no taboo or ideological litmus test to go or stay on the show. The variety of perspectives on the network, both in terms of the regular hosts as well as co-hosts and guests, is part of what makes TYT strong. No one could (honestly) claim that Michael Shure and Nando Vila are both shills working in cahoots with Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian to do whatever crazy thing The Young Turks is being accused of doing this week. You can disagree, sometimes even heatedly, with what someone else is saying. Debate is encouraged, not squelched.
4) The TYT theme song. It’s energizing. It’s exciting. It’s the cue to let you know the hours you’ve spent all day finding about all of the depressing crap in the news and while doomscrolling is over — rational people are going to break things down and either reaffirm that you have a right to be angry, or give you reasons to hope that we can change it
5) The hosts give it to us straight, in terms of the news and their opinions. You don’t see CNN or Fox News going after both sides. The press isn’t supposed to be stenographers or cheerleaders for one party or the other. If you’re not regularly criticizing both Dems and Republicans, you’re corrupt or not paying attention.
6) The feel of a scrappy, ragtag show but with top-notch on-air and behind-the-scenes talent. TYT doesn’t have the big bucks the CNNs of the world do. Sometimes the feed drops. Sometimes the voice isn’t synched with one of the hosts. But you can’t judge a book by its cover (according to my big book of clichés). The amount of time devoted to putting the show together everyday is obvious. It must take a lot of devotion to the mission of TYT to continue doing this when you could definitely or likely make more money elsewhere.

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7) The Pow-Pow-Power Panels on Fridays. I’m so glad that they’re back. John Iadarola, Ana, and Cenk are more than capable of hosting the show every single day, but we get to have politicians, progressive hosts from other shows, celebrities, and more on Fridays. Plus the retro-slash-outdated intro that many TYT fans (and Ana) love to hate.

8) The soundboard. I miss the soundboard! It’s made brief appearances in recent shows, but has been gone for nearly all of the pandemic. It gives the show more of that rag-tag, kitschy feel that I think gives TYT some of its charm.
9) It’s unscripted. I can’t imagine how difficult this is to do. Presenting complex stories and analysis without a script of what to say when. No teleprompter. Presidents need teleprompters. MSNBC hosts need teleprompters. TYT hosts do not. I’m sure it’d be nice as a host to make millions of dollars and let someone else write a script for you that you just read (with maybe an aside here or there). But as a viewer, I would never want to go back to watching this again on a regular basis.
10) Edwin and others laughing off-camera. I really miss that part of the show, which used to be a near daily-occurrence in the before times.

11) The launch of The Damage Report. The Young Turks was already the most popular Internet news program in history. Then John Iadarola launched TDR and is bringing in a whole new audience who have united under the Dragon Squad banner. TDR and TYT are the one-two punch for progressive news.
12) The rants. Cenk is known for extended, impassioned rants. Maybe they’re too long sometimes. Maybe he cuts off Ana or other hosts or guests. But he’s always passionate about what he’s talking about, and almost always right. And I would not have become a regular viewer if it wasn’t for this refreshing change from the overly polite and scripted mainstream media.

13) As the White House Turns, The Dumb and the Feckless, and other segments that Ana does (with Brett’s and the production team’s). In these times humor and a sense of routine are important to a lot of people. When I hear “As the White House Turns”, it’s like an old friend coming back to see us in addition to lambasting the drama and patheticness (come on, that has to be a word!) of Republicans and Democrats.

14) The eclectic personal tastes and sense of humor of the hosts. Hey, Cenk and Ana used the word “eclectic” in a recent post game to describe Cenk, so it’s only partly self-serving for me to say that. John’s a gamer and sci-fi fan, and has laughed at more than one of my 80s/90s TV jokes. Ana loves woodworking and listening to political shows while doing housework (I remember this because I do too!). Both of them love dogs. Neither of them knows much of anything about sports (despite Ana’s husband being a former baseball player), while Cenk is a huge sports fan who does fantasy football, and is a loving dad who loves to brag about his kids.
15) Being able to watch TYT at 2x speed (or faster). On the live feed, sometimes I have to pause for a bathroom break, or to answer a work email, or to finish up that tweet that may or may not get read on the air or likes and comments. I can pause and catch up! And if I miss a show, there’s the podcast or video on the member’s site (and before I was a member, the podcast and clips have most of the show, too)

16) Ana’s legendary salt. You don’t want to get on Ana’s bad side. Which means that you don’t want to be a supporter or accomplice in allowing fascism to spread; a feckless Democrat who’s either too weak or corrupt (or both) to actually fight for the American people; or a cheerleader for propping up a capitalist system when it’s passively or actively killing hundreds of thousands of people, and making millions more homeless or jobless, during a worldwide pandemic.

17) TYT’s impact on progressive politics. They had AOC on before she was AOC. TYT Investigates has broken a number of stories (about Buttigieg’s horrible job as mayor, about the EPA forcing tribal communities to allow Oklahoma use their sovereign land as a toxic dump, and a number of other issues) that were later picked up by the mainstream media.

18) TYT reads viewer comments during the show. They even just recently switched to having a ticker on the bottom of the screen with Member, Superchat, and Twitch comments, in addition to the 2-3 minute “social breaks” during the show to read and respond to viewer comments. You don’t see other shows with the viewership of TYT doing this. Do they not care what their viewers say? Are they afraid of viewers criticizing the establishment line? “We do the show *with* you” as Cenk often says. It has made me more engaged in politics as a volunteer for TYT Army, and helped me come out of my shell online and in person discussing news with people who share the same values as me, who either agree or can agree to disagree.
19) The whole show and most of the extras for free. Special shows. Election coverage. Game shows with the hosts. Movie nights on Twitch. All for free! You don’t have to be a member of TYT to watch the entire TYT main show or TDR for free every single day, and all or a lot of their extra coverage. If you chip in, you get more for supporting them, but still get to be a full member of the TYT family even if you’re not officially a member. It’s one of the things that I love most, and I hope that it never changes so that progressives everywhere can continue to watch TYT for 19 more years (and beyond!).