Ana Kasparian

Anahit Misak Kasparian (; born July 7, 1986) is an American political commentator, media host, and journalist. She is the main host and a producer of the online news show The Young Turks, having begun working as a fill-in producer for the show in 2007. She also appeared on the television version of the show that aired on Current TV. She formerly hosted The Point on the TYT Network and co-hosted a Jacobin YouTube show, Weekends with Ana Kasparian and Nando Vila. Early life and education Kasparian is the daughter of Armenian immigrant parents. Her paternal great-grandparents experienced the Armenian genocide first-hand in 1915. She was raised in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles. She grew up speaking Armenian as her first language and started kindergarten without being able to speak a word of English. She has said watching Sesame Street as a child is what helped her to learn English quickly. She danced ballet from the age of three to the age of 19 and performed ballet professionally throughout those years. Kasparian graduated from Valley Alternative Magnet High School of Van Nuys in 2004 and California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. She completed her Master's Degree in Political Science in 2010. Journalism Kasparian said that seeing journalist Barbara Walters on 20/20 inspired her to get into journalism. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, Journalism (BAJ) from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), she became an assistant producer with CBS Radio news stations in Los Angeles, first with KFWB and then KNX. She said that she was lucky to be hired immediately after graduating, but did not like working for CBS Radio because mainstream media is "not fun" due to the "robotic work environment" where she could not say what she wanted on air or do stories that were important to her. She enrolled in a master's degree program as a "way out" of media. She has also worked with AOL News, YouTube, TidalTv and On Point.