Earthlings 2.0 Podcast

#130: De-Sensationalizing the News with The Boring Report


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In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we talk with Vasishta Kalinadhabhotla and Akshith Ramadugu, co-founders of the Boring Report — an app that strips sensationalism from the news and delivers concise, neutral summaries. We dig into why doom-driven headlines push audiences away, how their automated pipeline clusters “trending” events across multiple outlets, and the prompt-engineering they use to emphasize widely corroborated facts. The conversation covers their nonprofit approach, reader feedback loops, product roadmap, and their aim to act as a bridge that helps people re-engage with credible reporting — without the emotional hangover.

Key Points:

  • Why neutral news matters – Sensational, repetitive coverage drives disengagement; neutral summaries help people stay informed without burnout.
  • How it works – Crawlers cluster stories multiple outlets are covering; AI “borifies” them into a single, fact-focused summary, citing sources.
  • Fully automated pipeline – From detecting trends to generating summaries, the system runs continuously with human feedback guiding prompt refinements.


  • Vasishta Kalinadhabhotla, Co-Founder of the Boring Report, LinkedIn
  • Akshith Ramadugu, Co-Founder of the Boring Report, LinkedIn


  • Lisa Ann Pinkerton, Earthlings 2.0 Host, CEO of Technica Communications, and Founder of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability
  • LinkedIn
  • Poynter Institute episode

...more
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Earthlings 2.0 PodcastBy Lisa Ann Pinkerton

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