Recently, Colorado State Treasurer Dave Young joined 14 other state fiscal officers in sending a letter to the Trump administration, warning that large-scale immigration enforcement sweeps are destabilizing state and local economies.These aren’t cable news commentators or partisan activists. They are officials responsible for tracking billions of public dollars, monitoring tax collections, revenue forecasts, pension systems, bond ratings, and economic stability in real time.Restaurants closing mid-shift. Construction sites stalled. Farms and food processors unable to operate. What began as anecdotal reporting has evolved into something more measurable. Workforce disruptions are now showing up in state revenue data. When a significant portion of workers disappear — even temporarily — the economic shock travels quickly through supply chains, small businesses, and public budgets.State fiscal officers don’t typically wade into federal policy debates. Their job is to maintain stability, safeguard taxpayer dollars, and ensure long-term fiscal health. But when labor disruptions hit major sectors like agriculture, construction, hospitality, and food processing, the consequences extend far beyond individual businesses.They affect: Sales tax revenueIncome tax collectionsLocal government budgetsPublic service fundingLong-term economic forecastsWhen projects pause or businesses close unexpectedly, tax revenue slows. When revenue slows, states face difficult choices about funding schools, healthcare systems, infrastructure, and emergency services.The warning from these officials is clear: enforcement actions have economic consequences that ripple outward, affecting communities regardless of political affiliation.What Happens When Part of a Workforce Disappears Overnight? Labor markets are interconnected systems. Remove a segment of workers abruptly, and the impact compounds:Supply chains tighten. Prices rise. Small businesses struggle with staffing. Construction delays push back housing and infrastructure projects. Rural economies reliant on agriculture feel immediate strain. Even individuals who are not directly impacted by enforcement may feel the secondary effects: higher costs, delayed services, reduced local investment.The question fiscal officers are raising is not whether immigration law should be enforced. The question is: What are the measurable economic consequences when enforcement is carried out at scale and who absorbs those costs?For state officials tasked with balancing budgets, the concern is practical: are these disruptions short-term shocks, or early indicators of long-term structural damage? Are states being left to absorb economic fallout without federal coordination? What happens to public services if revenue projections begin to shift downward?Because when workforce instability spreads across key industries, it doesn’t stay contained. It shows up in classrooms. In hospitals. In infrastructure projects. In the everyday services communities rely on.And that makes this story about more than immigration policy.It’s about economic stability — and who bears the cost when that stability is disrupted.FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

As rural communities struggle with unconstitutional school funding, stagnant wages, rising electricity rates, and threats to Medicaid, candidates must answer one question: who is state policy really working for?Voters aren’t talking about abstract partisan fights.They’re asking whether their kids can get the education they deserve. Whether their paycheck stretches to the end of the month. Whether their parents can age at home with dignity. Whether the community they love will still feel livable in ten years.I interviewed Rebecca MacTaggart who is running for State Rep. in the 48th District of Pennsylvania to discuss these issues and more. This conversation wasn’t about political theater. It’s about the real-world impact of state policy on families, rural communities, and the long-term future of Pennsylvania.FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

Medical Debt & the Illusion of Security

Following the death of Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek at age 48 after a two-year battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer, fans raised over $1.2 million (as of this recording) in seven hours to support his wife, Kimberly, and their six children. The GoFundMe describes a family facing financial instability after years of medical treatment left them depleted.

Van Der Beek had spoken openly about being unable to work during treatment — about the brutal math of illness in America. Even for a recognizable actor, cancer meant lost income, mounting bills, and the possibility of losing stability.The takeaway isn’t just heartbreak. It’s structural. If a working actor with name recognition can be financially undone by illness, what does that say for everyone else? The GoFundMe economy has quietly replaced systemic healthcare reform. We mourn publicly and patch holes privately.

The SAVE Act & The Myth of Rampant Fraud

Meanwhile, the House passed the SAVE Act (Save America Act), tightening voter registration rules by requiring proof of citizenship and limiting mail-in voting. The vote was narrow — 218 to 213 — and the bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate.But the data tells a different story than the rhetoric. In Arizona, across 25 years and more than 42 million ballots, only 36 cases of fraud were found.None affecting election outcomes. In Pennsylvania, 30 years and more than 100 million votes yielded just 39 cases. Across swing states, fraud remains vanishingly rare.

ICE Expansion in Pennsylvania

Gov Josh Shapiro said this week that massive new federal immigration detention facilities “do not belong” in Pennsylvania. A proposed facility in Berks County could hold up to 7,500 people — in a warehouse built with water and sewer capacity designed for only a few hundred workers at a time. The infrastructure questions alone are staggering. So are the humanitarian ones.We’ve already seen outbreaks of COVID, flu, and measles intersect with reports of inadequate hygiene and medical care inside detention settings. Public health and human rights are not separate conversations — they are the same one.

The Epstein Files & Manufactured Morality

Then there’s the outrage gap. Millions of newly released files related to Jeffrey Epstein include high-profile names. Rep. Jamie Raskin has said former President Trump’s name appears over one million times in unredacted materials. Longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia’s name appears more than 1,700 times, leading to his resignation from David Protein after scrutiny. An OB/GYN reportedly connected to Epstein’s payroll raises additional ethical questions.Yet the loudest moral panic this week centered on a halftime performance and vague appeals to “decency.” The question isn’t whether accountability matters — it absolutely does. The question is why accountability seems selectively activated. Who is deemed worthy of protection? Which victims provoke outrage, and which are quietly politicized?

Connecting Dots

Medical debt. Voting restrictions. Immigration detention. Public health crises. The fallout from the Epstein files.At first glance, they appear unrelated. But they share a throughline: systems that protect power while placing the burden of survival on individuals. A healthcare system that relies on crowdfunding. A voting system reshaped around fear rather than evidence. Detention facilities built faster than safeguards. Institutions that shield elite networks while policing cultural expression. These are not isolated controversies. They are symptoms of the same architecture — one shaped by hierarchy, patriarchy, and racialized power structures that determine who receives care, who receives scrutiny, and who receives silence.We are not just arguing about headlines. We are revealing our priorities. And this week, those priorities tell a story about who deserves scrutiny and who gets a pass.

Is ICE uniquely “American?”

Liana Maneese, Liberation Psychotherapist, Founder & Clinical Director of Transitional Characters, joined me to dive into this question and the role white women have traditionally played in the perpetuation of harmful systems, what happens when they “step out of line” and these cycles can be broken to create a more equitable future for all of us.ICE was created after 9/11 and sits on top of a much longer history of state violence in this country.Lest we forget our history: the United States was built through the genocide of the indigenous peoples of this land, sustained by the enslavement of Black and brown people, and later justified through mass incarceration through systems like Japanese American internment camps during World War II.After 9/11, that same logic — fear framed as security — produced ICE, folding immigration enforcement into the Department of Homeland Security and giving it unbridled and unchecked power.As the BBC has noted, ICE wasn’t designed as a neutral civil agency; it was built as an enforcement arm.When you see ICE today, you’re not seeing an anomaly in an otherwise just and fair system. You’re seeing a continuation of how this country has repeatedly used law and bureaucracy to control, exclude and dehumanize.Thank you, Liana, for holding space for serious — and at time — uncomfortable conversations with compassion and curiosity. And a personal shout-out to her for being a paid subscriber, a long-time supporter of my work and for being my friend.NOTE: We had a technical issue towards the end of the show and Liana’s connection was lost, so I edited out a bit at the end. Liana will definitely be back on more regularly, and please share any questions you may have for us here to use for future segments.FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

Arick Fudali, civil rights advocate and Partner and Managing Attorney at The Bloom Firm, is representing 11 survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network at a moment when long-sealed documents are finally entering public view.But instead of clarity and accountability, the release of the so-called “Epstein files” has triggered new harm — exposing victims’ names through egregious redaction errors while leaving critical questions about powerful enablers unanswered.Fudali has been at the forefront of public scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of those files. He has condemned what he describes as both incompetence and a troubling lack of transparency — particularly after one of his clients saw her name referenced hundreds of times in un-redacted material.For survivors who have spent years fighting to reclaim privacy and rebuild their lives, such disclosures are not procedural missteps. They are re-traumatizing breaches of trust by the very institutions meant to protect them.The controversy intensified during a House Judiciary Committee hearing today when Attorney General Pam Bondi rejected a request from Rep. Pramila Jayapal to turn and address survivors seated in the audience.The exchange devolved into a shouting match, with Bondi accusing Jayapal of “theatrics” and refusing to apologize.For survivors and their advocates, the moment underscored a deeper frustration: a sense that accountability is being treated as political spectacle rather than moral obligation.Bondi also clashed with Reps. Jerry Nadler and Jamie Raskin, dismissing questions about how many of Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators have been investigated or indicted and declining to provide details about the scope of federal review.Fudali argued that the reluctance to provide clear answers feeds a longstanding public perception that powerful individuals continue to avoid scrutiny, even as victims’ identities surface in public filings.Beyond the Epstein case, he has spoken out about what he sees as broader civil rights concerns, including the federal arrest of journalist Don Lemon — a development that has raised alarms among press freedom advocates.For Fudali, the intersection is clear: when legal processes appear selective or opaque, whether in cases involving sexual abuse survivors or journalists, public trust erodes. Transparency and equal application of the law are not partisan issues, he argues — they are constitutional imperatives.At stake is more than the release of documents. It is whether accountability in America is real or rhetorical. Survivors want truth, not spectacle. Journalists demand the freedom to report without fear of retaliation. And the public deserves to know whether justice is applied evenly — or only when it is politically convenient.As Fudali continues to press for answers, one question looms large: Will the system protect the vulnerable and pursue the powerful with equal vigor — or will history repeat itself, with exposure for victims and insulation for those at the top?FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

ICE owes Lehigh County in Pennsylvania A LOT of back rent that (surprise!) they never paid. County Controller Mark Pinsley says the problem isn’t just a broken lease — it’s whether local government should be doing business with ICE at all.

Is it time to evict? County Controller, Mark Pinsley, thinks so. Check out our interview about this and why he’s running for Congress.

FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

Joanne Lee Molinaro Isn’t “Getting Political.” She Always Was.

Recently, I interviewed Joanne Lee Molinaro — known to millions as The Korean Vegan. She built her platform focused on the intersections of culture, justice and connection through food: vegan Korean recipes rooted in memory, care and survival.

Joanne has been using her platform to speak directly about Trump, ICE, immigration, fascism, and the legal systems that normalize harm. For some followers, that has been uncomfortable.

But Joanne’s response to any criticism is simple: how could food ever be apolitical? She reminds us that food is about policy, borders, security, power and survival.

As a trained lawyer, Joanne brings precision to conversations many people experience only as dread or rage. She names how bureaucracy enables violence, how the law shields power, and how despair becomes fascism’s most effective ally. That clarity shows up in her pointed critiques of ICE, where she has challenged agents using the law itself — and invited other lawyers to do the same.Her work insists that silence is not safety — and that outrage, when grounded in truth, is a form of care.In this conversation, we talked about how her roles as a content creator and lawyer are inseparable; how her platform has amplified issues that might otherwise go ignored; and how she balances vulnerability with advocacy in a public, often hostile digital space.

We also discussed why this moment, marked by rising authoritarianism and normalized cruelty, has made speaking out feel not optional, but necessary.

Because when Joanne speaks — whether about dumplings or deportation, grief or human rights — she’s asking the same question every time:What do we owe each other, and what happens when we refuse to look away?

FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

Mandatory Outpatient Treatment Is Expanding. Here’s What’s at Stake. FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

This week, nearly 900 nurses and advanced practitioners at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital are entering historic first contract negotiations.This is a major milestone not just for labor, but for people across Western #pennsylvania.I interviewed Lucy Ruccio, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner at Magee-Womens Hospital about why these negotiations matter, what nurses are asking for, and how community voices could help shape the future of women’s and family healthcare in #pittsburgh and beyond.FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

Who Tells America’s Story? Race, History, and Culture Under ScrutinyHistorian and writer, Donald Earl Collins, joins to discuss the attempted erasure of Black history under the Trump regime.FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.ABOUT NATALIENatalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.