The Doomscroll News Report

This week, Hanna and Amanda consider how democracy is doing around the world when it seems to only be getting harder to elect representatives that you feel truly represent your interests.

This week, Amanda and Hanna talk about what it really means that the Strait is Blocked up (spoiler: very expensive groceries), how scary is hantavisrus really? And the MET Gala’s fun new billionaire funder. We're talking money matters and rats in all kinds of ways.

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The Strait is blocked: 1. Why the Strait of Hormuz will take a long time to reboot (Yuliya Talmazan, Mosheh Gains, and Courtney Kube, NBC), 2. How the Hormuz closure could affect food, medicines and smartphones (Ben Chu, BBC), 3. Shipping firms are being whipsawed by changing stances and risks as they wait for Hormuz to reopen (Mae Anderson and David McHugh, AP), 4. Iran imposes new rules for Strait of Hormuz in bid to secure wartime gains (Eleni Giokos and Tim Lister, CNN)

Hantavirus: 1. Hantavirus explained: how does it spread and who is most at risk? (Madeleine Finlay, Ellie Bury and Jonathan Ball, The Guardian’s Science Explained podcast), 2. British crew member in need of urgent medical care amid suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship (Ashifa Kassam and agencies, The Guardian)

MET Gala Protests: 1. The Met Gala’s Embrace of Jeff Bezos Causes a Backlash (Jesse McKinley and Alisha Haridasani Gupta, the New York Times), 2. I Used to Love the Met Gala. Then the World’s Most Evil Couple Ruined It for Everyone. (Christina Cauterucci, Slate)

This week, hosts Hanna Bilinski and Amanda Stephens tackle what happened at the 2026 Whitehouse Correspondent's Dinner, whether or not we think it broke through in a meaningful way, and Kash Patel's alleged misbehavior or perhaps total absence from his post at the FBI.

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The Correspondent's Dinner: 1. Trump: Shooter at White House press dinner had multiple weapons, one officer shot (Kevin Breuninger, CNBC), 2. Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Trump Again After FCC Opens Review of ABC TV Licenses (Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti, the Wall Street Journal)

Kash Patel: 1. FBI director Kash Patel files $250M defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic (Brian Stetler, CNN), 2. FBI Director Kash Patel sues Atlantic for ‘false’ reporting on drinking (AP and Reuters for Al Jazeera), 3. The FBI Director Is MIA (Sarah Fitzpatrick, The Atlantic), 4. Inside Kash Patel's F.B.I. (Rachel Abrams, Emily Bazelon, and Rachel Poser, "The Daily" podcast by the New York Times)

This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna tackle the mass trial for MS-13 members in El Salvador, Palantir’s sicko manifesto, and why the salmon are on cocaine.

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Mass trials: 1. Mass trial for 486 alleged MS-13 gang members begins in El Salvador (Amy Walker, BBC), 2. Venezuelans deported by US detail fresh claims of torture and abuse at El Salvador mega-prison (Maanvi Singh, The Guardian), 3. Nearly 500 alleged MS-13 members are on a mass trial in El Salvador (Marcos Aleman and Anna-Catherine Brigida, AP)

Palantir's "manifesto": 1. Palantir: Why its political manifesto is causing a stir (David Ehl, DW), 2. Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears (Aisha Down and Robert Booth, The Guardian)

Cocaine salmon: 1. Here’s what happens when you give salmon cocaine (Tom Lum, Scientific American on Youtube), 2. Salmon exposed to cocaine swim almost twice as far as those without, study shows (CBS News)

Hanna and Amanda reflect on some of their favorite stories from the last year of Doomscroll News Report episodes. They also have a chat(GPT) about the controversies surrounding OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

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Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted?

Suspect in attack at Sam Altman’s house aimed to kill OpenAI CEO, warned of humanity’s extinction from AI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denies sexual abuse allegations made by his sister in lawsuit

Nepal’s Gen Z electoral revolution

Pope Leo visits Cameroon with message of peace amid attacks from Trump

This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna are discussing the Iran ceasefire that came and almost went, why Lebanon doesn't seem to be included, and Viktor Orban’s tight election which could cost him his 16-year rule.

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Iran, ceasefires, and Lebanon: 1. What we know about the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran (Kelly Ng, Khashayar Joneidi, and Daniel De Simone, BBC), 2. At least 182 killed across Lebanon in large wave of Israeli strikes (Hugo Bachega, BBC), 3. Lebanese fear war could get 'much worse' as Israel attacks amid fragile ceasefire (Allyson Horn, the ABC)

Hungary's 2026 elections: 1. Trump could soon lose his best friend in Europe (Christian Edwards, CNN), 2. JD Vance backs Orbán's re-election bid in Budapest visit and hits out at EU (Nick Thorpe and Paul Kirby, BBC), 3. Once inspired by Orban, Hungary's Peter Magyar now leads the charge to unseat him (Anita Komuves, Reuters), 4. Hungary's Tisza party seen winning two-thirds majority in parliament, Median projection shows (Reuters)

This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna tackle defections and ideology clashes in Trump’s party over the Iran war, what’s happening in Cuba, and a trend called the "alpine divorce".

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Iran War effects on domestic support : 1. The Republican Identity Crisis Over the Iran War (Natalie Kitroeff and Robert Draper, The Daily NYT podcast), 2. Top US counterterrorism official resigns over Iran war, urging Trump to 'reverse course' (Bernd Debusmann Jr, BBC), 3. Ossoff grills Gabbard on whether Iran posed ‘imminent nuclear threat’(Ryan Mancini , The Hill)

Cuba's power crisis: 1. Cuba is going dark under US pressure. How the crisis unfolded and why its troubles are far from over (Mauricio Torres and Michael Rios, CNN), 2. National blackout hits Cuba for second time in a week (Will Grant and Harry Sekulich, BBC), 3. Aid vessel arrives in Havana as Cuba’s economic and energy crises deepen ( Andrea Rodríguez, AP News)

Alpine divorce: 1. Women are being abandoned by their partners on hiking trails. What’s behind ‘alpine divorce’? (Alaina Demopoulos, The Guardian), 2. The concept of an “alpine divorce”... (Emma Choi, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR)

This week, Hanna and Amanda discuss the dystopian cyber scam industry that seems to have made its home in remote parts of southeast Asia. We also discuss the highly effective T2 diabetes and weight loss management drug semaglutide, better known as Ozempic and Wegovy, and the implication of generic versions hitting the market.

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Police warn international pickpocket ring could be targeting Taipei MRT

‘Industrial-scale scams’ and a state allegedly ‘co-opted’: What the rise and fall of the Prince group means for Cambodia

Revealed: the huge growth of Myanmar scam centres that may hold 100,000 trafficked people

India's cheap weight-loss drugs could reshape global obesity fight

This week, we're discussing a DIFFERENT kind of AI lawsuit with Anthropic taking on the Pentagon, and the movie studio merger which may swing the news right, and a very slight detour to talk about CEOs tasting their own products.

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Anthropic sues the Pentagon: 1. Anthropic sues US government for calling it a risk (Kali Hays, BBC), 2. Anthropic was the Pentagon's choice for AI. Now it's banned and experts are worried (CNBC), 3. Anthropic vs the Pentagon: Inside the Battle over A.I. Warfare (The Daily by NYT), 4. Where things stand with the Department of War (Company statement by Dario Amodei)

Paramount buys Warner Brothers: 1. CBS News and CNN staffers fear ‘disaster’ as Paramount wins Warner Bros battle (Jeremy Barr , The Guardian), 2. Trump bought Netflix and Warner Bros bonds at height of bidding war with Paramount (CNBC), 3. Paramount to buy Warner Bros Discovery in $110 billion deal as Netflix bows out of race ( Karl Badohal, Harshita Mary Varghese and Jaspreet Singh, Reuters), 4. A New Media Empire (Rachel Abrams, Nicole Sperling, Lauren Hirsch and Jonathan Mahler, "The Daily" by NYT)

Hanna and Amanda talk about the only story that anyone could possibly talk about this week, plus a little bit of lighter news about primates.

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Pete Hegseth says Iranian regime is ‘toast’ as US expands military offensive

US says 'firepower over Iran to surge dramatically' as Israel bombards Beirut and Tehran

Where are Iran’s allies? Why Moscow, Beijing are keeping their distance

Scientists say bonobos can play make-believe