Vet the News

Episode Summary

In this episode, I discuss how online trolling and "Schadenfreude" are driving us deeper into ideological bubbles, using a viral Reddit post about a fake ICE tip hotline as a case study. I explore why mocking others' reasoning, even when we find it harmful, often backfires by destroying the trust necessary for genuine persuasion. Should we really celebrate when leopards eat faces?

Episode Page

https://rss.com/podcasts/vet-the-news/2548177/

Links

Fake Ice Call-in - Reddit

Original Leopards Ate My Face - Twitter (X)

Leopards Ate My Face - Reddit

Right Whale Calving Season - Environment America

Ropeless Fishing Gear - NOAA

Passive Whale Monitoring - NOAA

Contact the Show

Email: [email protected] | Bluesky: @newsvet.bsky.social

Credits

SFX: Freesound.org | Music: Pixabay.com (P. Krasnoshchok, V. Krotov, I. Poltavskyi)

Episode Summary

I'll be honest, the escalating situation in Minnesota is weighing heavy on me, it's really feeling like a big moment in history like the Civil Rights protests of history. But today I want to look past the immediate headlines to the political firestorm happening in D.C. with the DHS funding bill and the backlash against the Democratic "defectors" who signed onto it. I explore how representatives like Marie Glusenkamp Perez might vote the way they do, and why the "name and shame" culture might actually be making our problems harder to solve. Join me as I try to find commonality in a time when it feels like we’re being pushed into a "house on fire" moment of constant outrage.

Episode Page

https://rss.com/podcasts/vet-the-news/2516095/

Links

Alex Pretti Fact Check - Minnesota Star Tribune

Alex Pretti Witness Testimony - The Guardian

ICE Support Resolution - Newsweek

DHS Funding - The Hill

Gluesenkamp Perez Press Release - House.gov

Podcast Listening Club - NY Times

Artemis 2 Launch - Nasa

Andrew McCarthy (@cosmic_background) - Instagram

https://cosmicbackground.io/

Contact the Show

Email: [email protected] | Bluesky: @newsvet.bsky.social

Credits

SFX: Freesound.org | Music: Pixabay.com (P. Krasnoshchok, V. Krotov, I. Poltavskyi)

Episode Summary

This episode, I explore an event that served as the catalyst for this show: the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the media firestorm that followed. What I learned in conversations following that event can be used as a case study in how we can break the outrage cycle we're all trapped in. Through a personal story about a conversation I had with my neighbor, a Kirk supporter, I relate how we can move past trying to prove each other wrong to find genuine shared values.

Episode Page

https://rss.com/podcasts/vet-the-news/2492035/

Links

Charlie Kirk Views - NY Times

Jimmy Kimmel Monologue - Youtube

Brenden Carr Response and Clarification - Youtube

Children Living with Dads - National Fatherhood Initiative

Motivational Race - Youtube

Domestication of Raccoons - Scientific American

Contact the Show

Email: [email protected] | Bluesky: @newsvet.bsky.social

Credits

SFX: Freesound.org | Music: Pixabay.com (P. Krasnoshchok, V. Krotov, I. Poltavskyi)

Episode Summary

In this episode, we dive into the polarizing media coverage surrounding two major recent events: the ICE shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis and the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. I explore how our individual media bubbles dictate not just our opinions, but how we perceive objective facts. By examining rhetoric from figures like JD Vance, Kristi Noem, and the Mayor of Minneapolis, we look past the rage bait to understand the underlying psychology of our reactions. This is a case study in finding shared values, like community safety and government accountability, even when we can’t agree on what we see with our own eyes.

Episode Page

https://rss.com/podcasts/vet-the-news/2464936/

Links

Video Analysis of ICE Shooting

New York Times

BBC

Mayor Statements - Youtube

Vance Statements - Youtube

Noem Statements - PBS

Father in Law Interview - Fox

Maduro Capture Timeline - PBS

Maduro Capture - AP News

Pete Hegseth CBS Interview - Youtube

Parading Maduro Through NY - Instagram

Final Penny Minting - Business Insider

1943 D Bronze Penny - Coin Week

Contact the Show

Email: [email protected] | Bluesky: @newsvet.bsky.social

Credits

SFX: Freesound.org | Music: Pixabay.com (P. Krasnoshchok, V. Krotov, I. Poltavskyi)

Episode Summary

Welcome to the very first episode of Vet the News.

Like a lot of you, I’ve felt frustrated by the constant cycles of outrage and the superficial arguments that dominate our social media feeds. I'd like to create a space where we can try to move past the soundbites and actually understand the reactions to the news we consume. This episode lays out why I want to start this show, the philosophy for the podcast, and how we might start to find a better way to talk about the world together.

Episode Page

https://rss.com/podcasts/vet-the-news/2453126

Links

Polarization Visualization - Vox

Polarization Roots - Pew Research

Social Media & News - Pew Research

Republican No Kings - Common Dreams

Hamtramck Flag Ban - The Guardian

Last Day as an Accomplice of the Republican Party - The Bulwark

Christian Picciolini - TED

Nano Artists - BBC

David Lindon - Instagram

Mini Lisa - Wiki

Learn Something New - XKCD

Contact the Show

Email: [email protected] | Bluesky: @newsvet.bsky.social

Credits

SFX: Freesound.org | Music: Pixabay.com (P. Krasnoshchok, V. Krotov, I. Poltavskyi)