The Doomscroll News Report
The Doomscroll News Report is an opinion show hosted by Hanna Bilinski and Amanda Stephens. Each episode examines major international news stories from the past week that dominated their news feeds. The hosts put these stories in context and connect them to broader global conversations. They invite experts to weigh in and also discuss events themselves as writers trying to stay informed and find meaning amid a changing political landscape.
单集
US deal for Russian oil, and India cracks down on Cockroach Party protestors
This week, Amanda and Hanna are tackling: a new kind of oil deal that no one seems excited for, and an update on what’s going on with the Cockroach party. Then, we’ll close out with a little bit about the nobel prizes, and one winner who made us chuckle.
Alleged unregistered Chinese agent nabbed in the US and the ongoing student protests in France
Hanna and Amanda talk about the biggest news story in Taiwan as of late - the 34-year-old real estate agent arrested in America for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent for China and spying on Taiwan's president's son. We also get a pulse check on the political situation in France, which is shaping up to be another big moment in Gen Z protest movements.
Read along with us:
Experts say China s
The far right getting a foothold in Germany (sounds familiar), and the Cornell 7
Hanna and Amanda talk about yet another right wing populist victory amid a recurring global trend, as well as the new lawsuit filed by Jane Doe against the Cornell 7.
Read along:
German security agencies face dilemma after victories for far right and far left
Germany’s AfD is so extreme it’s putting off other far-right parties
How the anti-AfD firewall broke German politics
What we know about Corn
Christopher Walker on information warfare and how it's affecting our democracies today
This week we had an amazing interview with The Vice president of the Center for European Policy Analysis Christopher Walker about the information warfare issue facing… well, basically everywhere Hanna. We also breifly cover the White House press ban, with a little guessing about what will come of the second Trump-Xi meeting.
Read along with us!
News Salad: 1. What is the White House pool and why i
Sony, digital "ownership," and what Mitch shows about the American "old-igarchy"
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna are tackling a few recent topics (the Ed Sheeran tour debacle, and Anthropic's media disaster or strategy ahead of it's IPO release), before getting into two topics Amanda has wanted to pop off about for a long time: The slow death of physical media with Sony’s announcement that they’ll no longer be producing game discs, and the "old-igarchy" in the USA with Mitch
Six months of war in the Middle East, what the 'Monster of Malan' is, and remembering Gloria Steinem
Hanna and Amanda take a pulse check on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has now passed six months; they also talk drones, especially Taiwan's current focus on them and what sort of drone tech China might be working on. Finally, they remember feminist icon Gloria Steinem, who passed away early this month.
Read along:
Oil rises past $100 a barrel after the latest wave of Middle East at
Tibet-Nepal landslide, the US hates Flock, and Meta settles
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna are tackling: The devastating landslide on the Tibet-Nepal border, and how it’s testing Nepal’s new government, before a deep dive into the camera company FLOCK and why we can’t escape it on our newsfeeds, before ending with a follow-up to a previous story about the landmark META settlement!
Read along with us!
Nepal-Tibet disaster: 1. Nepal declines foreign rescu
El Niño, Florida vs. OpenAI and Sam Altman, and remembering Dolly Parton
Hanna and Amanda talk about the impending El Niño, Sam Altman and OpenAI getting hit with a lawsuit alleging ChatGPT consitutes a public nuisance, and American country music icon Dolly Parton, who last Wednesday passed away at the age of 80.
Read along with us:
WMO: Likelihood increases of El Niño
What is El Niño and how is it influenced by climate change?
Scientists warn El Niño could intensify c
Hong Kong activist verdicts, West Bank settler violence, and a new cancer vaccine?
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna are tackling some bummers (what's new?) with Hong Kong Tiannanmen Square activists sentenced for sedition and increased violence in increasing West Bank settlements, paired with a potential scientific breakthrough -- a made-to-order skin cancer vaccine!
Read along with us!
Hong Kong: 1. Hong Kong Tiananmen activists found guilty of national security charges (Al Ja
Birth tourism, UK parody elections, and a total solar eclipse
This week, hosts Hanna and Amanda tackle the moves the Trump administration is making against birth tourism, who Count Binface is and what that represents in the world of British politics, and finally, a bit about the total solar eclipse that took place over parts of Spain and Portugal.
Read along with us!
The Ceuta border rush, and Cuba's deepened energy crisis 6 months later
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna are tackling: The mass migration in Ceuta, and the misinformation, and fearmongering bookend-ing the border rush, and how Cuba is now 6 months into having basically no power at all.
Read along with us!
Mass migration in Ceuta: 1. How misinformation drove thousands to rush Ceuta's border (Reuters), 2. Why is Ceuta a migration flashpoint and how were so many people
Cyclosporiasis, AI hackers, and youth uprising in India
This week, Hanna and Amanda talk thwarted attempts to enjoy salad stateside, the Hugging Face hacking incident, and Gen Z protests again, this time in India.
News salad, and a conversation with Swedish Representative Helena Reitberger
This week, HANNA IS BACK! But we also had the very special pleasure of speaking with the outgoing Swedish Representative to Taiwan Helena Reitberger about the role of a trade office, how much Sweden and Taiwan really have in common, areas of cooperation, and how people can get involved themselves! We also cover a little bit of everything else this week with a new segment "news salad" to discuss so
Meta's Muse ai and the UK's facial recognition: who owns your image?
This week, host Amanda Stephens, is joined by Rti's resident tech specialist Tomasz Koper to discuss the very large and increasingly present question: who owns the rights to use or keep tabs on your image? We'll be looking at a case study in the UK with faical image scanning in big box stores, and from social media last week with Meta's Muse AI image generator.
Read along with us:
Meta's Muse: 1.
The effects of shuttering Radio Free Asia one year later with Gulchehra Hoja
This week, we'll be discussing China’s newly implemented Ethnic Unity Law, and what that may mean for both members of China's ethnic minorities currently living in China, those living abroad in exile, and journalists covering China and its human rights abuses abroad. We'll also be taking a look at the effects of the Trump administration's defunding and essentially shuttering of Voice of America an
Mayors and maternity, and the USA turns 250
This week, lonely host Amanda Stephens is joined by returning guest Michelle Chiang to talk about the Japanese politicians stirring the pot by... just being pregnant and taking medical leave? And also how we feel about this year's momentous July 4th as Americans abroad.
Read along with us!
Japaenese politicians and "matahara": 1. A Mayor Is Taking Maternity Leave in Japan. Some Men Are Furious. (J
Starbucks gets a history lesson, and the UK will get a new PM
This week, in Hanna's absence, Amanda discusses current events with fellow Rti-hosts who may have a stake in the global turmoil. First, Michelle Chiang joins to discuss why Starbucks South Korea got a state-mandated history lesson last Monday, then Fil Leskovsky and Eloise Phillips join to discuss Keir Starmer's resignation, and the only member of British politics we all still support.
Read along
Screwworm in is back, Middle East MOUs, and World Cup moments we love
This week hosts Amanda and Hanna are tackling screwworm in the United States, the Iran war again (with a little early guessing about the newly-announced MOU), and wrap up with all the fun interactions taking over our feeds of world-cup travelers discovering a new love for host-cities.
Read along with us!
Screwworm: 1. How Nuclear Flies Protect You from Flesh-Eating Parasites (Kurzgesagt – In a Nut
Race riots in Northern Ireland, commencement speech drama, and the Pope's encyclical
Hanna and Amanda talk about the way the internet has become fuel for fanning the flame of extremist movements and actions and when it's time to call a spade a spade. We also talk about how everyone can't stop talking about AI, often to the wrong crowds; even the Pope has written new religious doctrine about getting it under control.
SpaceX and Anthropic go public, the ceasefires that couldn't, and animal lookalikes
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna talk stocks-- or try to-- as they cover what it means for SpaceX and other AI companies going public on the stock market. Then a review of what's happening in Iran, and the ceasefires (or less-fires?) in the middle east, the pressure Trump is facing domestically to end the war, and wrap up with a fun new animal look-alike in the New Delhi zoo.
Read along with us!
World-record heat, FIFA problems, and the Enhanced Games disappoints
Hosts Hanna and Amanda tackle the heatwaves that struck near the end of May, why that may be one of MANY problems for the very-quickly-upcoming FIFA games, and what even happened with the so-called "Enhanced Games."
Read along with us!
Heat wave:
FIFA controversies:
Enhanced Games:
Trump Xi Summit, Ebola Virus, and good news actually?
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna discuss the ripple effects of the Trump-Xi summit, the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, and media reforms in Hungary after Orban's depature and why they may actually give us... hope?
Trump-Xi Summit: 1. What was actually achieved at Trump and Xi’s ‘stalemate summit’ in Beijing? (Amy Hawkins, The Guardian), 2. Trump warns Taiwan against declaring independence,
Gerrymandering back home and the UK Labour party's identity crisis
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.
Boats (Hormuz), boats (hantavirus), and billionaires
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.
Read along with us!
The Strait is blocked: 1. Why the Strait of Hormuz will take a long time to reboot (Yuliya Talmazan, Mosheh Gains,
The Whitehouse Correspondent's Dinner, and what's going on with Kash Patel
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.
Read along with us!
The Correspondent's Dinner: 1. Trump: Shooter at White House press dinner had multiple weapons, one officer sh
Mass trials, technofascist manifestos, and salmon on cocaine
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.
Read along with us!
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 Guardia
One year of doomscrolling!
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.
Read along:
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
An uneasy ceasefire without Lebanon, and Hungary's big election
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.
Read along with us!
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 1
Iran war identity crisis, Cuba without power, and alpine divorce
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".
Read along with us!
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 Ira
Scam industries and skinny shots
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.
Read along with us:
Police warn international pickpocket ring could be t
Anthropic sues the Pentagon, and Paramount buy Warner Brothers
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.
Read along with us!
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. No
U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and other forms of monkey business
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.
Read along with us:
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
Mexico's El Mencho, Ukraine's fourth year of war, and Chinamaxxing versus the Olympics
This week, we're talking about the death of Mexican cartel leader "El Mencho" and ensuing fallout, the fourth year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and finally we close by addressing the controversy over some winter Olympic athletes and how it does or doesn't intersect with the "Chinamaxxing" social media trend.
Read along with us!
Mexico vs El Mencho: 1. Mexico's most wanted drug lord 'El Mencho'
South Korea's Yoon imprisoned for life and Uber's lax background checks
This week, Hanna and Amanda talk about the life sentence South Korea just handed down to their disgraced former president for attempting a coup, some frighteningly lax standards for Uber drivers in the United States.
Read along with us!
Yoon suk-yeol's sentence: 1. South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol jailed for life for leading insurrection (Amy Hawkins and Raphael Rashid, the Guardian),
Japanese DLP snap election success, Ring doorbell camera surveillance
Hosts Hanna and Amanda discuss the Japanese snap election that may have just enabled Prime Minister Takaichi to get back her army, and how a superbowl commercial outed police access to private cameras. Heck, we may even just discuss the Superbowl itself, just a little bit.
Read along with us!
Japan's snap election: 1. Why Takaichi would call a snap election (Michael MacArthur Bosack, Japan Times),
The importance of resilient connectivity in a seemingly superconnected world
Hanna and Amanda talk to the coordinators of the Taiwan x Arctic Youth Connection project, Hsiang Hsiang Wang and Chiayo Kuo, to learn more about Taiwanese and Norwegian students' experiments with shortwave. On the subject of alternatives to typical internet connections, they also talk about SpaceX's Starlink, and the kinds of spaces these types of communication occupy in today's world.
Referenced
Legal action against Grok's new explicit image generation tools and how youth movements are taking on social media addiction
This week, Hanna and Amanda finally address X users who've been using Grok AI to undress women and children and (THANK GOD) the legal action and scrutiny the app is now facing. Then, we’ll be taking a look at how youths (and governments) are striking back at social media companies with a lawsuit in the U.S. against socials for using addictive tactics, and how France is hopping on the Youth Social
What ICE is doing in Minnesota, and the continuing war on journalism
This week, hosts Hanna and Amanda discuss the ongoing situation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the recent activities of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, with a focus on what journalists are doing to cover the goings on. Then a quick brain break to talk about the total drama with former senator, current alleged homewrecker, Kyrsten Sinema.
Protests in Iran continue, and South Korea and China meet to say very little
Tthis week hosts Amanda and Hanna discuss what’s going on in Iran, how likely it is to make change, and a sort of follow-up the North Korea and Russia talk with more about the recent China and South Korea meeting.
Correction: in this episode the polling in Iran is erroneously attributed to The Conversation, but was actually done by the group Gaaman, and referenced in the Conversation article
Read
What the US military mission in Venezuela means for global power balance
This week, Hanna Bilinski and Amanda Stephens weigh in on what they feared would happen, what did happen, and what could happen following the United States' "decaptiation mission" in Venezuela at the beginning of the year.
Read along with us!
The U.S. action in Venezuela: 1. Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro ‘captured’ after huge US military strikes (Al Jazeera Staff and News Agencies, Al Jazeera), 2.
North Korea cozying up to Russia, China's symbolic tax on contraceptives, and billionaire yacht parties
Hanna and Amanda ignore the PLA elephant surrounding the island in favor of some other newsworthy topics, including North Korea's involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine, the new tax China is levying on condoms and other contraceptives, and the obnoxious way the super-rich rang in the new year.
How to balance staying informed with staying grounded: Leslie Liao, Eric Gao, and Iris Hsu
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna (mostly) take a break from current news to reflect on how we manage to stay high-information, low stress by talking to some other professionals in the news world about how they achieve work-life balance when their job literally is the news (especially in these crazy times)!
We'll be hearing from Eric Gao, a copy-editior and anchor at Taiwan Plus, Iris Hsu host of
2025 Year-end retrospective: Part 2
This week, hosts Hanna and Amanda reflect on the news story that most impacted Amanda in the year 2025: the on-going saga of U.S. "Secreatary of War" Pete Hegseth. They also briefly discuss events from the past week, including the Bondi Beach terror attack, Jimmy Lai's verdict, and the Vanity Fair whitehouse article.
Read along with us:
Weekly event recap: 1. What we know about the Bondi Beach Han
2025 year-end retrospective: Part 1
The hosts reflect on the news story that most impacted Hanna in the year 2025: the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Pardoning "narco-terrorists", Nano Banana's threats to visual journalism, and rage bait
This week, Amanda and Hanna are tackling: Trump raging against South American druglords while pardoning one, Google’s release of Nano Banana PRO and what it means for the future of visual journalism, and Oxford’s entry to the “word-of-the-year” arena.
Read along with us!
Trump pardons former Honduran President: 1. Trump formally pardons former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández (Kaitlan Col
A Russian-authored Ukraine "peace plan", Bolsonaro goes to prison, and free birthing
This week, hosts Hanna and Amanda are going over the latest updates on the war in Ukraine, the seemingly never-ending escandalo surrounding former president of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, and finally, a bit about "free birthing": a dangerous trend promoting pregnancy without any prenatal care and birth without any medical assistance.
Read along with us!
Ukraine and the proposed "peace plan": 1. Russi
Another internet downer, women ruining workplaces, and parasocial relationships
This week, Amanda and Hanna are tackling: the Cloudflare outage and what (if anything) it means, a New York Times opinion debate that blamed women for “ruining the workplace”, and finally what it says about 2025 that Cambridge's “word of the year” is PARASOCIAL.
Read along with us:
Cloudflare outage: 1. Cloudflare Outage Disrupts X, ChatGPT and Thousands of Sites (Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly, Obse
The AI bubble, Argentina's economic crisis and bailout, and mushroom computing
This week, hosts Hanna and Amanda are talking about the AI bubble (whether such a bubble exists, and if it does, whether it'll burst?), the political and economic situation in Argentina right now, and finally, the future of mushrooms as the computer hardware of the future.
Read along with us:
Chekov's AI bubble:
Argentina's economic situation:
Mushroom computing:
The Sudanese civil war seen from space, the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown, and plastic-eating bacteria
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna are discussing the lack of discussion on the Sudanese civil war and the upsetting satellite footage of the carnage, missing food assistance as the U.S. government shutdown becomes the longest in history, and one last bit of good news about plastics in the ocean.
Read along with us:
The Sudanese civil war: 1. A simple guide to what is happening in Sudan (Natasha Bo
Missing the mark on climate change, and what's the deal with those drug boats, anyway?
Hanna and Amanda finally get around to talking about all the drug boat operations the Trump administration has been carrying out since early September. Also on the docket is the world's failure to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre‑industrial levels, and what that means for the future.
A completely different ceasefire, thieves in the Louvre, and internet blackouts
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna are looking at the many news stories that both dominated and seemed to fly under the radar in the last week, despite being... pretty big news? They'll discuss Afghanistan and Pakistan's latest ceasefire, what happened at the Louvre on the same day, and what Amazon Web Services are and why the blackout made Amanda so nervous. (No, it's not just about her Duolingo s
Japan's Iron Lady and Taiwan's aviation industry
This week Hanna and Amanda discuss Japan, where Sanae Takaichi just won the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election and is on track to become their first female prime minister, as well as what’s been going on with EVA Airlines here in Taiwan.
Read along with us:
Japan’s new PM: 1. Sanae Takaichi set to become Japan's first female prime minister (Shaimaa Khalil, BBC), 2. Global Gender Gap Re
Madagascar Protests and a new proposal in Israel's war on Gaza
First, Amanda and Hanna take a look at yet another youth protest that has broken out in Madagascar, and how it both reflects and differs from similar situations covered on Doomscroll this year. Then, looking at changes in the Israel-Palestine situation now that the war has passed the two-year mark, including brand new news, fresh off the presses about the new ceasefire deal, and which parts have b
US government shuts down and Taiwan's FPCC is revealed to be sourcing naphtha from Russia
Hanna and Amanda talk about the United States government shutdown and what's at stake, plus Russia's recent activities not just in Ukraine but also in other nearby countries.
Freedom of speech and media as a means to informing a more engaged public with Michael Geier
This week, Amanda and Hanna touch on the freedom of speech meltdown that happened in the U.S. following in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination. Then Amanda sits down with Michael Geier, the cinematographer for one of Taiwan's most successful documentaries to-date, "Invisible Nation" (or 看不見國家), to discuss the role of entertainment, and especially film, in informing a more engaged public.
Re
Dreams of revolution in Nepal and Indonesia
Hanna and Amanda talk about the youth uprisings in Nepal and Indonesia and ways in which Gen Z protesters have and haven't succeeded in changing the world.
Read along with us:
Nepal: 1. Nepal prime minister quits after deaths at protests sparked by social media ban (Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi, and Gaurav Pokharel in Kathmandu, The Guardian), 2. Nepal appoints its first female PM after historic
Google survives its first anti-trust lawsuit and Israel bombs Qatar
This week, Amanda is back in the driver's seat and covering a topic she and co-host Hanna have been looking forward to for a long time-- The results of the first anti-trust lawsuit against Google (even if they're disappointed by the results). Then they update on a topic they are both much less excited about, updates of Israel's attack in Qatar and the invasion of Palestine in-general.
Read along w
The Axis of Upheveal and Chinese foreign exchange students allowed back in the USA
Hosts Hanna Bilinski and Amanda Stephens are finally in the same room together again and are discussing reunions and first-time unions of another sort. They discuss how India cozying up to China may or may not be the beginning of a "new world order" and what reasons U.S. President Donald Trump may have for reversing course (haha) and allowing Chinese foreign excange students back into the country.
Nuclear power, nuclear disarmament, and Taiwan's cabinet reshuffle
This week, Hanna has invited boss lady Iris back into the studio to discuss the other side of the argument when it comes to nuclear power in Taiwan, plus the tricky matter of nuclear disarmament among the world's three biggest nuclear powers. Iris also shares a piece of her mind regarding gender representation in the newly reshuffled Cabinet.
Taiwan's AI dreams and the US's recent attempts at Russia-Ukraine diplomacy
Hanna invites former Rti host turned TaiwanPlus reporter Chris Gorin back to the studio to talk about Taiwan's future in AI and what the outlook is for the Ukraine war.
More tariff talk, Jensen's baller move, and Canadian wildfires
Hanna brings Joey Chou back on to get his opinion on the ongoing tariff drama, the way Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is manuevering in the midst of it, and what's to be done about wildfires.
The EU's international relations conundrum, Slovakian politics, and Russian quakes and volcanoes
With Amanda away on a much needed vacation, Hanna brings Fil onto the show to talk Europe and his home country of Slovakia and to muse about whether the historic natural disasters that hit Russia recently feels like foreshadowing.
Read along with us:
Taiwan and the EU: 1)
Slovakian elections: 1)
Russian earthquake: 1)
What happened to the Great Recall?
This week, Hanna's back to host a roundtable discussion with fellow Rti hosts and reporters, Iris Hsu and Tristan Hilderbrand, to talk about what happened with Taiwan's mass electroal recall movement, otherwise known as the Great Recall.
Read along with us: 1) Taiwan is paralyzed by political gridlock. A mass recall of ‘pro-China’ lawmakers could break that (Wayne Chang, CNN), 2) How a vote target
Some final Epstein Files updates, and Grok meets the Department of Defense
This week, Amanda is joined again by guest co-host Joey Chou to sew up loose ends from last week's episode into conspiracy theories and the Epstein Files case happening in the United States. Then, Amanda and Joey bond over shared shock and concern at the news that xAI, the parent company for X's infamous chatbot Grok, has recieved a heafty contract with the U.S. military just a week after that cha
How belief in conspiracy theories affects interpersonal relationships: Feat. Lauren Mastroni
This week we have a special guest, Lauren Mastroni the leading author of the thesis, “I one-hundred thousand percent blame it on QAnon”: The impact of QAnon belief on interpersonal relationships from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. We discuss how belief in the “big tent” conspiracy QAnon changed the political landscape, and paved the way for the Epstein Files scandal taking over
Clean water, human rights, and good news!
This week host Amanda is doing a GOOD-NEWS ONLY special apology episode. We can't help it that we doomscroll, which can make it increasingly feel like there's only badnews, but in the last week there's been a lot happening, especially in the climate and human-intrest world. Amanda calls up some of her friends to apoliguze for bad-news-dumping, and try to make it up with postive stories about drink
AI versus IP, and Budapest's incredible Pride
This week we're tackling the ongoing legal battles between AI and copyright laws, and Budapest's incredible (and illegal) Pride parade with guest co-host, Joey Chou! Joey takes a break from hosting his own current events show "Beyond the Reefs" to rehash one of our favorite in-office disagreements (AI) on air, and we both wax about the courage it takes to show up against government threats.
Read a
US joining the Israel-Iran conflict, a tenuous ceasefire, and a potential sale of American public lands
This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna continue to talk about the Iran-Israel conflict, and how the United States decided to jump in over the weekend, causing Iranian couterstrikes, and then a sudden ceasefire agreement a littler over a week after Israel's first strikes into the country. Then Amanda gets to an issue on american soil near-and-dear to her heart, about how Senate members are suggesting a
The MMR vaccine in the US and a new Israel-Iran conflict
This week, Hanna and Amanda discuss the state of vaccines in the United States, especially the MMR (Measels, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine and current Health and Human Services secretary Robert F Kennedy's flip-flopping on them. Then we discussing the new Israel-Iran conflict and where we think it's headed.
Read along with us:
On RFK jr and Vaccines in the U.S.: 1. Six babies with unvaccinated mother
The Elon Musk-Trump breakup, updates on the Madleen activists, and the LA ICE Protests
This week, we're covering allegations of Elon Musk's drug use and his public break up with Donald Trump, what happened to the crew of the Madleen, and what's going on (at least at time of recording) in LA. What a week!
Read along with us:
All about Elon Musk: 1. On the Campaign Trail, Elon Musk Juggled Drugs and Family Drama // (Kirsten Grind, and Megan Twohey, New York Times), 2. How Bitter Trump
Updates on the War in Ukraine, and problematic AI personalities and behaviors
Talking about the developments on the Ukraine War, and also how AI doesn't yet have free speech, but IS probably willing to doxx you.
Read along with us:
Ukraine War: 2. Russia and Ukraine complete largest prisoner swap (Reuters) 2. Hectic two weeks leaves Russia confident - and peace in Ukraine feeling no closer (Steve Rosenberg, BBC) 3. Germany's Merz: No more range limits for weapons to Ukraine
All about borders: birthright citizenship, deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, and little Chinese boats
The gals talk about birthright citizenship in the United States, Trump’s attempt to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the deportation of immigrant detainees, and the latest in a long string of instances involving Chinese nationals sailing over to Taiwan on rubber dinghies. All under the broad heading of borders - what it means to be born within them, to cross them, and to get kicked out ove
Covering conflict in Israel and Palestine, India and Pakistan, and there's a new pope
It feels like the whole world caught fire, or threatened to, while we were on our special topic last week. So this week we're covering some of the most important news stories from our feeds. Listen and commiserate with us as we grapple with how difficult it can be to stay (accurately) informed!
Read along with us:
Israeli plan to "capture" Gaza: 1. Israel security cabinet approves plan to ‘capture
Investigating birth rate declines, with PeiChieh Hsu
This week, we're tackling just one subject-- but it's one that seems to plague our feeds every other week: Birth rates! In a world where birth rates globally are on the downturn, we wanted to know what effect that really has on us on the daily and what factors make it so difficult to tackle?
To help us answer those questions and amore, Hanna invited PhD student PeiChieh Hsu. She's a researcher and
Canadian election results and tariff take-backsies
This week, we go over the latest news out of Canada, particularly the results of their elections and how squabbles with their neighbor swayed those results, in addition to the 145% tariff that very neighbor has slapped on China.
On the Canadian elections: 1. Carney revives Liberal fortunes as party secures historic fourth consecutive election victory (Neil Moss, Irem Koca, and Eleanor Wang from th
Salvadoran prisons, big tech breakups, and a fond farewell to Pope Francis
This week, we tackle a wide range of topics, starting with the consequences of the WhiteHouse welcoming the self-proclaimed "world's coolest dictator", then the effects of several antitrust suits looking to breakup META and Google, while also taking aim at other tech giants. We wrap up with a short discussion on the passing of Pope Francis, as well as our thoughts on the lists of possible successo
The ripple effects following the defunding of USGAM
This week on the first-ever episode of the Doomscroll News Report, we’re tackling how the cuts to the United States Agency for Global Media (USGAM) stand to impact the state of journalism now and in the near future, and close with a pulse-check on where things stand now. You can read along with us, by looking at the articles we cited for this discussion:
On the dissolution of the USGAM: 1. 'Bloody
