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Vet the News

Vet the News

By: Vet the News
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The news today is engineered to provoke us, to keep us angry, anxious, and divided. Vet the News is a podcast about slowing down, getting past the rage-bait, and understanding our reactions so we can find our way back to meaningful conversation.

We live in an era of 24-hour breaking news cycles and algorithms designed to trigger our "fight or flight" response. This show offers a much-needed pause to examine the information we consume and, more importantly, how it consumes us. Instead of just dismissing the "other side," we look deeper into the experiences and motivations that make certain arguments resonate so deeply.

On Vet the News, we explore:

▸ The "Why" Behind the Rage: Investigating the underlying fears and values that make reactive arguments feel like common sense to those who hold them.

▸ Deconstructing the Programming: Understanding how our backgrounds, environments, and media diets shape our worldviews and emotional triggers.

▸ Validation Without Agreement: Learning how to validate the human emotion behind a perspective without necessarily agreeing with the conclusion.

▸ Meaningful Reconnection: Practical ways to bridge the gap and talk to the person, not the "talking point."

If you are feeling "news burnout" or are tired of the constant noise, join us as we navigate the headlines with curiosity instead of contempt. It’s time to stop just reacting to the news and start vetting it.

© 2026 Vet the News Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Should We Celebrate Leopards Eating Faces?

    Should We Celebrate Leopards Eating Faces?
    14 Feb 2026

    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: podcast@newsvet.net | Bluesky: @newsvet.bsky.social

    Credits

    SFX: Freesound.org | Music: Pixabay.com (P. Krasnoshchok, V. Krotov, I. Poltavskyi)
    Show more Show less
    24 min
  • DHS Funding: The Long Game of Rebuilding Trust

    DHS Funding: The Long Game of Rebuilding Trust
    3 Feb 2026

    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: podcast@newsvet.net | Bluesky: @newsvet.bsky.social

    Credits

    SFX: Freesound.org | Music: Pixabay.com (P. Krasnoshchok, V. Krotov, I. Poltavskyi)
    Show more Show less
    32 min
  • Charlie Kirk: A Case Study in Better Conversations

    Charlie Kirk: A Case Study in Better Conversations
    26 Jan 2026

    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: podcast@newsvet.net | Bluesky: @newsvet.bsky.social

    Credits

    SFX: Freesound.org | Music: Pixabay.com (P. Krasnoshchok, V. Krotov, I. Poltavskyi)
    Show more Show less
    22 min
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