The Doomscroll News Report

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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!

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...

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.

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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!...

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:

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...

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. Read along with us! The Strait is blocked: 1. Why the Strait of Hormuz will take a long time to reboot (Yuliya Talmazan, Mosheh...

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...

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,...

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...

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 l...