Facts Over Fear

From the Supreme Court to Main Street, the question is: Who actually holds power? If you feel like everything is accelerating right now, you’re not wrong. I even said halfway through this video that it was Friday, not Thursday, which shows you where my head has been! Just this week, a major U.S. Supreme Court decision demolishing voting rights in a way that could ripple across the country—impactin...

You probably don’t know what the Massachusetts Governor’s Council is. I sure didn’t. And that’s the point. It quietly decides who becomes a judge—shaping the justice system with almost no public scrutiny. Critics call it a rubber stamp. Jordan Korgood, a marine biologist, trans-rights advocate and Gen-Z activist, is running to change that. In this episode, we get into political gatekeeping, Massac...

Today I interviewed Terrill Haigler—better known as Ya Fav Trashman on Instagram—and this is one of those stories that sticks with you. A former Philadelphia sanitation worker turned national voice for community cleanup and worker advocacy, Terrill is flipping the narrative on what trash actually says about a neighborhood. His message is simple and real: it’s not about “bad communities”—it’s about...

Pittsburgh just came within weeks of losing its primary newspaper. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a paper that’s been around since 1786, was on the brink of shutting down entirely, with more than 170 workers facing layoffs after years of financial losses and a bitter labor dispute. For a moment, it looked like Pittsburgh was about to become the largest city in the United States without a major daily...

A new investigation from CNN has exposed something that’s hard to process and even harder to ignore: a sprawling global network of online communities where men openly share tactics, videos, and advice on drugging and sexually assaulting women. We’re not talking about the dark web. We’re talking about platforms millions of people use every day. On one site alone, reporters found more than 20,000 us...

This week, a series of headlines cut across healthcare, immigration, public health, and politics, and at first glance, they don’t seem connected. But they are! Here’s what we broke down in today’s show with Dr. Natalie Gentile. Doctors in Texas detained by ICE while trying to follow the legal process to stay in the country. Nearly 100 detainees in a Pennsylvania facility refusing to eat, saying co...

What happened in East Palestine, Ohio wasn’t just a derailment. It exposed a system most Americans never see. One where hazardous materials move through communities every day, often without warning. In this episode, Jessica Conard, who lived through the fallout and was transformed by the experience, breaks down what the public still doesn’t get: derailments are not freak accidents. They’re frequen...

“A House by 30." This Bold Democratic Idea That Could Redefine the American Dream. What If Democrats Promised You a Future (Not Just Talked About One?) That’s the bold idea at the center of a recent opinion piece in The New York Times by Rotimi Adeoye, and it’s the question driving today’s Facts Over Fear. Because right now, the reality for millions of Americans looks nothing like the promise...

What does it take to make people pay attention to immigration enforcement in America right now? In Pennsylvania, the answer is a 100-mile walk. That’s what Jaime Martinez, executive director of Pittsburgh-based Frontline Dignity, is doing in real time. His destination: the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, the largest immigrant detention facility in the Northeast. Most people don’t even know it...

For months, Donald Trump and his allies sold aggressive immigration crackdowns as a political win. Now the bill is coming due. In Minnesota, after a sustained surge in operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the real impact is finally surfacing, and it’s not just humanitarian. It’s economic. Businesses are reporting steep losses. Workers are vanishing from payrolls. Entire communities a...

Are the Guardrails Holding? Power, Politics, and the Rule of LawRight now, the United States is watching a stress test of its own institutions unfold. In the past 24 hours, Donald Trump has threatened sweeping military action against Iran, including strikes on civilian infrastructure—rhetoric that legal experts warn could violate international law and even constitute war crimes. (washingtonpost.co...

Lehigh County just did something no other county in the country has done — and it starts with ICE.The Controller’s Office has proposed a first‑of‑its‑kind hiring standard for law enforcement that uses measurable risk criteria to evaluate candidates. Under this new framework, applicants with recent experience at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement don’t just raise red flags: they fail both scr...

Mississippi isn’t supposed to be competitive. That’s the story that has been repeated so often it’s become political “fact.” A deeply conservative state. A foregone conclusion in federal races. A place national Democrats don’t invest, and where challengers rarely emerge with real momentum. But that assumption is exactly what’s being tested right now. Scott Colom, a longtime District Attorney in Mi...

On Easter Sunday—a day meant to symbolize peace, resurrection, and Christian faith—Donald Trump posted a message threatening to bomb Iran’s infrastructure… and ended it with: “praise be to Allah.”Let that sit for a second. A message about violence, wrapped in religious language, posted on one of Christianity’s holiest days—and still, largely met with loyalty from the same political movement that c...

Nina Storey's journey with Long COVID and new film “Strangely Optimistic”“You Don’t Look Sick.” That’s the Problem. Long COVID is still treated like a footnote in a story people would soon rather forget. It’s something vague, inconvenient, and easy enough to ignore if you’re still lucky enough not to be living it. But for millions of people and children, it’s a daily struggle within a body tha...

Local politics might not make the national headlines, but it shapes everything from your paycheck to your air quality. And right now, Pennsylvania’s 50th Legislative District is heating up. Lois Bower-Bjornson, small business owner and environmental advocate, is throwing her hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination. She’s bringing a background in clean air advocacy, grassroots organizing, and...

It’s Women’s History Month, and Pennsylvania is celebrating the only way it apparently knows how: by letting the gender pay gap widen while still refusing to raise the minimum wage. I’m digging in with Marita Garrett, founder, CEO & President of Civically Inc. We are breaking down what’s happening, what it actually means at the local level, and what people can do about it. Women are earning le...

From airport meltdowns to reality TV fallout to presidential rhetoric, the gap between power and consequences is getting harder to ignore. Joining me this is Jess Britvich, a former social worker turned content creator who breaks down the intersection of online culture, politics, and the systems shaping both. Let’s get into it:TSA Chaos & Congressional Privilege Air travel is a mess right now—...

In a moment defined by polarization, disconnection, and a steady drip of fear, something different is taking root, starting in Pittsburgh, PA.It’s called People’s Song SocieTea (PSST) — a monthly, curated gathering where artists, poets, and performers come together not for perfection, but for presence. For truth. For dialogue that leads to understanding. Created by performer, Erika JC Laing (Erika...

Dr. Natalie Gentile, direct primary care physician, co-founder of Direct Care Physicians of Pittsburgh and founder of Rebel Wellness joins me regularly to dissect the healthcare news you need to know. If you find this conversation valuable, please consider a paid subscription to help me expand my work. Here’s what we talked about today:Americans are skipping meals to afford medical care. New data...

FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnataliebinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/#tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivengathreads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivengapodcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YFpodcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950FACTS OVER FEARLet...

What part of late stage capitalism is this? A new investigation finds that casino-style apps promoted on Facebook can drain players’ real money—while Meta Platforms collects advertising revenue and a cut of in-app purchases. For years, Meta Platforms has insisted it’s just a neutral platform; a place where other companies build apps and connect with users. But a new investigation suggests somethin...

Are you “worthy” of IVF?It’s time we reckon with how our system decides what counts as healthcare — and who is considered worthy of it — particularly when the decisions involve our most intimate life choices. Thank you, Cally Myhrum, for making space for a frank conversation about an issue that is often overlooked but impacts millions. FOLLOW NATALIEsubstack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnat...

Every week, Americans walk into the grocery store with the same sinking feeling: How did it get this expensive? Even as broader inflation headlines cool, food prices remain stubbornly high. And for millions of families, “stubborn” isn’t abstract. It means skipping fresh produce. Choosing cheaper, ultra-processed alternatives. Putting essentials on a credit card and hoping next month feels lighter....

Jess Britvich is back and we turned our attention this week to the women of the Trump regime. From Kristi Noem to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, some of the most visible architects of the MAGA power structure right now are women. They are running state governments, building political infrastructure, shaping education policy and representing U.S. power abroad. And while the movement often rails against fe...