Heard Tell

On this episode of Heard Tell, host Andrew shares some thoughts on the current state of politics, politicians, people, places, and a whole bunch of money involving the Middle East. From the changing leadership and recognition of the Ahmed al-Sharaa led Syria, to President Donald Trump's deal making trip, to the GCC's role as counter to Iran, and why the Saudi and Qatari sovereign wealth fu...

On this episode of Heard Tell host Andrew talks about the blame game that is a core of politics and pundits but reminds us that the finger pointing of news and social media means three fingers pointed back at ourselves. And since the legislative branch is the one that represents We, The People, it is time to have an honest conversation about what we are representing before we just blame all our il...

On this episode of Heard Tell host Andrew shares some thoughts on the NY Magazine article "Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College” and uses it to talk about higher education, why we should have a healthy skepticism of AI, why the learning part of education has been lost in the credentialism, what education ought to mean, and why he signed up for community college this past week. All th...

On this episode of Heard Tell host Andrew shares some thoughts on the Signal scandal involving Trump administration officials using the messaging app as a group chat to discuss details of the recent Houthi strikes in Yemen, which included The Atlantic's Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a stunning series of events. From the sequence of events, to what might or might not happen next, and how...

On this episode of Heard Tell host Andrew comes fresh of some talking heading to talk through the reported cuts coming for Veterans Affairs, the wider push for DOGE & “efficient/smaller” government, and the rhetoric that there should not be any “sacred cows” when it comes to spending cuts. Which is fine in theory, but when it comes to entitlement programs and the optics of veterans and other c...

On this episode of Heard Tell we are talking about the goings on at the Academy Awards. The Oscars are always a cultural moment to slather our political & cultural issues upon, so just how political did this year’s ceremony get and how much did politics affect who won and viral cultural moments affect who lost? Film critic Luis Mendez returns to talk about the winners and losers on Oscar night...

On this episode of Heard Tell, we turn down the noise of the news cycle and get to the information we need on Canada being all over US news and politics. But instead of talking about Canada amongst ourselves, let's try something different and talk to Canada and the politics and economics thereof with Sabine El-Chidiac, Canadian Policy Associate for the Consumer Choice Center and an actual Cana...

On this episode of Heard Tell, we turn down the noise of the news cycle and get to the information we need on the early days of the new Trump administration from the perspective of congress with congressional reporter and Washington Bureau Chief for The Independent Eric Garcia. Eric takes us behind the scenes and into the hallways of Capitol Hill for how the calendar & previous congress action...

There have always been bad faith media actors and conspiracy theorists, because human nature is undefeated and there is nothing new under the sun. But technology means that bad faith actors and conspiracy theorists are finding comfortable homes in social media and news media where a constant search for optimized niche content is the name of the game. “Everything is a conspiracy if you don’t unders...

On this episode of Heard Tell, we turn down the noise of the news cycle and gets to the information we need as 2025 starts out with two terrible terrorist attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and some truly bad news media and social media coverage thereof. Host Andrew delves into the changing state of getting information to current events, parsing through social media, consequences of distrust of...

On this Heard Tell turns down the noise of the news cycle and gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to President Joe Biden deciding to pardon his son Hunter Biden, despite publicly declaring he would not. Politics, personal feelings, and performative news and social media all play a part, and host Andrew Donaldson talks about precedent, known history of Joe Biden, what Donald Trump has to...

On this Heard Tell host Andrew Donaldson took a few days before responding to an article in The Economist entitled "American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits" and subtitled "An enormous rise in disability payments may complicate debt-reduction efforts." Andrew talks through the nomenclature that is being misused, like the differences in "100% disabled", the g...

On this Heard Tell host  Andrew Donaldson  talks post-election politics on Capitol Hill with senior Washington Correspondent at the Independent Eric Garcia , who takes us behind the scenes and into the halls of congress to discuss the incomiing 119th congress is going to look a whole lot like the 118th congress, changing leadership in the US Senate as the GOP takes the majority and elects new lead...

On this Heard Tell host  Andrew Donaldson  talks about Veterans Day and the cost of service, both the broad perspective of how the Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the largest parts of our government just to care for those that serve, and also the personal perspective of what those that servce pay in personal terms. All that and more on this episode of  Heard Tell. -------------------- Hea...

On this Heard Tell host  Andrew Donaldson  talks the aftermath of the 2024 election and talks the coalition that won it for the GOP and what Democrats need to do to rebuild theirs, looking ahead to how Trump administartion 2.0 success runs through a slim GOP House of Represenatives that hasn't shown itself to be particularly effective, and how the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential races are...

On this Heard Tell Special Edition host Andrew Donaldson reacts to the 2024 elections results as former President Donald Trump becomes the president-elect, breaks down why Kamala Harris lost running as a psuedo-incumbent, where both political parties go from here, and what it all means for an electorate that is showing signs of real change. All that and more on this episode of  Heard Tell. -------...

On this Heard Tell host Andrew Donaldson explains that while content must be created, analysts must analyze, and talking heads must talk, there really is nothing happening and nobody knows anything between now and whenever we find out who wins the 2024 election. All that and more on this episode of  Heard Tell. -------------------- Heard Tell SubStack  Free to subscribe, comes right to your inbox...

Your  Heard Tell Show  is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times by talking about the numbers about who is paying attention to the election and how. No, not poll numbers regarding the candidates, but new Pew research on who is paying attention to election year news media, how they consume it, and the trends in the last few elections tha...

Your  Heard Tell Show  is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times by talking about the spectacle that was the Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden. Host Andrew Donaldson covers the reaction to Donald Trump’at MSG, why folks are responding so strong stronly to it, what was the Trump campaigns real intent in staging it, and what it...

Your  Heard Tell Show  is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times by talking about the data and reality of presidential polls and how we are using them wrong with economist Dr. Stephen Popick, as we talk data vs vibes and fact vs rhetoric as the election approaches. All that and more on this episode of  Heard Tell. 00: Intro/ Economics o...

Your  Heard Tell Show  is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times as host Andrew Donaldson goes through all the news media, social media, political, and cultural hot mess surrounding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), what it is supposed to to, what some folks think they ought to be doing, and how to discern context from con...

Your  Heard Tell Show  is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times as host Andrew Donaldson goes through the week that was covering the state of the 2024 presidential race, why we should get rid of the term "low information voters," the Mark Robinson hot mess, why the latest Continuing Resolution shows why congressional dysfunctio...

Your  Heard Tell Show  is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times as host Andrew Donaldson takes the news that the House of Representatives will once again push through a short-term Continuing Resolution, or CR for short, with the help of the US Senate to avert a government shutdown, and explains not only how congress has become a dysfun...

Your  Heard Tell Show  is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times as host Andrew Donaldson talks endorsements in the presidential race, do they still matter, and some examples from the past as well as what to watch for in current ones. All that and more on this episode of  Heard Tell. ------------------- Heard Tell SubStack  Free to subs...

Your  Heard Tell Show  is turning down the noise of the news cycle and getting to the information we need to discern our times as host Andrew Donaldson explains where the term “low information voters” came from, why we shouldn’t use it, and what using such nomenclature tells us what politicians and pundits really think about the very voters they are supposed to be trying to convince. All that and...