Outrage Overload: Rethinking politics, division, and media
If you're angry, frustrated, or scared about the state of politics and media and looking for thoughtful, balanced discussions, this podcast is for you. About 30 minutes every few weeks. It will change your life. Outrage Overload explores the extreme polarization and political bias dominating politics and media today. We dive into the anger and outrage that drive divisions between people, distort the news, and fuel political violence. Each episode features leading scientists, researchers, authors, and community leaders tackling topics like outrage fatigue, toxic polarization, extremism, healthy conflict, disinformation, social media's role in outrage, and the influence of technology and artificial intelligence. Join us to rediscover humanity in your rivals, improve your mental health, and find practical strategies to feel less stressed and more in control in a world fueled by outrage. Outrage Overload helps listeners with critical questions about outrage culture, political polarization, misinformation, and media manipulation—offering science-based insight, expert interviews, and practical tools to stay grounded in a divided world. If you’ve ever asked yourself… • How can I stay politically informed without feeling outraged or exhausted all the time? • Why is political polarization getting worse, and what can we do about it? • What exactly is outrage culture, and how does it manipulate us? • How do I talk about politics without it turning into a fight? • Am I being misled by the media? How can I tell? • What’s the psychological toll of living in an outrage-driven media environment? • How can I build critical thinking skills to make sense of today’s news? • What role does social media play in fueling outrage and misinformation? • Is it possible to care about politics without losing your mind? • What practical tools or insights can help me deal with toxic politics and media? …then this is the politics show you didn’t know you needed. Join host David Beckemeyer—science communicator and founding CTO of EarthLink—as he explores the mechanics of outrage, speaks with experts in psychology, media, and political science, and equips listeners with strategies for navigating today’s high-conflict culture with emotional resilience, critical thinking, and civil discourse.
Show episodes
Why is outrage so powerful? And why does it feel so addictive? In this episode, Dr. Kurt Gray joins us to discuss his new book, Outraged!, which offers a groundbreaking look at the psychology of moral fury, social media outrage, and political division. If The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt set the stage for understan
Is democracy failing because citizens aren’t truly thinking through the issues? In this episode, we hear from Prof. James Fishkin, Stanford scholar and creator of Deliberative Polling, a groundbreaking method used around the world to reveal what people would think if they had the chance to deliberate in depth. Fishkin
War, political chaos, economic fears, AI disruption—the world feels like it’s on fire. And the media? It never stops pouring fuel on the flames. In this final chapter of the Outrage on the Mic series, we explore how outrage has become the currency of media—from the fiery sermons of Father Coughlin to the viral rants of
In Part 2 of our special series Outrage on the Mic, we go back in time to explore how public outrage has shaped societies long before the digital age. David Beckemeyer is joined by Outrageous History! host Ernest Granson, who brings his journalist’s eye to scandals, uprisings, and media-fueled conflicts from the French
Outrage Overload x Outrage Factory This week, we kick off our special July series, Outrage on the Mic, with a fun and irreverent crossover featuring the hosts of Outrage Factory—Dale Deruiter and Geoff Gauthier. We explore the absurdity of online outrage, how humor can both defuse and amplify it, and what it means to b
67. AI vs. Ancient Hatreds: Can Tech Ease the Israeli-Palestinian Divide? – Adam Boaz Becker
Why is it so hard to have civil conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? And can we break through the outrage culture, media tribalism, and polarization that dominate today’s discourse? In this episode, we talk with Adam Boaz Becker, founder of Headon.AI, an AI platform designed to foster political dialogu