Outrage Overload: Rethinking politics, division, and media
If politics and media leave you feeling angry, overwhelmed, or exhausted, Outrage Overload is for you.
In about 30 minutes every few weeks, we explore how outrage spreads, how polarization distorts perception, and how media and technology amplify emotional extremes.
Through conversations with leading scientists, researchers, and authors, we unpack the psychology, incentives, and systems shaping today’s political climate — and offer practical tools to think clearly, stay grounded, and respond constructively.
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.
Outrage Overload: Rethinking politics, division, and media
79. When We Stop Sharing the Same Reality – Stephen Maher
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Veteran journalist Stephen Maher joins us to explore how the collapse of local news, the rise of algorithm-driven platforms, and shifting newsroom cultures are reshaping democracy. Drawing on decades covering Canadian politics, Maher explains why communities lose more than information when local papers disappear—and how this dynamic parallels what’s happening in the United States.
We dig into polarization, media trust, the “algorithmic public square,” and what might help rebuild a shared civic reality.
Show Notes:
https://outrageoverload.net/
Contact me, David Beckemeyer by email outrageoverload@gmail.com. Follow the show on Instagram @OutrageOverload. We are also on Facebook /OutrageOverload. Check out our Subtstack https://outrageoverload.substack.com
HOTLINE: 925-552-7885
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Rate and Review the show on Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/OutrageOverload
Also check out our companion podcasts, This Week in Outrage and Outrage Science Bites.
Intro music and outro music by Michael Ramir C.
Many thanks to my co-editor and co-director, Austin Chen.
Outrage Overload, a Conners Institute podcast, ...
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