Topics: Sami is joined by Sharon McMahon, the author of “The Small and the Mighty,” to share how history can be constructed and verified as accurately as possible. Sharon stresses the importance of local journalism and how it has been the backbone of America’s microcultures. How different generations navigate gathering information, disseminating it, and learning that the best way to be right is to be wrong first. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 16, 2024•53 min
15:55 TEMP CHECK: Vice President Harris spoke at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies’ annual legislative leadership summit and imparted some honest words to the group. 24:30 MAIN NEWS: Sami and V give a rundown of the MANY threats to the 2024 election, from AI and disinformation, to election denial, to voter suppression by Trump’s army of poll-watching volunteers. Plus, what the hell is an incidental election and what are the odds of one happening? 58:07 DOWN BALLOT ER...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Topics: Sami and V are joined by the hosts of Strict Scrutiny to talk about how the Supreme Court’s handling of important cases like Mifepristone and EMTALA raises concerns about standing and the potential impact on reproductive rights. They predict the risks of the Supreme Court undermining federal supremacy over state law as constitutional principle and what the long term ripple effects are. What can we do about it? Sustained public attention and pressure are crucial in influencing the court’s...
May 09, 2024•54 min
12:45 TEMP CHECK: V and Sami take the nation’s temperature after Drew Barrymore’s “Mamala Controversy” and how her interview with Vice President Harris became cringe-worthy and even inappropriate. 29:17 MAIN NEWS: Project 2025 outlines Trump’s policy plans, which aims to consolidate executive authority and implement conservative policies, potentially hinting to an authoritarian government. 50:53 DOWN BALLOT ERA: Our down ballot girlie of the week goes to Caroline Gleich. Caroline has climbed Mt....
May 07, 2024•58 min
Samantha Vinograd, senior national security counselor and assistant secretary for counterterrorism and threat prevention at the DHS, joins Sami and V to talk about how the council is approaching Holocaust denialism and the lack of Holocaust education. Lawmakers proposed the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism into federal anti-discrimination laws. Samantha discusses antisemitism in the context of ...
May 02, 2024•34 min
5:40 TEMP CHECK: V and Sami check the temperature on the Columbia University protest, clarifying the motivation behind the protests and discussing how they’ve expanded nationwide. 25:45 MAIN NEWS: Why does it seem like every headline is about a court case? They highlight the latest developments at SCOTUS, criminal cases, and more… while reflecting on America’s long standing reputation of being one of the most litigious countries in the world and how Americans use the legal system to solve (and c...
Apr 30, 2024•58 min
Topics: President Biden signed a bill that will force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest from its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. V updates us on the details of this bill and the consequences TikTok will face if they do not cooperate. Sami is joined by Jesse Washington, film director of Hip-Hop And The White House, a documentary that examines the relationship between the emergence of hip-hop, how it arose as a result of public policy, and the power of hip hop to make political s...
Apr 25, 2024•45 min
2:40 TEMP CHECK: Sami and V check the nation’s pulse after Taylor Swift’s double album release and the discourse that followed. 11:56 MAIN NEWS: This week, Maine joined The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). Under the proposed compact, each state would allocate all its electoral votes to whoever wins the national popular vote for president, regardless of how individual states voted in an election. 24:33 DOWN BALLOT GIRLY OF THE WEEK: Goes to the first South American-born immigrant...
Apr 23, 2024•48 min
TEMP CHECK: Sami and V discuss the 4B movement which renounces dating men, marriage, sex with men, and having children. It originated in South Korea in 2019 with 4,000 members, but now TikTok has caught wind and amassed over 60K videos with some form of #4B. MAIN NEWS: In the midst of his trial, Donald Trump drops a sneak peek of what we can expect from his desired second term, starting with a brilliant plan to devalue the US dollar on purpose. IN OUR DOWN BALLOT ERA: We are here to shout out th...
Apr 18, 2024•56 min
We’re switching/SWISHing it up this week, with our mini-sode today and our main episode out on Thursday, because there is just so much rolling news right now. Today, Sami and V are joined by Kara Swisher, tech journalist, Pivot co-host, co-founder of Recode, and New York Times bestselling author of Burn Book. Her memoir chronicles her decades-long career covering the rise of Silicon Valley, what they’re like up close, how they’ve helped and how they harmed us.Topics: Congress is finally starting...
Apr 16, 2024•35 min
Topics: The king of subprime car loans, Don Hankey, stepped forward to offer Trump his $175 million bond — but will he even be allowed to pay it? State Attorney General Letitia James is questioning whether Hankey's insurance group, Knight Company, is qualified to issue bonds in New York and that's even if the funds are legitimate. Following the Supreme Court’s mention of the Comstock Act, Sami and V dive deep into 19th century moralist Anthony Comstock, uncovering his motivations for creating th...
Apr 09, 2024•55 min
Topics: Republicans call President Biden anti-Catholic because he dared to acknowledge Trans Day of Visibility, which fell on the same day as Easter Sunday Family members of the late labor leader César Chavez tell RFK Jr. to stop using their dad’s likeness for clout. A major dive into Beyonce’s new album Cowboy Carter and its history lessons, plus a legendary (and definitely untold) story from V about Dolly Parton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 17 min
Topics: Sami is joined by Emily Amick to provide an update on Kate Middleton and how the public reacted to the conclusion of the royal conspiracies. V interviews Julie F. Kay, Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Abortion Coalition of Telemedicine (ACT), on how the Supreme Court is attempting to limit abortion access. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Topics: Run For Something’s latest research revealed that 61% of young democrats say they are most likely to turn out to vote if there is a young progressive candidate running. NBC hires Ronna McDaniel as an on-air commentator and faces major backlash. Truth Social has made a surprise IPO on the NASDAQ and its biggest investor is the company founded by TikTok’s savior Jeff Yass, Susquehanna International Group. A deep dive into RFK Jr. and his independent campaign In Our Down Ballot Era: Democra...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Topics: An overview of Emily Amick’s Substack piece: Kate Middleton & the Conspiratization of Modern Mass Communications Identifying how conspiracies become discredited to cover up truth. Is it malevolence or is it just messiness? Pre-order Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 21, 2024•31 min
Topics: Discussing the rising issue of “Moral Narcissism”. A primer on what’s happening in Haiti Shouting out Democratic candidates that voted against the TikTok ban. The gap in our court system that allows hypothetical court cases to make it to the Supreme Court without consequence. Come back on Thursday for a minisode where V, Sami, and @emilyinyourphone chat about missing Kate Middleton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 19, 2024•52 min
Topics: After predicting some possible options for TikTok saviors, Kellyanne Conway is beginning to lobby on behalf of TikTok in Congress. Trump posted a $91.6 Million dollar bond on Friday to cover the financial penalty that he owes Jean Carroll. Texas down ballot results for Greg Casar, Jasmine Crockett, and Jessica Cisneros. Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna has proposed bipartisan legislation in congress that would allow members of congress to vote remotely for six weeks after they gi...
Mar 12, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Topics: Sami and V share their takes on Trump and Biden’s respective popularity following Super Tuesday. The TikTok ban is back on the legislative table and Congress is getting serious about heavy regulatory fines to ban it from app stores. Will TikTok be saved by a buyer? Sami throws out some potential candidates. You can watch the bills consideration and debate LIVE Thursday, March 7, 2024 2:00 P.M. at https://energycommerce.house.gov/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
Mar 07, 2024•34 min
Topics: Caitlin Clark is changing sports for a generation The Supremes fall in line to help Donald Trump win the election Unpacking Vice President Kamala Harris’s call for a ceasefire + reactions A Hunter Biden hearing without full frontal nudity An extra thicc and juicy downballot era segment in honor of Super Tuesday, featuring Brian Derrick of Oath, who breaks down why North Carolina really, really, *really* needs to elect a Democratic governor this November Learn more about Oath at Oath.Vote...
Mar 05, 2024•1 hr 11 min
In today’s mini-sode V chats with author and journalist, Taylor Lorenz. They detail Taylor’s interview with Chaya Raichik during which she revealed herself as the creator of LibsofTikTok. FULL INTERVIEW Taylor’s Book: Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet Topics: How Taylor came to discover LibsofTikTok creator, Chaya Raichik. The severity of Raichik’s content and the concern of copy cats. The timeliness of Taylor’s book Extremely Online. Learn more abo...
Feb 29, 2024•29 min
Today’s episode includes an exclusive interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, where she reacts to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling on frozen embryos and the death of Nex Benedict. To jump to the interview, listen at 49:24. Other topics in this show include: Symptom management of late-stage capitalism: why is the internet hiding news from us and why do CEOs want us eating cereal for dinner? Why don’t we know exactly what happened to Nex Benedict? We guide you through the confusing coverage. ...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Another week of nightmare fuel to unpack in today's episode of American Fever Dream, including: Alabama’s Supreme Court rules that frozen embryos should be considered people. Here are the implications for IVF. Where is Ivanka Trump lately? The hottest new wedding venue is decommissioned prisons What we know about the killing of Nex Benedict Why a California conservative is making decisions about Oklahoma school libraries Alexei Navalny’s “sudden death syndrome” Who’s in their downballot era this...
Feb 20, 2024•56 min
In the first episode of American Fever Dream, V. Spehar of Under The Desk News fame officially joins the Betches News family in our premiere episode of our signature news and politics podcast dedicated to keeping you responsibly informed, sufficiently amused, and ready to stay engaged for the long haul.This week’s topics include: What’s going on with politics on social media? The Super Bowl political intersections you didn’t see and Nancy Pelosi’s Vegas field trip The race to replace George Sant...
Feb 13, 2024•58 min
Betches News (formerly The Betches Sup) is excited to announce the newest podcast from Betches Media: American Fever Dream! From under the desk to in your ears, V. Spehar joins Betches Media in a new podcast dedicated to curing the collective malaise brought on by our chaotic political environment. Every week, Spehar and co-host Amanda Duberman (news director, Betches) will tenderly guide you through the biggest moments in politics and pop culture with a healing dose of perspective and humor. Ra...
Feb 06, 2024•2 min
On this the final episode of Soft Black Woman for 2023, host Dr. Akilah Cadet welcomes your favorite financial hype woman, Berna Anat, to help break down the news. Be sure to subscribe to our new podcast feed so you don’t miss an episode of Soft Black Woman in 2024. Co-host: @heyberna, Berna Anat Follow The New Feed: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5JY2EXoszc2MqjuqeLNvxS Apple: https://apple.co/3r8mRjJ Topics: A judge found Trump committed fraud in building his real-estate empire. The WGA...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Topics: GOP primary candidates assemble once again to compete for the smallest L Reflecting on chaotic moments, favorite guests, and lessons learned What’s next for the Betches Sup podcast The Betches Sup podcast will be on hiatus until early 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 28, 2023•2 hr 31 min
Topics: What’s in the “tentative deal” struck by writers and studios? Our writers debrief on the imminent end of one strike while another heats up. What does Kevin McCarthy want more, his job or a functioning government? Did Senator Bob Menendez engage in sweeping corruption, or just leave a little extra cash lying around? Are Men Ok? We deliberate over this cringey comment from the Greek Prime Minister Check out our latest promo codes here: https://betches.com/promos Learn more about your ad ch...
Sep 25, 2023•43 min
On this episode of Soft Black Woman, host Dr. Akilah Cadet welcomes comedian and content creator TaTa Sherise. Be sure to subscribe to our new podcast feed so you don’t miss an episode of Soft Black Woman. Co-host: @tatasherise, TaTa Sherise Follow The New Feed: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5JY2EXoszc2MqjuqeLNvxS Apple: https://apple.co/3r8mRjJ Topics: Halle Berry calls out Drake for using a picture of her to promote his new single Maren Morris says she’s quitting country music because...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr
Topics: What we’ve been binge-watching lately How Rupert Murdoch should spend his retirement Why the government spending negotiations are like a disorganized Bachelorette party The Senate changes its dress code. But are some clothes simply too casual for the gravity of governing? Angelica Ross details Emma Roberts’ transphobia on the “American Horror Story” set Milly and Alise share heart-warming and hilarious anecdotes in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Sep 21, 2023•59 min
Topics: Did Lauren Boebert give a handy at the theater? What’s unique about the auto workers’ strike. The Republican governor and VP hopeful accused of having an affair with a Trump aide. Why young voters are putting pressure on Biden to take more radical action on climate change. Drew Barrymore finally changes course and pauses her talk show. A Rolling Stone co-founder makes controversial and ill-informed statements about “inarticulate” women and Black performers. Learn more about your ad choic...
Sep 18, 2023•54 min
