Another internet downer, women ruining workplaces, and parasocial relationships

Another internet downer, women ruining workplaces, and parasocial relationships

Author: Amanda Stephens, Hanna Bilinski,Rti November 24, 2025 Duration: 0:00

This week, Amanda and Hanna are tackling: the Cloudflare outage and what (if anything) it means, a New York Times opinion debate that blamed women for “ruining the workplace”, and finally what it says about 2025 that Cambridge's “word of the year” is PARASOCIAL.

Read along with us:

Cloudflare outage: 1. Cloudflare Outage Disrupts X, ChatGPT and Thousands of Sites (Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly, Observer), 2. Why It Feels Like Your Favorite Websites Keep Going Down (Lisa Eadicicco, CNN)

Did women ruin workplaces?: 1. Opinion | Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace? (Ross Douthat and Victoria Chamberlin, The New York Times) , 2. Women of Vanity Fair Consider Ross Douthat’s Question: Did Women Ruin the Workplace? (Vanity Fair)

Word of the year: 1. Parasocial - that one-sided feeling you really know a celebrity - is Cambridge Dictionary's word of the year (Sky News), 2. Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 Word of the Year: ‘Parasocial’ - an ‘unhealthy’ modern phenomenon (David Mouriquand, EuroNews)


Every week, writers Hanna Bilinski and Amanda Stephens find themselves stuck in the same cycle: falling down a rabbit hole of alarming headlines and relentless updates. The Doomscroll News Report is their attempt to climb back out and make sense of it all. Instead of just recapping the major international stories that flooded their feeds, they pause to place each event within a broader context, asking what it really means for the global conversation. This isn't a straight news broadcast; it's a dialogue between two curious observers who bring on knowledgeable guests to deepen the discussion. By weaving together expert insight with their own perspectives as individuals striving to stay informed, they create a space for understanding that goes beyond the reactive nature of the daily news cycle. Tuning into this podcast feels like joining a necessary conversation that seeks clarity and connection amidst the noise, offering a thoughtful alternative to the endless scroll.
Author: Language: en_us Episodes: 51

The Doomscroll News Report
Podcast Episodes
One year of doomscrolling! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Hanna and Amanda reflect on some of their favorite stories from the last year of Doomscroll News Report episodes. They also have a chat(GPT) about the controversies surrounding OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Read along: Sam Altm…
An uneasy ceasefire without Lebanon, and Hungary's big election [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna are discussing the Iran ceasefire that came and almost went, why Lebanon doesn't seem to be included, and Viktor Orban’s tight election which could cost him his 16-year rule. Read along…
Iran war identity crisis, Cuba without power, and alpine divorce [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna tackle defections and ideology clashes in Trump’s party over the Iran war, what’s happening in Cuba, and a trend called the "alpine divorce". Read along with us! Iran War effects on dome…
Scam industries and skinny shots [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This week, Hanna and Amanda discuss the dystopian cyber scam industry that seems to have made its home in remote parts of southeast Asia. We also discuss the highly effective T2 diabetes and weight loss management drug s…
Anthropic sues the Pentagon, and Paramount buy Warner Brothers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This week, we're discussing a DIFFERENT kind of AI lawsuit with Anthropic taking on the Pentagon, and the movie studio merger which may swing the news right, and a very slight detour to talk about CEOs tasting their own…
U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and other forms of monkey business [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Hanna and Amanda talk about the only story that anyone could possibly talk about this week, plus a little bit of lighter news about primates. Read along with us: Pete Hegseth says Iranian regime is ‘toast’ as US expands…