How to balance staying informed with staying grounded: Leslie Liao, Eric Gao, and Iris Hsu

How to balance staying informed with staying grounded: Leslie Liao, Eric Gao, and Iris Hsu

Author: Amanda Stephens, Hanna Bilinski,Rti December 29, 2025 Duration: 0:00

This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna (mostly) take a break from current news to reflect on how we manage to stay high-information, low stress by talking to some other professionals in the news world about how they achieve work-life balance when their job literally is the news (especially in these crazy times)!

We'll be hearing from Eric Gao, a copy-editior and anchor at Taiwan Plus, Iris Hsu host of Rti's own The Divide and current breaking news writer, and anchor and reporter Leslie Liao, also from Taiwan Plus.

Read along with us:

The 12/19 Taipei metro attack: 1. Suspect in Taipei attacks that left 2 dead, 7 injured jumps to death (Focus Taiwan), 2. Taipei mass stabbing likely 'lone wolf' attack: Police (Focus Taiwan), 3. Local governments move to honor man killed trying to stop Taipei attacks (Focus Taiwan)


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
What ICE is doing in Minnesota, and the continuing war on journalism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
This week, hosts Hanna and Amanda discuss the ongoing situation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the recent activities of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, with a focus on what journalists are doin…
2025 Year-end retrospective: Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
This week, hosts Hanna and Amanda reflect on the news story that most impacted Amanda in the year 2025: the on-going saga of U.S. "Secreatary of War" Pete Hegseth. They also briefly discuss events from the past week, inc…
2025 year-end retrospective: Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
The hosts reflect on the news story that most impacted Hanna in the year 2025: the assassination of Charlie Kirk.