South Korea's Yoon imprisoned for life and Uber's lax background checks

South Korea's Yoon imprisoned for life and Uber's lax background checks

Author: Amanda Stephens, Hanna Bilinski,Rti February 23, 2026 Duration: 0:00

This week, Hanna and Amanda talk about the life sentence South Korea just handed down to their disgraced former president for attempting a coup, some frighteningly lax standards for Uber drivers in the United States.


Read along with us!

Yoon suk-yeol's sentence: 1. South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol jailed for life for leading insurrection (Amy Hawkins and Raphael Rashid, the Guardian), 2. South Korea gripped by uncertainty as MPs defy president’s declaration of martial law (Amy Hawkins and Raphael Rashid, the Guardian)

Uber's poor background policy: 1. Uber Cleared Violent Felons to Drive. Passengers Accused Them of Rape. (Emily Steel, New York Times), 2. Uber Moves to Enact Stricter Background Checks for Drivers (Emily Steel, New York Times)


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
Japan's Iron Lady and Taiwan's aviation industry [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
This week Hanna and Amanda discuss Japan, where Sanae Takaichi just won the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election and is on track to become their first female prime minister, as well as what’s been going on with…
Madagascar Protests and a new proposal in Israel's war on Gaza [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
First, Amanda and Hanna take a look at yet another youth protest that has broken out in Madagascar, and how it both reflects and differs from similar situations covered on Doomscroll this year. Then, looking at changes i…
Dreams of revolution in Nepal and Indonesia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Hanna and Amanda talk about the youth uprisings in Nepal and Indonesia and ways in which Gen Z protesters have and haven't succeeded in changing the world. Read along with us: Nepal: 1. Nepal prime minister quits after d…
Google survives its first anti-trust lawsuit and Israel bombs Qatar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
This week, Amanda is back in the driver's seat and covering a topic she and co-host Hanna have been looking forward to for a long time-- The results of the first anti-trust lawsuit against Google (even if they're disappo…