Were The Oscars Overly Political? Winners & Losers, Controversies Large and Small, plus Marvel/Disney Woes & more w/film critic Luis Mendez

On this episode of Heard Tell host Andrew shares some thoughts on the NY Magazine article "Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College” and uses it to talk about higher education, why we should have a healthy skepticism of AI, why the learning part of education has been lost in the credentialism, what education ought to mean, and why he signed up for community college this past week.All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Heard Tell host Andrew shares some thoughts on the Signal scandal involving Trump administration officials using the messaging app as a group chat to discuss details of the recent Houthi strikes in Yemen, which included The Atlantic's Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a stunning series of events. From the sequence of events, to what might or might not happen next, and how the basic principle of "OPSEC ends where convenience begins" is at the heart of this hot mess on this edition of Heard Tell. All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Heard Tell host Andrew comes fresh of some talking heading to talk through the reported cuts coming for Veterans Affairs, the wider push for DOGE & “efficient/smaller” government, and the rhetoric that there should not be any “sacred cows” when it comes to spending cuts. Which is fine in theory, but when it comes to entitlement programs and the optics of veterans and other classes of folks losing their jobs, benefits, and livelihoods, the politics and perception quickly changes from the buzzwords.All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Heard Tell we are talking about the goings on at the Academy Awards. The Oscars are always a cultural moment to slather our political & cultural issues upon, so just how political did this year’s ceremony get and how much did politics affect who won and viral cultural moments affect who lost?Film critic Luis Mendez returns to talk about the winners and losers on Oscar night, the cringe moments and the biggest surprises, how an election year and volatile political climate did and did not affect the awards ceremony, and how the film Anora surged ahead after the epic and very public collapse of Emile Perez. Plus Luis and host Andrew talk about the hot mess that is Disney/Marvel studios from the latest Captain America offering’s soft numbers to the controversies surrounding the live-action Snow White.All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.And do please subscribe to the Mendez Movie Report for more from Luis.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Heard Tell, we turn down the noise of the news cycle and get to the information we need on Canada being all over US news and politics. But instead of talking about Canada amongst ourselves, let's try something different and talk to Canada and the politics and economics thereof with Sabine El-Chidiac, Canadian Policy Associate for the Consumer Choice Center and an actual Canadian. Sabine and host Andrew talk through the background of the current headlines going back to the first Trump administration, how political upheaval and looming elections affect Canada's position, how the Canadian government works and the politics American's and the world need to know and understand, and the economic crisis that is the undertow to many other problems facing Canada right now. Also, Sabine gives some things to watch for in news coverage coming up, and answers the question "Could Waffle House bring peace between our two nations?"All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.Read more from Sabine at CCC here:https://consumerchoicecenter.org/team/sabine-el-chidiac/CCC's tariff explainer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBkEuD4wJDY&t=1433s--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsRead lessSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Heard Tell, we turn down the noise of the news cycle and get to the information we need on the early days of the new Trump administration from the perspective of congress with congressional reporter and Washington Bureau Chief for The Independent Eric Garcia. Eric takes us behind the scenes and into the hallways of Capitol Hill for how the calendar & previous congress actions are dictating the new congress and the proposed Trump agenda, thoughts on the RFJ, Jr. nomination from the perspective of autism advocacy, good media and good reporters, the long-running congressional politics of Reagan National Airport (DCA) in light of the plane collision with a Blackhawk VIP helicopter, previewing some 2026 senate races like Senator Ossoff in Georgia and Senator Tillis in North Carolina, and Eric meets Babydog and despite host Andrew's warning, fell for the Jim Justice bulldog diversion.All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.Read Eric Garcia's work in The Independent here:--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

There have always been bad faith media actors and conspiracy theorists, because human nature is undefeated and there is nothing new under the sun. But technology means that bad faith actors and conspiracy theorists are finding comfortable homes in social media and news media where a constant search for optimized niche content is the name of the game. “Everything is a conspiracy if you don’t understand how things work” is a filter we are just going to have to apply to talking heads, pundits, social media accounts, news outlets, and even our elected officials. From the plane & helicopter crash at Reagan National to RFK, Jr.’s senate confirmation hearing, properly discerning our times means cutting through the conspiratorial noise and getting to good information by pruning our information intake in times like these.All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Heard Tell, we turn down the noise of the news cycle and gets to the information we need as 2025 starts out with two terrible terrorist attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and some truly bad news media and social media coverage thereof. Host Andrew delves into the changing state of getting information to current events, parsing through social media, consequences of distrust of legacy media, and how all the issues in news media and social media eventually come back to the biggest influence on both: the consumer, meaning us.All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this Heard Tell turns down the noise of the news cycle and gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to President Joe Biden deciding to pardon his son Hunter Biden, despite publicly declaring he would not. Politics, personal feelings, and performative news and social media all play a part, and host Andrew Donaldson talks about precedent, known history of Joe Biden, what Donald Trump has to do with it, and the lesson to learn from the latest twist in our political soap opera. All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this Heard Tell host Andrew Donaldson took a few days before responding to an article in The Economist entitled "American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits" and subtitled "An enormous rise in disability payments may complicate debt-reduction efforts." Andrew talks through the nomenclature that is being misused, like the differences in "100% disabled", the good, bad, and often very indifferent VA system, the culture and technology changes that must be understood, and some of the things that are driving the increase in veteran benefits and claimants that are not being discussed in social media and news media.All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us [email protected] follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/heard-tell/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy