We Swapped News Sources for 10 Days - Liberal vs Conservative Media
What happens when a liberal starts watching Fox News and a conservative dives into The New York Times? We decided to find out. For 10 days, we deliberately consumed each other's preferred media sources to see if we'd been living in completely different realities.
I (Nicole) typically get my news from The New York Times, The Daily podcast, and Ezra Klein. Jolene gravitates toward Fox News, America's Newsroom, and The Free Press. For 10 days, we switched sides to see what we'd been missing - or avoiding.
Nicole's Journey into Conservative Media
Stepping into Jolene's media world was interesting. America's Newsroom was surprisingly moderate compared to what I expected, but the constant "BREAKING NEWS" banners made everything feel like a crisis. Immigration stories dominated, often featuring dramatic police chases and border footage that felt designed to provoke anxiety rather than inform.
But here's what surprised me: the questions weren't always unfair. Some of the concerns about policy implementation were legitimate, even if wrapped in sensationalist packaging. I found myself agreeing with certain points, just not the apocalyptic framing.
Jolene's Liberal Media Experience
My dive into The New York Times and The Daily was enlightening in unexpected ways. The concise summaries of complex events were actually helpful, though I noticed subtle editorial choices - like describing Trump's negotiation tactics in ways that felt loaded. The Daily's storytelling was genuinely compelling, presenting nuanced takes on complicated issues.
What struck me most was how much important news I'd been missing by staying in my conservative bubble. Stories about climate policy, international relations, and social issues were covered with depth I rarely saw in my usual sources.
What we realised through this experiment is that every outlet has an agenda. Fox News and ABC tend to traffic in fear and drama to keep viewers hooked. The difference isn't bias versus no bias - it's which fears they're selling and which stories they're emphasizing. Even straightforward news stories carried subtle slants. We found ourselves agreeing on more than we expected. The common ground was there - it was just buried under partisan rhetoric.
What We Learned About Ourselves
This experiment forced us to confront an uncomfortable truth: we'd been choosing comfort over challenge. It's easier to consume news that confirms what we already believe than to wrestle with information that complicates our worldview.
But stepping outside our echo chambers didn't just change how we saw the news - it changed how we saw each other. When you understand why someone might be concerned about border security or climate change, it's harder to dismiss their perspective as ignorant or malicious.
The Path Forward
Our 10-day media swap taught us that informed citizenship requires work. It means:
Recognizing that no source is completely neutral
Seeking out diverse perspectives, even when they're uncomfortable
Distinguishing between legitimate concerns and manufactured outrage
Having conversations with people who disagree with us
We're challenging ourselves, and you, to step outside your media comfort zone. Spend a week reading headlines from sources you usually avoid. Listen to podcasts that challenge your assumptions. Engage with people whose news diet looks nothing like yours.
You might discover that the "other side" isn't as crazy as you thought. You might find common ground in unexpected places. Or you might just develop a better understanding of why people see the world differently than you do.
In a time when we're told that Americans have never been more divided, maybe the real problem isn't our differences - it's that we've stopped trying to understand each other.
resources mentioned:
Straight Arrow News: https://san.com/
Ezra Klein Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447
The Daily: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736
The Headlines: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-headlines/id1758855019
America’s Newsroom: https://www.foxnews.com/shows/americas-newsroom
World News Tonight: https://abcnews.go.com/world-news-tonight-with-david-muir
The Free Press: https://www.thefp.com/
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[00:00:00] Nicole: She is conservative and I'm liberal, and yet we've been friends for almost 40 years. Everyone says you shouldn't discuss politics, religion, or money. And we say, that's exactly what friends should be talking about. Join us as we tackle the conversations you're having in your head, but are too scared to say out loud.
[00:00:18] Jolene: Welcome to. We've got to Talk.
[00:00:20]
[00:00:21] Nicole: Welcome. Look at our patriotic, we're both so red and white and blue. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
[00:00:28] Jolene: it.
[00:00:28] Nicole: So, y'all, we've spent 10 days, this topic we are talking about, our experience in consuming each other's media.
[00:00:38] Jolene: So you gave me The New York Times. So apparently you get most of your news from the New York Times.
[00:00:48] Nicole: Mm.
[00:00:49] Jolene: gave me the headlines, which I liked because it was a quick headline. Here's, you know, here's what's going on in the world,
[00:00:58] then you gave me The Daily, which is [00:01:00] then a podcast from the New York Times, that does a deeper dive into a certain subject.
[00:01:08] Then the third one was Ezra Klein I didn't get to listen to any Ezra Klein I only did two thirds of,
[00:01:15] Nicole: Okay. Okay. to be fair, I also only did two thirds because you gave me, America's newsroom on Fox. You gave me the free press, and then you gave me, the evening news with David Muir on ABC Now, here's where I had some issues. I don't have live television, so David Muir was out. I couldn't and you told me. That's okay. Don't worry about that one. when it came to the free press, I was like, oh, that's easy, because I also get their newsletter and I maybe don't deep dive into them every day, but this'll be fine.
[00:01:58] Well, what ended [00:02:00] up happening about, I would say about day six of this experiment, the free press isn't so free y'all. there's a paywall after a while and so I would, find these, I mean, I really like how they report. They are very even. and then I'd be really excited about reading some subject, whatever it might be.
[00:02:19] And it was like, ugh. I only got like a third of it. 'cause then I was, I was over my due.
[00:02:27] Jolene: I don't, I don't subscribe to any of their stuff either. I don't pay for anything. I,
[00:02:33] Nicole: when you,
[00:02:34] Jolene: that I only get to see, like the first third
[00:02:37] Nicole: okay. Okay. So,
[00:02:40] Jolene: subscribe to get the whole story. And I'm like, no,
[00:02:43] Nicole: Right. Okay. Fair enough. So then American newsroom. So this was really interesting to me Because I don't have live television. I every day, several times a day, I [00:03:00] would go online to see what America Newsroom, 'cause they would show videos of what they would report.
[00:03:08] But because they of course don't report all day, they report from, their show is from what, 9:00 AM am to 10:00 AM your time, there were so many videos from all the different shows, which I know that you don't watch.
[00:03:25] There was, I can't even name you all the shows, but there were a lot of shows on Fox that have their videos.
[00:03:31] Jolene: okay. Yeah.
[00:03:33] Nicole: And in terms of America's newsroom. What I will say is that it's by far the most moderate compared to all the other shows. Like they're very, for the most part, they're pretty even, and I. Liked their questions.
[00:03:52] I was like, okay, I see what's going on. But what was sort of startling to me, [00:04:00] and interesting the way you started this conversation by saying the headlines was very even and very, this is the news. I'll just start with America's newsroom. There are so many breaking of, breaking news of it's like all day long breaking news.
[00:04:15] It's flashy, it's really slick. The people are really pretty. And there's like banners and there's banners on the bottom. There's banners on the top. There's it's flashy and sparkly, and I'm like, what is. Going on. It's a lot. It's a lot. And then there would be things like, this cracked me up, and this was on America's newsroom.
[00:04:38] they did a report on, travel and the travel delays and the Memorial Day weekend. and of course, you know, what we're all concerned about is the lack of air traffic controllers and the delays in the airports. They had a map. And it said misery map on it. [00:05:00] It was like, so what I found funny, in terms of America's newsroom, a lot of it was quite honestly some of the exact same news that I'd hear on the left.
[00:05:09] and I appreciated that. I was like, okay, here, here we have something to work with. But some of the language. That was used like misery. There's a lot. There was much more of a like fear angle now this wasn't always, to be fair, this wasn't always the American newsroom show, but there was a ton of trans stories and a ton of.
[00:05:38] Illegal immigrant stories and a ton of showing footage. And this was not America's newsroom showing footage of police chases. So there was this sort of lens of, look how scary America is now, to be fair, since we [00:06:00] started this podcast, I no longer watch or read. Anything like SNBC. I used to listen to M-S-N-B-C and watch M-S-N-B-C every day. And I do remember during COVID too that I would feel agitated, physically agitated. I used to watch Rachel Maddow and that kind of stuff, and then it would be like, we would be, Josh would like walk into the room and be like, can you please turn that off? And so I, that, that was a really interesting thing that I experienced in these last 10 days was that when I would watch the Fox videos, I got really agitated and I would think, oh, it would remind me this happens when I would watch Joy Reed.
[00:06:56] Or Nicole Wallace or, uh, Rachel [00:07:00] Maddow or Lawrence McDonald. Like it was the same and different, like exactly the same flashing. Maybe they're not as pretty, you know, as the conservative world, but just that same sort of tactic, like let's scare the crap out of our audience. it was sort of that way in America's newsroom, but not nearly as much.
[00:07:26] But that was really interesting to me. 'cause there were times during the day that I would have to like, you know, I'm trying to do the research for this podcast, and then I, like, I have to walk away. I, this is really upsetting. For instance, there was a story where they had and this was not on America's newsroom, it was a different channel or it was a different show, but they had this girl on that was a athlete, she was a amateur marathoner, and this.
[00:07:59] Host [00:08:00] was interviewing her and she was talking about, there was a, athlete who was trans, who's had been a man was now a woman competing against her. And she was saying that it wasn't okay. maybe this is not popular for a left person to say. I would agree with her. I don't think it's fair. But this host was then putting the Instagram posts of this athlete who's baiting the woman being interviewed. And the girl says, oh, I'm not allowed to see those posts because this person has banned me from Instagram. But the Fox host is like, what's your reaction? And I'm just feeling like. What, so I think part of it, Jolene, that my takeaway is [00:09:00] there's not enough news for all these channels. yes, there's news in the world, but we don't need 24 hours of it every day, all day long. And so they start putting up stuff to get a reaction outta you.
[00:09:14] Jolene: Yeah. I found the headlines. Great. I think, and maybe we should talk about this, I get probably a half hour of news in the morning when I'm getting ready. I've got the TV on, watching either the end of the Today Show. Okay, if I get in the shower by seven 30, I watch the end of the Today Show, then I get the beginning of America's newsroom and I'm usually done by eight 30 at the latest.
[00:09:39] So I'm getting a half hour of news. I'm getting, you know, some entertainment with the Today Show, and then I'm getting, you know, half hour of news between eight and eight 30. and then Jeff and I will sit and watch, David Muir. At night if, if we're not doing anything else, like if I'm done with work at five 30, then, you know, we'll, we'll get to watch that.
[00:09:58] But that's really, [00:10:00] and, and some local news at, you know, 10 o'clock at night, I would say. But that's probably the only news I consume with the exception of Instagram. I'm not on Facebook and I'm not, so I, I would get my news from Instagram and that's probably the majority of the free press stuff that I get is off of Instagram.
[00:10:19] Um, so I don't think there's a lot of news. So going back, I think that there, I liked the headlines because it was the, the quick, you know, down and dirty. This is what we're looking at today, and it's updated every day.
[00:10:34] Nicole: Did you feel, Jolene, that it was, that there was it was biased at all or was it more just like straight
[00:10:40] Jolene: the only thing that I would say is several times. There were, updates on the, the Russia Ukrainian War and, for sure two times, maybe three times. That they, they would refer to, Trump as.
[00:10:59] You [00:11:00] know, trying to negotiate this, this peace settlement, and peace negoti negotiations. And then they would always add in which during he, his campaign said he could end this in one day. Like, that was like, that was the whole line. Like they continued to tell you that. And he said he was gonna end it in one day and he didn't.
[00:11:21] Like, you know, I felt like that's what they were, you know, alluding to. And so that was the only time that I really felt like, okay, you didn't need to say that. Like, we, we got it, you know, just gimme the headlines. That was the editorial part. but other than that, I thought it was, I mean, now some of the stories in the headline, or I'm sorry, in the daily.
[00:11:42] Like this, this whole story on abortions and, crossing state lines and
[00:11:47] Nicole: Oh, I, I heard that one too.
[00:11:49] Jolene: Yeah. And
[00:11:50] Nicole: Mm-hmm. It was about that doctor.
[00:11:53] Jolene: yes,
[00:11:54] Nicole: it the Dr. Carpenter in New York in New Pulse? Mm-hmm. Yeah, I was wondering what [00:12:00] you thought about that one.
[00:12:01] Jolene: yeah, it was, it was, it was interesting because that was the whole point of Roe versus Wade, you know, of, of. Having the Supreme Court rule on the row versus Wade was really about letting the states decide, you know, not making it a, a national, referendum or a national law, but having each of the states decide.
[00:12:22] And so now we're getting into this area where some states have decided. And so if you're a doctor in one state and that allows abortions and you write a prescription for a patient in a state that is doesn't allow abortions, then, you know, where's the, and there's no precedent for it,
[00:12:38] Nicole: Right, right. And there was that story about, I thought was fascinating about the girl, the girl's mother.
[00:12:46] Jolene: right.
[00:12:47] Nicole: That was, to me, that was like really complicated. I'm like, Ugh. Where the girl's mother's like, you're getting an abortion and writing this doctor in New York and she's a minor.
[00:12:59] And I'm like, [00:13:00] woo, this
[00:13:01] Jolene: a lot of,
[00:13:02] Nicole: there's a lot of that. So,
[00:13:04] Jolene: so it was interesting that they chose topics that were, you know, probably, but I mean, it was a good topic and I
[00:13:13] Nicole: Yeah, yeah,
[00:13:14] Jolene: to discuss and it was, and it's interesting because, you know, it does kind of open up a whole can of worms of.
[00:13:19] Okay.
[00:13:20] Nicole: absolutely.
[00:13:21] Jolene: how do you, what do,
[00:13:22] Nicole: How do we do deal with this? Yeah,
[00:13:24] Jolene: how much news do would you say you consume a day? Like in terms of minutes?
[00:13:29] Nicole: Well, it's funny because certainly before this podcast, not nearly what I consume now, but for me it's more like we'll have a topic like we are, we're gonna record climate on Sunday, so I'm trying to. Binge as much climate news as I can. So it's more pointed now versus just like everyday stuff. I think I, I do love podcasts.
[00:13:58] I always did [00:14:00] before we decided to do our own. And so I, usually I listen to a podcast called Up First on NPR, which I also am finding to be quite. Left At this point, the headlines is much more straight. I listen to the daily if I can just, 'cause I love the way they story tell. it takes one topic and just sort of really blows it out in a way that I find I, it's very compelling.
[00:14:28] Ezra Klein, if I have extra time, but, but he's only once a week, thankfully. And then like you, I listen to tangle pretty much every day because, so since we've started the podcast, I would say I never see nightly news ever. we get B, b, C news, here strangely.
[00:14:47] I will listen, I will look at a little of the snippet as I'm flipping a channel to watch something I want to watch. I've always liked the glamor of the BBC news just because I remember hearing when [00:15:00] my. Dad lived in Carmel, they had access to this radio station. And so I would get the BBC news on the radio and the car and I thought it was so cool 'cause all of a, 'cause America doesn't tend to really look at international news that much.
[00:15:18] I found it really cool to like, what is going on in Africa? What is going on? You know? And I always thought that was really neat. I would say since we started the podcast, certainly I am hyper aware of how things are reported now. So I will look at tangle more than anything to try to stay as informed in a, a more neutral tone because I'm so aware that. Left and the right are saying things like he said he was gonna do it in 24 hours,
[00:15:53] Instagram, like you and I are getting snippets all the time and so is the rest of the country.
[00:15:58] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:15:59] Nicole: Like it [00:16:00] is. It is a problem. 'cause each snippet can slant to whatever.
[00:16:03] Jolene: Yeah,
[00:16:04] Nicole: Whatever opinion they want to sway
[00:16:08] Jolene: yeah. do you think that our brains can handle this?
[00:16:14] I read something and it was a. It was something on, again, something on Instagram that said, our bodies weren't, weren't developed to handle this much information from all around the world, instantaneously.
[00:16:31] And, you know, we can talk about the wars and the, I mean like, there's so much. That we've just never been exposed to until now when we are exposed to all this that are we taking in all of this stuff and saying, we've gotta fix it, I've gotta do something about it. I have to help, and it's too much.
[00:16:52] And like, what's the, what's the point?
[00:16:54] Nicole: maybe I've seen the same thing on Instagram, but this sounds totally familiar to me and I [00:17:00] absolutely agree with you. I don't think that our, our brains and our nervous systems can handle it. that I think that's why people are so filled with anxiety and depression now.
[00:17:13] It's too much like, and the poor little kids and teenagers whose frontal lobes aren't developed, they really can't handle it. But neither can the grownups. Like, we're either like, you know, in this state of like, oh my God, the world is. Burning up dying. We're at war with each other. Like, what can I do or what can't I do?
[00:17:35] Or I can't do anything. and you know, we've talked about this before, that it's like, actually we need to put the phones down and just go walk around in nature and look at and say hello to each other.
[00:17:51] Jolene: Okay. So how will this, how is this narrative gonna change? because I truly believe that our, the thing that that [00:18:00] is just slapping us in the face right now is that media and journalism is bias. And there are, you know, we, we've talked about the 1440 and tangle and, you know, there are those unbiased, but I think you're never gonna get rid of Fox News and CNN or MSNB. CNBC. So as long as you recognize that they are biased.
[00:18:23] I mean, is that going to be the way moving forward that we just accept that we're gonna accept our news
[00:18:31] Nicole: There was a, another thing that I saw on Fox that her name's Laura Trump.
[00:18:37] and she's a reporter for Fox, I guess, and
[00:18:41] Jolene: It's Trump's daughter-in-law.
[00:18:43] Nicole: Okay, so I found it to be really an interesting segment for so many reasons, because it was in regards to the Jack Jake Tapper book and I guess. Jake Tapper was on CNN, and [00:19:00] Laura Trump was a guest, and I think it was possibly right after the debate. And Laura Trump says he's got cognitive problems, and Jake Tapper just, you know, slammed her down, slammed her down. And then, so the, the host of this particular program, I think it was Laura Ingram. No, Laura Ingram is her show.
[00:19:27] She's,
[00:19:27] Jolene: okay.
[00:19:29] Nicole: she, she was biased. I mean, it was like, so basically what happened, not being very articulate, that Jake Tapper apologized to Laura Trump and called her up. And so Laura's explaining that he did apologize, and there was a moment that I'm looking at it going, oh. Okay. Like, here is something, and then the host is like, well that's a little convenient, isn't it?
[00:19:57] Because his book's coming out. [00:20:00] And, and Laura was like, well, he did apologize. And she, she agreed. And then there was this like very quick, like clear moment of like, oh, we need to turn it to hate each other. Like, this isn't gonna be good
[00:20:17] Jolene: but those are, I think those people at night on, and whether it's CNN
[00:20:21] Nicole: don't, is it? Yeah.
[00:20:23] Jolene: those are all like. Pundits, right? I mean, those are all entertainment. They're meant to get you riled up. They're not, I don't think they're even trying to pretend to be unbiased.
[00:20:36] Nicole: Yeah. I guess you're right. So, so in that regard though, there are people that are addicted to the. The news, they're, they're watching it all day and all night. how do we change the narrative? I mean, I feel like you and I in are looking at it, you know, we're in our mid fifties and going, wait, how [00:21:00] do, how are we consuming the news?
[00:21:01] And yes, I have a certain beliefs that are. Not totally the opposite of you, but now we can look at the news and go, okay, what? What what do I believe from this?
[00:21:13] Jolene: But you and I also grew up with Walter Cronkite. You know, I mean we grew up in a time and anybody older than us grew up in a time where it was unbiased. And so we understand that that was, and, and you. Even said this before, that if you gave, you know, two minutes of airtime of the Democrat, then you had to give two minutes of airtime for the Republicans so that it was balanced.
[00:21:36] So now that we've gotten past that, and like you said, these 24 hour news cycles are having to come up with stuff to, to fill their 24 hours, I think it's gonna be so interesting to look at this. Even five years down the road It's almost like when you're watching a football game and you know that the commentators are [00:22:00] for the Kansas City Chief. But if you're for the Oakland Raiders, or wait, it's not, I don't think it's Oakland Raiders anymore. No. I think it's
[00:22:06] Nicole: I know they've left.
[00:22:08] Jolene: Vegas
[00:22:09] Nicole: They've left Oakland.
[00:22:10] Jolene: a a Raiders fan, You're gonna watch the same game. But you are, you want to hear the, the commentator for the Raiders, not for the Chiefs. Is that what we're going, is that how our news is going to be?
[00:22:28] Nicole: Well, do you think, I think that's how our news is right now. I think that's how our news is,
[00:22:34] Jolene: Right. But people didn't know that, right? I mean, you and I, I think,
[00:22:39] Nicole: Yes. I thought that what I was reading or watching was the truth listening to, and you thought what you were reading and listening and watching to was the truth.
[00:22:49] Jolene: Yeah. Right.
[00:22:50] Nicole: It's fascinating. And you know, when we're, most of us are like consuming on Instagram, it is absolutely edited to the way [00:23:00] whatever we believe.
[00:23:01] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:23:01] Nicole: Versus what we don't believe. But I do think, and maybe it's the idealistic liberal in me, but because I feel like people are starting to wake up and starting to understand what the hell's going on, that there are these independent news agencies that are going, we've had it, like there are reporters like Isaac Stahl, who's like.
[00:23:26] I don't want to do this. I don't wanna be a journalist in this way anymore. I want to be a journalist the way I thought journalists were supposed to be,
[00:23:34] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:23:35] Nicole: which is, you know, just reporting the news.
[00:23:40] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:23:41] Nicole: make the decision, here are the facts, or here's what we know that the facts are. in your friends, in your like conservative world? 'cause I know you have lots of friends that are not conservative too. But do you think other friends of yours are, are questioning the way we are? Like is it, is it sort of more of the [00:24:00] popular culture now that we now know, Hey, what are we looking at here?
[00:24:03] Jolene: I don't think, and I have no scientific way to prove this, but I don't think they are as much as Democrats may be, because I think Democrats were so taken aback by the result.
[00:24:21] Nicole: Yeah.
[00:24:22] Jolene: Of this election that they were like, wait, how can that be? So I think, I think as a Democrat, you're looking for answers going, well, how did the hell, how did that
[00:24:29] Nicole: right,
[00:24:30] Jolene: Whereas I think Republicans are, are sitting back and, and going, Nope, this is, I mean, this is what I thought was gonna happen. And so they're not, they're not as curious.
[00:24:43] Nicole: huh? that's really interesting and that makes sense to me. so this is a hypothetical, but if in 2026 the Democrats take the house back, take the Senate back, let's say, would that [00:25:00] make. The conservatives wake up. 'cause I, I want everyone to wake up. 'cause I feel like we can't, we can't get better as an, as a country if we don't all wake up.
[00:25:11] Jolene: Well, it depends on what the story is going into that election. If that story from the mainstream media is, you know, Democrats are, it's gonna be a red wave, I mean, or a blue wave, and it's gonna be, you know, they're going to, kill it and blah, blah, blah, and then that doesn't happen.
[00:25:33] Nicole: Yeah,
[00:25:34] Jolene: Are we back?
[00:25:35] You know,
[00:25:36] what is the story and what's gonna happen with that story as we get closer to the midterms, you know, are people, because I've, I've said this too, I don't think people are honest in polls, I don't think,
[00:25:49] Nicole: Oh, I agree with you.
[00:25:50] Jolene: So you'd have all of this polling that is done. And, and Franklin's even talked about this in the, the Gavin Newsom, podcast that you had me listen [00:26:00] to that you try as a pollster, you try to do everything you can to get the accurate information. And it's still, it, it, it may not be. are we gonna stop depending on polling too?
[00:26:13] I mean, is that even gonna be. Is that gonna go by the wayside?
[00:26:18] Nicole: The Democratic party has got to get their shit together or they're never winning anything again. Truly. And, and so to me, yeah, get rid of the polls. 'cause the polls don't work either. The polls are, no offense pollsters. 'cause I know you work really hard.
[00:26:34] one of the videos on the Americas Fox newsroom. They actually, it was Fox News Digital, which also I was, it was an interview with a Democratic congresswoman very smart questions, and she, and he, she answered them. They were very respectful, but then he asked.
[00:26:58] how do you feel about the [00:27:00] Biden coverup? And she had said like, all the things that I'm like, yep, that's good. Like, you understand what's going on. She goes, let's not focus on the past. And I thought I was gonna throw my phone. I was like, no.
[00:27:12] And so what I also get concerned about is human nature. Like we don't, we're not learning our mis from our mistakes.
[00:27:19] like two years from now is a long time. Are they just gonna do the same, the same shit that they do every time? The stories they tell every time to pit us up against each other instead of really taking responsibility for what?
[00:27:34] I mean it's a problem. What, what just happened the last four years? I will like, I am just horrified and you know, America's newsroom, they covered it a lot. lot. And I also during these last 10 days, have been consuming my own or the left stuff, and they're not talking about it very much, you know?
[00:27:59] And I think that's [00:28:00] a problem.
[00:28:01] Jolene: I thought we couldn't watch our own stuff. That wasn't part of the
[00:28:06] Nicole: That was a ploy. Just listen to the left for you. Girl. I, it was my ploy to get you to come to the other side and then we would have no podcast, so,
[00:28:21] Jolene: Oh, who got
[00:28:23] Nicole: Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
[00:28:26] Jolene: Can I tell you something that, I was in a, went to a wedding in Houston this last weekend. I mean, we assume like our husbands and our parents watch the podcast or listen to our podcast, but like beyond that, I don't know if anybody's really watching and listening and, and I hope that they are.
[00:28:47] The amount of feedback that I got this weekend though, from all these people, liberals and conservatives.
[00:28:53] The first person comes up to me and she goes. Okay. Um, I just wanted to tell [00:29:00] you how much I love your podcast. I absolutely agree with everything that you're saying, and I can't say that very loud because the rest of my family's at Democrat and she walks away and I'm like, I love this.
[00:29:12] This is fantastic. And she goes, and I don't wanna offend anybody, but I just love you. And I go,
[00:29:17] Nicole: Oh.
[00:29:17] Jolene: you so much. And then she even said, she goes, and I love Nicole. She goes, I just absolutely, I wanna be friends with her. I, I
[00:29:25] Nicole: Oh my God.
[00:29:26] Jolene: she's so sweet and, and I love the conversations and I can tell that there's a real friendship between you two and blah, blah, blah.
[00:29:34] So then the next person came up. I had another person, you know, and they had nice things to say. I had another person say that she's ready to Venmo us, asked if we had a Venmo for, we've got to talk so that we can get a wardrobe, so that we can get money for our wardrobe. And I go, oh my gosh. Then you really do listen, because we have talked about. sponsors. She goes, I can't really be a sponsor, but I can Venmo you some money.
[00:29:57] Nicole: Oh my God. Amazing.
[00:29:59] Jolene: So it was [00:30:00] just, it was so fun to, to be around people that, you know, you get to see once a year or, you know, during weddings or funerals or you know, those types of friends that just don't have, constant contact with that just had such great things to say about.
[00:30:14] Podcast and then others who didn't know or you'd be talking to somebody and they're like, wait, what are you talking about? And I'm like, okay, well I've got this podcast. It's my friend la la la. And they're like, well, I wanna watch it. So it was fun. We all Good feedback.
[00:30:26] Nicole: Oh, that's so great. That's so great. Oh my. I'm thrilled. I mean, I've, you know, in terms of the social media, I guess I have more. Interaction so that I do see that a lot of people are listening and, and watching and thank you guys for listening and watching. yeah, and I, and that friends of mine will be like, oh my God, I love this.
[00:30:50] And I'm thinking. A thank you. Like it's so fun to do and it's so hard and it's so humbling and [00:31:00] just, so grateful that truly Jolene like, I am so grateful that you wanted to do this and that you continue to want to do this. It's like, you know, it's my own stuff that I'm like, God, this is a huge commitment and she's got this whole other life.
[00:31:19] She really does wanna do this. Okay. And, and I, so I thank you. Thank
[00:31:25] Jolene: Who else can, who else would be able to have these conversations
[00:31:28] Nicole: I don't know, I mean, we've been doing it for so long and. This is a funny story. our niece, she'll have graduated by now, but our niece, Tessa, our eldest niece, sweet Tessa, we love you so much.
[00:31:41] she's graduating from high school tomorrow and we're just absolutely so thrilled. And she's so excited and terrified and all the things. And so my dad was like, Hey, I need to get some new khakis. Can you, can we walk over to the Old Navy and.
[00:31:59] [00:32:00] And get some. And I was like, okay. So I go over and he's like, I'm walking out the door. So I said, oh, I'll walk over and meet you. And so I walk over and I see him on the street and my dad always like puts his arms out to hug me and it's very sweet. So he gives me a big hug and we're walking.
[00:32:17] He goes, thank you so much for doing this because I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. Sorry. And then he goes, sorry, Linda. Right at, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. Sorry, Linda and I just burst out laughing and I was like, oh my God. Linda is part of our podcast at this point. She just is part of the vernacular.
[00:32:44] Linda, we love you. We
[00:32:46] Jolene: do love you, Linda. Oh my gosh. That's fantastic.
[00:32:49] Nicole: that funny?
[00:32:51] Jolene: really funny.
[00:32:52] Nicole: yeah. it's, this is an interesting experiment and I think I encourage [00:33:00] you who listens and watches, on a regular basis to challenge yourself, just take a week and listen and watch the opposite. Um, I think it's really important. It's really enlightening.
[00:33:16] It helps you figure out too, like there were a lot of times I was like, okay, I agree with this and I agree with this and I agree with this. I don't agree with how it's presented.
[00:33:27] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:33:28] Nicole: And I think that, that says something.
[00:33:32] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:33:32] Nicole: And so how do we seek, news sources that don't, that do its best not to instigate.
[00:33:41] if we can get that message out, that little by little listener, by listener, viewer, by viewer that maybe, you know, one, the little engine that could one little step at a time, you get more and more people to start saying, wait, [00:34:00] I'm, I'm going to be active in the way I consume
[00:34:05] Jolene: and maybe, maybe consume less. You know, I
[00:34:09] Nicole: Maybe consume less.
[00:34:10] Jolene: thinking that you've got to watch, that you have to have the TV on all day, or that you've got to have one version all day long. I mean. You know, listen to a podcast or listen to have a
[00:34:25] Nicole: Or listen to some music.
[00:34:27] Jolene: Yes.
[00:34:28] Nicole: All
[00:34:29] of it. And I get it. I have to say, Jolene, when I was watching the F Fox stuff, addicting. Like it's sparkly, it's flashy and sparkly and fun, and I'm just like, whoa. You know? So I understand why people keep it on all day and they do that on purpose so that you watch all day or you have it on, but it's like, I get it.
[00:34:53] It makes total sense.
[00:34:54] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:34:56] Nicole: But yeah.
[00:34:57] Jolene: I may still listen to the, to the [00:35:00] headlines.
[00:35:01] Nicole: You might.
[00:35:02] Jolene: Yeah, I might,
[00:35:04] as I, just as I'm getting ready in the morning just to have it on my phone and
[00:35:07] Nicole: Yeah. Well sometimes it's like nine minutes. It's like nothing. Right. And for what it's worth, I will, from time to time, watch. I will do my best to look at Dan Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer. They're smart people.
[00:35:21] Jolene: They are smart. And I, and then, and I don't think that they get caught up in the, the flashiness
[00:35:28] Nicole: No, they don't seem to, they don't seem to, I think they're trying their best, under probably fairly difficult circumstances because, 'cause I imagine whether it be M-S-N-B-C or Fox that the viewers are demanding a certain thing, they're now used to it. Right? So to try to be. A journalist is not easy these days.
[00:35:51] Can I share a new news organization that I think we should all have a, have a checkout?
[00:35:57] Jolene: Yes.
[00:35:58] Nicole: So I [00:36:00] was with my, some of my chosen family, two weekends ago in Oakland, California, where the Raiders have left my friend Brian, he told me about, it's called Straight Arrow News, and the website is SA n.com. That's straight Arrow News, SA n.com. And they seem Similar and different to the tangle they're trying to report the news with just facts.
[00:36:30] They'll do a summary, they do a full story. They'll say, why is this important? It's, it's, It's a cool layout. It's it easily accessible. you can also click on a video and watch it reported. So it's worth a look. It's worth a look.
[00:36:47] Jolene: I like it.
[00:36:49] Nicole: do you have a, would you rather my friend?
[00:36:51] Jolene: Oh, I do.
[00:36:52] Nicole: Oh boy.
[00:36:53] Jolene: Would you rather sleep in a hotel room that has paper, thin [00:37:00] walls or
[00:37:02] Nicole: Ugh.
[00:37:02] Jolene: get in a cab with a driver who smells.
[00:37:07] Nicole: I would sleep in a hotel room with paper thin
[00:37:10] Jolene: I know ' cause smells are your thing, aren't they?
[00:37:13] Nicole: They are, I thought you were gonna say like, get in a cab with a really bad driver, which seems to be always,
[00:37:22] Jolene: yeah.
[00:37:23] Nicole: I have become such a nervous Nelly. Or a nervous Nicole, I guess. Where like Uber drivers, Lyft drivers, whatever. I don't take them often, honestly. I'm a subway girl, but because of traveling, I will take it to the airport and it's just a f, sorry, Linda.
[00:37:45] It's a crapshoot. It's a crapshoot. You get in a car, you don't know. You don't know,
[00:37:51] Jolene: Right.
[00:37:52] Nicole: and they're crazy ass drivers. And if I'm with Josh, he just sort of rolls his eyes at me. 'cause I'm just like. Oh my God, am I gonna make it to the [00:38:00] airport? here's the thing that I keep doing on this podcast.
[00:38:02] I keep choosing things to fuck with my sleep. And sleep is really important. So I can't believe I've just chosen the paper thin wall, but you could. So maybe I have some interesting stories to tell on the podcast with what you hear through the.
[00:38:17] Jolene: I was in fact, I was somewhere last week. I had to be in Providence, Rhode Island, and I was so excited this ho. It was a new hotel that I hadn't stayed at before because I'd had some bad experiences in a couple other hotels out there. And I'm in this ho and I'm like, oh my gosh, this has been a good hotel.
[00:38:37] I will definitely sleep here, stay here again. And I'm starting, I'm reading my book, I'm in bed, I'm reading my book, and all of a sudden the guy in the room next to me comes in and he's calling his wife. I heard their entire conversation and I'm like. Seriously. And then he calls a buddy of his and he is just having a great time with his buddy.
[00:38:57] And I'm like, okay. And [00:39:00] now I've heard absolutely everything. I can't even concentrate on my book anymore. So I turned on the white noise on my phone and, and just had that louder than his.
[00:39:11] Nicole: Oh, I'm with
[00:39:11] Jolene: I don't know if I would've been in a cab though with a.
[00:39:14] Dinky driver, that would've been bad too, so, you
[00:39:18] Nicole: Well, you can roll the windows down,
[00:39:20] Would you rather have a pause button? Or a rewind button for your life.
[00:39:29] Jolene: Oh, rewind. That is such a great question. I, there are so many times that something happens and I wanna rewind it because I'm going, did I just see that right or did I, is that what they really said? Or, yes. I would love to have a rewind button. That's a good one. Wait, how would you use a pause button?
[00:39:52] Nicole: I know I was thinking about that too. Gives you time.
[00:39:56] Jolene: to
[00:39:57] Nicole: Like let's say you were having an argument and you could go [00:40:00] pause. I'm gonna take a deep breath.
[00:40:03] Jolene: Okay?
[00:40:04] Nicole: Let me, let me rethink about, let me think about this. Okay, I'm ready. And maybe the pause is three weeks. Maybe. Maybe you need a lot of time.
[00:40:17] It's like a big old time out.
[00:40:20] Jolene: Oh
[00:40:21] Nicole: I like your rewind.
[00:40:22] Jolene: Oh, I would, absolutely,
[00:40:25] Okay. Anything else you get to, can we tell our viewer the big news tell her the see me next weekend?
[00:40:32] Nicole: I know. So viewer.
[00:40:36] Jolene: are coming to Missouri,
[00:40:39] Nicole: Mm-hmm. Via.
[00:40:41] Jolene: Ozark country.
[00:40:43] Nicole: Yes. Via northwest Arkansas. Right.
[00:40:47] Jolene: is true. Yes.
[00:40:48] Nicole: To go to southwest Missouri. and we are actually going to attempt to record a, an episode in the, the [00:41:00] Conway Castle on the lake.
[00:41:02] Jolene: I mean we'll take, Josh will take lots of pictures and we'll have lots to talk about.
[00:41:07] Nicole: Are we going on a boat?
[00:41:09] Jolene: we will hang out on the boat. I think the weather's supposed to be nice. We've gotten a ton of rain. So the lake is really high right now.
[00:41:17] Nicole: How far are you from the lake?
[00:41:19] Jolene: Um, like 200 feet.
[00:41:23] Nicole: Oh my gosh. So do you ever worry if they it, like, is it, flooding kind of thing or,
[00:41:29] Jolene: really high.
[00:41:29] Nicole: yeah. Okay.
[00:41:30] Jolene: Yeah. And it's a, it's a core regulated corps of engineers regulated lakes, so it wouldn't get too high
[00:41:39] Nicole: And so your boat is just docked. This is very exciting you guys.
[00:41:47] Jolene: We're gonna get on a boat. We're just gonna,
[00:41:50] Nicole: Country
[00:41:51] Jolene: beer
[00:41:53] Nicole: Oh boy. Oh boy.
[00:41:54] Jolene: and gin.
[00:41:57] Nicole: Yes. Yeah, engine [00:42:00]
[00:42:01] Jolene: we're going to
[00:42:02] Nicole: right on.
[00:42:04] Jolene: We're
[00:42:04] Nicole: Super excited
[00:42:06] Mm-hmm.
[00:42:07] Jolene: All
[00:42:08] Nicole: Well, my friend, thank you again
[00:42:11] Thank you for listening.
[00:42:12] Jolene: Yes,
[00:42:13] Nicole: Thank you for watching.
[00:42:14] Jolene: you.
[00:42:15] Nicole: Absolutely. Uh, Jolene, I'll see you on the flip.
[00:42:19] Jolene: It's okay. Bye-Bye everybody.
