Plain-language politics without the noise.
Heard Tell favors explanation over outrage, moving from political news to kitchen-table economics with a steady, skeptical eye. The show is strongest when it slows a loud story down and asks what the incentives, institutions, and real-world consequences actually are.
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Heard Tell is a news commentary and interview show for people who want the argument before the outrage. It works in a steady, plain-spoken register, shifting from policy explanation to live reaction without trying to sound breathless. The show’s center of gravity is politics, but its range is wider than campaign chatter. Episodes move through Iran policy, war powers, congressional incentives, AI in higher education, economics, workplace technology, caregiving, and the economics underneath public life. A typical segment starts with the loud headline and then backs into the machinery behind it. What authority does Congress actually have? Why are schools changing test formats in response to AI? What does a presidential press conference reveal about the difference between military execution and civilian strategy? Those are the kinds of questions the show likes. It is skeptical of partisan loyalty as a substitute for judgment. It also resists the habit of treating every new technology or political fight as either salvation or catastrophe. The AI coverage is especially grounded, with attention to prompts, data preparation, cheating concerns, and how people actually use tools at work. The economics conversations try to make technical subjects usable for non-specialists. Foreign-policy episodes are more severe, especially when discussing Iran, Israel, Gulf states, elections, and the risks of improvising through conflict. Guest episodes give specialists room to talk, but the show repeatedly returns to the practical meaning for ordinary voters, students, workers, and families. Its humor is dry rather than showy. Its strongest moments come when a messy public debate is reduced to a clearer set of choices. The show is not neutral in the sense of having no opinions. It is more interested in applying the same standard across parties and personalities. That makes it useful for listeners tired of reflexive team sports, but still interested in power, policy, and consequences.
Made for: For listeners who follow politics and public affairs but want more than partisan reflexes. It suits people who like current events explained through institutions, incentives, practical examples, and cross-party scrutiny.
What sets it apart: Heard Tell combines live-reaction urgency with a translator’s instinct for slowing complex stories down. It is unusually comfortable moving from Iran war powers to AI classroom rules to plain-language economics without changing its analytical posture.
Turning down the noise of what we are hearing in the news cycle, social media, and the discourse to get to the information on culture, politics, and the issues of the day we need to properly discern the times we live in.Hosted by Andrew Donaldson
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Heard Tell connects political arguments to the institutions, technologies and everyday systems that determine how those arguments play out.
Heard Tell moves between guest conversations and Andrew Donaldson's solo commentary, treating politics as something that shows up in institutions, media habits and everyday culture.
Andrew Donaldson gives presidential pressers and Disney remakes the same strategically raised eyebrow.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Plain talk on economics and AI, with prep work and human judgment doing the work.
Heard Tell keeps economics on plain ground. Dr. Stephen Poppock is the guest, and the opening glossary work does real heavy lifting: the show slows down long enough to check what the words mean before they get used in public debate.
A practical check on AI panic, with classrooms already adapting around it.
Heard Tell treats AI and higher education as a practical problem rather than a moral panic. It moves past the usual doom-versus-utopia framing and makes the case that schools have to adjust to a world where students can lean on the toolset whenever they open a laptop.
A plainspoken look at Trump's statement about Iran, Gulf diplomacy, and the politics around both.
The piece treats a war-and-politics remark about Iran as a usable map of Trump's move, then carries that line into Gulf diplomacy around Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the wider GCC.
A plainspoken political read that links the airmen rescue to criticism of leadership.
Heard Tell uses the Monday press conference to present the rescued two airmen as a clean tactical win, then turns toward the host's broader critique of civilian leadership.
A brisk UK policy check-in that turns online safety into a question of enforcement.
Herd Tell stays on the UK government’s age-verification push and the practical limits built into it. Andrew and Oliver Dean keep the discussion unforced, which helps the main point come through: the policy is framed as child protection, but VPN workarounds and privacy concerns…
A border-policy chat that turns airports, economics, and travel into something concrete.
Canada and the U.S. are treated like close relations here, so the cross-border friction lands more like a real disagreement than background noise. The talk stays with airport rankings, city connections, and the economic pressures behind where people move and spend.
A plainspoken box-office chat that connects studio strategy to audience taste.
Herd Tell uses a strong Memorial Day box-office rebound to press a familiar question with a sharper edge: are studios making things harder than they need to be for audiences?
A clear look at how politics lands inside nerd culture and online identity.
This episode keeps its focus on the gap between political commentary and the way nerd culture actually lands with younger online audiences. Peter Pitschke of Culturescape stays with the parts that matter most here: censorship, healthcare, gaming stereotypes, and the broader…
Dan Carlin's solo essays connecting executive power, historical collapse, and American democracy.
Two hosts and a correspondent unpack one Latin America story a week, from Chile's election to Iran's war.
Ryan Evans interviews defense and intelligence insiders, from Ukraine's front lines to Marine marksmanship doctrine.
Lawfare's weekly panel turns Supreme Court rulings and war-powers fights into legal debate.
The host opens with banter and sets the table for a plain-language economics conversation.
AI is making people jittery.
A presidential statement lands first.
A rescue is the good news up front.
The host explains his independent political philosophy and commitment to fair, non-partisan analysis of politics and foreign policy.
This episode analyzes the concept of a lame duck presidency in the context of Donald Trump's administration, drawing parallels to NFL football terminology while discussing upcoming political events like midterm elections.
This episode discusses undercovered aspects of the Iran conflict, focusing on government oversight issues like Congress's role under the War Powers Act, based on the host's media experiences.
This episode introduces two podcasts, District of Conservation and Church in Maine, focusing on conservation efforts and the intersection of faith with modern societal issues, respectively.
This episode features an interview with Eric Garcia discussing recent shifts in autism discourse, advocacy, and his related research and writing.
The UK gets the Heard Tell treatment.
This episode features an analysis of Bernie Sanders' political rally in West Virginia with insights from local reporter Justice Hudson.
Host Andrew Donaldson interviews economist Dr.
This episode features an interview with Antonia-Laura Pup, a Fulbright scholar and Young Voices contributor, discussing Black Sea region security, Romania's recent presidential election, and Western media coverage of the area.
Canada and the U.S.
The host discusses upcoming wrestling events and the impact of Hogan's passing on the show's timing.
Host Andrew Donaldson interviews Eric Garcia about the unusual August recess and recent congressional chaos.
Movies, not tariffs.
Host Andrew Donaldson discusses the LA riots and the media/political response, questioning personal integrity in the face of current events.
Nerd culture does not follow politics through the usual procedural channels.
Host Andrew Donaldson discusses the death penalty, focusing on Indiana's new one-dose lethal injection method and the history of botched executions.
A podcast exploring how religion intersects with contemporary issues like politics, sexuality, and social media.
Host Andrew Donaldson critiques media coverage of Trump's Middle East tour and discusses US foreign policy as a 'B story' in domestic politics.
The host critiques the punditry genre of assigning blame and argues that real political power lies beyond partisan games in entrenched power structures.
Host Andrew Donaldson discusses the controversy of students using AI like ChatGPT to cheat in college, questioning the value of education and the ethics of AI.
Host Andrew Donaldson introduces a panel discussion show and recounts a moment where a question about the VA sparked debate among panelists.
The host and a film critic discuss the Oscars ceremony, their viewing experience, and the end of award season.
Host Andrew Donaldson introduces listeners to other podcasts about conservation and climate change before beginning the main show.
Host Andrew Donaldson interviews Sabine El Chidiak about Canadian politics and the recent tariff dispute with the US.
Host Andrew Donaldson interviews Washington insider Eric Garcia about why Congress isn't acting while Trump and allies move fast.
Host Andrew Donaldson discusses tax policy buzzwords and populist proposals with guest Alex Maurice-Shanu during election season.
Host Andrew Donaldson and guest Luis Mendez discuss recent box office trends, focusing on Marvel's dominance and the success of Deadpool and Wolverine.
The host discusses how religion intersects with various aspects of modern life, including politics, sexuality, and social media.
Host Andrew Donaldson analyzes President Biden's recent address and the political implications of his declining health and campaign withdrawal.
Host Andrew Donaldson interviews author Benjamin Ianey about his new book, discussing economic and societal issues while critiquing buzzwords.
Host Andrew Donaldson discusses recent political events including an assassination attempt and the JD Vance VP pick.