When the World Feels on Fire, Must We Keep Shouting?

What if we stopped rewarding outrage?

War. Economic turmoil. Cruelty. State-sponsored terror and intimidation. One crisis bleeds into the next. Newsfeeds never let up.

A lot of us are running on fumes.

Lately, I’ve been revisiting a question that’s been on my mind since I launched Outrage Overload. Does every successful show need to feed the outrage machine, or is there another way to connect and grow?

In the final chapter of Outrage on the Mic, I trace the evolution of rage-as-a-strategy in media—from the firebrand preachers of the 1930s to today’s slick, emotionally charged podcasts.

Marketing experts insist that creators should exploit polarizing topics if they want attention and growth. Stirring people up keeps them coming back.

But there’s a cost.

Shouting isn’t the only trick either. Even measured voices can leave us anxious and convinced the sky is falling. Sometimes it’s sarcasm. Or grave warnings. Or language so dire that we feel guilty for tuning out.

Meanwhile, creators feel the push to join the outrage party. Tapping into fears spreads faster than thoughtful conversation. Platforms reward it. And if it works, why not use it?

But there’s a tradeoff.

Not all outrage is unearned—but when everything is urgent, it gets harder to tell what really matters.

This series has been an attempt to pull back the curtain. To create space for questions instead of reactions. And to explore whether it’s possible to build media that helps instead of enrages.

If you’ve been feeling tense, or maybe just tired of being told to care about everything all the time, this episode’s for you.

Listen to the final episode of Outrage on the Mic.

Sometimes the only way to know what deserves our outrage is to take a breath, zoom out, and see a bit more of the whole picture.

Thanks for being part of that work.

— David Beckemeyer
Outrage Overload

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New This Week in Outrage Episode!

It’s everything the Outrage Overload podcast is not. It’s not edited. It’s not scripted. It’s lightly researched. It’s David and Lisa talking about this week in outrage, what was in the news, in the memes, and maybe finding some backstory with a humorous (at least to us) twist.