Facts Over Fear

Natalie Bencivenga
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Politics

Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.

  1. Oct 20

    The Trump Regime Is Surveilling Voters

    We’re increasingly surrounded by surveillance. License plate readers track our movements, traffic cameras record our commutes, and smartphones collect our personal data. But what happens when that infrastructure is turned toward our elections? That’s the focus of today’s Facts Over Fear conversation with Amanda Carpenter, editor at Protect Democracy, former CNN contributor, and former communications director to Sen. Ted Cruz. Amanda, author of Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us, has spent years examining how political deception shapes public perception. In this week’s conversation, we explore how to distinguish legitimate election-security concerns from misleading political rhetoric, why transparency matters, and what voters should watch as these efforts continue. Because facts matter. Privacy matters. And protecting the right to vote means demanding accountability from those who wield power. As always, don’t take a political talking point at face value. Ask what the evidence shows, what the law actually says, and who’s accountable when the government gets it wrong. Highlights: 00:00 The Surveillance State Is Coming for Your Vote 01:30 Trump’s Push for a Federal Voter Database 03:30 States Fight Back Against Federal Voter Surveillance 05:00 ICE, Voter Rolls, and Government Overreach 06:30 The Myth of Widespread Voter Fraud 08:30 Amanda Carpenter’s Break With Trump’s Republican Party 11:00 January 6 and the Breaking Point 12:45 Election Interference Is Already Underway 14:15 ICE, Voter Intimidation, and the Midterms 16:00 Why Trump Supporters and Republican Leaders Stay Loyal 18:00 What Happens After the Midterms? 19:30 Corruption, Nepotism, and Accountability 21:15 Expanding Political Choices Through Ranked-Choice Voting 22:45 Fusion Voting and Electoral Reform 24:00 Protecting Democracy Starts With Us 25:00 Where to Find Protect Democracy FOLLOW NATALIE substack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnatalieb instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/# tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivenga threads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivenga podcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YF podcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950 FACTS OVER FEAR Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts. ABOUT NATALIE Natalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

  2. Oct 15

    New Documentary Examines Mass Surveillance

    This conversation was originally recorded on September 23, 2026. You might not know it, but every time you drive past certain cameras, you could be leaving behind a record of where you’ve been. Automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, are increasingly being used to capture license plates, vehicle images, locations and timestamps creating databases that can be searched later. On the latest episode of Facts Over Fear, I’m talking with investigative journalist Ben Camacho about the growing network of ALPR surveillance and the questions his reporting is raising about privacy, data sharing and government oversight. Ben recently co-produced “Flock Walk,” a short documentary examining ALPR surveillance and what happens when this technology becomes part of our everyday lives. Watch here: https://www.inadvertent.news/p/short-documentary-flock-walk-privacy He also recently reported on records from Santa Ana showing that the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, or NCRIC, conducted more than 27,000 searches accessing the city’s Flock network over six months, including searches connected to federal agencies. So what exactly can these systems tell us? Who gets access? What safeguards are supposed to be in place? And what happens when the public can’t get clear answers about how the technology is being used? We’re getting into the records, the surveillance networks and the accountability gaps without the fear mongering. FOLLOW NATALIE substack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnatalieb instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/# tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivenga threads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivenga podcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YF podcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950 FACTS OVER FEAR Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts. ABOUT NATALIE Natalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

  3. Oct 14

    ICE Keeps Kidnapping And Pennsylvania’s Latino Voters Are Watching

    What does immigration enforcement look like when you’re the person being detained? And what happens when those experiences collide with an election that could help determine the balance of power in Washington?HIGHLIGHTS:00:00 — Nick Valencia on ICE and Pennsylvania’s Midterms01:45 — Why Latino Voters Matter in Pennsylvania04:00 — The Battle for Pennsylvania’s 7th District06:15 — What Voters Are Saying About the Economy08:30 — ICE Detentions and the Human Cost of Enforcement11:00 — Inside the Stories Behind the Headlines13:15 — Ilhan Omar, ICE and Political Tensions15:30 — Media Distrust and Voter Disillusionment18:00 — Brotherhood: Changing the Conversation on Immigration21:30 — Why Independent Journalism MattersImmigration enforcement is frequently discussed through statistics: arrests, deportations, detention capacity and border encounters. Those numbers matter. But they don’t tell us everything we need to know about how enforcement works or what happens to the people caught up in it.And when allegations of abuse arise, what independent oversight exists to establish what happened and hold responsible parties accountable?The consequences of immigration enforcement can extend beyond the people who are arrested. Fear can spread through communities quickly, particularly when information is incomplete or official explanations are difficult to obtain. Responsible journalism has to investigate those fears rather than dismiss them or repeat every claim as fact.The goal is to understand what is happening, what evidence supports it, where the system is failing and what people need to know to protect their rights.Facts are a form of protection. But facts require journalists willing to follow the story beyond the initial arrest, official statement or viral video.Economic anxiety remains central. Immigration policy may also matter deeply, particularly for families who have experienced detention or fear separation.But we shouldn’t assume that a person’s ethnicity determines how they vote, or that concern about immigration automatically translates into support for one political party.The real story is how people weigh competing priorities, evaluate promises and decide whether elected officials are delivering.What happens when immigration and the economy collide?One of the most important questions heading into the midterms is how voters reconcile concerns that may pull them in different directions.A voter might support stricter immigration enforcement while worrying about how detention policies affect a family member, neighbor or coworker. Someone might have voted for Trump because of the economy and now feel that the cost of living remains too high. Another voter might be frustrated with both parties and unsure whether participating in another election will make a difference.When politicians make promises about economic security, public safety or immigration, people measure those promises against what they experience. They look at their paychecks, grocery receipts, rent, family circumstances and interactions with government agencies.The question isn’t simply which party can win over a particular demographic group. It’s whether elected officials understand what their constituents are experiencing and whether they can explain how their policies will address those concerns.That is especially important in a competitive district where a relatively small number of votes can make a difference in who represents a community in Congress. And it is why journalism must go beyond horse-race coverage and ask what voters actually want from the people seeking to represent them.Because if we’re going to understand what’s happening in this country, we need to listen to the people experiencing it firsthand. And if we’re going to understand the midterms, we need to listen to voters before we decide what their votes mean.

  4. Oct 8

    The CDC Is Gaslighting You About COVID

    This interview was pre-recorded on. Sept. 30, 2026 at 4:30pm EST and has been left unedited. I will never put essential public health information behind a paywall. Period. That’s a promise. And I’m able to keep doing this work because of the people who choose to support it. My paid Substack subscribers help fund independent journalism that puts people before profit, facts before fear, and accountability before the billionaire class. If you believe we need journalism that answers to the public, not the one-percent, corporations or political power, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support keeps this work independent. And it keeps the information free for everyone. COVID never left us. And right now, it’s surging again. But there’s a problem: one of the most useful tools we have for seeing where COVID is circulating, wastewater surveillance, is becoming harder for the public to interpret. In this episode of Facts Over Fear, I’m talking with Dr. Michael Hoerger, associate professor of psychology, psychiatry and oncology at Tulane University and director of the Psycho-Oncology Research Program and Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative. Highlights: 00:00 — COVID Is Surging Again: What the Data Shows 01:29 — The 13th COVID Wave Is Here 03:10 — Why COVID Data Is Getting Harder to Track 04:48 — What Wastewater Data Actually Tells Us 07:45 — Why Wastewater Is So Important for Tracking COVID 10:38 — Why the CDC Changed Its Wastewater Risk Categories 14:05 — What COVID Mitigation Looks Like in 2026 16:12 — Why N95 Masks Still Matter 18:28 — Schools, Restaurants & Indoor Air Quality 21:18 — Why Is the COVID Vaccine So Expensive? 24:20 — Who Can Get a COVID Booster Right Now? 27:18 — Should We Be Getting Boosted More Often? 30:08 — The Long-Term Risks of Repeated COVID Infections 34:18 — Long COVID, Heart Attacks, Strokes & Excess Deaths 38:00 — Why Public Health Messaging Is Still Getting COVID Wrong 41:20 — COVID Isn't Just “Another Respiratory Virus” 43:25 — What Public Health Should Be Doing Instead 46:10 — You Can't Get Yourself Out of a Public Health Crisis 48:00 — Where to Follow Dr. Michael Hoerger And did you know: CDC’s current 2026–27 guidance recommends a COVID-19 vaccine for any adult ages 18 and older who would like one, while recommendations for children vary by age, immune status and risk. Talk to your doctor to see if a vaccine is right for you and your family. Meanwhile, CDC’s own wastewater data says the surveillance system remains an important way to track community-level COVID activity , even as the agency says a transition in its testing contract is creating a temporary data gap at about 200 sites. So no, this isn’t about pretending we’re back in 2020. It’s about asking a much more useful question: What does the evidence tell us about COVID now and what should we actually do with that information? FOLLOW NATALIE substack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnatalieb instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/# tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivenga threads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivenga podcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YF podcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950 FACTS OVER FEAR Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts. ABOUT NATALIE Natalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

  5. Oct 8

    Protecting The Cornell 7 Is The American Way

    What the Cornell sexual assault allegations and the Epstein files reveal about institutional accountability, survivor privacy and the systems that too often protect power. What happens when the institutions meant to protect survivors become more focused on protecting themselves? That’s the question at the heart of tonight’s Facts Over Fear. The allegations surrounding the “Cornell Seven” and the ongoing fight over the Jeffrey Epstein files are very different cases. But both raise a fundamental question about power, institutional accountability and survivor justice. What happens when reputation, money and influence stand between survivors and accountability? And for survivors, the harm doesn’t necessarily end with the abuse. There can be a second violation: being disbelieved, silenced, exposed, threatened or forced to fight powerful institutions just to be heard. Joining me is Arick Fudali, Managing Partner of Bloom & Fudali. Fudali represents survivors of sexual abuse, including several Epstein survivors, and has experience representing survivors of campus and fraternity sexual assault. We’re talking about what these cases reveal about survivor rights, institutional accountability, transparency and the systems that too often protect the powerful. Highlights from the interview: 00:00 — When Institutions Protect Power Instead of People 02:32 — What the Cornell Case Reveals About Sexual Assault 06:04 — Criminal vs. Civil Court: What’s the Difference? 10:02 — Why Calling Sexual Assault Lawsuits a “Money Grab” Is Misleading 14:05 — Why Survivors’ Stories Can Change Over Time 17:32 — Cornell, Epstein and the Culture of Institutional Denial 21:06 — Has the Me Too Backlash Changed How We Treat Survivors? 24:33 — What Real Institutional Accountability Requires 27:37 — Why Survivors Should Still Come Forward 30:44 — How Lawsuits Can Force Institutions to Change These cases aren’t just about individual allegations or scandals. They force us to ask who gets believed, who gets protected and who gets held accountable? Because accountability isn’t just about exposing powerful people. It’s about changing the systems that allow power to protect itself. Are we actually getting better at protecting survivors or just better at talking about them? And until next time, take care of yourselves and each other. FOLLOW NATALIE substack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnatalieb instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/# tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivenga threads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivenga podcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YF podcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950 FACTS OVER FEAR Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts. ABOUT NATALIE Natalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

  6. Oct 3

    Who Is Allowed To Belong?

    This conversation is presented as audio only. What does it mean to be an immigrant when the country you call home is having a very public reckoning over immigration, identity and who belongs? And what happens when we stop thinking about cultural competency as simply learning about other people and start asking what we need to understand about ourselves first? Our identities shape how we see the world. Our histories shape what we assume. And our assumptions can follow us into classrooms, workplaces, health care, politics and virtually every interaction we have with another person. For members of the Iranian diaspora for instance, questions of identity, belonging and cultural misunderstanding can carry particularly complicated histories — shaped by migration, politics, stereotypes and the experience of being understood through someone else's assumptions. My guest is Azadeh (Azi) Masalehdan Block whose work on cultural humility asks us to go deeper than simply learning the customs or traditions of another culture. Because maybe cultural competency doesn't begin with knowing more about them. FOLLOW NATALIE substack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnatalieb instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/# tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivenga threads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivenga podcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YF podcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950 FACTS OVER FEAR Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts. ABOUT NATALIE Natalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

  7. Oct 1

    Could Reading Save Us From Fascism?

    In honor of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library legacy, I wanted to interview literacy and childhood advocates during National Literacy Month. Regardless if you have children of your own, an investment in our youth is an investment in all of us. Facts Over Fear is independent journalism focused on separating the facts from the noise, fear and political spin. Become a paid subscriber to support this work. On top of access to books, families are also navigating the cost and availability of child care, high-quality early education and the broader support systems that help young children and their caregivers thrive. So what actually gives a child the strongest foundation for learning? Is it the books? The teachers? Child care? Support for parents and caregivers? Or is it all of those pieces working together? That’s what I’m digging into on this episode of Facts Over Fear with Mary Denison, executive director of Reading Ready Pittsburgh, and Emily Neff, director of public policy at Trying Together. As states consider how to expand early-childhood investments with less money due to the Trump administration’s cuts to education and social supports, questions about Head Start and other comprehensive early-learning programs are becoming even more important. We discussed what the research tells us about early literacy, why the first five years matter, what families need beyond a bookshelf and what policymakers should understand about building a stronger early-childhood system. Because if we know the earliest years matter this much, we have to ask a bigger question: Why are we still treating early childhood as something individual families are expected to figure out on their own? FOLLOW NATALIE substack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnatalieb instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/# tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivenga threads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivenga podcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YF podcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950 FACTS OVER FEAR Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts. ABOUT NATALIE Natalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

  8. Sep 29

    Are Our Kids Prepared For The AI Era?

    Facts Over Fear: Nina Barbuto explains why hands-on STEAM, robotics and the freedom to fail may matter more than ever in this AI world. As AI reshapes how we learn and create, what happens when we teach kids to make, experiment, fail and build instead of simply asking a machine for the answer? Artificial intelligence is moving fast and so are the questions about what it means for creativity, critical thinking and education. But there’s a big difference between generative AI that can produce an answer, image or piece of writing for you and robotics and hands-on STEAM learning, where kids have to build something, figure out why it doesn’t work, take it apart and try again. So for this episode of Facts Over Fear, I’m talking with Nina Barbuto, founder and executive director of Assemble, about what 15 years of hands-on learning have taught her about kids, creativity and the skills they’ll need in an increasingly technology-driven world. We’re talking about the concerns around generative AI, why making matters more than ever, the equity gap in access to STEAM education and why giving kids permission to experiment (and fail!) might be one of the most important things we can do. And Assemble is celebrating its 15th anniversary with Unicorn Palooza: Enjoy maker experiences, hands-on art, games, music, dancing, prizes, a costume contest and the Unicorny Awards all supporting Assemble’s year-round STEAM programs. FOLLOW NATALIE substack: https://substack.com/@factsoverfearnatalieb instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@nataliebencivenga/# tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliebencivenga threads: https://www.threads.com/@nataliebencivenga podcast via spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/47JYsn9LQchErS3cnHP2YF podcast via apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/facts-over-fear/id1855901950 FACTS OVER FEAR Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts. ABOUT NATALIE Natalie Bencivenga is a socially-conscious journalist working towards building equity in our communities through storytelling. Her goal is to inspire, educate and activate people to become catalysts for positive change. Join her for transformative conversations that uplift and challenge the ways in which we perceive the world. Let's turn this moment into a movement – together.

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Let's dismantle the fear that is used to divide us surrounding the issues impacting the people and talk facts.

Information

  • Creator
    Natalie Bencivenga
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    145
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Natalie Bencivenga
  • Show Website
    Facts Over Fear