14: Becoming Smarter News Consumers, with the founder of Ad Fontes Media, Home of the Media Bias Chart
Release Date: 12/02/2025
22: Where Do You Belong? Multi-Ethnic Identity and Citizenship with Megumi Nishikura
What Do You Mean By That?
Sara. Misasha. Megumi. All three of us are the daughter of one Japanese parent and one White parent each. All three of us had dual citizenship with the United States and Japan at one point. But the trajectories of our citizenship are distinctly different, and only one of us holds a Japanese passport now. Are we all still Japanese? Today, we speak with Megumi Nishikura, a documentary filmmaker who focuses on stories not often told in our history books, despite their themes impacting so many of us, Japanese or not. We explore belonging, identity, citizenship, and what history...
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21: Fixing Fairness: The Future of DEI, Workplace Equity, and Organizational Change, with Lily Zheng
What Do You Mean By That?
What if the very programs designed to make workplaces fairer are actually making the problem worse? In this episode, we begin with the famous “Cobra Effect”—a colonial-era policy that unintentionally increased the problem it was meant to solve—and explore how the same dynamic shows up in modern diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Our guest, Lily Zhang, argues that many corporate DEI initiatives fail not because the goals are wrong, but because the strategies are. Drawing on decades of research, Lily breaks down why performative programs, surface-level solutions, and...
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20: Where the Girls Were, with Kate Schatz
What Do You Mean By That?
Today’s conversation is one about history — but also about now. About 1968 and about 2026. About who gets control over their own body — and who never truly has. About the quiet, complicated ways parents try to protect their children, and the unintended harm that can hide inside “what’s best.” About the tension between safety and freedom. Between acceptance and autonomy. Between love and control. We’re so excited to talk with a podcast favorite, Kate Schatz, about her new book Where The Girls Were, in today’s episode, and we REALLY dive into everything we mentioned above,...
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19: The Conversations We All Need to Have About Black History Month
What Do You Mean By That?
Here we are, February, which is also Black History Month (and for the record: Black history is American history. We’ll say this all day, every day, until everyone gets on this train.). It’s not lost on us that this is the shortest month of the year. It’s also not lost on us that, currently, our administration is actively erasing or whitewashing our nation’s history in real time, including this month itself, and we are being gaslit in the process. So, this Black History Month, we encourage everyone out there to take a moment to learn our real history, expand the narrative of Black...
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18: What to do about (Secret Pol)ICE In Our Communities
What Do You Mean By That?
*** We recorded this episode before ICE murdered Alex Pretti, a 37 year old ICU nurse who was attempting to help a woman up who had been pushed to the ground by ICE agents in Minneapolis on the morning of January 24, 2026. Despite the administration's attempt to cover up and justify this murder by claiming that Pretti was holding a gun (he wasn't, it was a phone), the facts are clear: ICE is murdering American citizens. And then, they are lying about it. This is not the America we want for ourselves or for our children. We stand with Minnesota, Maine, and everywhere else that is...
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17: New Year of Actions + Why Getting Names Right Matters
What Do You Mean By That?
If you’re a repeat listener to the podcast over the last almost SEVEN years, you know that sometimes, we’ve done seasonal arcs in which we focus on a topic or theme for the season. (And if you’ve just found us - hello!) This year, we’re doing something different: a year-long focus on action, which is the third pillar of our listen, learn, and act framework. It moves us from “what can I do?” to “here’s how I show up.” We’ll take the things that you’ve been curious about (but didn’t want to ask about, maybe), break down the history behind them, and walk...
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16: Leaving 2025 Behind: What We’re Letting Go Of and What We’re Taking Into 2026
What Do You Mean By That?
We’ve had rough years before—but 2025? This one hit different. If you’ve been listening to us for the last six years, you know we’re no strangers to hard conversations. DEI. Wellbeing. Systems that don’t work the way they should. And this year pushed all of that—from the global to the deeply personal. So what did we learn when everything felt heavier than usual? Let’s talk about the biggest lessons this year forced us to learn - what we’re leaving behind in 2025, and what we are carrying forward, with purpose, into 2026. What to listen for: Mindsets...
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15: Raising Boys in an Age of Backlash: Soraya Chemaly on Power, Gender, and What Comes Next
What Do You Mean By That?
In today’s episode, we sit down with feminist author and activist Soraya Chemaly for a conversation that feels both urgent and deeply grounding. Soraya’s new book, All We Want Is Everything, traces how male supremacy shows up everywhere—our politics, our homes, our faith spaces, our workplaces, and especially in the lives of our children. Together, we talk about the rising backlash against women and queer people, the ways boys are being pulled into misogynistic online spaces, and why so many young men are drifting toward anti-democratic movements without even realizing they’re...
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14: Becoming Smarter News Consumers, with the founder of Ad Fontes Media, Home of the Media Bias Chart
What Do You Mean By That?
In an age where AI can fake a video, social platforms reward outrage, and even the word ‘misinformation’ means different things to different people, one question rises above the noise: how do we know what to trust? Today, we’re joined by Vanessa Otero, the lawyer-turned-media-analyst behind Ad Fontes Media and its well-known Media Bias Chart, to explore exactly that. Vanessa takes us inside the mechanics of bias, the structures driving extreme content, and the habits that actually make us smarter news consumers. This episode is your practical guide to staying informed...
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13: How to Have Difficult Conversations, featuring Dr. Bill Doherty, Co-founder of Braver Angels
What Do You Mean By That?
, our primer for holiday seasons
info_outlineIn an age where AI can fake a video, social platforms reward outrage, and even the word ‘misinformation’ means different things to different people, one question rises above the noise: how do we know what to trust?
Today, we’re joined by Vanessa Otero, the lawyer-turned-media-analyst behind Ad Fontes Media and its well-known Media Bias Chart, to explore exactly that. Vanessa takes us inside the mechanics of bias, the structures driving extreme content, and the habits that actually make us smarter news consumers.
This episode is your practical guide to staying informed without getting manipulated.
What to listen for:
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What the Ad Fontes media bias chart looks like, and how to use it: their mission is to rate all the news to positively transform society.
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Knowing that there's a high correlation between high bias and low reliability
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Advice for media consumers who are trying to recognize bias without all the tools – including considering disbelieving everything until you can verify it through multiple sources
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New ways to discuss the media landscape. Example: Instead of saying “fake news” or “misinformation,” which are politically charged and open to interpretation, consider using more accurate language like “misleading information” or “inaccurate information.”
About our guest:
Vanessa Otero is the Founder and CEO of Ad Fontes Media, the company that rates news for bias and reliability.
Ms. Otero founded Ad Fontes in 2018 with a mission to rate all the news to positively transform society. She created the original Media Bias Chart in 2016, which was the seed idea for creating the company. She is passionate about bringing people together and overcoming the challenges of political polarization in our present environment. Prior to starting Ad Fontes, she practiced as a patent attorney specializing in software. Vanessa holds a B.A. in English from UCLA and a J.D. from the University of Denver.