Episodes

  • The Kids Are Alright: Teaching Civics in College

    The Kids Are Alright: Teaching Civics in College
    Oct 19 2026
    Historically when West Virginians and Kentuckians get together, bad stuff happens, but our friend Jeffrey Tyler Syck digitally reached across the metaphorical Tug Fork in friendship, so we kept it peaceful and informative. Tyler’s a professor and civics director down at the University of Pikeville and previously taught at the University of Virgnia. We talk about the actual “kids these days”; not the online stereotypes, not the memes, not the blithering generalities and put downs of young people these days, before we get into the policy stuff. We turn down the noise on how/why they get unfairly maligned from every direction from Tyler who is in the classroom every day teaching civics to the rising generation. We get into how civics got so abused that half the country thinks it means Lee Greenwood group singing and the other half thinks it means hating the government. Tyler talks teaching these kids to actually think like citizens, why they love challenging reading, and why it turns out kids like hard stuff when it means something. Plus, why this generation is all about being authentic and creative and how that is driving their dislike of AI. We get into why his Appalachian students show up thinking nothing ever gets better, so he has to give them some hope first, and then they pick up the practical side of civics on their own. From there we talk about how Appalachia and lots of other places went from union Democrats and Blue Dogs to supermajorities for Republicans so fast, why folks like me with unaffiliated on our voter cards are surging in registration numbers, and what the kids think about data centers, housing, the economy, and the rest of the world. Finally we turned him loose on John Quincy Adams, and Tyler’s book, A Republic of Virtue: The Essays of John Quincy Adams.I still think he needs to start a TikTok called “Syck Civics” because branding, and such. All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.ShareChapters00:00 – Intro: West Virginia meets Kentucky, plus "Civics" branding01:30 – Gen Z in the classroom: high-tech but tech-skeptical05:00 – Why students hate AI: authenticity and individuality06:30 – What "civics" actually means: the three camps8:53 – Should civics be mandatory, and why it belongs in every subject11:15 – "We the People": helping students feel they matter13:30 – Reaching disaffected citizens and the chicken-and-egg problem17:05 – Appalachian Civic Fellowship and "Politics Can Be a Good Thing"19:50 – "How to Rule the World": why students love hard reading20:30 – UVA vs. Pikeville: idealists vs. pessimists24:12 – Is college a socialism factory?29:22 – Appalachia’s political shift and the end of the Blue Dog Democrats35:30 – Labor, distrust of big institutions, and why socialism never took hold36:30 – Rise of independents and the end of hyper-partisanship?40:20 – Hot topics: data centers, the economy, housing, and jobs45:30 – Students and foreign policy: more global than you'd think48:00 – John Quincy Adams and A Republic of Virtue52:31 – Where to find Jeffrey Tyler Syck and wrap-up______Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://www.heardtellmedia.comQuestions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us HeardTellShow@gmail.comPlease follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsAll that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.--------------------Heard Tell SubStack Free to subscribe, comes right to your inboxhttps://heardtell.substack.com/Questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or epistles? Email us HeardTellShow@gmail.comPlease follow @HeardTellShow like the program, comment with your thoughts, and share with others.Support Heard Tell here: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/4b87f374-cace-44ea-960c-30f9bf37bcff/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    53 mins
  • Explaining The “Stagflation Lite” Economy

    Explaining The “Stagflation Lite” Economy
    Oct 14 2026

    A horrible jobs report, angst over gas and consumer prices, conflicts around the world, and a bitter midterm election cycle here at home means one thing: we need to turn down the noise on what is going on with economic headlines with our friend and economist Dr. Stephen Popick on this episode of Heard Tell. How economic models are and aren’t working when it comes to everything from jobs data to the AI disruption, why politics and economics never mix well in an election year, the “S” word, government numbers, public discontent, and the politics of an economy no one seems to know how to talk about.

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    All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.

    --------------------

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    57 mins
  • Panic! at the Russian Plague Disco

    Panic! at the Russian Plague Disco
    Oct 12 2026

    The death of a researcher in Siberia has lit a worldwide fire back under the public health debate. With so many layers to this story from internet panic, Russian government secrecy, scientists not being great communicators, distrust in both science and government post-COVID being low, we turn to our friend Dr Michael Siegel to hash out what we should and shouldn’t be worried about.

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    All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.

    --------------------

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    21 mins
  • Congress, Midterms, and Twitching Ain’t Easy

    Congress, Midterms, and Twitching Ain’t Easy
    Oct 7 2026

    Ace reporter and congressional insider Eric Garcia returns to talk doing journalism in the era of streamers and content creators, what’s really going on in the House of Representatives and US Senate, previewing the midterms, changes in media, and more!

    The Independent’s Inside Washington newsletter can be found here:

    ______

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    All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.

    --------------------

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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • A Whole Lotta Space News with Dr. Michael Siegel

    A Whole Lotta Space News with Dr. Michael Siegel
    Oct 2 2026

    We are thrilled to have our friend and long-time Heard Tell contributor Dr. Michael Siegel back to talk about all the recent headlines on space. Dr. Siegel is a Research Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University and is the lead scientist for the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) instrument aboard NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. But more importantly, he’s our good friend who can explain the cosmos while also using his YouTube channel to discuss SciFi and pop culture as well as science. We talk about SpaceX, NASA, colonizing the Moon and Mars, datacenters in space, Boeing’s Starliner debacle, and much more.

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    All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.

    --------------------

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    45 mins
  • What The Botched Execution of Christa Pike Tells Us

    What The Botched Execution of Christa Pike Tells Us
    Oct 1 2026

    What an omnishambles, to take a term from our UK friend. Host Andrew talks the death penalty, the botched execution, and what it says about the judicial system, our government, and use.

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    All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.

    --------------------

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    11 mins
  • Teacher Recruitment Changes Lives. It Did Mine

    Teacher Recruitment Changes Lives. It Did Mine
    Sep 17 2026

    Let’s talk about teachers on this episode of Heard Tell, specifically how a program covered by Amelia Knisely in WV Watch reminds me of the programs that allowed my parents to not only go to college, but make educating West Virginians an entire lifetime that had far-reaching effects on who I became.

    Amelia Knisely’s piece can be read here:

    https://westvirginiawatch.com/2026/09/15/state-funded-college-scholarship-successfully-tackling-wv-teacher-shortage/

    ______

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    All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.

    --------------------

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    16 mins
  • Old Biases Ain’t Working in New Media Ecosystem

    Old Biases Ain’t Working in New Media Ecosystem
    Sep 15 2026

    Some brief thoughts on why the privilege of platform demands that we who have it must be willing to adapt and change, because the audience doesn’t care about the same things we do. Being protective of the quality of work, not precious about what the audience wants to call it or how they want to intake it, on this Heard Tell.

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    All that and more on this episode of Heard Tell.

    --------------------

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    16 mins