Outrage Overload: Outrage on the Mic – Part 1: Laughing Through the Outrage

Host: David Beckemeyer
Guests: Dale Deruder & Jeff Gautier (Outrage Factory podcast)
Date: July 2, 2025
Episode Length: ~50 minutes

Episode Overview

In this lively inaugural episode of the “Outrage on the Mic” mini-series, host David Beckemeyer welcomes Dale Deruder and Jeff Gautier from the “Outrage Factory” podcast. The trio explores the intersection of outrage culture, media trends, and humor in navigating today’s outrage-saturated environment. Their candid, often self-deprecating discussion digs into how comedy can help make sense of — and provide relief from — the chaos, polarization, and click-driven intensity of modern political discourse, all while examining the challenges and responsibilities of podcasting in an emotionally supercharged era.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Mission of Outrage Factory

[01:39–04:03]

• Dale and Jeff share the story behind “Outrage Factory,” a podcast that takes a comedic, real-time approach to the week’s most infuriating or absurd stories.

• The show’s original tagline: “We look at things that made people mad and explain why you’re dumb for caring” was intended as tongue-in-cheek and wasn’t meant to literally convince listeners they were “dumb.”

  “It’s pretty much everybody’s job on the Internet is to convince everybody else that they’re dumb. And if they didn’t do that, we wouldn’t have anything to talk about.” (Dale, [02:25])

• Topic selection is organic: Dale scans what intrigues both him and the internet at large, preferring lighter, “dumber” topics over genuinely serious or tragic news.

2. The Tangent Factory Dynamic

[03:25–04:03, 11:05–11:17]

• Episodes often begin with a set topic list but quickly digress (“We often refer to the podcast as Tangent Factory…” — Jeff, [03:25]).
• Notable for humorous sidequests and sometimes unpredictable content detours.

3. Injecting Humor: Where to Draw the Line

[04:03–06:19, 07:16–08:18]

• The hosts favor dark humor, but avoid making light of real personal tragedies or especially divisive current events; aim not “to give justifiable offense.”

  “I don’t want to give them justifiable offense at what I’m saying… I don’t really want to make light of, like, death and stuff unless…” (Dale, [04:03])

• Both discuss their podcasting comfort zones and differences in handling swearing, edgy jokes, and algorithmic (de)boosting (“trying to skirt the double-edged sword”—Jeff, [05:33]).

4. Balance: Humor vs. Information

[07:46–11:06]

• The push-pull between entertainment and thoughtful information is informed by their journalism background.

• Podcasters are, by necessity, themselves:

  “It’s almost less effort to just be yourself on the podcast. And I feel like people would pick up on that and like it more.” (Dale, [08:18])

• Jeff excels at grounding the conversation with factual context, contrasting with Dale’s comedic tangents:

  “He’s…the adult. I’m the nerdy dad and he’s the, like, ‘say anything’ kid.” (Jeff, [11:05])

5. Timeliness, Relevance, and the Grind of Podcasting

[12:19–13:23, 14:39–16:27]

• The pressure to cover “current” outrage, maintain a production schedule, and keep things relevant is constant but challenging.
• Both hosts have full-time lives and families; they view podcasting as a labor of love and a form of self-care:

  “It’s fun, it’s interesting, it’s almost self-care to do a podcast…. We do it out of love.” (Jeff, [15:01])

6. How Outrage Patterns Evolve

[18:10–20:58]

• Dale and Jeff observe shifts over the years: from outrage mob “call-outs” (demanding regular people lose jobs for viral missteps, e.g. [18:24]) to a current climate where signals are so multiplied and sped up that their impact is diluted.
• Enduring cycle: public shaming, mockery, then meta-mockery (“people make fun of the people for making fun of the people…” — Jeff, [20:06]).

7. Media’s Evolution and its Consequences

[21:07–25:46]

• Both lament the loss of clear boundaries between journalism, advertising, and entertainment (“journalism let us down a long time ago” — Jeff, [21:07]).
• Contrast between old-school print advertorial guardrails and the internet’s rampant advertorial, clickbait, and rage-bait incentives.
• Clickbait frustration:

  “I keep falling for it, I hate it so much... you scroll, they talk about it without saying the name, and you’re like, just tell me the name! And you’re scrolling through… I’m so gullible.” (Dale, [24:38])

8. Advice for Listeners: Stepping Back From the Brink

[26:10–32:05]

• Mindfulness, offline time, and recognizing rage-bait are essential:

  “If you’re getting pissed off while you’re online, there are actually people who try to piss you off…” (Dale, [26:24])

• Being continually online can amplify outrage and stress; both recommend setting boundaries.

  “If you’re on the internet all the time, I think you’re outraged more easily… There’s more information that you’re not really able to process…” (Jeff, [28:15])

• Real-life experiences and non-screen jobs provide balance and necessary perspective (“if you have a job where you’re working through a screen, you kind of have…self-regulation”—Dale, [30:21])

9. Most Ridiculous Outrage: “Bean Dad”

[34:59–39:05]

• The “Bean Dad” episode: a father’s joking thread about making his child use a can opener to get beans triggered weeks of internet outrage, with deep undercurrents of personal trauma and generational dynamics.

  “You can’t control every time you’re gonna bring up something that you didn’t intend… Your daughter opening up a can of beans is just gonna unleash… floodgates…” (Dale, [37:25])

10. Podcasting Ethics: Mistakes, Learning, Responsibility

[38:13–39:37]

• Accepting one’s mistakes is part of publishing in public; while you must own your words, total control over their reception is impossible.

  “You don’t learn and you don’t grow unless you make mistakes. But you have to be very careful about the mistakes that you make.” (Jeff, [39:05])

11. Polarization & Listening

[40:35–43:31]

• It’s possible—and crucial—to hear and coexist with challenging viewpoints without ceding one’s own values.

  “You can listen to other people’s opinions without changing your opinion.” (David, [40:55])

• Many assume that hearing “the wrong side” will magically corrupt people, but the reality is more nuanced; most people are capable of discerning good ideas for themselves.

12. “If You Could Erase One Source of Outrage…”

[42:12–45:14]

• Jeff: Would “magically erase” toxic, polarizing politics online; promotes the idea of civil disagreement and coexistence.
• Dale: Would erase “corporate capture” and algorithms that amplify rage or shadowban certain voices—a desire for healthier, less manipulative platforms.

13. The Realities and Rewards of Independent Podcasting

[45:14–47:46]

• David reflects on his privilege of being able to podcast full-time in retirement, acknowledging the economic limitations for most creators.
• Podcasting is a creative labor of love, not an easy path to riches.

14. Dale’s “Dale Show” and Conspiracies

[47:46–48:33]

• Dale briefly describes his side project, “The Dale Show,” focused on fun engagement with conspiracy theories—but mostly, their energies remain on Outrage Factory.

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On why people start outrage podcasts:

  “It’s pretty much everybody’s job on the Internet is to convince everybody else that they’re dumb. And if they didn’t do that, we wouldn’t have anything to talk about.”
  — Dale ([02:25])

• On keeping things light:

  “I don’t really want to make light of, like, death and stuff unless… we had like a running toll or whatever [for selfie-related deaths]… kind of out of the news now.”
  — Dale ([04:03])

• On podcasting as friendship and self-care:

  “It’s fun, it’s interesting, it’s almost self care to do a podcast. …We do it out of love.”
  — Jeff ([15:01])

• On the speed and cycle of outrage:

  “Somebody says something dumb, people make fun of that person… Then other people pile on and make fun of the people for making fun of the people… That cycle continues every day, all the time.”
  — Jeff ([20:06])

• On the shift from print to rage-driven online media:

  “Now people get outraged about a blip of something that just happens so quickly. …Now all you get is a headline… There’s nothing beyond that.”
  — Jeff ([22:35]–[24:23])

• On stepping back from the noise:

  “If you’re on the internet all the time, I think you’re outraged more easily… You get angry more easily. There’s more information you’re not able to process… I quit Twitter… and I’ve been completely sane ever since. I don’t feel angry.”
  — Jeff ([28:15])

• On responsibility in public content:

  “You can’t control every time you’re gonna bring up something that you didn’t intend…You can’t have ultimate responsibility… You could just be like, sorry I didn’t mean to do that…”
  — Dale ([37:25])

• On the value of disagreement:

  “It’s about disagreeing better, right? …and it’s also about coexisting… If you want to get anything done in life, you’re probably gonna have to work with them.”
  — David ([43:33])

• On the magical power to erase outrage:

  “The thing I would get rid of is basically just like the whole shadow ban algorithm, like preferences and stuff… Oh, and also like the algorithm that shows you what you hate just so you like rage."
  — Dale ([44:11])

Memorable Moments & Laughs

• The “Bean Dad” story ([34:59–39:05]) as the canonical example of silly outrage blown up by collective baggage.
• Light ribbing between Dale and Jeff over who is the “adult” in the podcast partnership ([11:05–11:17]).
• The comics-like fun of conspiracy podcasts: “It’s not like we believe Spider-Man had superpowers. It’s just funner if you believe he has superpowers.” (Dale, [48:00])
• Canadian humor meta-commentary (apologizing reflexively, [49:02–49:08]).

Timestamps for Major Segments

| Topic/Segment | Time | |-------------------------------------------|------------------| | Episode introduction & mini-series setup | 00:04–01:39 | | Outrage Factory: Show origin & style | 01:39–04:03 | | Tangent Factory: Going off-topic | 03:25–04:03 | | Humor’s boundaries & language challenges | 04:03–08:18 | | Info vs. entertainment: journalism roots | 08:18–11:17 | | Timeliness, tech, and the creative grind | 12:19–16:27 | | Patterns of outrage & news cycles | 18:10–20:58 | | Media’s slide: print vs. clickbait | 21:07–25:46 | | Mindfulness & stepping away advice | 26:10–32:05 | | Laughable outrages: “Bean Dad” | 34:59–39:05 | | Podcasting mistakes & public ownership | 38:13–39:37 | | Disagreeing better, listening | 40:35–43:31 | | If you could erase one source of outrage | 42:12–45:14 | | Dale’s side show & conspiracies | 47:46–48:33 |

Takeaways & Practical Advice

• Recognize manipulation: Outrage is often provoked for profit (“rage engagement”)—step back and question what purpose your anger serves.
• Take breaks: Offline time, real human contact, and mindful disengagement are crucial for mental health.
• Embrace humor and friendship: Even in the grimmest news, laughter shared with friends can be grounding and therapeutic.
• Be yourself: Podcast genuinely—audiences pick up on authenticity.
• Be reflective: Mistakes WILL happen; own up, learn, and keep moving forward.
• Seek disagreement, not destruction: True progress—and sanity—comes from disagreeing better and coexisting, not eradicating opposition.

For more from Outrage Factory: Search for “Outrage Factory” in your favorite podcast app. Dale’s other (occasional) show is “The Dale Show.”
For further reading and insights: Visit outrageoverload.net and outrageoverload.substack.com.