SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF “Soft power” — the ability to attract, persuade, and influence other nations through culture, diplomacy, and aid rather than military force — has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy since at least the Cold War. Political scientist Joseph Nye coined the term in 1990, but the strategy predates the…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF For years, colleges and universities have used the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) — a Harvard-based research program — to track student voter registration and turnout rates on their campuses. The data has guided nonpartisan civic engagement programs at over 1,000 institutions. In 2025, a Trump administration…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF President Donald Trump, who previously threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites and power infrastructure — warning he could “wipe out” the country’s civilization — announced on social media Tuesday that he has agreed to suspend military action against Iran for two weeks. The pause comes amid ongoing indirect nuclear negotiations…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF Tensions between the Trump administration and Iran have escalated sharply in 2025, with President Trump issuing pointed warnings — including threats of military action and maximum pressure sanctions — if Iran does not reach a new nuclear deal. In response, more than 60 House and Senate Democrats signed letters and…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has officially acknowledged to Congress that it is deploying sophisticated spyware capable of intercepting encrypted communications — specifically targeting fentanyl traffickers. The disclosure came in a letter from ICE’s acting director and marks one of the first formal government admissions of using such a tool…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF President Trump has set an 8:00 p.m. ET deadline for Iran to accept a new nuclear deal, warning of severe consequences — potentially including military action — if Tehran refuses. Meanwhile, in a rare moment of national unity, the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission is returning to Earth after…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF President Trump issued an escalating ultimatum to Iran, warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iranian leadership fails to reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline. The threat dramatically expanded earlier warnings targeting Iran’s nuclear program to encompass the broader Iranian nation,…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF When crude oil prices spike — as they did in 2022 when Brent crude briefly surpassed $130 per barrel following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — oil companies post record-breaking profits. ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell collectively earned over $130 billion in net income that year alone. But the same forces that…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF A Guatemalan man has pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court for his role in a human smuggling operation that ended in catastrophe on March 2, 2021, when a tractor-trailer truck crashed near Chiapas, Mexico, killing at least 55 migrants and injuring dozens more. The victims — mostly from Guatemala,…
SOCIALTRUTH.FM — BOTH SIDES BRIEF Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, Democrats have consistently outperformed their 2024 presidential margins in a string of special and off-cycle elections — most recently in Georgia state legislative races and Wisconsin’s Supreme Court contest. Republicans have won some of these seats outright, but the…