Do you find the news cycle overwhelming to the point that you're not clear on what is going on?

Yes and no.

There is so much information available today via internet, tv, radio, print, that it is impossible to keep up. We are drowning in it. So in that sense yes. But so much of it is bullshit or selective, there is only a very small amount of valuable information. So in that sense no. The difficulty we face today, contrary to the difficulties of a century ago, is the time required to locate the valuable information and, because it is so scattered, to synthesise it.

I have a pretty good idea (certainly not complete) of what's going on in the spheres that matter to me but I am cranky about how much effort I have to put into it.