Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Georgia (place) 22 — Former Soviet country mentioned in a discussion about working with different Slavic populations, with Georgians describe...

Pete Davidson (person) 22 — American comedian and actor discussed for getting tattoos of Kim Kardashian's children's initials on his neck, described...

Venezuela (place) 22 — Country where an ink shortage led to complaints about mascots disappearing from product packaging, discussed as an examp...

FauxMoi (place) 22 — Celebrity gossip subreddit that grew from 30k to over 6 million users and is viewed as potentially ruining Hollywood gla...

Thomas Pynchon (person) 22 — Reclusive American novelist mentioned in connection with a rare photograph showing his hand giving a peace sign while pr...

Cocteau Twins (album) 22 — Band discussed for their collaboration with Harold Budd on 'Sea Swallow Me', introduced to the poster through the subred...

The White Lotus (film) 22 — HBO series whose new season depicts male characters gravitating toward toxic masculinity over positive masculinity, with...

Sex and the City (film) 22 — HBO television series analyzed as presenting a conservative cautionary tale against feminist liberation despite its sex-...

Eminem (person) 22 — Rapper whose early songs featured self-censoring ad-libs like 'oops' and 'uh oh' after controversial statements, suggest...

Trauma Response (concept) 21 — Mental health terminology critiqued for being overused by younger generations to pathologize minor discomforts and avoid...

Norway (place) 21 — Nordic country cited alongside Sweden as punching above its weight culturally with a combined population of only 16 mill...

Dirtbag Left (concept) 21 — A leftist political movement and aesthetic that was popular approximately five years before 2022, characterized by irrev...

Christopher Lasch (person) 21 — Author and cultural critic whose work on elite culture and modern society was discussed by the Red Scare podcast hosts, ...

QAnon (concept) 21 — Conspiracy theory that posited Trump was secretly dismantling a satanic global pedophile ring, ironically referenced in ...

Trader Joe's (place) 21 — Upscale grocery chain characterized by warm lighting, attractive clientele, and employees described as non-working class...

Chipotle (place) 21 — Fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain discussed in context of employee behavior and customer dissatisfaction, with refere...

William Shakespeare (person) 21 — English playwright and poet discussed in the context of discourse about his identity as a 'cis white man' and historical...

Candace Owens (person) 21 — Right-wing political commentator described as successfully taking her provocative persona mainstream, including being ta...

A24 (concept) 21 — Film production and distribution company theorized by a Reddit user to employ bots to manipulate online discourse about ...

Washington DC (place) 21 — American capital city that a French person is visiting and asking for tips about from what they consider the most mental...

Everything Everywhere All At Once (film) 21 — A film about Asian generational dynamics that the poster questions whether it genuinely resonates with Asian audiences o...

PTSD (concept) 21 — Post-traumatic stress disorder referenced in relation to understanding why an ex-girlfriend would return to an abusive r...

Detroit (place) 21 — A Michigan city described as having a gorgeous downtown, clean streets, and seeming safer than West Coast cities like Se...

Argentina (place) 21 — Country with a libertarian president slashing public funding, leaving public universities without money and threatening ...

Bushwick (place) 21 — A Brooklyn neighborhood known for its indie music venues and concerts, discussed in the context of a disappointing conce...

Rome (place) 21 — HBO series with $100 million budget criticized as an expensive soap opera with poor character development and excessive ...

Leonard Cohen (person) 21 — Canadian singer-songwriter and poet discussed as having an overlap with the Red Scare podcast aesthetic, with particular...

The Brothers Karamazov (book) 21 — A novel by Dostoevsky containing a passage from Book 6 about isolation, individualism, and the need for social solidarit...

John Waters (person) 21 — Filmmaker whose advice about stopping hating your parents when you turn 30 is referenced in a discussion about loving bu...

2000 (concept) 20 — Year of the contested presidential election where Al Gore narrowly lost, marking the beginning of Democratic Party brand...

Sigmund Freud (person) 20 — Founder of psychoanalysis discussed in critical context regarding his treatment of patient Ida Bauer and his interpretat...

Whole Foods (place) 20 — A grocery store chain that underwent a radical aesthetic and product change, losing its classy dark interior and unique ...

Stranger Things (film) 20 — Netflix series criticized for ret-conning its original MKUltra-inspired premise with supernatural villain Vecna/Henry, m...

Islam (concept) 20 — Religion characterized by abstraction through prohibition of deity/prophet images and reliance on geometric patterns rat...

r/stupidpol (place) 20 — A subreddit described as anti-PC socialist but criticized for having dumber commentary than r/redscarepod, with anti-Iri...

Jean Baudrillard (person) 20 — French philosopher and cultural theorist referenced in a humorous post about quitting a nonprofit arts admin job after l...

Soviet Union (place) 20 — Former communist state discussed regarding its collapse being attributed to elites losing belief in the communist projec...

Marilyn Monroe (person) 20 — Hollywood icon whose fictionalized biography is explored in Joyce Carol Oates' Blonde, with discussion of her as an unre...

Chapo (album) 20 — Referenced as a style of political posting that is considered undesirable, likely referring to Chapo Trap House's brand ...

The New Yorker (place) 20 — Legendary literary magazine that historically published Elizabeth Bishop, JD Salinger, Truman Capote, and James Baldwin ...

NATO (concept) 20 — A military alliance criticized for allegedly breaking promises to Russia about not expanding eastward, described as the ...

Tár (film) 20 — A film about a classical music conductor whose career trajectory includes interactions with intellectuals and potential ...

Nashville (place) 20 — Tennessee city where Adam Friedland performed stand-up comedy, which he joked about in his set regarding large women and...

Taxi Driver (film) 20 — A film referenced for depicting the protagonist Travis watching porn in theaters as a way to show he was weird, contrast...

Napoleon (person) 20 — Ridley Scott film criticized for portraying Napoleon as a neurologically atypical villain rather than as a historically ...

Friends (film) 20 — Popular sitcom featuring an episode where Ross dances with children at Monica and Chandler's wedding, including a girl c...

Shane Gillis (person) 20 — Comedian praised as having the best redemption arc and described as the best current comedian, with his Netflix special ...

Neoliberalism (concept) 20 — Economic ideology criticized for creating an artificial finance-driven system where recessions are constantly predicted ...

Liz Bruenig (person) 20 — A public figure whose position on abortion, advocating for pro-family welfare policy over punitive measures, is discusse...

Beyoncé (person) 19 — Pop music artist discussed as a commercial product and brand that represents aspirational capitalism to her fanbase rath...