Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Erasmus (concept) 1 — European student exchange program criticized for participants allegedly engaging in partying and infidelity rather than ...

Hyperlexia (concept) 1 — Reading ability disorder mentioned as a comorbidity with other developmental conditions including autism.

Auditory Processing Disorder (concept) 1 — Neurological condition affecting how the brain processes auditory information, mentioned as a comorbidity with autism-re...

The Hole (place) 1 — Alleged detention facility within Scientology where even high-ranking members are reportedly treated abusively.

Chris Crocker (person) 1 — Internet personality referenced for their famous defense of a celebrity

Scary Movie 2 (film) 1 — Comedy film that played in the background during teenage marijuana use with a friend's father

Bodega Bro (person) 1 — Internet personality who allegedly fell off in fame and was outshined by Rittenhouse

Rittenhouse (person) 1 — Public figure who achieved more fame than Bodega Bro

Yesterday (film) 1 — Film whose trailer featured Ana de Armas but she was cut from the final version, leading to a lawsuit

Universal (place) 1 — Film studio being sued for featuring Ana de Armas in the trailer for Yesterday despite her being cut from the film

Grammy Awards (concept) 1 — Music awards ceremony criticized for controversial 2023 winners including Harry Styles and Lizzo over Bad Bunny.

Bernie (film) 1 — Film mentioned as representative of Texas alongside Dazed and Confused and Hell or High Water.

Chewy.com (place) 1 — Online pet supply retailer whose founder purchased a Twitter handle for $5k that now moves stock markets.

Barbie (2023) (film) 1 — Greta Gerwig film mentioned as impossible to criticize, with poster noting absence of lesbians in Barbieland.

Pop Psychology (concept) 1 — Instagram-based psychological diagnosis trend criticized for leading to relationship dissolution based on amateur narcis...

Jose Munoz (person) 1 — Theorist quoted discussing Coca-Cola consumption as a quotidian act of intimacy that transcends art history.

Liz Taylor (person) 1 — Actress mentioned by Andy Warhol as an example of a celebrity who drinks the same Coca-Cola as ordinary people.

r/physics (place) 1 — Reddit community criticized for being filled with schizophrenics and midwits posting unprompted theories without physics...

TikTok Brain (concept) 1 — Contemporary mental state characterized by shortened attention span and superficial engagement, making genuine connectio...

Ryna Workman (person) 1 — NYU SBA president whose writing on Palestine changed one person's perspective from pro-Israel to supporting Palestinian ...

The Declaration of Independence (book) 1 — Historical American document mentioned as an example of older texts written in cursive that children should be able to r...

Charlotte Rampling (person) 1 — Actress praised for serving looks in the film Dune Part Two.

Hechinger Report (place) 1 — Publication cited as source for reporting on why test-optional policies don't increase diversity in college admissions.

Guillotine (concept) 1 — Historical execution method discussed as precursor to modern 'scientific' execution methods like lethal injection.

Kary Mullis (person) 1 — Nobel prize-winning inventor of PCR testing who criticized Fauci and died shortly before COVID pandemic

Berkeley California (place) 1 — City where Dasha Nekrasova attended community college and worked at Reel Cinema DVD rental store

Reel Cinema (place) 1 — Now-defunct Berkeley DVD rental store where Dasha Nekrasova worked

Rick Rubin (person) 1 — Music producer suspected of being a fraud who is now idolized by tech workers for having 'taste' without technical music...

medieval cosmology (concept) 1 — A cosmological system referenced as having a sump at the centre of the universe where dregs and filth descend, with the ...

Gmail (place) 1 — Google's email service that now includes intrusive AI features that prompt users to automate tasks

Keynesian (concept) 1 — Referenced in relation to the illusory dream of a leisure society that AI technology falsely promises

AAFCO (concept) 1 — The Association of American Feed Control Officials, whose nutrition standards are referenced in homemade dog food recipe...

Stephen Kotkin (person) 1 — Author of a book documenting the power struggle in the USSR after Lenin's death, including dramatic incidents involving ...

DuPont clinic (place) 1 — Washington DC medical facility that performs late-term abortions without questions, including at 9 months gestation.

Mary Anne Walkley (person) 1 — 20-year-old dressmaker who died after working 26.5 hours straight, documented in Marx's Capital as an example of extreme...

Princess of Wales (person) 1 — Newly-imported British royal for whom Mary Anne Walkley and other workers labored to create ball dresses.

Stockton Rush (person) 1 — Millionaire who died in his own company's submersible, whose name is described as fitting for a playwright's character d...

Western Union (place) 1 — Money transfer service mentioned as a means for remittances to Latin America that could be banned to encourage self-depo...

One World Government (concept) 1 — Conspiracy theory framework referenced in discussion of immigration enforcement as serving left-right dialectics.

Intersectional Theory (concept) 1 — Theoretical framework criticized as being appropriated by insincere people to appoint themselves as unaccountable moral ...

Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) (concept) 1 — Philosophy advocating for positive thinking as conducive to attracting happiness and prosperity, presented as alternativ...

Google Fi (concept) 1 — Google's mobile phone service criticized for having annoying YouTube commercials with stupid songs

Baby Yoda (concept) 1 — Character from Star Wars franchise associated with modern liberalism and performative joy over political outcomes

Trauma Dumping (concept) 1 — Phenomenon where people share deeply personal information with near-strangers, leaving the recipient unsure how to respo...

John Hinckley Jr (person) 1 — Would-be presidential assassin whose music-making is compared to Daniel Johnston's lo-fi aesthetic

Sensitivity readers (concept) 1 — Editorial professionals employed by publishers to scan manuscripts for problematic content, criticized as producing cens...

Ja'mie (person) 1 — A character from Australian comedy who a user suggests would be a Red Scare podcast listener based on her personality.

Duluth (place) 1 — Bob Dylan's childhood city in Minnesota, described by Knausgård as appearing gray and industrial by day but magical at n...

Snorlax (concept) 1 — Pokemon character that a sleeping student was photoshopped as in a humorous graduate school incident.

Jigglypuff (concept) 1 — Pokemon character that a monotonous professor was photoshopped as, with the joke being that Jigglypuff's song puts every...