Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

The Art of Asking (book) 1 — Amanda Palmer's controversial 2014 book where she discusses getting people to volunteer without pay, representing a tran...

Better Man (film) 1 — Biographical film about British pop star Robbie Williams depicted as a CGI monkey, major box office bomb making $14 mill...

Techno-feudalism (concept) 1 — Economic and political system discussed by Bannon in relation to transhumanists' disregard for humanity

Vacherin Mont d'Or (concept) 1 — Raw milk cheese from France that cannot be imported to the US, discussed as object of desire related to food embargo

Will Hunting (person) 1 — Fictional character from Good Will Hunting referenced in discussion of gifted individuals who drop out and work in manua...

Destroy the Opposition (album) 1 — Death metal song mentioned as empowering and energizing, representing the visceral appeal of the genre

Jodi Picoult (person) 1 — Author whose hardcover books were popular purchases at Barnes & Noble, particularly among affluent female customers look...

Vulfpeck (album) 1 — Indie band criticized for contributing to the trend of sterility and minimalism in contemporary music.

1812 Overture (album) 1 — Classical composition by Tchaikovsky that employed cannons and a full brass band for its finale, exemplifying musical gr...

Stop Making Sense (film) 1 — Talking Heads concert tour and film featuring experimentalists and numerous supporting musicians, representing musical s...

Adrien Belew (person) 1 — Experimentalist musician who performed with Talking Heads on their Stop Making Sense tour.

Bernie Worrell (person) 1 — Experimentalist musician who performed with Talking Heads on their Stop Making Sense tour.

Tortured Poet's Department (album) 1 — Taylor Swift album dismissed as uninspired pop music that won't be remembered in a hundred years.

Monica Barbaro (person) 1 — Actress cast to play Mira Murati in Luca Guadagnino's OpenAI movie.

Mira Murati (person) 1 — OpenAI figure being portrayed by Monica Barbaro in a Luca Guadagnino film.

Yura Borisov (person) 1 — Actor cast to play Ilya Sutskever in Luca Guadagnino's OpenAI movie.

Klinefelter's syndrome (concept) 1 — Medical condition mentioned in reference to a coworker during Barnes & Noble training.

Bobby Kennedy (person) 1 — American politician whose assassination Hillary Clinton referenced when explaining why she stayed in the 2007 primary ra...

Shetland sheepdog (concept) 1 — Dog breed the author plans to train in agility after retiring to the Irish countryside.

iPhone 5 (concept) 1 — Apple smartphone released approximately 13 years ago, described as elegant and the thinnest iPhone ever made, representi...

Des Moines (place) 1 — Iowa city mentioned as an absurd location for wearing kilts, in context of early 2000s nerd culture.

r/kilt (place) 1 — Reddit subreddit dedicated to kilts, associated with sys admins and early 2000s nerd culture.

Gaslight (1944) (film) 1 — 1944 film starring Ingrid Bergman about psychological abuse in marriage, the origin of the term 'gaslighting.'

Ingrid Bergman (person) 1 — Actress described as completely radiant in the 1944 film Gaslight about psychological abuse.

Shark Tank (film) 1 — Reality TV show about entrepreneurs pitching to investors, mentioned as stereotypical bad advice for small business owne...

Scythians (concept) 1 — Ancient nomadic people predicted to be recognized as the origin of much European history and language in academic consen...

Phoenicia (place) 1 — Ancient civilization predicted to be recognized as having heavily influenced ancient Greek civilization.

Theobald Wolfe Tone (person) 1 — Irish revolutionary whose wax figure's sword hand was broken off during 1985 Dublin Wax Museum burglary and used to impa...

Julie Ruin (album) 1 — 1998 solo album by Kathleen Hanna recommended alongside Paul's Boutique in discussion of her marriage to a Beastie Boys ...

Coriolanus (book) 1 — Shakespeare play title used as satirical euphemism for coronavirus in news roundup

Mary Trump (person) 1 — Psychologist and author of tell-all book about Donald Trump depicted as a sympathetic wine mom

Fred Trump (person) 1 — Donald Trump's father described in Mary Trump's book as having bullied his eldest son to death and engaged in financial ...

Coming Out Culture (concept) 1 — Social phenomenon critiqued as pressure to publicly announce private aspects of sexuality for social capital and elite a...

Confessional Culture (concept) 1 — Social media phenomenon where people publicly share extremely private information and mental illness for social engageme...

Las Vegas Shooting (concept) 1 — 2017 mass shooting by Stephen Paddock discussed in conspiracy theory context due to lack of clear motive and rapid media...

False Flag (concept) 1 — Conspiracy theory concept applied to Las Vegas shooting suggesting government involvement or cover-up

Sarah Leonard (person) 1 — Socialist writer criticized by Anna Khachiyan as boring online leftist woman

Natasha Leonard (person) 1 — Socialist journalist criticized by Anna Khachiyan as boring online leftist woman

Libby Watson (person) 1 — Journalist referred to by Anna Khachiyan as 'that weird cat girl' among boring online leftist women

Alex Press (person) 1 — Socialist writer described by Anna Khachiyan as 'big tittied metoo advocate' among boring online leftist women

Abiy Ahmed (person) 1 — Prime Minister of Ethiopia discussed as a unifying figure working on economic growth and regional agreements.

Syria Civil War (concept) 1 — Conflict used as comparison point for the potential severity of the Ethiopia conflict.

Horn of Africa Initiative (concept) 1 — Regional peace and cooperation framework mentioned in context of Ethiopian diplomatic efforts.

Dorothy Tennov (person) 1 — Psychologist whose list of limerence features is referenced in a discussion about romantic obsession.

Weird Fishes (album) 1 — Song by Radiohead shared on the subreddit.

Hamilton Morris (person) 1 — Podcast host mentioned as someone the poster listens to regularly alongside Red Scare and Joe Rogan.

Gil Scott-Heron (person) 1 — Musician referenced in a humorous question about whether Chinese songs make lyrical sense.

Party in the USA (album) 1 — Miley Cyrus song used as an example of basic cultural performance at karaoke.

Huntsville, AL (place) 1 — Alabama's largest city, described as a booming tech center with jarring contrasts between rural poverty and suburban dev...

The Dropout (film) 1 — TV show about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, praised for Amanda Seyfried's performance and its unambiguous condemnation ...