Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

r/iamverysmart (place) 1 — Reddit subreddit used as reference point for avoiding pretentious displays of intelligence.

Field Museum of Natural History (place) 1 — Chicago museum that acquired the famous T. Rex fossil 'Sue' after public fundraising in the 1990s.

Enron (concept) 1 — Infamous corporate fraud scandal from 2001 referenced as precedent for potential future accounting disasters due to indu...

AICPA (place) 1 — American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, governing body criticized for allowing CPAs to be certified in India...

Anna's Archive (place) 1 — Digital library platform used for pirating books for e-readers.

Jason Kelce (person) 1 — NFL player criticized for saying yes to every opportunity and lacking talent outside football.

Competency Crisis (concept) 1 — Perceived widespread decline in basic competence and ability to perform simple tasks, particularly with technology.

Anthony Edwards (person) 1 — NBA player described as having an adorable mischievous smile by a new basketball fan.

Shaquille O'Neal (person) 1 — Former NBA player who appears on TNT's basketball commentary and is criticized for seeming too tired to create meaningfu...

Charles Barkley (person) 1 — Former NBA player who appears on TNT's basketball commentary and is criticized for seeming too tired to create meaningfu...

TNT (place) 1 — Television network that broadcasts NBA games with commentary from former players.

Karl-Anthony Towns (person) 1 — NBA player who is speculated to have undiagnosed or undisclosed fetal alcohol syndrome.

Reggie Miller (person) 1 — Former NBA player and commentator described as looking like 'Voldemort graduated from Howard.'

Minnesota Timberwolves (place) 1 — NBA team whose playoff games were watched by a new basketball fan living above a passionate fan.

Caleb Pitts (person) 1 — Person described as funnier and cooler who allegedly works for Adam Friedland, whom Friedland inappropriately mentions c...

Feng Shui (concept) 1 — Chinese practice of arranging objects and spaces to attract positive energy, credited by the post with helping Generatio...

Hygge (concept) 1 — Danish concept of coziness that millennials allegedly embraced instead of feng shui, contributing to their economic stru...

Lavrentiy Beria (person) 1 — Soviet secret police chief featured in a joke about extracting false confessions, demonstrating the terror tactics of St...

Loblaws (place) 1 — Canadian supermarket chain where a painful encounter between the poster and his ex-girlfriend occurred.

Das Capital (book) 1 — Karl Marx's foundational work of political economy that the poster describes as a transcendent, veil-lifting reading exp...

Mary Harron (person) 1 — Female film director who directed I Shot Andy Warhol and American Psycho, misidentified by Gen Z trivia contestants as a...

I Shot Andy Warhol (film) 1 — Film directed by Mary Harron about Valerie Solanas's assassination attempt on Andy Warhol

Chris Watts (person) 1 — Murderer who was manipulated during police interrogation by a female detective using the 'good cop' technique

Reid technique (concept) 1 — Nine-step police interrogation method designed to pressure suspects into confessing through psychological manipulation

Thomas Ligotti (person) 1 — Horror writer referenced in describing an unsettlingly intense Jeopardy contestant as resembling one of his characters

We Are Young (album) 1 — A song by the band Fun that symbolizes the optimism and promise of 2012 for millennials, now viewed with nostalgia and s...

Washed Out (album) 1 — Chillwave artist who performed at millennial festivals in the early 2010s

Grizzly Bear (album) 1 — Indie rock band that was part of the early 2010s festival circuit

Naked and Famous (album) 1 — Indie electronic band that performed at early 2010s festivals

Phosphorescent (album) 1 — Indie folk artist who was part of the millennial festival scene

Craig Jones (person) 1 — Prominent Brazilian jiu jitsu athlete and Cum Town fan who owns the B-Team gym

Jason Rodriguez (person) 1 — 22-year-old Brazilian jiu jitsu athlete kicked out of B-Team gym for creating deepfake pornography of female teammates

B-Team (place) 1 — Prominent Brazilian jiu jitsu gym owned by Craig Jones where Jason Rodriguez trained before being expelled

Blood Eagle (concept) 1 — Viking execution method mentioned to counter romanticized views of pagan/viking culture

Sao Paulo (place) 1 — Brazilian city referenced as the hometown of a woman in a cross-continental relationship story

James Hoffmann (person) 1 — Coffee expert and YouTuber cited as an authority figure in autistic consumer culture around specialty coffee equipment

CTA (place) 1 — Chicago Transit Authority, the public transit system referenced in a story about train commute tensions and platform con...

Letter to My Father (book) 1 — Kafka's letter examining the painful power dynamics and emotional abuse in his relationship with his father.

Big Razor (concept) 1 — The razor industry accused of enslaving consumers through propaganda and marketing inferior disposable razors with huge ...

SAS (concept) 1 — British Special Air Service, allegedly showcased to the world during the Iranian Embassy Crisis which intelligence servi...

Iranian Embassy Crisis (concept) 1 — Event in London that British intelligence services allegedly knew about but allowed to happen to showcase the SAS.

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (person) 1 — Cinematographer of Call Me By Your Name who will probably be looked back as a top 5 DP of the era.

Deadpool and Wolverine (film) 1 — Marvel movie rated 8.1/10 on IMDb, criticized for fourth wall jokes, gratuitous violence without gravitas, and childish ...

Asif Rahman (person) 1 — Former CIA analyst who pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents about Israel's planned retaliatory strike against ...

Yale University (place) 1 — University where CIA leaker Asif Rahman graduated in three years before joining the intelligence agency

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (place) 1 — U.S. intelligence agency that prepared the classified documents leaked by Asif Rahman about Israel's military capabiliti...

Espionage Act (concept) 1 — U.S. law under which CIA analyst Asif Rahman was charged for unauthorized disclosure of national defense information

Phnom Penh (place) 1 — Capital city of Cambodia where Asif Rahman was working at the U.S. embassy when arrested

John the Baptist (person) 1 — Biblical figure whose beheading by Salome is depicted in paintings discussed as examples of the femme fatale archetype

Emo subculture (concept) 1 — 2000s subculture discussed as having provided an outlet for sensitive guys who didn't fit masculine expectations before ...