Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

The Wind in the Willows (book) 2 — Classic children's literature cited as example of 'blissful' traditional children's books in contrast to contemporary cr...

Inside (film) 2 — Bo Burnham comedy special criticized as pretentious for portraying artificial struggle despite the comedian's wealth

The Stooges (album) 2 — Band whose member Ron Asheton was interviewed by serious garage punk enthusiasts in earlier forum culture

Penn Station (place) 2 — Originally a grand masterpiece of marble and steel, now a claustrophobic underground station symbolizing America's infra...

LAX (place) 2 — Los Angeles airport described as an international embarrassment and symbol of American infrastructure decline.

East Asia (place) 2 — Region where a disastrous date occurred involving a German man with problematic racial fetishes

Bring Me The Horizon (album) 2 — A band mockingly described as 'statutory rape music' during a bachelor party music dispute.

r/atheism (place) 2 — Reddit community noted for its comparison of Pope Benedict to the Star Wars villain Emperor Palpatine upon his death.

Mulan (film) 2 — A Disney film that a child confused with Japanese culture in an embarrassing childhood memory

Salieri (person) 2 — Historical composer depicted in Amadeus as a talented but ultimately unremarkable figure consumed by jealousy of Mozart'...

Steve Urkel (person) 2 — Nerdy character from Family Matters who was typically triumphant in episodes, having achieved personal growth.

Omaha (place) 2 — Nebraska city where a Yale graduate from NYC desperately called a small real estate firm looking for work, symbolizing a...

Amy Sedaris (person) 2 — Comedian and collaborator with Stephen Colbert who fans hope he'll return to working with after his late show cancellati...

Opioid Crisis (concept) 2 — Public health crisis used by doctors to justify refusing pain management for severe dental injuries, leading to only Tyl...

Erin Moriarty (person) 2 — An actress whose plastic surgery is mentioned as being approved by someone with extremely particular standards for women...

Lowe's (place) 2 — Home improvement retail store where a poster was paid to use the bathroom during their Thanksgiving shift

Julia Holter (person) 2 — Musician whose album was mentioned as being obsessed with 10 years ago.

New York Post (place) 2 — News publication criticized for using SEO in an article about someone's uncle drowning

r/moreplatesmoredates (place) 2 — Reddit community referenced as an example of users who haven't listened to the Red Scare podcast.

Kitchen Nightmares (film) 2 — TV show referenced by a user who got sunburned after following Anna Khachiyan's anti-sunscreen advice and had to stay in...

Air Force (place) 2 — U.S. military branch that a single mother tried to enlist in to escape poverty before discovering she was pregnant

Gender Identity (concept) 2 — Contemporary discourse topic criticized as uninteresting naval-gazing, particularly when explored by pop musicians and l...

Frankfurt (place) 2 — German financial hub criticized for having a banking system that is a joke despite its status

Eat Pray Love (book) 2 — A memoir used to characterize the landlord as a SoCal GILF archetype who owns property and has romantic involvement with...

r/drama (place) 2 — A now-defunct subreddit mentioned nostalgically alongside r/cumtown as representing a lost era of internet culture.

Apocalypto (film) 2 — A film directed by Mel Gibson referenced in a discussion about racial stereotypes and the director's controversial state...

Joan Jett (person) 2 — American rock musician referenced as one of the archetypal Joans for categorizing BPD white women.

Newark (place) 2 — A city where a Nigerian immigrant serves as an evangelist at a local church while secretly doing stand-up comedy

UPenn (place) 2 — University of Pennsylvania, where Luigi Mangione studied engineering, described as the most apolitical Ivy League school

Brown (place) 2 — An Ivy League university mentioned as a prestigious acceptance in a story about a nuclear false alarm in Hawaii

Ant-Man (film) 2 — Marvel superhero film franchise used as an example of mainstream nerd culture's obsession with minutiae and easter eggs

ATF (concept) 2 — Federal agency referenced nostalgically for historic cult standoffs, contrasted with modern underwhelming cults

Jemima Kirke (person) 2 — Person referenced for their quote about people thinking about themselves too much, in context of women constantly discus...

Land O'Lakes (concept) 2 — Corporate brand that removed its Native American mascot imagery following George Floyd protests, cited as superficial co...

Undertale (film) 2 — Video game referenced mockingly in context of performative racial justice activism where 'supporting BIPOC art' meant ma...

First Amendment (concept) 2 — US constitutional protection for free speech that younger generations allegedly misunderstand or wish to narrow, disting...

Black Hebrew Israelites (concept) 2 — Religious group known for confrontational street preaching, cited as example of entertainment value of unrestricted free...

Florence and the Machine (album) 2 — British musical act representing a superior era of UK pop culture before its decline.

UC Davis (place) 2 — University campus where a series of stabbings occurred in 2023, with 3 incidents over consecutive days resulting in 2 de...

Nick Reiner (person) 2 — Son of Rob Reiner who subjected his parents to elder abuse before murdering them, referenced as a spoiled nepo baby

Billy Crystal (person) 2 — Actor and friend of Rob Reiner, mentioned as someone who likely despised Nick Reiner

Ted Hughes (person) 2 — British poet and husband of Sylvia Plath, discussed as having cheated on Plath with Assia Wevill and written about the a...

Martha Nussbaum (person) 2 — Philosopher cited for her description of Indian universities as creating 'docile engineers' with zero civic consciousnes...

John Grisham (person) 2 — Popular thriller author whose novels are referenced as impulse airport purchases that evoke nostalgia for pre-digital tr...

r/shortguys (place) 2 — A subreddit mentioned as an undesirable community whose posters are seen as degrading r/redscarepod's culture.

Doha (place) 2 — Capital of Qatar, criticized for having artificial tourist attractions like a fake Venice.

Hanukkah (concept) 2 — Jewish holiday mentioned as an example of religious greetings that should be politely received.

Easter (concept) 2 — Christian holiday of resurrection and rebirth that coincided with a user reconciling with a romantic interest before the...

White Privilege (concept) 2 — Concept describing systemic advantages white people have in not experiencing racism, debated for its strategic usefulnes...

Geert Wilders (person) 2 — Dutch far-right politician whose supporters are criticized for anti-immigrant rhetoric on the subreddit