Where There's Woke - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

WTW148: Meet Erin Scavino, the Nepo Hire Purging Woke Art From US Embassies Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Dan Scavino's wife who has absolutely no experience in art whatsoever definitely got her job as "person in charge of all art worldwide at every US Embassy" for completely merit-based reasons. Why would you even insinuate otherwise? Anyway she's tearing paintings off the walls if they're too... not a US flag.

If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW147: No, the Woke Aren't Protecting Shooters By Calling Them "Trigger Pullers" Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

A grab bag of woke panics this week, and Lydia has receipts for all of them. Seattle's interim police chief said "trigger pullers" at a press conference, and conservative media decided this was a brand new woke euphemism. You sure about that? Then: Nike fell out of the S&P 100 and everyone is blaming DEI. What does the actual JP Morgan analysis say? What does a brand-new study on "go woke, go broke" say? What does Steven Crowder say? And finally, Florida brought back the "Gator Bait" chant, a YouTuber said the history is fake, and Thomas has thoughts about institutional cowardice.

Sources:

ATF press release: Montana Baronet "trigger puller" Baltimore gang prosecution (U.S. Department of Justice / ATF)
CNN: ATF use of "trigger puller" as repeat-offender category (2018)
Nike Annual Report (2026)
Markets Do Not Punish Firms for Maintaining DEI (Folsz & Grumbach, 8/14/2026)
Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University: "Gator Bait" materials

If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW146: Jordan Peterson Has One (1) Study Proving Activists Are Psychopaths Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Jordan Peterson wrote a very long article for The Telegraph about climate change. He has a study. Well, sort of. He has a reference to a study that he didn't bother to link, that doesn't say what he claims it says, and whose own authors explicitly warned against the exact conclusions he's drawing. Thomas and Lydia dig into the actual paper so you don't have to, and the gap between what Peterson claims and what the research found is, let's say, notable.

Sources:

Jordan Peterson, "Net Zero Alarmism Is a Mental Illness" (The Telegraph, 2025)
Jordan Peterson, climate article referenced in episode (The Telegraph)
"Understanding Left-Wing Authoritarianism: Relations to the Dark Personality Traits, Altruism and Social Justice Commitment" (Crispins & Bertrams, Current Psychology, 2023)
"Higher Narcissism Is Associated with Greater Involvement in Feminist Activism" (Crispins & Bertrams)
Will Self response piece debunking Peterson's climate article
NASA: Global Surface Temperature Record

If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW145: Jordan Peterson Rises, Lazarus-like, to Do Climate Change Denial Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Jordan Peterson is back, sort of. He hasn't been on camera or a microphone, but he has been writing, and his big return piece for The Telegraph is... a lot. He set his sights on "Climate Catastrophism" and barfed the usual 40 page manifesto. Lydia digs into the claims, the creative use of the medieval warm period, and why The Telegraph keeps running so much climate skepticism. Turns out there's a whole network behind that, and it's worth knowing about.

Sources:

Climate Change is Real and the Right Needs to Get Serious About It (Tim Stanley, The Telegraph)
Climate catastrophism is a leftist weapon to destroy capitalism (Jordan Peterson, The Telegraph)
UK Ministry of Housing: Air Conditioning Press Release (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)
DeSmog Telegraph Climate Coverage Audit (DeSmog)
Global Warming Policy Foundation
Who Funds You Transparency Index: 55 Tufton Street (Open Democracy)
BP North Sea Business Sale

If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW144: The Reactions to AOC's Comment Show Why We Should Just Not Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

We still need to talk about the AOC "woke 1 was crazy" comment. While well-meaning wokies might want to engage in some self-flagellating, the reaction pieces show why we just absolutely should not entertain that for one moment.

If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW143: No, Woke 1 Was Not Crazy Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

AOC told ABC News something that set off a thousand hot takes: was "Woke One" actually crazy? Meanwhile a Wisconsin governor's primary decided by a few thousand votes means DSA is dead. Also, AOC please consider our proposal(s).

If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW142: James Lindsay Unveils Woke 2.0 Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Which is great because it's in plenty of time before the holiday season so now you know what to get your loved one! This extremely weird person has a whole framework for Woke 2.0. Thomas and Lydia sit through the entire launch event so you don't have to.

If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW141: The Anti-Woke Crusade Against Knowing Things Continues Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

Congress hauled the Smithsonian's top history museum director in for a grilling this week, and it got dumb fast. Republicans wanted to know if Mickey Mouse is racist, whether RuPaul is transgender, and why she cares more about butterfly wings than aborted fetuses. Lydia digs into the White House's 162-page report and the very specific word choice it borrowed straight from a 1937 Nazi art show.

Sources:

"How the Smithsonian Lost Its Way" (Mike Gonzalez - The Heritage Foundation, 5/21/2026)
Saving America's Story (Domestic Policy Council; 7/2026)
The White House Campaign to Seize Control of the Smithsonian and Rewrite American History (Committee on House Administration - Rep. Joseph D. Morelle; 7/2026)
Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian's Efforts to Reshape the Past, House DOGE Subcommittee Hearing (7/21/2026)
VIDEO: The Degenerate Art Exhibition (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
VIDEO: WASHINGTON: ENOLA GAY EXHIBITION CAUSES PROTESTS (AP, 6/28/1995)

**If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.**

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW140: $3 Million Anti-Woke Program, 1 Enrolled Student Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

Netflix rebooted Little House on the Prairie and Megyn Kelly declared war on it a year before anyone saw a single frame. Meanwhile West Virginia funded a taxpayer-backed "anti-woke" civics center run by a philosophy professor with some truly unhinged advice for testing your own free speech, and Florida just built its own college accreditor to route around a court loss. Lydia's got the receipts.

Sources:

Netflix's Remake of Little House on the Prairie Is Certainly Different (Rebecca Onion, Slate, 7/9/2026)
Netflix merger hearing (2/3/2026)
Republicans Blew Millions on an Anti-Woke Program. It's Failing Badly. (Malcolm Ferguson, The New Republic, 7/9/2026)
WV HB 3297
Why Am I Here? (Dr. Patrick Lee Miller, 2/17/2026)
Market Demand Assessment - University of Iowa Center for Intellectual Freedom (Common Sense Institute, 4/29/2026)
Iowa's Civics Center Has to Teach Thousands. It Currently Has One Professor. (Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed, 6/24/2026)
11th Circuit crushes Florida's 'Stop WOKE Act' at state universities (Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix, 7/7/2026)
- Opinion
Next in Florida's war on 'woke': Becoming its own higher ed watchdog (Daniel Rivero & Natalie La Roche Pietri, WLRN, 7/9/2026)

If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.

Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

WTW139: They're Literally Destroying American Science Because Woke Jul 12, 2026

Show notes

The Trump administration quietly filed 400 pages of regulations that could gut science, housing, arts and victim services funding across the entire country. Political appointees would get veto power over grants once decided purely on merit, and money could vanish mid-project with zero appeal. Lydia breaks down exactly how bad it gets. But we can fight back! Listen in to find out how.

Stand Up for Science
- Comment portal: https://fight2win.standupforscience.net/campaign/omb_comment/
Proposed Rule Changes (5/29/2026)
Federal Register Comment Submission
Sample General Comment:
- I am submitting this comment as a member of the public concerned about the proposed "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance" (OMB-2026-0034). I oppose finalizing this rule as written. Requiring political appointees to conduct pre-issuance review of discretionary grants, and downgrading peer-review recommendations to merely advisory, replaces a merit-based, expert-driven funding system with one where funding decisions can be made based on political alignment rather than scientific or programmatic merit. This risks delaying or blocking legitimate research and public-interest programs based on politics rather than quality, and it undermines the credibility of federal grantmaking across every agency this rule touches, not just scientific research. I am also concerned about the expanded authority to terminate active, already-awarded grants without a guaranteed appeals process. Recipients, such as universities, hospitals, nonprofits, state and local governments, need a predictable, fair process to rely on federal awards they have already been granted and are actively spending in good faith. I urge OMB to withdraw or substantially narrow these provisions, preserve the presumption that peer-review and merit-based recommendations are binding absent a documented, specific reason to deviate, and restore a meaningful appeals process for any grant facing suspension or termination.
Sample § 200.205 Comment:
- [200.205] I am writing to oppose the proposed pre-issuance review requirement in § 200.205, which requires senior political appointees to review discretionary grant proposals and downgrades peer-review recommendations to merely "advisory." Peer review by subject-matter experts has been the foundation of federal grantmaking for decades because it evaluates proposals on scientific and programmatic merit rather than political alignment. Requiring proposals to "demonstrably advance the President's policy priorities" as a condition of funding inserts a political test into a process that should be judged on quality, feasibility, and public benefit. This risks funding decisions being made (or overturned) by officials without relevant subject-matter expertise, and discourages researchers and institutions from pursuing legitimate, high-merit work that might be perceived as politically disfavored regardless of its scientific value. I urge OMB to remove this provision, or at minimum to require that peer-review recommendations remain the primary basis for funding decisions, with any political override documented, narrowly justified, and subject to independent review.
Sample § 200.340 Comment:
- [200.340] I am writing to oppose the proposed expansion of grant termination authority in § 200.340, which would allow agencies to terminate active, already-awarded grants if they are judged "inconsistent with program goals or agency priorities" or "no longer in the Federal Government's interest," without a guaranteed process for recipients to appeal. Multi-year research, public health, and community programs require funding stability to be effective. Researchers hire staff, enroll patients in clinical trials, and make long-term institutional commitments based on the expectation that an awarded grant will be honored for its stated term absent a specific, documented failure of performance or compliance. Allowing termination based on vague, after-the-fact judgments about "priorities," without any appeals process, introduces instability that will discourage qualified applicants, disrupt ongoing work and reduce accountability for the termination decisions themselves. I urge OMB to require a specific, documented justification for any mid-award termination, tied to defined performance or compliance standards set out in advance, and to restore a meaningful appeals process for recipients facing termination.