Where There's Woke

After the release of our PragerU videos (WTW88 & WTW89), we received a comment in the Facebook group from a listener pushing back on the characterization we made regarding a one sentence bit from Ben Shapiro's commencement speech video. This feedback emboldened Thomas to dig into the story further to see if we owed an apology to Ben. Was this a unique instance in which the anti-woke were right and there truly was a miscarriage of justice? **If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.**

Kaiser issued the most infuriating statement last month announcing that they were "pausing" their gender-affirming surgeries for patients 19 and under. Why in the world did they do this when the majority of Kaiser members are in California - a protective state for the transgender community and one of the most likely states to stand up to the Trump administration? Lydia breaks down what happened, who has been speaking out, and a particular theory about why Kaiser Permanente might have made this decision. Massachusetts et al v. Trump et al (8/1/2025) 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!

Part 2 of 2. Now that we're Oklahoma-certified teachers, it's time to learn more about PragerU. Who are they, where does their money come from, and are they really going to be the new PBS? We break down one of their PragerU Kids videos, and end with a pretty unhinged video presented by a WTW frenemy. 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!

Part 1 of 2. The Department of Education in the state of Oklahoma recently announced that in their search for teachers to address an ongoing shortage in their schools, they'd be partnering with a conservative "edutainment" entity to develop a test to make sure teachers coming from blue states aren't too "woke." Lydia tells us more about this story and we take the JUST RELEASED test to see if we can pass it. In part 2, we'll dig into who PragerU is, the kind of content they produce, and what we can do to fight back.   **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!  

Part 2 of 2. Andrew Sullivan continues his screed and we continue to tear it apart. But Lydia won't let us leave on an angry note, so she shares her experience attending San Francisco Pride this year - her first Pride EVER! **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!

Part 1 of 2. The New York Times unveiled an opinion piece by Andrew Sullivan that basically talked all about how the LGBTQ+ community have gone too far - DURING PRIDE MONTH. We go through this outrageous op-ed and debunk his claims and logic in true WTW fashion. **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!

An unsurprising figure is involved in the current battle between Harvard University and the federal government, and he has come out to EXPOSE Harvard's racist and discriminatory practices by sharing a "trove" of internal documents they don't want you to see. Lydia walks us through what these documents are, how things escalated to this point, and what Christopher Rufo wants us to think it all means - which The New York Times helped platform on an episode of The Daily. Cool. Best Practices for Conducting Faculty Searches Rufo's smoking gun that makes no sense: Harvard's "Placement Goals" - HELP US FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS IS! **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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. and his second-in-command, Mr. Brain Worm, have appointed a real piece of work to lead the supposed "autism study" that HHS is conducting; and we had to call in for backup as we take on these anti-vaxxers: Dr. Jenessa Seymour! Jenessa takes us on a deep dive about David Geier and tells us all about the way he's approached science, ethics, and human beings in the past. Spoiler: it's not great! **If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to lydia@seriouspod.com.** This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

Karen Attiah, columnist with The Washington Post, was looking forward to teaching her second iteration of the Race, Media, and International Affairs course she developed for Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, when it was abruptly cancelled - with no explanation as to why. We chat with her about the inaugural session of the course in an environment where the Israel-Palestine protests were happening on campus and the President was called into Congress to answer Elise Stefanik's "questions," what the media twisted about what was actually happening in those encampments, how she felt when Columbia cancelled her course, and the eventual decision she made to teach it anyway. 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.  

Every year, tens of thousands of people run the Boston Marathon, and this year the Right had a bone to pick with one particular participant; we'll give you one guess what the bone was. Independent journalist Frankie de la Cretaz started asking some questions when this popped up in their algorithm, and after seeing their debunking journey in their newsletter, we had to have them on! 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.