Where There's Woke

Delving into the cult of Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, and Tom MacDonald, the hosts explore the appeal and controversies surrounding these figures. Analyzing the ironic rap song collaboration between Shapiro and MacDonald, they dissect the messaging and marketing strategies used. From philosophical musings on life definitions to debunked music myths and racial connotations in classical music discourse, the podcast offers a mix of entertainment and insightful critiques.

Using Elon Musk's money, Gina Carano (AKA Cara Dune in seasons 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian series) is suing Disney & Lucasfilm over her "firing" in February 2021. We had Matt Cameron, current co-host of Opening Arguments, join to help us break this thing down. How does Carano allege she was harmed, and what exactly are her claims for relief here? Is this suit just a nothingburger or is there actually some meat on this thing?  Feel free to email us at lydia@seriouspod.com or thomas@seriouspod.com! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

It's Part 2 of our research into the Woke Kindergarten controversy! Lydia gives us more detail as to the repercussions of the firestorm that we broke down in Part 1. We visit the scene of the crime, Hayward Unified, and spend some time with their school board and perhaps one of the worst Board Members WTW has covered so far. And - are some entities weaponizing this news to further their own agenda?   Goldwater Institute's Academic Transparency Act (PDF) Hayward Unified's Equity & Antiracism Board Policy   Feel free to email us at lydia@seriouspod.com or thomas@seriouspod.com! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

Lydia breaks down a very recent controversy that had every right wing source losing their absolute minds: a school in the Bay Area paid hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for Woke Kindergarten, and test scores plummeted even further! Or that's at least what they want you to think. We dive into the who, what, where, when, and how of this one and it is a wild ride.   California School Dashboard WestEd Black Minds Matter Learning Policy Institute    Feel free to email us at lydia@seriouspod.com or thomas@seriouspod.com! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

Eli Bosnick joins the hosts to critique Ricky Gervais's anti-woke comedy special, discussing the lack of empathy and genuine humor. They explore the impact of offensive content, the importance of empathy in comedy, and the complexity of genius mixed with mental health challenges. The conversation delves into humor, language norms, intergenerational conflicts, and the critique of the anti-woke mindset.

Exploring anti-woke stories, adding pronouns to iPhone contacts, controversies around female Star Wars director, surviving a skydiving mishap, Boeing's safety concerns, debunking link between DEI and safety in airlines, controversial education policy changes, Trump-inspired influencer tactics and ethical dilemmas

Join the discussion on fighting back against campus outrage with Dr. Isaac Kamola. Uncover the partisan mechanics behind websites like CampusReform and The College Fix. Explore the creation of Faculty First Responders to support harassed professors. Discover the impact of right-wing activism on academic freedom and the influence of wealthy individuals on legislative agendas.

A sequel! Dr. Kenneth Mayer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, was publicly blasted by a student - first in an article on The College Fix, and then to millions of viewers tuning into Fox News with Tucker Carlson - because of a paragraph he wrote in the 2019 Spring semester syllabus for a Political Science course. That's right... there was a segment on Fox News about... a syllabus. NAY. A single paragraph in a syllabus. Unbelievable.   Later we talk about how, while both Dr. Ponce from WTW34 and Dr. Mayer had tenure; what happens when you don't? We'll hear about Dr. Michael Phillips and his fight after his contract was not renewed with Texas's Collin College.   Dr. Mayer's report to the Court for the current Wisconsin redistricting efforts! Be sure to check out SIO episodes 405 and 418 with expert Joe Magestro for more information on what's been happening there.   Feel free to email us at lydia@seriouspod.com or thomas@seriouspod.com! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

In 2017, political science professor Dr. Albert Ponce was targeted by right-wing media because of a lecture he gave at Diablo Valley College regarding white supremacy in America. Lydia walks us through what actually happened before, during, and after the motivating incident. The people responsible for this panic were totally cool and not at all white supremacist monsters.   You can watch Dr. Ponce's lecture in full here! Be sure to tune in for our next installment of this mini-series.   Feel free to email us at lydia@seriouspod.com or thomas@seriouspod.com! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

It's Bread Week here at WTW!   King Arthur Baking Company is in the hot seat with the Right over an accelerator opportunity that is *racist against white people*. We're here to tell you what's really going on here and why we're keeping a close on New Hampshire from here on out.   Be sure to check out Project Potluck! They are doing some fantastic work to build a community and resource network in the consumer packaged goods space for people of color.   Feel free to email us at lydia@seriouspod.com or thomas@seriouspod.com! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!