Where There's Woke
Every single time the right, or even center-left, goes ballistic over a "woke" controversy, the slightest bit of investigation shows the scandal is almost entirely bogus. This is not a new phenomenon; it dates back decades. It's an intentional tool used to protect the powerful and preserve the status quo, while further scapegoating and otherizing those who push for political progress. This podcast digs into not just today's fake scandals, but those of yesterday and yesteryear. The terminology has changed some, but the pattern has not. Listen in as hosts Thomas and Lydia Smith shine a light on the panic, the fragility, the overreaction, and the lying that ignites 'Where There's Woke.'
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WTW18: #renameStennisCenter
And you thought we were done campaigning to get stuff at NASA renamed! Well, so did we, to be honest. But then one line in Space Karen's emails we FOIAed changed everything! These next two episodes are a fascinating look at an old Dixiecrat and how effing racist people like that were able to be while still being not just accepted, but HIGHLY regarded and honored within our political institutions. Lydia has lots of archival material for us that paints a very vivid and troubling picture. But, you know, he sounded all Southern and nice and he really respected the institution of the Senate, so let's definitely keep a bunch of stuff named after a white supremacist, right? Feel free to email us at lydia@seriouspod.com or thomas@seriouspod.com! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW17: Our First FOIA Results Are In!
WTW submitted its first FOIA related to the Jelliscope Welliscope a while back, and we received responses from NASA to share with you all! Thomas cluing in on one email thread in the midst of hundreds of pages from Nature's FOIA kicked off this quest and we learned a whole lot more about this Space Karen as a result. We also get into more of why Sean O'Keefe is a piece of work with a story Lydia stumbled on in the process. For our amazing patrons, we're attaching the emails themselves as a treat because you all are the best! If you have ideas on avenues to pursue with an additional FOIA to NASA (or insider tips of what dots may connect), feel free to email us at lydia@seriouspod.com or thomas@seriouspod.com! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW16: Unmarried Woman Posts Happy TikTok. Fox News Loses It
You might have seen the recent viral TikTok of an unmarried, child-free woman spontaneously deciding to make shakshuka for breakfast after sleeping in a bit the morning after going to the Beyonce concert - or the backlash from conservatives and the anti-woke that promptly followed. So did we, and we've invited none other than unmarried, child-free man Heath Enwright on the show to break down the Fox News reaction. It somehow involves Ancient Rome??? Is one happy unmarried woman the end of all of civilization? Tune in and find out! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW15: A Scandalous Chapter of Kilborn's Past Uncovered
Jason Kilborn Part 6: The Grand Finale Folks. You must listen. Seriously. This is too good. It's too good. I can't believe I found this. Kilborn has an incredibly weird, salacious, shocking, but also eerily similar event from his past. In this episode, I take you through the story as told by court documents. Then, get ready for some major context debunking and soap boxing as we bring this thing to a close. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW14: thefire.org Is an Absolute Joke
In this penultimate part, we go through why thefire.org is a fucking joke. Sorry, why they are a joke in relation only to THIS case. There are about a billion other reasons they're a joke but we'll have to cover those at a later date. Then from there, we go through the legal stuff. Kilborn SWORE he'd defeat the fascistic tyrants of UIC in court. How did that prediction hold up? Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW13: The "Settlement" That Wasn't
Jason Kilborn Part 4: Hey Maybe He's Just An Asshole? It just keeps getting so much worse. Just wait until you hear unfiltered Kilborn and his Jesus complex. There are also some incredibly embarrassing details about the "settlement" he and the school came to. Not only embarrassing for Kilborn, but also for thefire.org. If you didn't know, thefire.org actually sucks. Not only will you hear some of that, future parts contain way more about how much The Fire sucks! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW12: It Wasn't About the Exam Question
Jason Kilborn Part 3: Fucking Duh. Here's What He Really Got In Trouble For In this part, which was FIVE HOURS PLUS of raw audio, I go through the investigation report and several other authoritative documents and we discover what Kilborn actually got in trouble for. I did edit this down a lot, but this monstrosity still turned into two parts so expect the next part very soon! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW11: Artisanal Coffee Comment Causes Firestorm?
Jason Kilborn Part 2: A Sally Sitwell Side Quest Lydia takes us through the Sally Satel artisanal coffee fiasco. It's a story that was referenced by Jason Kilborn in his Campus Reform interview. Does the anecdote hold up? Or is the complete opposite true. We also get our first preview of thefire.org being an absolute joke. There's so much here. There's also some yelling. I firmly believe it's justified, but apologies if you don't like yelling. Please skip forward rather than turning it off because this episode has so many amazing revelations. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke! Go there now to catch the bonus debunk!
WTW10: Law Professor BANNED from Campus for Exam Question
Part 1: Anatomy of a Bull Shit We begin a new series at last! UIC Law Prof Jason Kilborn was BANNED from campus due to the woke left not being able to handle seeing a redacted racial slur in an exam question. He was forced to undergo sensitivity trainings and write essays. At least... that's how Bill Maher and every anti-woke clone present this one. But is it true? Well, you'll have to wait for that answer, but in the meantime, we go through the origins of this wokelore. And we see how it spreads far and wide in an instant. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
August Bonus: WTW DESTROY Ben Shapiro DESTROYS Barbie
It's an Ample Sample (tm)(butnotreally) of the August Bonus which goes out to 2nd tier patrons and above! Pledge at that level to get the whole thing, but I wanted to share a large chunk of it with everyone, because we put our hearts into it and want to share it widely! This was a massive recording. You'll hear, I originally thought it was going to be episode 7, but it went on so long and we couldn't avoid playing a TON of Ben Shapiro, so I called an audible and it became the August bonus! I hope you amazing patrons enjoy. Lydia and I put a lot into this one. It's a bit personal too. We're excited to share it with you! Get the full thing at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW9: Powell's Title IX Story, Part 2: IT GETS SO MUCH WORSE
This is the second (and final!) part on Michael Powell's first NYT story, which left out crucial context and fundamentally misled people about Title IX and about Trump/DeVos's policy changes. Folks. There are 2 major bombshells in this one. There's also disturbing resemblence to the NASA JWST story in terms of how Powell bungled this one. 'Bungled' is actually too delightful a word for what is more accurately described as blatant lying. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke! There are 2 bonus things on the way imminently. You want to make sure you're a patron when they drop!
WTW8: Michael Powell's First NYT Piece Also Was Terrible
Michael Powell is the (former) NYT journalist who completely botched the JWST coverage, as previously discussed at length here. But did you know before that he also completely botched some Title IX / Campus Sexual Assault coverage? We've got his asshole origin story here and it's every bit as terrible as you'd expect. This is a two-parter, and I promise you the payoff in later part 2 is worth the slow burn. There is a paragraph in his story that is some of the worst journalism I've ever seen. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW7: Is Wokeness a Religion? Two Old Men Yell at Cloud
It's a Woke Monster of the Week! Jordan Peterson and Richard Dawkins take turns giving each other public handies while they debate the most important question of 2014. That is - Has the Left gone too far? Dawkins lies about the one thing he should be an expert in in order to outdo Peterson's transphobia. Fortunately we have the Richard Dawkins (Eli Bosnick) to read his own shitty Substack and get to the bottom of this whole thing. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW6: The Woke Are Coming For Your Pizza Ovens!
Oh god this one was so much fun. Join me, Lydia, and my brother Sam Smith as we debunk and roast a delightfully stupid but pathologically dishonest Fox News segment! Wait... that could describe literally all of them. But THIS one was about New York Pizza Ovens! Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!
WTW5: Houston Won't Admit There's A Problem
It's the 4th and final part of the #RenameJWST series! In this episode, we finally delve into the actual history of James Webb and the Lavender Scare. How much can we hold him accountable? What does the evidence tell us about his role? And how do the defenses of his character hold up to scrutiny? There is so much in this. I've never worked even half this amount of time on another show before. I hope you enjoy!