Where There's Woke

Remember Public Square, the self-declared "anti-woke Amazon" that promised conservatives shopping without funding a rainbow flag? Yeah that didn't work. But not for lack of trying! Lydia has the history and also the business that DID work out: infinite grift and corruption. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke! You get ad-free episodes and patron-only bonus episodes.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is a legit nut job. But don't worry, he's platforming EVEN NUTTIER jobs. Like this random church lady who can't stop banning books. If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to [email protected].

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 [email protected]. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

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 change catastrophism is a Leftist weapon to destroy capitalism (Jordan Peterson, The Telegraph) UK Ministry of Housing: Air Conditioning Statement (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) DeSmog Telegraph Climate Coverage Audit (DeSmog) Global Warming Policy Foundation Who Funds You? Think-Tank Transparency Ratings (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 [email protected]. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

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 [email protected]. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

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 [email protected].** Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

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. If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to [email protected]. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

However bad you think the Freedom250 nonsense is, it's worse. It's actually straight up crazy how much grift and ineptitude there is. And Vanilla Ice. If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to [email protected]. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

It's Pride Month, so conservatives are DYING. The MLB team in SAN FRANCISCO has anti-gay bigots who can't STFU. Fox News airs a segment fear mongering over the mere presence of rainbows places. And more raging fragility. Lydia breaks down the Republican effort to literally rebrand June. Sources: Office of Management and Budget proposed rule conditioning federal funding on rejection of "gender ideology" San Francisco Chronicle: Mike Krukow on Giants Pride Night Media Matters: Fox News coverage of James Talarico, March-June 2025 Offside News: NHL 2025-26 Pride Night Review If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to [email protected]. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

If you have lived in blissful peace not knowing who Spencer Pratt is, Lydia is so sorry, but it's time. The former The Hills reality TV villain is a serious contender in the Los Angeles mayoral race (as of recording - votes are still being counted) and Lydia breaks down everything: who he actually is, what his campaign infrastructure reveals about who's really behind it, the claims he keeps repeating about homelessness that don't hold up to scrutiny, and why this is the Trump playbook running in one of the biggest cities in America. It's a lot. Lydia is not okay. Toward a New Understanding: The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, University of California - San Francisco; June 2023) Assaf RD, et al. Illicit Substance Use and Treatment Access Among Adults Experiencing Homelessness. JAMA. 2025 Apr 8;333(14):1222-1231. Spencer Pratt Is Running Trump's Playbook in Los Angeles—and Trump Approves (Philip Elliott, Time; 5/21/2026) LA City Ethics Commission campaign finance filings, Spencer Pratt 1/1/26-4/18/26: https://ethics.lacity.gov/viewdoc/141063 4/19/26-5/16/26: https://ethics.lacity.gov/viewdoc/142921 5/17/26-5/27/26: https://ethics.lacity.gov/viewdoc/143643 If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to [email protected]. Please pretty please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/wherethereswoke!

A Wisconsin school board was so appalled by a song selection for a high school wind symphony concert that they held a board meeting to determine if the students should be allowed to play it at all. Lydia breaks down this full story, why the song was so "controversial", and gives us more details about the snowflake board members that were so offended. The Opt-Out Notice sent home to families in fall 2025 Watertown Unified School District Policy 2240: Controversial Issues in the Classroom Educational Services Committee meeting, 5/5/2026 Special School Board Meeting, 5/12/2026 "A Mother of A Revolution!", Omar Thomas Watertown Wind Symphony at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 5/20/2026 **If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to [email protected].**

The woke in New York are getting ready to release allllll of the criminals! Murderers! Rapists! Sex offenders! The worst of the worst!!!!! At least according to the New York Post's latest rant. Lydia shares the details from this coverage specific to parole bills in New York State, and we break down exactly why this fear-mongering is so out of line. Trapped in Time: The Silent Crisis of Elderly Incarceration (9/22/2025, ACLU) "They Just Denied Me": Parole Stories and Case Studies (2/3/2026, Tinsae Gebriel and Marie Ndiaye; fwd.us) Organizations advocating for this: Release Aging People in Prison, People's Campaign for Parole Justice **If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to [email protected].**

We conclude our visit to Greg Gutfeld's terrible corner of the world for now. What was that professor that so terribly triggered Buttfeld actually talking about? How wrong could he actually be about Zohran Mamdani's electoral win? Does he get any better at making jokes? SOGI-Inclusive Resource Guide SOGI 123 Parent Brochure (archived) **If you enjoy our work, please consider leaving a 5-star review! You can always email questions, comments, and leads to [email protected].**