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

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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

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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

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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)

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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!