Red Scare

**Red Scare** is a podcast hosted by actress Dasha Nekraskova (Dasha) and failed art historian Anna Khachiyan (Anna) analyzing current events and modern culture. It is known for its contrarianism, vulgarity, and sardonic sense of humor replete with ironic in-jokes, but also features deep, earnest discussions on a wide variety of topics.

## Influences

Red Scare inherits its format and style from Cum Town, whose host, Adam Friedland, was in a relationship with Dasha and helped to initially promote Red Scare. It also draws heavily in terms of humor and references from terminally online culture, including the cultures associated with 4chan (particularly /r9k/ and /lit/), Reddit, Twitter, and Tumblr.

In addition, Anna and Dasha (both of whom hold degrees in the humanities) are influenced by a variety of authors, most notably:

* St. Symeon the New Theologian
* Karl Marx
* Sigmund Freud
* Carl Jung
* Theodor Adorno
* Christopher Lasch
* Mark Fisher
* Camille Paglia
* Bronze Age Pervert
* Yukio Mishima
* Michel Houellebecq

## Content

The podcast is unscripted and has a highly informal and casual style. Episodes are recorded in an apartment in New York, and clinking ice cubes and other noises can be periodically heard in the background.

Some episodes have guests, who are typically invited to the apartment to record together in the same room. Interview episodes are similarly casual and unscripted, and guests are often asked probing and mildly insulting questions.

On holidays, such as St. Valentine's Day, Easter, and Halloween, there is typically a "Loveline" episode, in which listeners can call in to ask questions about sex and relationships.

## Ideology

Anna and Dasha hold broadly fascist and neo-reactionary views.

However, because they emphasize their roles as entertainers (they often refer to themselves as "dumb bitches" and tell people not to take them seriously) and have avoided endorsing any specific political program, the podcast has attracted a wide audience from across the political spectrum. In fact, Red Scare has many socialist listeners, due to their support for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 U.S. presidential primaries.

## Memes

### RS

Short for "Red Scare." Used to describe something that evokes similar vibes to the podcast, typically something artistic, avante-garde, contrarian, and/or flippant. For example, "this Morrissey quote is very RS."

### RS GF

Short for "Red Scare girlfriend." Refers to a woman who listens to Red Scare (see #G&G). She is often stereotyped as artistic but rude and histrionic, living an "alternative" or "bohemian" lifestyle.

### RS GF/CT BF

Short for "Red Scare girlfriend/Cum Town boyfriend." Red Scare is sometimes thought of as "Cum Town for girls," so RS GF/CT BF is a term used to describe a couple where the boy and the girl are both geeky, bizarre, bohemian, or terminally online. Often used to caption pictures of couples.

### Gay and retarded

An insult used to deliberately annoy politically correct people.

### Friend of the pod

A fan of Red Scare who knows the hosts personally.

### Go on the pod

A way to comment that someone would be an entertaining guest on the podcast, typically due to their bizarre opinions or lifestyle.

### G&G

Short for "girls & gays." Refers to the women and homosexual men who listen to Red Scare, of which there are a surprising amount, including a number of famous actresses.