Red Scare Podcast – "Jimmy Krimmenal"

September 24, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova (the hosts of Red Scare) roam across the current state of media, celebrity, and cancel culture, springboarding from the Kanye West documentary ("In Whose Name?") and Jimmy Kimmel’s much-publicized cancelation. The discussion is as much about shifting institutional power as it is about personal experience, weaving in their signature irreverence, references to art and pop culture, and digressive humor. The episode covers late-night TV’s decline, the symbiotic relationship between 'cancellation' and profit, new right-wing victories, and the fate and freedom of controversial personalities like Kanye—and the podcast hosts themselves.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Podcast Origins & Late-Night Vibes

[00:23 – 01:19]

• The podcast started in various locations, now settled in a "shitty home office"—reflects on how recording style evolved from daytime, low-drinking sessions to boozy late-night tapings:
  "We've sort of transitioned into the late night. Space night. A couple of night owls. What can I say?" — Anna [01:00]

2. Kanye West Documentary (“In Whose Name?”) Review

[01:19 – 09:19, 47:58 – 54:06, 106:31 – 112:29]

• Nature of the Documentary: Focuses more on Kanye’s personal mental health narrative, curated to avoid certain controversies (no explicit mention of "mental illness" or detailed personal crises).
• Celebrity Cameos: Surprised by the quantity and variety—Chris Rock, Dov Charney, Teyana Taylor, Diddy, Virgil Abloh, Elon Musk, Lady Gaga, Pharrell, Rick Rubin, David Letterman, DMX, among others.
• On Censorship and Footage: The documentary notably omits significant figures/events—Harley Pasternak, Nick Fuentes, Bianca Censori. Anna and Dasha speculate this reveals more than what’s actually shown.
  • "What's more interesting than what's in it is what's missing. So no Harley Pasternak, no Nick Fuentes, no Bianca Sensori?" — Dasha [08:01]
• Kanye’s Relationship with Kim & Bianca: The doc is “super, like, conciliatory and respectful to Kim … she kind of gets top billing.” Anna and Dasha point out the Freudian aspects of Bianca’s Kim-like augmentation:
  • "Bianca's got bigger problems, bigger tits. ... The whole thing with her is she's kind of been augmented to resemble Kim." — Anna [08:52]
• Final Take: Both note the film’s strengths and weaknesses: its lack of throughline, cautious omissions (probably legal/NDAs), and absence of most controversial material.
  • "I don't think it's ... that good. ... it has Kanye, like, some audio ... talking about how if the director doesn't have a through line ... but there isn't really a through through line." — Anna [106:31]

3. Jimmy Kimmel’s Cancelation: Context and Complexity

[09:19 – 46:20]

• Symbolic, Political, and Corporate Layers:
  • The Kimmel situation is dissected far beyond soundbites. They draw analogies to Trump-era controversies and late-night TV’s systemic decline.
    "It's a win-win situation for everyone involved ... the Trump administration gets to look like it's making inroads on defeating the 'radical left' ... Jimmy Kimmel ... gets to exit the whole thing as like a victim of right wing cancel culture." — Dasha [10:20]
  • The role of regulatory battles (Nexstar, FCC), business interests, and the broader culture war are unpacked, with the hosts emphasizing complications beyond the simplistic "canceled for saying X" narratives.
  • They admit the cancelation of Kimmel (and earlier, Colbert) is a product of tangled motivations—part business, part politics, part inertia.
• Cancel Culture as Ecosystem:
  • Dasha references Dave Portnoy’s distinction between modern cancel culture and the present right-wing version—a difference between dredging up old offenses vs. punitive firing over current controversies.
  • Notable exchange:
    "It's a little dumb to be like, this is cancel culture and this isn't. Because it functionally ... is still like ... so much of what people experienced as cancel culture was like a self policing, a self censoring. And that's more insidious and harmful, I think, than just like someone getting a talk show host fired." — Anna [22:22]
• On Free Speech Absolutism:
  • They debate the implications of Kimmel’s firing for free speech, referencing Glenn Greenwald and others—and questioning the principles of free speech-loving centrists when the tables are turned.
  • Anna: "I can't really go to bat for Kimmel because ... this is a consequence of ... if you really hate Trump, if you really think it's worth it to tell 1,128 jokes about Trump ... you know, principles have consequences." [36:02]
  • Dasha: "I really don't think this is a free speech thing.' [28:05]
• Institutional Decay:
  • Both express pessimism: This isn't a “win” for the right—just another milestone on the decline of legacy media and late-night comedy.
    • "Late night hosts like Kimmel and Fallon and Colbert are like dinosaurs in the tar pit of the legacy media." — Dasha [46:42]

4. Cancel Culture’s Personal Toll

[25:33 – 35:38, 34:07 – 35:11]

• Both hosts recount their own brushes with “left-wing cancel culture”:
  • Dasha describes being "disinvited from a genre film festival" and losing professional opportunities over politics.
  • Anna reflects on being targeted online, having agents contacted, and the futility of schadenfreude over Kimmel's fate:
    "I feel like putting the boot on like Jimmy Kimmel's neck doesn't really like take it off of mine." — Dasha [26:19]

5. Kanye as Case Study: Genius, Mental Health, and the Culture War

[47:58 – 109:17]

• Kanye’s Creative Process & Collaborators:
  • The hosts are rapturous about Kanye’s genius—his total vision, ensemble creativity, and the way he wields and discards collaborators.
    • "He's a creative director ... a totalizing vision." — Dasha [53:32]
  • They debate genius vs. mental illness:
    "I hate being bipolar, it's awesome." — Recalling Kanye’s lyric [67:57]
    "Mental illness is fake ... [what] a lot of mental illness amounts to is that you don't have anybody saying no to you." — Dasha [65:01]
• Freedom, Chaos, & Cancelation:
  • Anna draws parallels: "When you are so creative, being hindered makes you feel you may as well be a slave. If you're not free to wear a MAGA hat, say whatever you want." [35:25]
  • Both dissect how the cycles of cancellation, mental health crises, and creative output feed into one another, with Kanye standing as the patron saint of both.
• Controversy, Jewish Power, and Hypocrisy:
  • The documentary's reticence to fully address Kanye's antisemitism is noted as strategic (and legally fearful).
  • They take aim at media hypocrisy:
    "Chris Cuomo was like, okay, sure, yay. 50% of executives in Hollywood are Jewish, but that doesn't mean they're like a cabal or a mafia or they're acting in unison." — Dasha [48:05]
  • They repeatedly call into question the evenhandedness and bravery of "free speech absolutists" in the industry: "... what would have happened if Jimmy Kimmel had said something anti Israel and pro Palestine? ... Just curious. This super hypothetical situation that's never going to come to pass.' — Dasha [79:30]

6. Decline of Institutions—What’s Next?

[98:58 – 109:03]

• Right-Wing Cultural “Wins”:
  • Skeptical of right-wing pundits (Jack Posobiec, Steve Miller, etc.) claiming victory in the culture wars. They see it as cold comfort:
    "We're not going to like undo the institutional dominance, we're going to just undo the institutions ... college and late night television ... just won't exist anymore because they're already ... obsolete due to other extra political forces." — Anna [101:08]
• Human Capital & Taste:
  • Frustration at the mediocrity of incoming generations in media and entertainment; worries that the right cannot build better replacements because “none of these people have taste.”
    "What will prevent those institutions from being captured and corrupted from within too? ... I prefer, I like far prefer the right to the left ... but ... They have no taste." — Dasha [101:41, 102:34]

7. H1B Visas & Tech: Signs of Change or Illusion?

[94:40 – 98:58]

• Discussion briefly pivots to Trump administration's new $100,000 visa fee for H1Bs, targeting Indian applicants and Silicon Valley hiring. Neither host is particularly hopeful that changes in immigration or tech hiring will yield culture-wide improvements in creativity or standards.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "He has BDE because he has that deep, like, KJ voice and kind of looks like an Egyptian mummy. I like his vibe." — Dasha, on Pharrell [05:55]
• "Two wrongs do make a right. ... put them together, you get something special." — Dasha, on "Blasian" identity [06:14]
• _"But, the left for ... decades, has enjoyed also, like, total narrative control and are free to violate free speech at every turn." — Dasha [19:13]
• _"Mental illness is fake ... Somebody needs to say, 'shut the f--- up.'" — Dasha [65:01]
• "If you really hate Trump, if you really think it's worth it to tell 1,128 jokes about Trump, again ... principles have consequences." — Anna [36:02]
• "Do you guys think Hitler was any different?" — Dasha, regarding Kanye's talent for discarding collaborators [109:33]
• "What makes you think your man-made neo-institution will not suffer the same fate as all institutions throughout time in history?" — Dasha [102:49]
• "Elon Musk ... most effective ... but it’s not gonna be good. It's gonna be a shitty ass Tesla that some Indian guy is driving you in." — Anna [104:24]
• "He's so funny and so smart. He just ... He's a genius." — Dasha, on Kanye [68:07–68:14]
• "‘Late night hosts like Kimmel and Fallon and Colbert are like dinosaurs in the tar pit of the legacy media." — Dasha [46:42]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:23–01:19 — Banter about the origins of Red Scare and recording environment
• 01:19–09:19, 47:58–54:06, 106:31–112:29 — Kanye West Documentary review
• 09:19–46:20 — Jimmy Kimmel controversy, free speech, and media institutions
• 25:33–35:38 — The hosts’ own experiences with cancel culture
• 54:06–67:57 — Kanye’s genius, mental illness, and media treatment
• 79:30–82:29 — Free speech, Israel/Palestine, and media hypocrisy
• 94:40–98:58 — H1B Visas and America’s tech/labor landscape
• 98:58–109:17 — Collapse of old institutions and speculation about replacements

Tone & Style

The episode is rambling, irreverent, and steeped in irony, with sudden whiplashes from mockery to insightful criticism. Anna and Dasha are uncensored, teasing out personal and societal contradictions in real time. They’re skeptical of both right- and left-wing dogma, consistently question their own positions, and invoke their own experiences in creative and media industries for authority and color.

Concluding Thoughts

If you haven’t listened, this episode is a lively, wide-ranging critique of the current culture wars, using Kanye and Kimmel as totems of our weird transition era. Anna and Dasha express hard-won cynicism about media institutions, the sustainability of “victory” in the cancellation economy, and the prospects for creative renewal in America. Ultimately, their sympathies tend to lie with the creative outcasts—the Kanyes, and, in their own sly way, themselves.