Red Scare Podcast Summary: Episode "Poddington"

Release Date: July 30, 2025

Hosts: Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova
Description: Red Scare is a cultural commentary podcast hosted by bohemian layabouts Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova.

1. Personal Health and Wellness

The episode begins with Anna and Dasha discussing their personal health routines and wellness practices.

• Anna shares her struggles with bloating, attributed to her consumption habits:
  "[02:03] Anna: Like my tits are like flopping out of my bra. Which I guess could be sexy, but it really just feels like squishy and disgusting."

• Dasha mentions her shift from beer to kombucha for its prebiotic and probiotic benefits:
  "[00:42] Dasha: Just drink a kombucha."

• The conversation touches on the use of red light panels for anti-inflammatory purposes, highlighting their varying experiences and skepticism:
  "[01:08] Dasha: That help. Right."
  "[01:21] Anna: I don't have one. I need to buy."

2. Podcast Recognition and Media Landscape

Anna and Dasha express frustration over their podcast, Red Scare, missing out on a reputed top 100 podcasts list.

• Anna criticizes the inclusion criteria of the list, questioning the absence of influential podcasts like Red Scare and Comptown:
  "[03:25] Anna: No Red Scare, no Comptown, no Joe Rogan."

• They debate the saturation of the podcast market, suggesting that many new podcasts lack influence:
  "[03:43] Dasha: I mean definitely. And on a red. Come on. 100. Yeah. You're saying there's 100 podcasts better than us? That can't be."

• The hosts also touch upon the perceived decline of media institutions like NPR:
  "[05:34] Dasha: Yeah. NPR just shut down."

3. Critique of Social Credit Apps and Gender Dynamics

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to discussing a new app named "Tea" and its implications on gender relations.

• Dasha introduces "Tea" as a social credit system for men, allowing women to rate them based on their behavior:
  "[06:40] Dasha: It's a great way of archiving and I'm sure things like this have existed before."

• Anna expresses skepticism, comparing it to existing platforms like Twitter:
  "[07:03] Anna: Yeah, we already have that. It's called X."

• The hosts delve into discussions about the New York Times article "Why It's Hard to Want Men," exploring themes of hetero-fatalism and modern relationship challenges:
  "[07:44] Dasha: Yeah, we're gonna talk about this New York Times article."

• They critique the article's portrayal of men, suggesting that it rationalizes men's avoidance of commitment under the guise of anxiety:
  "[93:46] Anna: He's, like, trying to buy himself some time so he can maybe get hard because he's like, not that into you."
  "[94:09] Anna: She's trying to just stay friends with him, AKA hoping he'll want her enough. She doesn't."

4. Discussion on Filmmakers: Ari Aster and Woody Allen

Anna and Dasha shift their focus to film analysis, particularly critiquing filmmakers Ari Aster and Woody Allen.

• Ari Aster's Films:

  • They discuss Ari Aster's attention to human psychology and the portrayal of emotional and psychological turmoil in his films.
    "[25:14] Anna: Ari Aster externalizes the emotional violence between things."

  • Beau's Afraid is analyzed for its depiction of small-town dynamics during COVID-19 and the intricate relationships between characters:
    "[58:32] Dasha: Pedro Pascal is the mayor, who's kind of like a Justin Trudeau style."
    "[63:22] Anna: But then, like, you know, it's like how they say that there's, like, three sides to every story."

• Woody Allen's Films:

  • The hosts critique Woody Allen's personality and filmmaking style, juxtaposing his prolific nature with perceived arrogance:
    "[32:44] Dasha: And not even very well. But yeah. Most people are covert, as you like to say, and so they have a fundamental ambivalence because they hate themselves but are obsessed themselves."

  • They discuss the thematic elements of his films, such as obsessive relationships and the depiction of women:
    "[88:29] Anna: They're like, they're an aberration."
    "[87:51] Dasha: I think it's not normative. I think it's cerebral. But that's okay."

5. Analysis of Relationships and the NYT Article

A deep dive into the complexities of modern relationships, drawing insights from the discussed New York Times article.

• The conversation revolves around men's reluctance to commit and the impact on women's experiences:
  "[98:12] Anna: Yeah. They're telegraphing it to you. And what they think are delicate and elegant terms because they have an image of themselves as being good guys..."

• They critique the use of therapeutic jargon to explain relationship struggles, suggesting it dilutes genuine communication issues:
  "[93:30] Anna: And then there's a hermeneutical labor. They have all these, like, where women are more obsessed with their relationships than men are..."

• The hosts advocate for direct communication and self-respect over relying on external explanations for relationship drawbacks:
  "[133:16] Anna: But part of that also setting boundaries when they do you wrong for sure."

6. Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Towards the end, Anna and Dasha reflect on the challenges of modern relationships and the need for genuine connections.

• They emphasize the importance of treating others as autonomous individuals and the value of self-respect in relationships:
  "[132:36] Dasha: It's like a good empath exercise. To not just see people as human beings but to sort of see them like for who they were as children."

• The episode concludes with musings on societal shifts, gender dynamics, and the perpetual struggle to find meaningful connections in an increasingly complex social landscape:
  "[138:35] Dasha: But we've come to this, like, up stage in late capitalism where women are like, the breadwinners, which is, like, automatically for men."

• Anna and Dasha reiterate their frustrations with the current state of gender relations and relationship expectations, highlighting the pervasive sense of disappointment and frustration:
  "[141:05] Anna: I think I'm going to be charitable and say that this is not a woman problem. This is a people problem."

Notable Quotes:

• Anna on Personal Struggles:
  "[02:03] Anna: Like my tits are like flopping out of my bra. Which I guess could be sexy, but it really just feels like squishy and disgusting."

• Dasha Introducing the "Tea" App:
  "[06:40] Dasha: It's a great way of archiving and I'm sure things like this have existed before."

• Anna Critiquing Podcast Rankings:
  "[03:25] Anna: No Red Scare, no Comptown, no Joe Rogan."

• Dasha on Gender Dynamics:
  "[93:46] Anna: He's, like, trying to buy himself some time so he can maybe get hard because he's like, not that into you."

• Dasha on Relationships:
  "[133:16] Anna: But part of that also setting boundaries when they do you wrong for sure."

Conclusion:

In this episode of Red Scare, Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova navigated a labyrinth of topics ranging from personal wellness habits to incisive critiques of modern media, societal shifts, and the intricate dance of gender dynamics in contemporary relationships. Through candid conversations and sharp observations, they dissected the underlying tensions in today's cultural and interpersonal landscapes, offering listeners a blend of humor, frustration, and keen societal insights.