Episode Overview

Episode Title: Slop-er Bowl TEASER
Podcast: Red Scare
Date: February 12, 2026
Hosts: Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova

In this episode, Anna and Dasha riff on the familiar discourse surrounding the Super Bowl halftime show—particularly, the cyclical complaints from conservative commentators and the general tendency of the public to forget past performances. With their trademark blend of irony and pop culture savvy, the hosts discuss the recent halftime shows, the politics of performer selection, and the racial and cultural dynamics at play in both the NFL and the broader music landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

A. Recurring Super Bowl Halftime Discourse

• Predictable Outrage Cycle
  The hosts open by marveling at how every year, a chorus of criticism arises—especially from conservatives—about the supposed "wokeness" or spectacle of the halftime show.

  • Anna: “Everyone has this, like, collective amnesia about the super bowl halftime show. Or conservatives do this, like, hysteric song and dance, like, every year about how it's too, like, gay and woke, but it's been, like, a good decade again.” [00:01]

  • Dasha: “More than that. Yeah.” [00:20]

  • Anna: “People kind of forget. Like, they get their, like, memories wiped at some point. And then the super bowl rolls around again.” [00:21]

  • The discourse seems to repeat: Conservatives express outrage, others defend the performance, and the cycle starts anew.

    • Dasha: “Yeah. Of, like, conservatives getting apoplectic. Am I saying that correctly? And then, like, leftoids being like. No, what are you talking about? This is fine. This is great.” [00:37]

B. The Halftime Shows Themselves

• Memory and Impact

  • Anna admits difficulty in remembering most halftime shows, with Kendrick Lamar’s performance noted as a recent standout.
    • Anna: “It was the best halftime show I can remember. I think not remembering basically any of them, but, like, Kendrick.” [00:49]

• Who’s Never Performed? The Case of Lana Del Rey

  • The hosts ponder whether Lana Del Rey has ever performed and imagine a hypothetical set featuring her and Addison Rae.

    • Dasha: “Did Lana Del Rey ever do the Super Bowl?” [01:09]
    • Anna: “Never.” [01:13]
    • Dasha: “Because, you know, it would have been great to have, like, her featuring Addison Rae doing, like, their version of Americana, I think.” [01:14]

  • Anna describes Lana as too niche for the role—she’s popular, but not “populist” or showgirl enough.

    • Anna: “Lon is obviously a huge star, but she's a little too. Not. Niche isn't the word…she doesn't have exactly that, like, populist.” [01:25, 01:34]
    • Dasha: “And also, Lana's not, like, a showgirl…She's a prom queen.” [01:48, 01:54]

C. History of Recent Halftime Shows

• The hosts list recent acts—The Weeknd, Usher, Rihanna, Shakira/J.Lo—highlighting the tendency for relatively safe, mainstream, and often politicized content.

  • Anna: “Usher. It was Usher... Weekend was 2021… Rihanna. She also did, like… Shakira and Jlo.” [02:07–02:22]
  • Anna: “But they did a super, like, banal milk toast, like, and it was a less political. I mean, none of, like. Yeah, it's not. I feel like. Yeah. There's always some, like, political charge.” [02:40]

• Dasha comments on how performances are crafted to spark viral discourse, especially in the social media era.

  • Dasha: “I think, like, they know it going into it, obviously, and they anticipate now with social media that it'll create, like, a viral discourse.” [02:55]

D. Cultural Politics of Performer Choice

• Race and Pop Music's Dominance

  • The prevalence of Black and Latino performers is discussed as reflective of both chart dominance and the NFL's own player demographics.

    • Dasha: “A lot of the halftime show performers are people of color. It's like black and Latino people, because they're, like, at the top of the charts. And, like, the players, like, I don't know, like, half of them are black. Three quarters of them.” [03:21]
    • Anna: “Literally, most of them. Like, that's who plays football.” [03:38]
    • Anna: “Except for quarterbacks, I guess.” [03:42]

  • The hosts mock conservative figures (e.g., Matt Walsh, Steve Sailer) for lamenting the lack of "white men" performing or headlining the halftime show.

    • Anna: “When Matt Walsh is, like, spinning his wheels about how there's a white, white man performing at the super bowl, like, I'm like, name a white celeb that's up for the task.” [03:49]

  • They joke that the only plausible options left are niche or uninspiring mainstream acts.

    • Dasha: “You can say, like, oh, well, that's because pop culture is so heavily, like, black and Latino, and that's a deeper symptom of the decline of Western civilization or whatever, but it seems like that's a normal and standard thing.” [04:03]
    • Anna: “Who do they want to sing and dance at this halftime show? Who's a big white star?” [04:24, 04:27]
    • Dasha: “Yeah. Like, Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll.” [04:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On collective amnesia and discourse cycle:

  • Anna: “People kind of forget. Like, they get their, like, memories wiped at some point. And then the super bowl rolls around again.” [00:21]

• On social media and 'viral discourse':

  • Dasha: “They anticipate now with social media that it'll create, like, a viral discourse.” [02:55]

• On the demographics of halftime acts and the NFL:

  • Dasha: “A lot of the halftime show performers are people of color…because they're, like, at the top of the charts. And, like, the players, like, I don't know, like, half of them are black. Three quarters of them.” [03:21]

• On conservative complaints and mainstream pop:

  • Anna: “When Matt Walsh is, like, spinning his wheels about how there's a white, white man performing at the super bowl, like, I'm like, name a white celeb that's up for the task.” [03:49]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:01–00:37: Discussion of recurring Super Bowl outrage and social amnesia
• 00:49–01:41: Recollection (or lack thereof) of past halftime shows; hypothetical Lana Del Rey performance
• 02:07–02:55: Recent halftime performances and their themes (Usher, The Weeknd, Rihanna, Shakira/J.Lo)
• 03:19–04:03: Racial dynamics of halftime show selections and the NFL
• 04:24–04:30: Debate over which “big white star” could plausibly headline

Tone and Style

The conversation maintains the hosts’ signature blend of dry wit, skepticism about mainstream discourse, and pop culture expertise. Anna and Dasha oscillate between sincere observation and detached irony, treating the subject with both mockery and a genuine curiosity about its cultural implications. Their banter is light but wry, never shying away from both pointing out the repetitive nature of the controversy and questioning the underlying racial and cultural complaints that surface annually.

This summary captures the lively, sardonic, and insightful conversation typical of Red Scare, offering newcomers and fans alike a clear view of the episode's key themes and moments—without the noise of ads or filler.