It's Been a Minute

Some say we're entering the Woke 2.0 era. Is that real or imagined? <br/><br/>From declining Target sales to Mamdani's election, some folks online are feeling a vibe shift. Is that feeling...woke? And if so, does that mean woke is back in style? <br/><br/>To answer those questions - and to dissect whether or not woke ever left - Brittany is joined by <a href="https://www.vox.com/authors/constance-grady"target="_blank" >Constance Grady</a>, senior correspondent at Vox, and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/author/tyler-austin-harper/"target="_blank" >Tyler Austin Harper</a>, staff writer at The Atlantic and co-host of the podcast, <a href="https://goodbye.substack.com/"target="_blank" >Time to Say Goodbye</a>. <br/><br/>Vote for It's Been a Minute in the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/11/13/g-s1-97569/favorite-podcast-awards-voting"target="_blank" >NPR Pod Club Awards</a>!<br/><br/>(0:00) When did Woke end? <br>(4:22) Why Woke doesn't work when racism is still on the rise<br>(8:50) Target, Sydney Sweeney, and America's appetite for racism<br>(12:08) The rise of "Dark Woke" & will it work?<br>(13:51) Is Zohran Mamdani a sign of a new kind of Woke?<br>(15:40) How MAGA made the blueprint for Woke 2.0<br/><br/>Support Public Media. <a href="https://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >Join NPR Plus.</a><br/><br/>Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmluse/?hl=en"target="_blank" >@bmluse</a><br/><br/>Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a><br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

What’s the difference between <em>feeling </em>unsafe and <em>being </em>unsafe?<br/><br/>According to Gallup, about half of Americans see crime as being extremely or very serious. And there are a lot of very real threats out there to people’s safety, but there’s also a lot of fearful rhetoric that’s more unfounded. While immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens, and trans people are unlikely to commit mass shootings, fear of these groups is being weaponized against them. So how can we disentangle being unsafe and feeling unsafe – and better protect ourselves and each other? <br/><br/>Brittany gets into it with <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/staff/nicole-lewis"target="_blank" >Nicole Lewis</a>, engagement editor at The Marshall Project, and <a href="https://www.leximcmenamin.com/"target="_blank" >Lex McMenamin</a>, writer and editor.<br/><br/>Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmluse/?hl=en"target="_blank" >@bmluse</a><br/><br/>For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at <a href="https://www.npr.org/podclub"target="_blank" >npr.org/podclub</a>.<br/><br/>Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a><br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

Have you talked to a parent recently? Are they...okay?<br/><br/>From textbook bans to health food trends, there’s a whole culture of fear and political propaganda that preys on new parents, convincing them that just buying this or just voting for that will keep their children safe. But how do you know if something is a moral panic or a legitimate concern?<br/><br/>Brittany is joined by <a href="https://engl.uic.edu/profiles/leick-karen/"target="_blank" >Karen Leick</a>, author of Parents, Media and Panic through the Years, and <a href="https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/academics-research/faculty/wang_cynthia/"target="_blank" >Cynthia Wang</a>, Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations at Northwestern University to sift through the differences.<br/><br/>Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmluse/?hl=en"target="_blank" >@bmluse</a><br/><br/>For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at <a href="https://www.npr.org/podclub"target="_blank" >npr.org/podclub</a>.<br/><br/>Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a><br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

No disrespect, but...when President Trump threw a Great Gatsby-themed party for Halloween, it kind of missed the point of the book. And, it's not just Trump. A quick search online, and you'll see a lot of people increasingly misinterpreting other famous books. <br/><br/>Are people just bad at reading? Are we just laying our own biases on top of classic texts? Or is something else going on?<br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/people/348740829/andrew-limbong"target="_blank" >Andrew Limbong</a>, host of NPR's Book of the Day, and writer-critic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Princess_Weekes"target="_blank" >Princess Weekes</a> join Brittany to dissect novel interpretations of literary fiction. They look at what these re-interpretations say about our current moment: from what we want from a book to how books lose meaning online.<br/><br/>(0:00) Why 'The Great Gatsby' gets misread<br>(6:07) How 'Lord of the Rings' became a Christian Nationalist text<br>(12:46) Literary Interpretation vs. Media Literacy<br>(16:34) The rise of BookTok<br>(19:28) The consequence of missing the point of a book<br/><br/>Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmluse/?hl=en"target="_blank" >@bmluse</a><br/><br/>For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at <a href="https://www.npr.org/podclub"target="_blank" >npr.org/podclub</a>.<br/><br/>Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a><br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

Have you picked up a couple weights recently? Started walking, or jogging, or doing pilates? So have a lot of other people. <br/><br/>You see the fitness Instagram accounts and gym tips all over TikTok, but how does exercise culture fit into our broader culture? And how does more enthusiasm for exercise square with the focus on fitness in our politics? Brittany gets into it with <a href="https://www.vox.com/authors/jonquilyn-hill"target="_blank" > Jonquilyn Hill</a>, host of <em>Vox</em>’s<em> Explain it to Me</em> podcast, and Shelly McKenzie, author of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1dr36wm"target="_blank" ><em>Getting Physical: the Rise of Fitness Culture in America</em></a>.<br/><br/>(0:00) Americans are obsessed with exercise right now. Why?<br>(2:36) What exercise does for mental and financial health<br>(5:59) How exercise became a status symbol for young people<br>(10:13) Why gyms are seeking women over 65<br>(12:57) Why JFK and Trump both politicized fitness<br>(16:33) What the government and its citizens have in common: body shame?<br/><br/>Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmluse/?hl=en"target="_blank" >@bmluse</a><br/><br/>For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at <a href="https://www.npr.org/podclub"target="_blank" >npr.org/podclub</a>.<br/><br/>Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a><br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>