Red State Reboot

Well, slap our asses and call us journalists, because we’re here on a TUESDAY to deliver primo bonus content to y’all as we approach the finale of Season 1 of Red State Reboot! The thesis of this episode is simple… wouldn’t you rather be a part of the good parade than the bad parade? We know we sure would! Enjoy our brief (for us this is SO BRIEF!!) ep on Trump’s rainy pity parade in contrast to the related No Kings protests (plus Pride parades!) that were a hell of a lot more inspiring. See ya tomorrow!

P.S.

Here’s the 2019 vid we mentioned just for funsies… lol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-6OpkqNn4M

P.S.S.

Millions did participate in 'No Kings' protests around the globe, but not solely in the Netherlands :)

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Text or Call our Hotline: 336-422-6267

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Montague, Zach. 2025. “Takeaways From Trump’s Military Parade in Washington.” The New York Times, June 15. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/us/politics/trump-military-parade-takeaways.html

Rubin, April, and Rebecca Falconer. 2025. “‘No Kings’ anti-Trump Protests Attract Millions, Organizers Say.” Axios, June 15. https://www.axios.com/2025/06/14/no-kings-protests-usa-june-14-trump-military-parade

Smith, David. 2025. “Tanks, Flypasts, Missiles: What to Expect at Trump’s ‘Dictator Chic’ Military Parade.” The Guardian, June 13. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/13/trump-military-parade-washington?utm

Wise, Alana. 2025. “3 Takeaways From the Military Parade and No Kings Protests on Trump’s Birthday.” NPR, June 15. https://www.npr.org/2025/06/15/nx-s1-5433765/3-takeaways-from-the-military-parade-and-no-kings-protests-on-trumps-birthday

Y’all know by now that any time we say we have “a quick footnote,” the episode topics are about to jump the hell around. Today, we have MANY quick footnotes. Highlights include: Greta Thunberg continues to inspire us both with her advocacy and with her Internet beef, we reallyyyyyyy have the ick about JD Vance and his socials, Elon & Trump get back together, it’s jailbreak season, the U.S. is notttt going to be on the cute side of WW3, and we (finally, lol) say Free Palestine with our whole chests on the mics – only regret is we didn’t do so sooner. Also, Ben closes the loop on everything we’ve said we’d “get back to” from Season 1 so far.

All that to say, we’re hoping that after this ep, Greta would NOT consider us reachable at [email protected].

Donate to UNRWA to support their holistic work to help Palestinian refugees: https://www.unrwa.org/.

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Text or Call our Hotline: 336-422-6267

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Al Jazeera Staff. 2025. “What Happened to the Madleen Gaza Boat Activists Detained by Israel?” Al Jazeera, June 12. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/12/explainer-how-is-israel-treating-the-eight-flotilla-activists

Kenyon, Megan. 2025. “Greta Thunberg Knows What She’s Doing.” New Statesman, June 13. https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025/06/greta-thunberg-knows-what-shes-doing

Kershner, Isabel, Ephrat Livni, and Lynsey Chutel. 2025. “Israel Intercepts Gaza Aid Ship Carrying Greta Thunberg: What to Know.” The New York Times, June 11. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/world/middleeast/gaza-aid-boat-seizure-greta-thunberg-israel.html

Khadder, Kareem, et al. 2025. “Seized Gaza Aid Ship Docks in Israel With Greta Thunberg Aboard.” CNN, June 9. https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/08/middleeast/freedom-flotilla-gaza-aid-ship-thunberg-intl-hnk

Theo Von. 2025. “Vice President JD Vance | This Past Weekend W/ Theo Von #588.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbJsQk4rbBw

Trump & Elon sure did break up, but don’t you even worry for a second that there’s any sort of bestie breakup here on RSR! Listen, y’all. We know things are really rough right now. They are going to continue to be bad. All there really is to do at the end of the day is to stick together, advocate for the preservation of democracy and human rights, and maybe even make our days a lil brighter with some laughs. We hope we successfully accomplished all three of these things in this ep. Today, we’re live and (basically) unedited, and dive into the deets of the Big Beautiful Breakup, as well as cover the violent response of the National Guard towards protestors in Los Angeles. This episode does get heavy - so if you feel like taking some action after listening, head on over to www.youcanvote.org (NC-based organization) to check out their resources and support opportunities for empowering all North Carolinians to vote.

This episode was recorded on June 10.

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Text or Call our Hotline: 336-422-6267

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

ABC7 Los Angeles. 2025. “Reporter Hit by Rubber Bullet While Covering ICE Protests in Downtown LA,” June 9. https://abc7.com/post/reporter-hit-rubber-bullet-covering-ice-protests-los-angeles-video/16706142/

Assoc. Press. 2025. “Australian Reporter Hit by Nonlethal Round While Covering LA Protests.” June 9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkdajl35J48

Doherty, Erin. 2025. “Elon Musk Appears to Delete Some Explosive X Posts Amid Feud With Trump.” CNBC. June 7. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/07/trump-musk-x-posts-feud.html

Kingkade, Tyler and Suzanne Gamboa. 2025. “Downtown L.A. Declared ‘Unlawful Assembly’ Area: Police Department.” NBC News, June 9. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/la-protests-immigration-raids-ambience-apparel-home-depot-rcna211814

Shao, Elena, and Eli Murray. 2025. “A History of Trump and Elon Musk’s Relationship in Their Own Words.” The New York Times, June 6. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/06/us/politics/trump-elon-musk-relationship.html

Tsui, Karina, et al. 2025. “LIVE - Los Angeles Protest News.” CNN, June 10. https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/la-protests-ice-raids-trump-06-09-25

Welker, Kristen and Alexandra Marquez. 2025. “Trump Says He Thinks His Relationship With Elon Musk Is Over.” NBC News, June 7. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-elon-musk-consequences-funds-democratic-candidates-rcna211605

Number 1: We missed y’all last week, say it back!!

Number 1.5: Buy the stickers on our website :)

Number 2: That smell coming from the kitchen is 100% Trump reheating nasty white supremacy nachos - yuck! In this episode, we’re ‘getting into it’ and talking about the white genocide myth (conspiracy theory) in South Africa, Trump’s meeting with President Ramaphosa, and your aunt’s Facebook posts that Trump definitely printed out and took to the meeting as notes. Come along on a journey where Abby’s disbelief flies out the window in record time and Ben’s wide knowledge of white supremacy ideology word voms even faster.

Take a listen, share with a friend, and BUY A STICKER!

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Text or Call our Hotline: 336-422-6267

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Bartlett, Kate. 2025. “Trump’s Debunked ‘burial Site’ Video Reopens ‘wounds,’ Says Victim’s Son.” NPR, May 24. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/24/nx-s1-5408981/trumps-debunked-burial-site-video-reopens-wounds-says-victims-son

Boussion, Mathilde. 2025. “South African Courts Dismiss ‘white Genocide’ Myth.” Le Monde.Fr, March 13. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2025/03/13/in-south-africa-the-courts-dismiss-the-myth-of-white-genocide_6739091_124.html

Conger, Molly. 2025. The White House Weighs in on White Genocide.” Weird Little Guys, podcast, Cool Zone Media. February 27. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-white-house-weighs-in-on-white-genocide/id1760218611?i=1000696450434

Falloff, Nicky. 2023. “Moral Panic and White Supremacy in South Africa | GJIA.” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. May 12. https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2023/05/12/from-satanism-to-genocide-moral-panic-and-white-supremacy-in-south-africa/

Friesen, Dan and Jordan Holmes. “#1016: February 3, 2025.” Knowledge Fight, podcast. March 13. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1016-february-3-2025/id1192992870?i=1000699122304

Iqbal, Nomia. 2025. “White South Africans Arrive in US Under Trump Refugee Plan.” May 12. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crljn5046epo

Petri, Alexandra E., et al. 2025. “Trump Administration Highlights: U.S. Welcomes White South Africans Given Refugee Status.” The New York Times, May 21. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/05/12/us/trump-news?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Saul, Stephanie. 2025. “Trump Intends to Cancel All Federal Funds Directed at Harvard.” The New York Times, May 29. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/harvard-trump-federal-funds.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Shimron, Yonat. 2025. “Why Baptists in North Carolina Agreed to Resettle Afrikaners as Refugees.” NPR, May 21. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/21/nx-s1-5406218/why-baptists-in-north-carolina-agreed-to-resettle-afrikaners-as-refugees

“Trump Confronts South African President Over Baseless Claim of Targeted Killings of White Farmers.” 2025. PBS News. May 21. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/watch-live-ramaphosa-visits-white-house-after-trump-criticizes-south-african-policies

Our Statement on Another Matter.

We have two things to say up top: 1) RSR STICKERS ARE FOR SALE!!!! & 2) hang in there, J’Biden! (https://www.friedgreentomatomedia.com/store)

Now that we’re all set on those fronts… we need to get into it regarding *that* book by Jake “straw man” Tapper (& Alex Thompson). And no, we’re not talking about some of the former’s shit historical fiction that Abby did fall victim to in the throes of the pandemic. We’re talking Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. I mean, damn, we usually love any title that includes a colon and an oxford comma, but this one ain’t it. But, Ben tore through the text in the days after its release so y’all don’t have to, and in this episode, we walk through it. Ultimately, we are led to three conclusions: 1) those who want to have fame for fame’s sake need to stay the FUCK out of politics because it’s the people who suffer; 2) the word of ‘200 unnamed sources’ does not a compelling argument make; and 3) the Internet is officially cursed as fuck.

To use a phrase we coin in the ep, we hope you think our takes are as “hot, fresh, and relevant” as we do. ;) Take a listen, share with a friend, and BUY A STICKER!

We were stumped on a topic this week, so we took to our hotline inbox and OOOOOOO did y’all cook! Because alliteration scratches our brain, we figured we should combine 2 great listener questions - one on Linda WWE’s ongoing email beef with Harvard, and one on the Hollywood tariffs that Trump imposed (but then moonwalked RIGHT back). Alas, “Harvard & Hollywood” was born and… damn, we had more to say on this than we thought!!!! We get into the patterns of written (typed) TRUMP SPEAK, Hollywood’s apparent FAST death, and MUCH MORE. Anyhow, please do continue to text or voicemail us with your any epi topic requests (or K*nty Kwestions)! We’re so grateful for y’all… almost as grateful as we are for the National Parks Conservation Association. Support ‘em here: https://www.npca.org/.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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Text or Call our Hotline: 336-422-6267

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Egwuonwu, Nnamdi. 2025. “Trump Plans to Impose 100% Tariffs on All Foreign Movies.” May 4. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-announces-new-tariffs-foreign-movies-rcna204747

Hoskins, Peter and Maia Davies. 2025. “Trump Tariffs: US President Says Foreign Movies May Be Hit With 100% Levies.” May 5. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr7e2z1rxyo

Mackey, Robert. 2025. “Trump Blocks Grant Funding for Harvard Until It Meets President’s Demands.” The Guardian, May 6.. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/trump-harvard-grants

N.C. State Univ. 2025. “Announcements.” n.d. Office of International Services. https://internationalservices.ncsu.edu/announcements/

Ray Brescia. 2025. “President Trump Pressed on Whether He Will Really Try to Run for a Third Term.” https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/harvard-trump-grants-doe-mcmahon-letter-rcna205180

Slattery, Gram, and Jarrett Renshaw. 2025. “Trump Administration Freezes Future Grants to Harvard.” Reuters, May 6. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-freezes-billions-grant-funding-harvard-2025-05-05/

Vulser, Nicole. 2025. “China Is Introducing New Restrictions on Hollywood Films.” Le Monde.Fr, April 17. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/04/17/china-is-introducing-new-restrictions-on-hollywood-films_6740318_19.html#

There’s really something special about podcasting <3 Like the fact this ep caught the live moment when we realized what we had been yapping about for 40 minutes was basically just the Streisand Effect. Nothing (just kidding, literally so much) gets past us! Anyhow, we hope y’all liked our REBOOT last week, but we have a fresh NEW ep for you today! This one starts with our chaotic as f*ck response to a listener voicemail about Katy-Perry-Blue-Origin-gate, a shoutout to the gal who upgraaaaaaaded Abby at the Apple Store (y’all aren’t ready for the new technological power we yield), and of COURSE the scoop on Ben becoming a puppy father. Once we actually *get into it*, we dig into the theory that people who are guilty about something are going to say WAYYYYY too much in an effort to cover things up, and given this, we’re suspicious AF about the DHS statement that came out after Kristi Noem got robbed… like, why preemptively say she had “blank checks” on her?? To translate a summary of the ep into the language of Pop Girlie - what was THAT?!

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Text or Call our Hotline: 336-422-6267

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Assoc. Press. 2025. “Kristi Noem’s Purse Stolen at DC Restaurant, Officials Say.” AP News. April 21. https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-secretary-robbed-kristi-noem-ff0d68474c3a6bbd2ce496453a9215ab

Eldridge, Alison. 2022. “Streisand Effect | Definition, Meaning, Examples, & Origin.” Encyclopedia Britannica. November 3. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Streisand-effect

Jaffe, Greg, Eric Schmitt, and Maggie Haberman. 2025. “Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat.” The New York Times, April 21. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/politics/hegseth-yemen-attack-second-signal-chat.html

Mackey, Robert. 2025. “Pete Hegseth Reportedly Had Unsecured Office Internet Line to Connect to Signal.” The Guardian, April 25. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/24/pete-hegseth-internet-signal-app

Miller, John, Josh Campbell, and Kit Maher. 2025. “Sources Describe How Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s Gucci Bag Was Stolen From Under Her Chair.” CNN, April 22. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/22/politics/kristi-noem-theft-gucci-bag-details/index.html

If y’all feel like things are absolutely f*cking crazy these days… same. We’re taking a break this week! Today’s episode is a REBOOT of ‘The Comstock Act & Airport Pulled Pork’ from March 10. In the ep, we cover Anthony Comstock, the freaks (yes, HWF is ~resurrected~ in this one lol) who are trying to revive nineteenth century morality/obscenity laws, and the ethics and dangers of meat from LaGuardia.

Happy Easter if you celebrate!

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Text or Call our Hotline: 336-422-6267

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Beck, Andrew. 2024. “Anti-Abortion Extremists Want to Use the 150-Year-Old Comstock Act to Ban Abortion Nationwide.” ACLU. May 30. https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/anti-abortion-extremists-want-to-use-the-150-year-old-comstock-act-to-ban-abortion-nationwide

Cheung, Kylie. 2025. “Trump Effectively Greenlights Anti-Abortion Violence.” Jezebel. January 27. https://www.jezebel.com/trump-effectively-greenlights-anti-abortion-violence

Felix, Mabel, Laurie Sobel, and Alina Salganicoff. 2024. “The Comstock Act: Implications for Abortion Care Nationwide.” KFF. April 15. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-comstock-act-implications-for-abortion-care-nationwide/

GLADD. 2025. “Still No Meeting for Trans Leaders at the New York Times.” GLAAD | GLAAD Rewrites the Script for LGBTQ Acceptance. February 13. https://glaad.org/no-meeting-trans-leaders-new-york-times/

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 2024. “The Threat to Abortion Rights You Haven’t Heard Of,” July 8. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/how-the-comstock-act-threatens-abortion-rights

Luthra, Shefali. 2024. “The 19th Explains: What Is the Comstock Act?” The 19th. June 20. https://19thnews.org/2024/03/what-is-the-comstock-act/

“What Is the Comstock Act?” 2025. Reproductive Freedom for All. February 27. https://reproductivefreedomforall.org/resources/comstock-the-1873-law-that-could-lead-to-a-national-ban-on-abortion/

Right now, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is behind bars in CECOT: the notorious mega-prison in El Salvador. One month ago he was pulled over by ICE and told that his protected immigration status no longer applied. Minutes later he was in handcuffs, and three days later - without any new charges, and without a court hearing - he was secretly deported to El Salvador to be imprisoned at CECOT. His family sued in federal court, seeking answers and justice. The federal judge ruled that Abrego Garcia was indeed wrongfully deported and must be returned by April 7. The Trump Administration sought to block the order, and the case went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 (extremely rare) in agreement with the federal judge, but Trump’s Department of Justice has chosen to ignore this ruling. We are in a constitutional crisis, and human rights in this country are being eviscerated.

Please print and distribute (or digitally share) these 'red cards' --> https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas

Note: This episode is live and unedited.

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New episodes of Red State Reboot drop every Monday (and sometimes extra days, too…)

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Text or Call our Hotline: 336-422-6267

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Belson, Dan, and Jeff Barker. 2025. “Maryland Senator Says Abrego Garcia ‘Kidnapped’ After El Salvador President Refuses to Return Him.” Baltimore Sun, April 15. https://www.baltimoresun.com/2025/04/14/kilmar-abrego-garcia-chris-van-hollen/

Dwyer, Devin, and Laura Romero. 2025. “Lawyer for Wrongly Deported Maryland Man Says It Might Take Contempt Order to Get Him Back.” ABC News. April 14. https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawyer-wrongly-deported-maryland-man-contempt-order-back/story?id=120787771

Erskine, Ellena. 2025. “Noem V. Abrego Garcia - SCOTUSblog.” SCOTUSblog. April 14. https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/noem-v-abrego-garcia/

Feuer, Alan. 2025. “What to Know About the Deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.” The New York Times, April 14. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/us/politics/abrego-garcia-trump-deportations-el-salvador.html

Ordoñez, Franco. 2025. “El Salvador’s Bukele Says ‘preposterous’ to Suggest He Return Abrego Garcia to U.S.” NPR, April 14. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/14/nx-s1-5364502/trump-bukele-el-salvador-deportation