Red State Reboot

This week … we have another Statement on the Matter:

Red State Reboot is just two people cracking jokes on wheelofnames.com and we’re sorry we called it the Gulf of M*****.

But truly, we’re so back. Abby’s in the clear after moving/being depressed, Ben’s slurping soup, and there’s a new nickname for Pete Hegseth. Other highlights:

Abby updates about the Ap*le sitch.

Ben ranks his top albums of the year.

Abby and Ben (regretfully) shout out Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Ben makes an Official Projection™.

Abby quotes the old saying that, “when you don’t have anything nice to say, you don’t have a whole podcast episode about it…” Then, Ben reminds her of the oft-forgotten second half...

Xoxo RSR

Hey Rebooties! Life gets in the way of making new & good art sometimes, but thank god we're not a sh*wgirl at least. Enjoy these rebooted clips on Greta Thunberg, Palestine, & Trump Reheating South Africa's Nachos (yes, they're dry af by this point).

BTW / ICYMI: We're now streaming only on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Audible, & Pandora!

YIH Coming Soon!

IT’S RAPTURE-OUS! Indeed, on this episode we celebrate our making it through the rapture, but we mainly dial in on the life of THE showboy (Donald Trump). Our heads are still pounding from the decade-long Jello shot hangover that started in 2015 when we originally questioned why this man couldn’t have just stayed on TV. And unfortunately, Rebooties, we’ll never truly be able to get into Trump’s mind to know for sure (and thank God for that!). Still, we can explore all the ways in which … pls don’t cancel us for this … Trump is lowkey funny as f*ck, and WHY this is relevant to the cult of personality which he has leaned on so strongly in all of his time as a public figure, but especially as President. And sure, Donald’s the main showboy in this ep, but he’s supported by back-up dancers Liz Cheney, Ron “pudding hands” DeSantis, and a major philosophical proposal put forth by Ben. But we’ve said too much already… you’ll just have to listen ;)

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New episodes of Red State Reboot drop every Monday.

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IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Allison, Natalie. 2023. “DeSantis Greeted by ‘Pudding Fingers’ Chant in Iowa.” POLITICO, August 11. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/11/desantis-iowa-pudding-fingers-chant-00110860

Dailey, Hannah. 2025. “‘I Hate Taylor Swift’: Everything Donald Trump Has Ever Said About the Pop Star.” Billboard, August 26. https://www.billboard.com/lists/donald-trump-taylor-swift-timeline-everything-hes-said/oct-8-2018-says-he-likes-taylors-music-25-less/

“List of Nicknames Used by Donald Trump.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Donald_Trump

McCreesh, Shawn. 2025. “At The Kennedy Center, Trump Puts His Pop Culture Obsession on Display.” The New York Times, August 14. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/us/politics/trump-kennedy-center-pop-culture.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Spanos, Brittany. 2025. “Sorry, Trump — Taylor Swift’s Career Is Still Very Hot.” Rolling Stone, August 5. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/donald-trump-taylor-swift-debunk-1235400525/

TW: In this episode, we discuss conversion therapy, including specific details that may be upsetting for some listeners.

Anyone else feel like it’s the beginning of the end?? Man, it’s been a rough few weeks both for the country, and for Ben’s and Abby’s immune systems. But don’t even worry, Rebooties, because we’re back here with a long one for ya. We start off with a range of topics that somehow connect, including an update on Maurene Comey’s firing, Don Lemon & ‘death grifting,’ Jimmy Kimmel, big They, and Debby Ryan. Then, we REALLY get into it on two cases that the Supreme Court will be considering once their term starts in October: Villareal v Texas and Chiles v Salazar. The former deals with courts denying defendants access to their lawyers, and the latter considers bans on conversion therapy for minors. All that to say, if y’all like when we get *fired up* on RSR… you’re gonna love this one.

See you next week for a special treat(s)!

PS - If you want to take Ben up on the homework assignment: you can read the facts of Case v Montana here: https://statecourtreport.org/case-tracker/state-v-case

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New episodes of Red State Reboot drop every Monday.

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IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Golde, Kalvis. 2025. “Villarreal V. Texas.” SCOTUSblog, September 9. https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/villarreal-v-texas/

Golde, Kalvis. 2025. “Chiles V. Salazar.” SCOTUSblog, September 10. https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/chiles-v-salazar/

Rashbaum, William K., Jonah E. Bromwich, and Benjamin Weiser. 2025. “Fired Prosecutor Challenges Trump’s Claims to Sweeping Power in Lawsuit.” The New York Times, September 15. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/nyregion/maurene-comey-fired-lawsuit-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Walker, Cheryl. 2025. “Wake Forest University Will Be Tuition-free for Admitted Students From North Carolina Families Earning Less Than $200,000.” Wake Forest News. September 19. https://news.wfu.edu/2025/09/17/wake-forest-university-will-be-tuition-free-for-admitted-students-from-north-carolina-families-earning-less-than-200000/

Literally if you’re listening to this without listening to #40…don’t even go there with us. We’ve been through enough. Closing details and analysis on Pizzagate, Alex Jones and the language of conspiracy theories in general, Ben’s new proposed term for rabbit holes, and quick thoughts on Trump’s expanded National Guard deployment.

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New episodes of Red State Reboot drop every Monday.

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IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Get out your red string and notebook paper. Abby turned 28 over the weekend, and Ben has gifted her (and y’all!) a wild ride of a podcast/game show/full term paper on Q-Anon/performance art spectacular. This episode veers from our standard format, and honestly, tgod! Behold, an hour (plus ;)) distillation of THE conspiracy theory spider web to end them all: you’ll come for Pizzagate (feel old yet?), John Podesta, and adrenochrome, but stay for a DEEP-dive on Melania’s fashion, recollections of college hangovers, and an in memoriam of OG Twitter.

You know it’s good when we decide 1:05:00 into the episode that there’s just going to HAVE to be a Part Two… gotta keep y’all on ur toes!

BTW - hi, new Rebooties *and* new haters!! If you’re just joining us - you came at a great time. Enjoy!

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New episodes of Red State Reboot drop every Monday.

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IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

EMERGENCY EPISODE (LIVE & UNEDITED)

Well, here’s the RSR take on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and the resulting national discourse. Recorded in the morning on 9/11/25.

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Thanks for tuning in to this emergency ep. New episodes of Red State Reboot drop every Monday.

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IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

There simply wasn’t any way Trump was going to announce the “America Prays” initiative and we weren’t going to cover it on Red State Reboot. In this mid-week bonus ep, we dive into this new passion project of the Administration and its implications for everyday people, and in classic RSR fashion, also draw comparisons between America Prays with MLMs and YoungLife. Still want more? You got it. Ben gives a biblical lesson involving the Book of Revelation and the Antichrist; we let our guards down and speak our truth about 9/11 and the discourse around it; and we lament the continued dismantling of human rights in this country.

BTW - Don’t let anyone ever tell you you won’t use a Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies. We used 2 of ‘em in this ep ;)

We’ll see you on the streets (and at the mandated 10-person prayer meet-up!).

Shoutouts for this episode go to Ben’s dog groomer, and organizations across our country doing extremely critical work to protect and support our migrant neighbors.

We hope you’ll consider supporting the following groups across NC:

• https://elcentronc.org/
• https://ichighcountry.org/
• https://charlottelegaladvocacy.org/
• https://ijcboone.weebly.com/#/

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Thanks for tuning in to this bonus ep. New episodes of Red State Reboot drop every Monday.

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IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

Savage, Charlie, and Helene Cooper. 2025. “Venezuelan Boat Suspected of Drug Smuggling Is Said to Have Turned Before U.S. Strike.” The New York Times, September 10. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/us/trump-drug-boat-venezuela-strike.html

The White House. 2025. “America Prays – the White House.” September 10. https://www.whitehouse.gov/america250/america-prays/

The White House. 2025. “President Trump Champions Religious Freedom, Unveils America Prays.” September 8. https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/09/president-trump-champions-religious-freedom-unveils-america-prays/

What do Owen Shroyer, the Epstein files, Trump’s health rumors, Kamala’s secret service detail, the Smithsonians(sp?) and Evangelical cafes all have in common? They’re all traps that we fall in this week before getting to our actual topic: the Panama Playlists!

It’s a chaotic and wild episode….but hey, that’s showbiz baby ;)

Ben's Panama Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/46L233t4ljSDrUXztDIxcL?si=HTeVCq61QQ-NhSO2OBZ2dw

Abby's Panama Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/66pAjrKWFyPB8bFQ2UruIK?si=sSIDPZjQQ1KNmcJyeAjjXQ

See ya next episode!

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New episodes of Red State Reboot drop every Monday.

—

IG: @redstaterebootpod

Website: www.redstatereboot.com

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCES:

https://panamaplaylists.com/

Artforum. 2025. “SMITHSONIAN LEADER MEETS WITH TRUMP AS MUSEUM QUIETLY SHUTTERS LATIN AMERICAN ART GALLERY.” Artforum, September 2. https://www.artforum.com/news/smithsonian-leader-meets-trump-shutters-latin-american-gallery-1234735008/

Glisson, Fiona. 2025. “Trump Orders Sweeping Review of Smithsonian.” NBC, September 1. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-takes-aim-smithsonian-meet-woman-racing-visit-every-exhibit-rcna227553

Svitek, Patrick, Natalie Allison, and Derek Hawkins. 2025. “Trump Revokes Secret Service Detail for Harris That Biden Had Extended.” The Washington Post, August 29. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/29/trump-revokes-harris-security/

The White House. 2025. “President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian.” August 21. https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/08/president-trump-is-right-about-the-smithsonian/