Imploded billionaires aren't funny | Semi-Woke #15

Pranav and Sheria talk about whether it's ageist and ableist to make fun of Dianne Feinstein, Mitch McConnell, Joe Biden, and the other elderly oligarchs who control our lives while the skin melts off their bones. We also cancel Ice Spice for having a child twerk in her video and Sheria spreads misinformation about this week's Problematic Fave, Carlee Russell.

Pranav and Sheria saw the Barbie movie and they can't stop talking about it. Is it woke enough to warrant all this discourse? Is Greta Gerwig this generation's Valerie Solanas? Or is it yassified Wayne's World? Also, where was Theresa? Barbie movie spoilers abound for the three people who haven't seen it.

Sheria teaches Pranav about getting and staying "on code" and the pros and cons of Black cultural codes of conduct. We talk about the online blowback from the texturism episode, the pros and cons of cultural gatekeeping and policing Blackness. We also read out our first listener-sent Problematic Fave. Send us your Problematic Fave. Message Semi-Woke on IG and we might read it on the show.

Pranav and Sheria talk about the spate of insecure men being exposed or exposing themselves all over the internet, in particular Jonah Hill, Keke Palmer's baby daddy, Lightskin Keisha's fiance, and Chloe Bailey's Z-list twitch streamer/ failed rapper boyfriend. Are these men controlling or are they setting boundaries and being vulnerable? Does society groom women to accept control and abuse in exchange for male companionship? What does Keke Palmer's baby daddy actually do? We find the answers to these questions and read a listener's Problematic Fave. DM the Semi-Woke Instagram and maybe we'll read yours on the show.

Pranav and Sheria argue about the benefits and the harms of #cancelculture, discuss some recent cancellations like DaBaby, Chika, and that crazy lady who tried to steal a Citibike. Rate, follow and review.

Pranav and Sheria sit down with the hilarious Liz Glazer and talk about grieving with comedy, laughing after stillbirth, fascist baby sleep tutorials, and driving on ketamine. Check out Liz's comedy album, A Very Particular Experience. Available on Spotify, iTunes, and Bandcamp.

Pranav and Sheria discuss the ethics of mocking the billionaires on imploding submersibles, media coverage of Oceangate vs the 300 migrants who capsized in the Mediterranean just a week before, why we need to steal from the rich for their own sake, and more!

This week we sit down with Pranav's kickboxing coach Alex Adisorn, owner and operator of Big Bear Muay Thai in Brooklyn. We discuss the pros and cons of combat sports, whether it's ethical to participate in or support MMA, the consequences of head injuries and CTE, and how to make an empowering space for Queer people to learn self-defense. Also, Sheria begs Alex not to turn Pranav's brain into hamburger meat.

Sheria and Pranav discuss Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid, fall in love with Halle Bailey and argue about race-swapped casting. Is a Black mermaid revolutionary? If not, why does it cause such furor? We talk about the origins of race-swapped casting, yellowface, blackface, and the time Sheria got hate-crimed via an all-white production of Once on This Island. Follow us, rate us 5 stars, and go see The Little Mermaid.

Sheria teaches Pranav about texturism, the natural hair movement, the history of hair-typing, and why laid edges are a tool of White supremacy. We talk about the connection between eugenics, genocide, and hair discrimination, and Sheria tries to sneak in some K-pop talk while Pranav cries. It's a good time. Like, follow, rate us 5 stars and keep it kinky.