We’ve seen enough. We’re calling it: Woke is back.
Rumors of woke’s death, of course, were somewhat exaggerated, but there’s no denying that it strained under the yoke of a years-long corporate co-opting, leaving it bereft of substance as Target sold Pride merch and the Democrats told us that everything would be fine if we just put a person of color in charge of the worldwide war machine. Then came the post-Trump vibe shift: social media stars showing their true colors and siding with power the second they got the chance, platforms algorithmically prioritizing reactionary slop even more than they already had before, companies jettisoning diversity-related initiatives with reckless abandon, AI displacing human heart and soul, and regular people bafflingly lauding the return of the r-slur, which hasn’t been edgy since the ‘90s.
But in the time since Trump reassumed control of the White House and installed a content-obsessed administration that can’t stop stepping on rakes—and hordes of whiny cowards bent the knee—normal people have come to realize something: This sucks! Nobody likes ICE occupying cities. Nobody likes sudden, inexplicable forever wars. Less consequential but equally revealing, nobody likes Kid Rock-fronted Super Bowl halftime show counterprogramming (but they love Bad Bunny). Nobody likes the cadre of embarrassing ghouls taking over mass media. And, most of all, nobody buys Mark Zuckerberg’s weird gold-chain-wearing rebrand. His head always has and will forever belong in a toilet. Also, while I’m up here just saying things, looksmaxxing is super gay.
This week on Aftermath, we’re celebrating Woke 2. What does that mean? Pieces that dig into the origins of woke—not the empty, sanitized version peddled by companies, but actual culture created by people—as well as communities that are already charting a course to a bolder, better future where we can all just be chill to one another. Typically, this is the time of year we’d lob out another Inside Baseball Week, so we’ve got a bit of that, too: interviews with people behind DEI initiatives in video games explaining what that actually means, as opposed to YouTubers making wild conspiratorial claims based on whatever they think will get them views. Also, we’ll probably talk at length about Buffy The Vampire Slayer, like we’ve been threatening to for years, and Riley is doing something involving cooking. Whether you’re a gigawoke sicko or merely woke-curious, you’ll almost certainly have a great time.
In service of all that, we’re also rolling out new merch: a shirt, hoodie, hat, and mug with “Woke 2” in a familiar but legally distinct font. And in service of that, we’re having a sale on two of our subscriptions: For those who'd like to pay monthly, you can get your first month of our "Reader" tier for just $1, and for those who'd rather pay annually, you can sign up to our higher "Member" tier for just $75. That’s basically the price of an annual Reader sub, but you’ll get an invite to our Discord, a full-text RSS feed, and a merch discount.
If you’re a longtime Aftermath supporter, enjoy the festivities. If this is your first time checking us out, we’re thrilled to have you. Feel free to kick the tires, read through the archive, and learn how to buy a Switch 2 entirely with Citi Bike points (the wokest way to do so, obviously). Woke is back, and it’s here to stay. We hope you will, too.
