Woke is BACK! ...really?
It's Been a Minute
NPR
4.6 • 8.8K Ratings
🗓️ 5 December 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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?
To answer those questions - and to dissect whether or not woke ever left - Brittany is joined by Constance Grady, senior correspondent at Vox, and Tyler Austin Harper, staff writer at The Atlantic and co-host of the podcast, Time to Say Goodbye.
Vote for It's Been a Minute in the NPR Pod Club Awards!
(0:00) When did Woke end?
(4:22) Why Woke doesn't work when racism is still on the rise
(8:50) Target, Sydney Sweeney, and America's appetite for racism
(12:08) The rise of "Dark Woke" & will it work?
(13:51) Is Zohran Mamdani a sign of a new kind of Woke?
(15:40) How MAGA made the blueprint for Woke 2.0
Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.
Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluse
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This message comes from Bayer. Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency, and results that can be proven. This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward. Innovations that save lives and feed the world. Science delivers.com. |
| 0:19.7 | So what happened to W woke 1.0? |
| 0:23.0 | I tend to think that woke 1.0 was murdered by the pandemic. |
| 0:29.4 | I am not convinced we've exited woke 1.0. I mean, there are still a variety of issues that you basically cannot touch with a 10-foot pole. |
| 0:38.0 | Target sales have plummeted after rolling back DEI policies. |
| 0:42.4 | The Red Scare podcast faced backlash after interviewing Hitler-loving conservative pundit |
| 0:47.5 | Nick Fuentes. |
| 0:48.8 | Democratic socialist So-Ram Dani was elected mayor of New York City. |
| 0:53.4 | What do all of these have in common? |
| 0:55.5 | Well, some people online are saying woke 2.0 is the culprit. But is that really the case? |
| 1:02.7 | I mean, to me, I'm not so sold on the idea that there's been some death knell of wokeness, |
| 1:08.2 | at least within these liberal circles. |
| 1:12.5 | Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about |
| 1:18.4 | what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. |
| 1:34.6 | We're getting into it with Constance Grady, senior correspondent on the culture team at Vox. |
| 1:35.9 | Thanks so much for having me. |
| 1:40.9 | And Tyler Harper, staff writer at the Atlantic and co-host at the podcast. Time to say goodbye. |
| 1:41.9 | Thank you so much for having me. |
| 1:43.8 | Okay, so just some background. As a term, |
| 1:45.5 | woke has a long history in black culture dating back to the early 20th century. It meant |
| 1:51.6 | being politically conscious and aware, but to be frank, it was also used a bit tongue in cheek. |
| 1:56.6 | But in this conversation, we're digging into the way woke is used today as political |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 28 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.