Anna Leonidovna Khachiyan (; born August 23, 1985) is an American

cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions o ...

, writer, and co-host of the ''

Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

'' podcast with Dasha Nekrasova, based out of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early life

Khachiyan was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Soviet Union, on August 23, 1985. In 1990, she immigrated to the United States with her parents and was raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Her father is the Soviet mathematician and

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

professor

Leonid Khachiyan Leonid Genrikhovich Khachiyan (; ; May 3, 1952April 29, 2005) was a Soviet and American mathematician and computer scientist. He was most famous for his ellipsoid algorithm (1979) for linear programming, which was the first such algorithm known ...

and her mother is Olga Pischikova Reynberg. She is of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

descent. Khachiyan graduated from South Brunswick High School in 2003. She received the Patrick J. Quigley memorial scholarship from

in 2006, studying economics and

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

and graduating with honors. She completed a master's degree in art history at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, going on to pursue a PhD in Soviet architecture, before dropping out. Before ''Red Scare'', Khachiyan worked odd jobs as a restaurant hostess, illustrator and actress.

Career

On March 29, 2018, Khachiyan started the cultural commentary podcast ''

'', with co-host and actress Dasha Nekrasova. The show has been associated with both the

dirtbag left The dirtbag left is a style of left-wing politics that eschews civility to convey a left-wing populist and Anti-capitalism, anti-capitalist message using vulgarity. It is most closely associated with American left-wing online media that emerged ...

and the new right as well as the subculture surrounding Dimes Square. It covers current topics in American culture and politics in both a comedic and serious tone. Khachiyan's commentary and critique of

neoliberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...

and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

are heavily influenced by historian

Christopher Lasch Robert Christopher Lasch (June 1, 1932 – February 14, 1994) was an American historian and social critic who was a history professor at the University of Rochester. He sought to use history to demonstrate what he saw as the pervasiveness with ...

and social critic

Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia ( ; born April 2, 1947) is an American academic, social critic and Feminism, feminist. Paglia was a professor at the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1984 until ...

. She has also been influenced by

Mark Fisher Mark Fisher (11 July 1968 – 13 January 2017), also known under his blogging alias k-punk, was an English writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, and teacher based in the Department of Visual Cultures at Golds ...

and

Michel Houellebecq Michel Houellebecq (; born Michel Thomas on 26 February 1956) is a French author of novels, poems, and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker, and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. H ...

. Khachiyan has been interviewed by

Eric Weinstein Eric Ross Weinstein (; born October 26, 1965) is an American investor and financial executive. , he was managing director for the American venture capital firm Thiel Capital. Weinstein hosted a podcast called ''The Portal'', coined the term " i ...

and by

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author and screenwriter. Ellis was one of the literary Brat Pack (literary), Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique as a writer is the expression of extreme acts ...

on their respective podcasts. She has also appeared on

i24NEWS i24NEWS is a International news channels, 24-hour news television channel created by journalists and reporters from Israel. It broadcasts in languages such as French language, French, English language, English, Hebrew language, Hebrew, and Ara ...

to discuss Russian-born convicted fraudster Anna Delvey, and as a speaker as part of Art Toronto's PLATFORM Speak Series. In September 2023, Khachiyan argued the affirmative in a public debate titled "Has the

Sexual Revolution The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the late 1950s to the early 1 ...

Failed?", co-sponsored by The Free Press and the

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly called the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the mission of protecting freedom of speech on col ...

(FIRE). She argued alongside

Louise Perry Louise Perry is a British journalist, author and podcast host. She is a features writer for the ''Daily Mail'' and a columnist at the ''New Statesman'', and has been described as a leading reactionary feminist. Perry co-runs the charity We Ca ...

that it had, against speakers

Sarah Haider Sarah Haider is a Pakistani-born American writer, public speaker, and political activist. She cofounded the advocacy group Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA), which seeks to normalize religious dissent and to help Ex-Muslims, former Muslims ...

and

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

. In a November 2024 discussion with

Megyn Kelly Megyn Marie Kelly (; born November 18, 1970) is an American journalist, attorney, political commentator, and media personality. She currently hosts ''The Megyn Kelly Show'', a talk show and podcast that airs daily on Sirius XM's Triumph channe ...

on the topic of the

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

of E. Jean Carroll and the accusations of sexual assault against

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh (; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oct ...

, Khachiyan said that one of Trump's "best qualities" is that he "doesn't really lie", and that in contrast with the common belief that Trump frequently lies, "he's actually totally honest almost 100% of the time". In January 2025, after allegations of sexual assault against

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

, she said, in reference to Trump's victory in the

2024 presidential election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...

, "Are we really still doing this? #MeToo was rejected at the ballot box!"

Personal life

Khachiyan is in a relationship with percussionist and visual artist Eli Keszler. On the February 13, 2021 episode of '' The Tim Dillon Show'', Khachiyan announced she was eight months pregnant. Their son was born on March 28, 2021. Khachiyan suffers from

adult-onset Still's disease Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a form of Still's disease, a rare systemic autoinflammatory disease characterized by the classic triad of fevers, joint pain, and a distinctive salmon-colored bumpy rash. The disease is considered a diagn ...

, which she was diagnosed with after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in 2021. She had previously questioned the efficacy of vaccines in the efforts to curb COVID-19, describing herself as becoming "an even more conservative Covid truther".

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khachiyan, Anna 1985 births American feminist writers American people of Armenian descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American women podcasters American political podcasters Female critics of feminism Feminist critics of feminism Living people Russian emigrants to the United States American women founders American founders Rutgers University alumni New York University alumni South Brunswick High School (New Jersey) alumni