As much as I love Yyaldrin's post, or ah—appreciate—the psychoanalyzing from Luka et al, I think y'all are confusing your own provincialism with these folks' cultural importance. The Chapo, Red Scare, Cumtown trifecta has a few million listeners between them—Chapo pulls $2m a year on Patreon subscriptions. Annie Baker (Gettysburg gal) is literally the most celebrated under-40 playwright in the world; anyone who's into theater knows who she is. Andrea Long Chu is the hottest figure in trans studies the last five ten years. Artforum is the most important visual arts publication of the past century.