When the Empire Cuts Funding, the Puppets Get Louder

Funny thing about fascists: they always underestimate puppets.

Back in Trump’s latest “Make America White Again” budget shuffle, public broadcasting took a hit. Again. Because apparently nothing threatens authoritarianism like a Muppet teaching kids empathy, diversity, and how to count to ten in Spanish.

The funding cuts were brutal. PBS and NPR, lifelines for communities who depend on free educational programming, were tossed out like rainbow flags at a Hobby Lobby corporate retreat.

And Sesame Street? That sunny little block where Big Bird minds his business and Cookie Monster learns emotional regulation? That nearly became collateral damage in the war on public learning. Warner Bros. Discovery pulled out. HBO Max let go. The street almost went dark.

But then something incredible happened.

Netflix swooped in like the queer cousin who brings casseroles and joyful resistance to the family reunion.

Starting with Season 56, Sesame Street will stream globally on Netflix and air for free on PBS. At the same time. No delays. No corporate paywall first. And not just that, Netflix is doubling down. They’re going to make more of it. They’re offering 90+ hours of past episodes worldwide. They're reformatting it with shorter, punchier stories to meet kids where they are. And they’re doing it in partnership with PBS, not in replacement of it.

That’s not just a business move. That’s resistance.

Turning the Empire’s Tools into Puppet Strings

Here’s the thing: this is classic nonviolent resistance. Don’t just stand in front of the bulldozer, climb in and drive it somewhere better.

When oppressive systems try to silence a voice like Sesame Street, a voice that’s been teaching kids about inclusion, cooperation, and justice for over 50 years, they’re counting on people giving up. Shrinking back. Moving on.

But Netflix said, “Nah, let’s put Elmo on every screen we can find.”

This is that same spirit the Civil Rights Movement embodied: don’t just protest in the street, stage a lunch counter sit-in. Register voters. Use the tools they handed you to undo the harm they built.

What was meant to be silenced just got amplified.

What was intended as erasure just got remixed into global accessibility.

What was supposed to be a quiet little defunding death… just turned into a megaphone for Love.

Because Love? Real Love, the kind that teaches kids to share cookies and stand up to bullies, doesn’t fade quietly. It adapts. It reclaims. It reboots with better lighting and a new theme song.

And we should be celebrating the hell out of that.

Celebrate By Watching Something That Makes Fascists Nervous

So here’s your Southern Fried Heresy homework: celebrate resistance by watching resistance.

Log into Netflix and stream something that defies the Empire, that fights back with joy, that teaches the next generation how to be subversively good.

Here’s a binge-worthy resistance playlist (there's plenty more, but this is a decent start):

For the Kids (and kids at heart)

• Sesame Street (duh) – Now starring radical kindness and a refusal to die.

• Avatar: The Last Airbender – It’s basically liberation theology with element-bending.

• Carmen Sandiego – She steals from the rich and teaches geography while doing it.

• We the People – Music videos about civic engagement. For real.

• Maya and the Three – A Mesoamerican-inspired epic that centers a warrior girl taking on power.

For the grown folks

• When They See Us – Ava DuVernay’s gut-wrenching portrait of the Central Park Five.

• 13th – A documentary on mass incarceration and systemic racism that should be required watching.

• Pose – Trans, queer, BIPOC resistance wrapped in glitter, love, and found family.

• Dear White People – Satire that slices through racism like a hot comb through hypocrisy.

• The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Because sometimes, resisting injustice gets you arrested. And sometimes, that’s the point.

One More Thing...

Don’t let them tell you this is just about a TV show.

This is about reclaiming space. About refusing to let the Empire win by attrition. About looking fascism in the face and saying, “You really thought you could outlast a bunch of Muppets?”

Please.

Watch the shows.

Support public broadcasting.

And keep showing up with that soft, radical Love that refuses to stay quiet – even when the mics get cut.

Because the revolution might not be televised…
…but it is streaming on Netflix.