Epstein and the Swanky Leftist Compromise

This week on What Rough Beast, Stephen and Virginia go deep on the Epstein conspiracy. Here's what we covered:* How Epstein represented a new class of ultra-wealthy who exempt themselves from democratic norms and why this scandal has traction when Trump seemed "Teflon"* Virginia's first-hand experience with John Brockman's Epstein-funded EDGE organization and the "intellectual dark web"* The physics envy pipeline from quantum mechanics to finance via IQ fetishism* How neo-Darwinism provided intellectual cover for predatory behavior* Why Trump supporters care more about "cover-ups" than actual crimes and whether cognitive fatigue could provide an off-ramp from Trump loyaltyThis episode is free to all listeners, but please consider becoming a paid Magic + Loss subscriber. Every dollar goes to the continued fight against fascism.What Rough Beast is a reader- and listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe