Epstein’s America: How Modern Corruption Works episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 20, 2026 · 45 MIN

Epstein’s America: How Modern Corruption Works

from The World Unpacked · host Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

In this episode of The World Unpacked, Sarah tells host Jon Bateman why systemic corruption looks nothing like how we picture it, how anti-corruption advocates are co-opted as enablers, and what to say if someone asks you for a bribe. There’s a gnawing feeling in America and the West that a self-serving elite has corrupted society’s rules in its favor. The Epstein files have finally pulled back the curtain on hidden ways that powerful people network together to advance their own interests and evade accountability.

Sarah Chayes, who lived in and studied the world’s most corrupt nations, warns that the U.S. is walking the same path.

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Epstein’s America: How Modern Corruption Works

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This episode was published on February 20, 2026.

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In this episode of The World Unpacked, Sarah tells host Jon Bateman why systemic corruption looks nothing like how we picture it, how anti-corruption advocates are co-opted as enablers, and what to say if someone asks you for a bribe. There’s a...

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