How Jeffrey Epstein did it

The life and crimes of Jeffrey Epstein were so complex that 5 years after his death, there is much about him that remains yet unknown. The system of sexual violence and exploitation that he devised is as infamous as it is uncovered. The financial structures he set up for himself were so complex that it takes hours to list them all, and his political and business connections were so vast and mysterious that to describe them in detail makes you sound like a conspiracy theorist.But knowing and sharing the Epstein details is important because the late billionaire was part of a larger class of business oligarchs who have teamed up with each other against democracy, in the United States and around the world. Greg Olear, my guest for this episode, knows a lot about all of this. He has written the book on it, in fact, and it’s out now under the title, “Another Wonderful Secret,” which is a reference to a birthday greeting that Donald Trump sent to Epstein that has since become infamous. Greg is also the host of two podcasts, “Prevail” and “The Five 8.”If you’re interested in supporting Theory of Change, we are doing a fundraising drive for the show and for Flux on GoFundMe. I’d really appreciate your support. You can also become a paid supporter on Patreon or on Substack. Thank you so much for your help. I cannot do this work without you.The video of this conversation is available. Access the episode page to get the full transcript. You can subscribe to Theory of Change and other Flux podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, YouTube, Patreon, Substack, and elsewhere.Audio Chapters00:00 — Introduction07:46 — Epstein’s early years as a teacher and then money manager14:41 — Epstein and Robert Maxwell, father of Ghislaine Maxwell21:02 — Epstein’s decades of close friendship with Donald Trump24:51 — Sexual harassment and abuse as social networking for the Epstein Class30:46 — Epstein’s temporary fallout with Trump and 2016 reconciliation via Steve Bannon35:30 — After his prison release, Epstein became much more reactionary38:16 — The mystery surrounding Epstein’s death40:36 — Joe Biden and Merrick Garland failed to expose the truth about Epstein’s crimes46:28 — ConclusionRelated Content—Jeffrey Epstein became the hero of creepy right-wing men before he died—Newly released documents show that Jeffrey Epstein was obsessed with blocking women scientists—Covered-up abuse in far-right Christian churches and the origins of Pizzagate and QAnon—Jeffrey Epstein and the crisis of elite impunity—Secular post-libertarianism and the Epstein class—Science fiction and the reactionary mindSupport Democracy TodayIf you’re interested in supporting Theory of Change, we are doing a fundraising drive for the show and for Flux on GoFundMe. I’d really appreciate your support. You can also become a paid supporter on Patreon or on Substack. Thank you so much for your help. About the ShowTheory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield about larger trends and intersections of politics, religion, media, and technology. It's part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet.Theory of Change on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoryChangeMatthew Sheffield on Social MediaMastodon: https://mastodon.social/@mattsheffieldTwitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffieldBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/matthew.flux.community This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plus.flux.community/subscribe