Behind the Bastards

Part Four: How Jeffrey Epstein Helped Build the Modern World

February 26, 2026

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  • The Ferguson protests in 2014 served as a significant catalyst, deeply impacting Jeffrey Epstein's worldview and accelerating his turn toward right-wing ideology and race science, evidenced by his subsequent financial support for white nationalist creators. 
  • Jeffrey Epstein actively attempted to influence prominent intellectuals, such as Noam Chomsky, by pushing scientific racism and eugenicist ideas, framing them as 'uncomfortable questions' that the elite should explore. 
  • Epstein's network, facilitated by figures like literary agent John Brockman and the Edge Foundation, served as an intellectual pipeline connecting powerful technologists and academics to Epstein, often normalizing his controversial and criminal associations, including those related to his sex trafficking operation. 
  • Jeffrey Epstein actively funded and directed scientist Trivers to produce anti-transgender propaganda, prioritizing this over Trivers' other research, including racially charged topics. 
  • Trivers' research, funded by Epstein, culminated in a falsifiable pseudoscience regarding digit ratios predicting gender identity, which is still cited by anti-trans groups. 
  • Epstein and Steve Bannon maintained a close relationship, discussing topics ranging from influencing international geopolitics to hiring hackers to subvert democracy, indicating a shared anti-establishment agenda. 

Segments

Epstein’s Eugenics and Ferguson
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(00:06:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Ferguson protests directly influenced Epstein’s shift toward race science, leading him to fund white nationalist content creators.
  • Summary: The unrest following the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, terrified wealthy elites, pushing them toward fascism, which correlated with Epstein’s increased interest in race science around 2015-2016. Epstein discussed his predictions about Ferguson with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who later confirmed Epstein’s accurate prediction of the subsequent eruption. This fear-driven shift is linked to Epstein donating $25,000 to a white nationalist YouTuber the following year.
Epstein’s Racist Emails to Chomsky
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(00:14:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Epstein attempted to persuade Noam Chomsky to accept scientific racism by citing test score gaps and James Watson’s discredited views.
  • Summary: Epstein invited Chomsky to his island after his conviction and then initiated a conversation about racial data, specifically test score gaps among African Americans. Chomsky pushed back, attributing disparities to systemic racism, but Epstein pivoted to a eugenics argument concerning genetic modification for diseases like Tay-Sachs. Epstein’s goal was to use his influence to mainstream scientific racism by getting Chomsky, a major voice on the American left, to agree with his premises.
Intellectual Enablers and Edge Foundation
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(00:23:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Literary agent John Brockman acted as Epstein’s intellectual enabler, connecting him to scientists and thinkers via the Edge Foundation and its ‘billionaire dinners.’
  • Summary: John Brockman’s Edge Foundation, a successor to the Reality Club, served as a salon for ’third culture’ intellectuals, heavily funded by Epstein ($638,000). Brockman actively introduced Epstein to prominent figures like Steven Pinker and Joy Ito, bragging about the combined wealth of guests at dinners Epstein attended. One email exchange revealed Brockman downplaying Epstein’s jail time while highlighting his wealth and association with Prince Andrew, illustrating how Epstein’s circle normalized his status.
Tech Billionaires and Epstein Dinners
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(00:36:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Major tech figures like Bezos, Brin, Musk, and Zuckerberg attended private dinners with Epstein, often after his conviction.
  • Summary: Epstein attended a 2011 dinner featuring Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, and Elon Musk, with email threads later leading to private conferences. In 2015, Epstein dined with Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Reid Hoffman, sending a photo of the shady gathering to Tom Pritzker. Sarah Kellen, implicated in Epstein’s sex trafficking, attended these dinners as early as 2003, suggesting the environment was conducive to illicit activity long before Epstein’s later public exposure.
Epstein’s Transphobia and Funding Bigots
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(00:47:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Epstein’s first recorded interaction with a trans person involved the abuse of Ava Cordero, and he later funded anti-trans activism by Lawrence Krauss and Robert Trivers.
  • Summary: The first public accusation against Epstein came from Ava Cordero, a transgender Latina woman, whose 1999 rape claim was dismissed due to statute of limitations and media ridicule focusing on her gender identity and HIV status. Epstein later funded physicist Lawrence Krauss, who vigorously defended him against Me Too allegations and pivoted to an anti-trans podcast, receiving $100,000 from Epstein. Evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers, a major funder, justified Epstein’s pedophilia by claiming girls mature earlier, stating he did not see the acts as heinous.
Epstein funds anti-trans research
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(00:56:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Epstein funded Trivers’ research, which included dehumanizing language toward trans women and biological essentialism.
  • Summary: Trivers defended Epstein after his conviction, claiming he was abandoning him over allegations he knew nothing about. Trivers expressed beliefs that girls mature earlier, suggesting acts against younger teens were less heinous. Epstein specifically directed Trivers to pursue theoretical work on transgender biology, indicating this was a priority.
Fetishization and anti-trans agenda
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(00:57:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Epstein and Trivers’ anti-trans stance stemmed from a combination of biological essentialism and fetishization of trans people.
  • Summary: Trivers fetishized trans people while simultaneously denying their gender identity, viewing them only as objects for sexual gratification. This perspective made the struggle for trans dignity incredibly angering to both men. Trivers held a talk in 2016 covering feminism, transgender issues, and honor killings, inviting Epstein.
Forcing anti-trans narrative into news
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(00:59:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Epstein explicitly aimed to use Trivers’ critical coverage of trans identity to generate viral news coverage.
  • Summary: Epstein expressed confidence that he could force the public to care about Trivers’ anti-trans research, pushing these talking points into the public sphere. This effort involved getting intellectuals to create critical content intended to go viral. Epstein’s funding priority was anti-trans propaganda over his other, sometimes racist, research.
Media complicity and class dynamics
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(01:03:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Writers and academics are often willing to support ideas funded by wealthy figures like Epstein due to desperation for money and access.
  • Summary: Epstein was close to the Sulzberger family, owners of The New York Times, which published anti-trans content. Media outlets like The Times and The Atlantic are primed to support or debate ideas that align with the interests of rich donors. This class of people prioritizes access and money over objective truth-telling.
Trivers’ theory culmination and impact
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(01:05:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Trivers published his disproven theory linking digit ratios to fetal testosterone and gender identity, which hate groups now cite against trans adolescents.
  • Summary: In 2020, Trivers published his universal theory of gender identity, which Epstein’s funding supported. Despite being scientifically falsifiable, hate groups like Sex Matters cite this pseudoscience to deny autonomy to trans adolescents. The best of this right-wing thought amounts to playground-level insults disguised as science.
Epstein and Bannon bromance details
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(01:10:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Epstein and Bannon communicated frequently about subverting democracy, influencing geopolitics, and acquiring hacking capabilities.
  • Summary: Epstein and Bannon exchanged texts about everything from the TV show Chernobyl to efforts to influence European coalitions and China tariffs. They shared disdain for Donald Trump, calling him a grifter and mocking him as a ‘stable genius.’ They discussed hiring hackers to target crypto wallets or voting booths, with Epstein claiming hackers were the most dangerous force in society.