Show Notes
The US first lady’s unexpected White House statement denying substantive ties to Jeffrey Epstein took everybody – including Trump – by surprise. What was behind it? The timing coincides with a series of posts from her friend and former Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro, who was deported during a bitter custody fight last year and now vowing to “take down” Melania and her “pedophile husband.” This one’s a doozy, we'll explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The Epstein Files Book Club
Betches founder and Morning Announcements host Sami Sage returns as America barrels toward midterm elections and the potential for wider oversight investigations should Democrats retake the House. She shares why she thinks Americans need to be more angry about how corrupt American leadership is right now, what a Democratic House should actually do for oversight and accountability over the administration, and how the delusions of American society can help explain this moment.
Why do institutions continue to excuse and protect male violence? Elise and Jena sit down with gender and politics writer Andrea Gonzalez-Ramirez, of New York Magazine’s The Cut, to discuss institutional power and why systems continue failing to hold sexual aggressors and abusers accountable. She explains the reason why it feels like #metoo never happened, and the research-backed steps to make societies safer for everyone.
In the wake of the uproar over Cornell University’s response to allegations of gang rape by fraternity members on its campus, feminist philosopher and Cornell professor Dr. Kate Manne returns to discuss what it’s like on the Ivy League university's campus now, whether the #metoo movement made any progress, and why she believes abolishing fraternities is a responsible, legitimate way to address to the campus rape epidemic.
In light of the latest Jane Doe to bravely step forward with accusations of heinous rape and violence, this time against seven undergraduate fraternity members at Cornell University, we are bringing back an episode with Cornell professor and feminist philosopher Kate Manne, who painstakingly reviewed the interviews of Jane Doe 4, the woman who, says that at 13, was trafficked to Donald Trump by Jeffrey Epstein. A system that excuses sexual assault allows sexual predators into positions atop businesses, society, and governments. The Epstein network is the clearest example of the rape culture in which we live.
In the final part of our two-parter with independent journalist and attorney Katie Phang, who brought a historic lawsuit against the DOJ to release of all Epstein files , Phang explains why the original Epstein Files Transparency Act needs to be bolstered with the new bill — EFTA 2 — and the oversight and accountability that can come with a new Congress in January, if voters swing the balance of power back to the Democrats.