Jewishness, jokes, and eugenics in the files

Recently, the Department of Justice released millions of files from disgraced financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Since their release, part of the discussion has revolved around the way Jewishness appears in the files. Epstein and his friends make clannish jokes about Jews and “goyim,” many of them simultaneously self-deprecating and chauvinistic. Epstein himself is extremely interested in genetics, sending out a number of DNA Kits to Jews and non-Jews alike, and referencing a natural Ashkenazi intelligence. The files also show close—and sometimes criminal—relationships to a number of prominent Jewish men. These details, along with information about Epstein’s role as fixer for former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, have fueled conspiracy theories about Jewish power. But what do we do with a story whose real-life details are so fitted to antisemitic conspiracy? In this episode of On the Nose, editor-in-chief Arielle Angel speaks with author, thinker, and activist Naomi Klein about how to make sense of the capitalist conspiracy outlined in the files, and the grave importance of holding our depraved elites accountable.

Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”

Media Mentioned and Further Reading

Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

Harsha Walia on Epstein and sexual violence

A collection of Epstein’s comments on “Jews” and “goyim” from Tikkun Olam

“Eugenics Isn’t Dead—It’s Thriving in Tech,” Julia Métraux, Mother Jones

“Jeffrey Epstein’s assistant ordered so many 23andMe kits, the company asked why,” Ariana Bindman, SFGate

“The Myth of the Chosen Nation: The Colonial Period,” Richard T. Hughes

“The crisis in modern masculinity,” Pankaj Mishra, The Guardian

Epstein in China

“Epstein tells ex-Israeli PM Ehud Barak to speak with Palantir founder Peter Thiel in released audio,” Middle East Eye

“Epstein celebrated Brexit and ‘return to tribalism’, newly released emails suggest,” Millie Cooke, Independent

“Jewish Moneylending,” Norman Roth, My Jewish Learning

Here Where We Live Is Our Country by Molly Crabapple

“Latest Epstein files release unleashes wave of antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media,” Grace Gilson, JTA

“Epstein trained as an Israeli spy, FBI document says,” Peter McNamara, Middle East Eye

“How the men in the Epstein files defeated #MeToo,” Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge

“The Right Kind of Continuity,” Ari Brostoff and Noah Kulwin, Jewish Currents

Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt

“DOJ Files Contain Alleged Epstein-Gates Discussion on 'Getting Rid of Poor People,'” National Today

“Peter Thiel and the Antichrist,” Ross Douthat, The New York Times

“What Barak-Epstein audio says about Israeli controlling demographics,” Al Jazeera

“U.N. Says It’s in Danger of Financial Collapse Because of Unpaid Dues,” Farnaz Fassihi, The New York Times

“Why would Elon Musk pivot from Mars to the Moon all of a sudden?” Eric Berger, Ars Technica

“New data reveals how Jewish neighborhoods split between Cuomo and Mamdani,” Jacob Kornbluh, The Forward