52: The Clerical Class of the Right (w/Alex Ebert)

This week we learned that Melinda Gates was disturbed by Bill’s men’s-club relationship with Jeffrey Epstein all the way back in 2011. And for fuck sake: when Bill visited Epstein’s Manhattan lair, reports say, he counseled the predator on image rehab while Epstein counseled Bill on his loveless marriage. Are the conspiritualists right, and about what? Matthew will revisit an earlier essay on Gates, and fill in some blind spots.

Derek tackles the obscene co-optation of trans activism by anti-vaxxers who now pledge to lie about their status by “identifying as vaccinated.” In keeping with our musical theme, Julian reminisces about playing protest rock under an assumed name and the threat of a bomb under the stage during the Apartheid years in South Africa.

In our feature interview, world-weary rock star Alex Ebert—frontman for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros—joins Derek to map out the late 20th-century slide into infinitely co-opted creativity and revolution. They discuss the reasons America could use death rituals, the rise of Trump as the ultimate New Ager, wellness influencers as “the clerical class of the right,” and to ask if critical thinking and open-eyed spirituality are the new punk rock—and for how long.

Show Notes

The NYT reported in the fall of 2019 that Gates was a frequent guest of Epstein in Manhattan

A description from Town and Country of Epstein’s mansion

Sources at many meetings describe the Gates-Epstein vibe

Sex Redefined: The Idea of 2 Sexes Is Overly Simplistic

The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee

Inside the Republican Anti-Transgender Machine

Gender-affirming surgery linked to better mental health, study finds

“Identify As” Twitter thread