Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
For a masterclass in true bipartisanship, look no further than the guest list of Jeffrey Epstein! We all love a good conspiracy story, but it’s often just business as usual for the class in power.
Nolan Higdon – lecturer, media critic, and author of The Gaslight Gazette – is back for a deep analytical dive into the Epstein saga. Moving beyond true-crime sensationalism, they frame the scandal as a stark case study in systemic class power, media complicity, and the mechanisms elite networks use to protect their own.
The discussion hinges on several key points: evidence from released emails shows Epstein’s role as a trans-partisan power broker, connecting figures like Trump and Clinton to finance (Les Wexner) and tech (Bill Gates, Peter Thiel).
The media’s failure to investigate is no accident. (Are we surprised?) It’s a function of class interests acting to manage public perception and manufacture consent. The episode goes on to connect Epstein’s documented interest in spyware and AI to a broader project of militarized surveillance for social control.
Nolan Higdon is a founding member of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, Project Censored National Judge, author, and lecturer at Merrill College and the Education Department at University of California, Santa Cruz. Higdon’s areas of concentration include podcasting, digital culture, news media history, propaganda, and critical media literacy. He is the author of The Anatomy of Fake News: A Critical News Literacy Education (2020); Let’s Agree to Disagree: A Critical Thinking Guide to Communication, Conflict Management, and Critical Media Literacy (2022); The Media And Me: A Guide To Critical Media Literacy For Young People (2022); and the forthcoming Surveillance Education: Navigating the conspicuous absence of privacy in schools (Routledge). Higdon is a regular source of expertise for CBS, NBC, The New York Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle.
Find his work on Substack: nolanhigdon.substack.com
@NolanHigdonCML on X
Chapters and Timestamps
Introduction: Nolan Higdon and the Epstein Investigation — 0:46
Who is Jeffrey Epstein? Setting the Stage — 3:21
Media Complicity in the Epstein Story — 7:10
Class Warfare and the Oligarchy's Control — 11:25
How Elites Neutralize Threats to Power — 16:44
Noam Chomsky's Connection to Epstein — 20:07
Epstein's Role in AI, Spyware, and Technology — 23:01
The Mystery of Epstein's Rise to Power — 27:31
Israel, Intelligence Agencies, and Blackmail Operations — 31:59
Epstein's Death: Questioning the Official Narrative — 35:52
Media Ownership and Systemic Failures in Journalism — 38:36
Historical Patterns: Intelligence Agencies and Character Assassination — 43:30
Maintaining Oligarchic Control Through Manufactured Consent — 50:11
Capitalism's Contradictions and Ideological Distractions — 53:44
Electoral Politics and the Illusion of Democracy — 58:06
Grassroots Organizing vs. Top-Down Change — 1:01:01
Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party's Gatekeeping — 1:03:31
Closing: Where to Find Nolan Higdon's Work — 1:05:34
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
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We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Write for Real Progressives
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Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
For a masterclass in true bipartisanship, look no further than the guest list of Jeffrey Epstein! We all love a good conspiracy story, but it’s often just business as usual for the class in power.
Nolan Higdon – lecturer, media critic, and author of The Gaslight Gazette – is back for a deep analytical dive into the Epstein saga. Moving beyond true-crime sensationalism, they frame the scandal as a stark case study in systemic class power, media complicity, and the mechanisms elite networks use to protect their own.
The discussion hinges on several key points: evidence from released emails shows Epstein’s role as a trans-partisan power broker, connecting figures like Trump and Clinton to finance (Les Wexner) and tech (Bill Gates, Peter Thiel).
The media’s failure to investigate is no accident. (Are we surprised?) It’s a function of class interests acting to manage public perception and manufacture consent. The episode goes on to connect Epstein’s documented interest in spyware and AI to a broader project of militarized surveillance for social control.
Nolan Higdon is a founding member of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, Project Censored National Judge, author, and lecturer at Merrill College and the Education Department at University of California, Santa Cruz. Higdon’s areas of concentration include podcasting, digital culture, news media history, propaganda, and critical media literacy. He is the author of The Anatomy of Fake News: A Critical News Literacy Education (2020); Let’s Agree to Disagree: A Critical Thinking Guide to Communication, Conflict Management, and Critical Media Literacy (2022); The Media And Me: A Guide To Critical Media Literacy For Young People (2022); and the forthcoming Surveillance Education: Navigating the conspicuous absence of privacy in schools (Routledge). Higdon is a regular source of expertise for CBS, NBC, The New York Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle.
Find his work on Substack: nolanhigdon.substack.com
@NolanHigdonCML on X
Chapters and Timestamps
Introduction: Nolan Higdon and the Epstein Investigation — 0:46
Who is Jeffrey Epstein? Setting the Stage — 3:21
Media Complicity in the Epstein Story — 7:10
Class Warfare and the Oligarchy's Control — 11:25
How Elites Neutralize Threats to Power — 16:44
Noam Chomsky's Connection to Epstein — 20:07
Epstein's Role in AI, Spyware, and Technology — 23:01
The Mystery of Epstein's Rise to Power — 27:31
Israel, Intelligence Agencies, and Blackmail Operations — 31:59
Epstein's Death: Questioning the Official Narrative — 35:52
Media Ownership and Systemic Failures in Journalism — 38:36
Historical Patterns: Intelligence Agencies and Character Assassination — 43:30
Maintaining Oligarchic Control Through Manufactured Consent — 50:11
Capitalism's Contradictions and Ideological Distractions — 53:44
Electoral Politics and the Illusion of Democracy — 58:06
Grassroots Organizing vs. Top-Down Change — 1:01:01
Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party's Gatekeeping — 1:03:31
Closing: Where to Find Nolan Higdon's Work — 1:05:34
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Donorbox
donorbox.org/each-one-teach-one-3
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
Subscribe to our Substack:
realprogressives.substack.com
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
