Episode 123 [PATREON PREVIEW] -- The Botstein Files

One of the men whose presence in the Epstein Files has been making a lot of news (nytimes.com/2026/02/09/us/bard-leon-botstein-j…)is Bard College's forever president Leon Botstein. While there is no suggestion that Botstein participated in any of Epstein's crimes, his relationship with Epstein (insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/02/23…) was longstanding and close. Revelations about their interactions have brought to the forefront several symptomatic issues about how colleges handle sexual assault, campus anti-rape activists, and their young charges more generally. In this episode, Moira, herself a graduate of Bard (Class of 2012, baby!) walks Adrian through what the Epstein/Botstein friendship can tell us about the last 50 years of anti-feminist politics.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of articles we refer to in the episode:
-- Botstein's 1999 op-ed "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood" can be found here (nytimes.com/1999/05/17/opinion/let-teen-agers-…)
-- Botstein's book Jefferson's Children can be found here (amazon.com/Jeffersons-Children-Education-Promi…)
-- Sarah Gerard's Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable can be purchased here (amazon.com/Carrie-Carolyn-Coco-Obsession-Unthi…)
-- Reporting on the various lawsuits and Title IX investigations against Bard and its president can be found here (huffpost.com/entry/bard-college-campus-sexual-…) (2015 case), here (huffpost.com/entry/bard-college-under-investig…) (2016 case), here (nytimes.com/2020/05/21/arts/music/bard-college…) (2020 case), here (yaledailynews.com/articles/law-school-clinic-r…) (2022 case)