Jeffrey Epstein and the scientists

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.2 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 18 minutes

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Summary

The release of the latest batch of documents relating to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has shed further light on his close relationship with the world of science. To find out why he cultivated scientists and where his interests lay, Ian Sample hears from Dan Vergano, a senior editor at Scientific American.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The Guardian.
0:12.2	The latest release of millions of files relating to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
0:17.2	who have already caused shockwaves through Silicon Valley, the royal family, and U.S. and UK politics.
0:24.1	Some breaking news from the UK, where Prime Minister Kier Starrmer as Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney has resigned.
0:30.6	This comes after mounting pressure over Starrmer's appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States,
0:36.6	despite ties to late sex
0:39.1	offender Jeffrey Epstein. But there was yet another area Epstein had deep connections to,
0:46.4	science. Epstein courted top scientists, funded their work, and held dinners to discuss the big ideas of the time.
0:56.0	All the scientists we talked to claim he didn't change anything, he didn't shape their science, blah, blah, blah.
1:01.0	But, you know, we don't know that.
1:03.0	And the golden rule in science, of course, is he, as the gold makes the rules, and he had a lot of gold.
1:10.0	The documents reveal Epstein's apparent interest
1:13.5	in the nature of the universe, longevity,
1:16.8	AI, and the future of humanity.
1:20.0	They also show him engaging with profoundly disturbing
1:23.6	pseudo-scientific ideas.
1:25.4	This sort of weird preoccupations of our Silicon Valley moneyed folks, he had them in spades.
1:33.7	And the question is like, was he a vector in transmitting this attitude to these folks?
1:38.0	Or was he simply another infected person who just happened to be a criminal and was at the center of a lot of their networks.
1:47.1	It all raises many questions.
1:50.7	What was the extent of Epstein's relationship with academics?
1:55.3	How did it come about and continue long past his 2008 conviction?
	...

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