Podcast Summary

Podcast: Behind the Bastards
Episode: Part Two: How Jeffrey Epstein Helped Build the Modern World
Date: February 19, 2026
Host: Robert Evans with guest co-host Andrew T
Producer: Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the underreported but significant influence Jeffrey Epstein wielded over the development of major elements of the modern digital world, especially microtransactions in video games and the world of cryptocurrency. Through newly released emails and justice department documents, host Robert Evans, with guest Andrew T, unpacks Epstein’s close relationships with tech and finance figures like Bobby Kotick (Activision Blizzard), Brock Pierce (crypto entrepreneur), and Joi Ito (MIT Media Lab). The episode draws a disturbing throughline from Epstein’s criminal activities and worldview to his strategic manipulation of gaming and crypto industries, revealing how one of history’s worst people seeded trends that affect billions today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Humanizing Detail of Monsters (04:34)

• Robert Evans begins by noting the unsettling banality of some of Epstein’s correspondence, including affectionate nicknames for victims and associates—reminders that even the most notorious people have mundane, relatable habits.
• Epstein’s grooming of underage girls and the transactional, casual tone of emails between him and his contacts, especially Brock Pierce, offer a chilling look at how normalized their crimes were within their circles.
  • Quote: “Epstein started sending girls...since the term girls was used in the email and this is Jeffrey Epstein, we must assume they were underage kids...” — Robert Evans [04:34]

2. The Dynamics of Epstein’s Network: Brock Pierce, Bobby Kotick, and Grooming (05:32–11:30)

• Emails indicate Epstein “transitioning” associates like Brock Pierce from being recipients of trafficked girls to acting as recruiters and providers in their own right.
• Epstein’s relationship with Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick evidenced a confluence of predatory behavior and tech influence.
  • Woody Allen was used as social “bait” to attract other powerful men.
  • Quote: “He seems to think [Woody Allen] is like a big get...Maybe if I sweeten the pot with Woody Allen, this rich, famous guy will want to hang out with me.” — Robert Evans [11:03]
• The comparison is made between their attitude towards sex crimes and drug use—illegal but not “morally wrong” in their eyes.

3. Epstein's Influence on Video Game Industry and Microtransactions (13:52–24:36)

• Epstein pushed Kotick to expand microtransactions in gaming, directly influencing some of the most controversial monetization tactics in the industry.
• In a rare, grammatically correct extended email, Epstein lays out a vision for using games to addict children and deliver “educational subversion”:
  • Encouraging games that bypass educators and parents, targeting children directly for profit and indoctrination.
  • Quote: "Edutainment is for pussies. Because once kids catch on you are trying to teach them something, they shut down. We have to keep the boobs and guns and profit...We need educational subversion." — Robert Evans quoting Epstein [21:01]
• Bobby Kotick’s own responses show enthusiastic buy-in, discussing rewards systems (“earn cell phone minutes, iPhone credits, virtual items in games”) that parallel the now-ubiquitous dark patterns in monetization.
• The hosts connect these tactics to modern problems: gambling-like features, loot boxes, dark patterns, and the normalization of predatory monetization aimed at children.

4. Epstein, Cryptocurrency, and the Genesis of Tether (29:09–39:38)

• Epstein’s connection with Brock Pierce extends into the early days of crypto. Evans provides the “Mount Gox” story as cautionary farce and context.
• Epstein is involved with Pierce’s stablecoin project "Tether," a foundational entity in the current crypto ecosystem—fraught with regulatory violations, money laundering, and more.
  • Quote: “This further establishes Epstein as a foundational figure in the history of crypto because Tether as I noted, is a very significant cryptocurrency.” — Robert Evans [35:55]
• Epstein’s role is less technical and more about facilitating, connecting, and “pitching” to influential financial players.

5. Epstein’s Investment in Coinbase and Normalization in Tech Circles (40:11–41:41)

• Epstein invested early in Coinbase, helping broker deals through Pierce despite full awareness of his criminal record.
• The founders were alerted to Epstein’s involvement, but allowed it, highlighting an industry-wide moral blindness when money or connections are concerned.

6. Russian Connection, “Modeling” Agencies, and Soft Power (43:57–45:27)

• The episode touches on Epstein’s ties via intermediaries to Russian intelligence, foregrounded by the example of Svetlana Pozydova, who was allegedly deployed to mine or influence the Winklevoss twins’ business ventures.
• This possibility is left somewhat open-ended, but fits a pattern of international soft power games.

7. Epstein’s Influence on Bitcoin Development via MIT Media Lab (48:59–59:27)

• Detailed breakdown of how Joi Ito (MIT Media Lab) secured Epstein funds to pay three of the five core Bitcoin developers after the prominent Bitcoin Foundation went bankrupt.
  • Quote: "[Epstein's funding] allowed us to move quickly and win this round. Thanks." — Joi Ito, as read by Robert Evans [51:58]
• The chain of association: Epstein → MIT Media Lab → Funding for Bitcoin’s core code, representing a significant (if not absolute) stake in the direction of the currency's development.
• Right-wing and crypto circles now find themselves torn: horrified that “their” revolution might be tainted by Epstein money or influence, but desperate to downplay the connection.
  • Quote: "Funding a university lab does not equal running bitcoin...But when you pay the salary of three out of five people whose votes can determine the future of bitcoin, it's not unreasonable to say you might kinda run bitcoin, right?" — Robert Evans [57:07]

8. The Banality of Modern Evil and Final Thoughts (60:41–62:22)

• Even without the sex trafficking, Epstein’s role as an “idea guy” aligns him with some of the most toxic evolutions in digital monetization and finance.
  • Quote: “He would be an odious person genuinely, without the sex trafficking.” — Andrew T [60:41]
• These patterns—using technical platforms for manipulation, profit, and grooming—are entrenched in social systems far beyond Epstein.
• The episode closes with the insight that only recently has Epstein’s influence in these domains begun to get the scrutiny it deserves.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Epstein started sending girls... since the term girls was used in the email and this is Jeffrey Epstein, we must assume they were underage kids..." — Robert Evans [04:34]
• "They don't talk about it like we're doing a secret criminal enterprise. They talk about it like dudes talking about a hot chick at college. Except for the chick is 30 years younger than them." — Robert Evans [09:46]
• "Edutainment is for pussies. Because once kids catch on you are trying to teach them something, they shut down. We have to keep the boobs and guns and profit... We need educational subversion." — Robert Evans quoting Epstein [21:01]
• "He would be an odious person genuinely, without the sex trafficking." — Andrew T [60:41]
• "When you pay the salary of things, three out of five people whose votes can determine the future of bitcoin, it's not unreasonable to say you might kinda run bitcoin, right?" — Robert Evans [57:07]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:34 – Epstein’s emails, “my little Susie,” leveraging relationships with Brock Pierce
• 07:19–09:08 – Attitudes toward sex trafficking (“like doing drugs” in their moral calculus)
• 10:04–13:52 – Relationship with Bobby Kotick and attempts to influence video game monetization
• 13:52–24:36 – Epstein’s play to ‘addict’ kids to games, the lineage of dark monetization patterns
• 29:09–39:38 – Epstein’s role in crypto: Mt. Gox, Tether stablecoin origins, early pitfalls
• 40:11–41:41 – Epstein’s investment in Coinbase, industry indifference to his criminality
• 43:57–45:27 – Modeling agencies, Russian intermediaries, potential intelligence links
• 48:59–59:27 – MIT Media Lab, funding Bitcoin’s developers, awkward crypto community reckonings
• 60:41–62:22 – Epstein’s harmful legacies extend beyond his sex crimes

Tone and Language

The episode is marked by gallows humor and the hosts’ signature blend of irreverence and outrage. Despite the heaviness of the material, Evans and Andrew T lampoon the idiocy and banality of tech and finance elites who enabled Epstein—not shying from blunt, sometimes scathing, sometimes darkly funny commentary.

Final Takeaway

The hosts make clear that Epstein’s story is not just one of criminal depravity but a window into how power, greed, and indifference have warped fundamental aspects of modern digital life. From the “addict the kids” ethos in games to shady financial systems in crypto, Epstein's fingerprints help explain why so much of today’s tech world feels so broken—and why it is so difficult to hold its architects accountable.

Resources/Pluggables Mentioned:

• Artist Mentorship Program, Portland
• Solidarity and Snacks (mutual aid, Los Angeles)
• Andrew T’s podcast: “Yo, Is This Racist?”

(Summary skips sponsor ad reads and typical podcast intro/outro banter, focusing solely on episode substance.)