Episode 123 [PATREON PREVIEW] -- The Botstein Files

Episode 123 [PATREON PREVIEW] -- The Botstein Files

From In Bed With The Right by Adrian Daub and Moira Donegan

February 28, 2026 · 32 min · Season 5 · Episode 101

About this episode

The episode discusses Leon Botstein's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and its implications for college handling of sexual assault and anti-feminist politics.

One of the men whose presence in the Epstein Files has been making a lot of news 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 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 -- Botstein's book Jefferson's Children can be found here -- Sarah Gerard's Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable can be purchased here -- Reporting on the various lawsuits and Title IX investigations against Bard and its president can be found here (2015 case), here (2016 case), here (2020 case), here (2022 case)

People in this episode

Hosts: Moira Donegan, Adrian Daub

Topics covered

  • sexual assault
  • anti-rape activism
  • college politics
  • Epstein scandal
  • feminism
  • Bard College

Keywords

  • Leon Botstein
  • Epstein
  • Bard College
  • sexual assault
  • anti-feminism
  • Title IX
  • college activism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bard College, Epstein Files

Books & works: Let Teenagers Try Adulthood, Jefferson's Children, Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable

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