It's been another "37-day week" in America, and In The Meanwhile is doing what it does best: refusing to let the chaos set the agenda.

On the heels of Bill Gates' Congressional appearance to be questioned about his role in the Epstein Files, we revisit a prescient conversation from March with Tim Schwab, investigative journalist and author of The Bill Gates Problem.

Schwab walks us through the Gates - Epstein connections, and how these implicate not just the two men, but the hyper powerful institutions that burnished their reputations. Schwab reveals the dangerous alchemy of extreme wealth alongside the "good billionaire" mythology. He breaks down why Gates' "I didn't know" era doesn't pass the smell test, how philanthropy can function as reputation-laundering and influence-buying, and why the so-called "Bill Chill" keeps Seattle institutions and media hesitant to speak plainly, even when the story is screaming.

Mentioned in the episode:

As Congress probes Gates about Epstein, the Walls Close in | Is Bill Gates in the Epstein files? Probably | The Epstein files should end Bill Gates's philanthropic career | Erasing Gates Seattle's Favorite Philanthropist Faces Campus Reality Check from UW Student | NYT Opinion: This Summer, Students From Hundreds of Colleges Will Heed One Urgent Call | Half of Americans want to Abolish ICE

More from Tim Schwab:

Tim Schwab on Substack | On X | on BlueSky | The Bill Gates Problem | on LinkedIn

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Read Nora and Marcus's Books:

Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare | Readying to Rise

Music: No Tears for a Wolf · Ahamefule J. Oluo · Okanomodé. Used with permission.

Logo by Nikki Barron.

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