Inside the Social World That Kept Epstein Untouchable
Inside the Social World That Kept Epstein Untouchable  
Podcast: The Tara Palmeri Show
Published On: Tue Mar 31 2026
Description: Why did so many powerful, accomplished people keep showing up at Jeffrey Epstein's dinner table — even after he was a known sex offender? Journalist Holly Peterson grew up in this world. Her father was Secretary of Commerce, and she's spent decades observing the psychology of Manhattan's elite. In her latest Wall Street Journal piece, she argues the answer isn't as simple as black and white. Tara pushes back, and the two go deep on the "accomplisher class" — the ambition, the networking, the greed, and the culture of silence that helped launder Epstein's reputation for years. They also discuss Ghislaine Maxwell's grooming of high society, the Kathy Ruemmler emails, the Brad Karp–Leon Black revelations, why empathy drops as wealth rises, and whether Robert Maxwell's fortune was really behind Epstein's mysterious wealth all along. Plus: the raunchy birthday song Ghislaine had performed in front of Manhattan's elite. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code TARA at https://www.oneskin.co/TARA #oneskinpod #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices