"Why are you in the Epstein files?"

It is a question Rushkoff received from his own daughter, and in this raw monologue, he gives the full answer.

His name appears in the CC field of emails from his former literary agent alongside Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, and yes, Jeffrey Epstein. But the story of why those names were grouped together reveals something much darker than a mailing list.

Rushkoff recounts a disturbing mid-90s dinner party where he was physically grabbed by a host and scolded for "wasting his plus-one" on a brilliant female intellectual instead of "eye candy" to decorate the room for the male elites. He traces the lineage of this misogyny directly to the "scientism" of figures like Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker, whose theories of humans as "meat machines" and "survival vehicles for genes" provided the perfect philosophical cover for sociopaths like Epstein to commodify and abuse women.

This is not just a story about a predator; it is an indictment of the "permission structure" built by the scientific and tech elite. A worldview that dismisses human soul, consent, and morality as mere delusions.

Team Human is proudly sponsored by Everyone's Earth.

Learn more about Everyone's Earth: https://everyonesearth.com/

Change Diapers: https://changediapers.com/

Cobi Dryer Sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/

Use the code “rush10” to receive 10% off of Cobi Dryer sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/

Support Team Human:

Team Human is a listener-supported project. To get ad-free access to this episode, join our quarterly Zooms, and support this work, please visit https://www.patreon.com/teamhuman

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Is the online safety legislation moving through Congress actually a Trojan horse for mass surveillance? And do the tech billionaires building our future actually care if the rest of us survive it?

Rushkoff sits down with Taylor Lorenz, the internet’s premier culture reporter and founder of User Mag, to discuss her departure from legacy media (The New York Times, The Washington Post) and the dangerous reality of the new tech authoritarianism.

From the misogyny of the 2013 "Selfie" panic to the rise of "maximalist" human aesthetics, Lorenz and Rushkoff break down how to reclaim the internet from the billionaires who view humanity as a problem to be solved (or eliminated).

Check out User Mag: https://usermag.co

Follow Taylor Lorenz: @TaylorLorenz

Team Human is proudly sponsored by Everyone's Earth.

Learn more about Everyone's Earth: https://everyonesearth.com/

Change Diapers: https://changediapers.com/

Cobi Dryer Sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/

Use the code “rush10” to receive 10% off of Cobi Dryer sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/

Support Team Human on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teamhuman

Follow Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff:

Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/douglasrushkoff

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@douglasrushkoff

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/douglasrushkoff

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rushkoff.com

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Is magic just "positive thinking," or is it a causative force that can reshape reality?

Rushkoff sits down with occult historian and author Mitch Horowitz (Occult America, Daydream Believer) to explore the boundaries of will, belief, and the material world.

Rushkoff opens up about his own recent, startling experiences with magical workings regarding his daughter’s health, leading to a deep conversation about retrocausality: the idea that our present rituals might actually be influencing the past to change the future.

Together, they discuss:

- The "New Neighborhood": How to navigate the shifting reality and find the people (and entities) you are meant to be with.

- Trump as "Chaos Magician": Does the former president instinctively use chaos magic techniques to disrupt reality?

- The Power of the Wish: Why defining your true will is the most courageous (and frightening) act you can perform.

- AI & Consciousness: Why even transcendental meditation experts are starting to believe machines might tap into the "unified field."

- UAPs & Interdimensionality: Moving beyond the "nuts and bolts" spaceship theory to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon.

Team Human is proudly sponsored by Everyone's Earth.

Learn more about Everyone's Earth: https://everyonesearth.com/

Change Diapers: https://changediapers.com/

Cobi Dryer Sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/

Use the code “rush10” to receive 10% off of Cobi Dryer sheets: https://cobidryersheets.com/

Support Team Human on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teamhuman

Follow Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff:

Instagram: https:/www.instagram.com/douglasrushkoff

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@douglasrushkoff

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/douglasrushkoff

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rushkoff.com

#TeamHuman #Magic #Philosophy #Esoteric #Consciousness #AI

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