The Age of Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein
On this episode of The Time of Monsters: Doug Henwood on the famed economist as an embodiment of neoliberalism.
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The Age of Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein w/ Doug Henwood | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
The famed economist Larry Summers, not for the first time, finds himself the center of a
scandal. He’s had to take a leave from Harvard, where he teaches, because of embarrassing
emails he had with his late friend Jeffrey Epstein.
I talked to economic journalist and Nation contributor Doug Henwood, a long-time Summers
watcher, about the career of this controversial and influential figure. Summers has been one of
the most influential policy makers of his era, serving as Treasury Secretary and President of
Harvard. He has also embodied the major intellectual and political limitations of the ruling class.
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Larry Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University, during an interview in New York on September 17, 2025.
(Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg via Getty Images)The famed economist Larry Summers, not for the first time, finds himself at the center of a scandal. He’s had to take a leave from Harvard, where he teaches, because of embarrassing e-mails he exchanged with his late friend Jeffrey Epstein.
I talked to economic journalist and Nation contributor Doug Henwood, a long-time Summers watcher, about the career of this controversial and influential figure. Summers has been one of the most influential policy makers of his era, serving as treasury secretary and president of Harvard. He has also embodied the major intellectual and political limitations of the ruling class.
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The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Trump is Using Terrorist Charges to Wage Political War w/ Josh Kovensky | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
Over at Talking Points Memo, Josh Kovensky has written an essay on the Trump
administration’s use of anti-terrorism law to target political groups it doesn’t like.
In that piece, Kovensky notes,
"Across the country, federal prosecutors are upgrading what would have been routine
prosecutions into terrorism cases when they involve people President Trump has cast as his
political enemies.
It represents a dramatic departure from how the Justice Department has historically used the
federal material support for terrorism statute. For decades, counterterrorism prosecutors have
largely reserved the statute — 2339A — for the kinds of audacious plots that wreak real, lasting
damage or whose ambition forms the stuff of movie screenplays."
I spoke to Kovensky about his essay and the history and politics of this dangerous legal
innovation.
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