Why Smart People Keep Falling for Powerful Idiots

This week we talk to Cy Canterel (again!), about her recent video essay “Epstein, Elite Power Networks, and The Utility of Disgrace.” Cy is a New Orleans-based “feral scholar,” a media theorist/technologist decoding systems of power and meaning. We discussed:

* World Systems Theory as a map for understanding elite power: How Immanuel Wallerstein’s framework reveals the parallel reality inhabited by the ultra-wealthy—a class that exists “state-free” by choice, moving agnostically between systems to extract resources

* What the Epstein emails actually reveal: Beyond individual scandals, the documents show systematic patterns of how power consolidates—from the differential treatment of “core,” “semi-peripheral,” and “peripheral” actors to the strategic uses of disgrace itself

* The death of meritocracy: How discovering the emotional immaturity, illiteracy, and sheer cognitive dysfunction behind some of our most powerful institutions forces us to confront what we were really being acculturated into

* From neoliberalism to what comes next: Why it’s crucial not to reject everything that came before, and what figures like Zohran Mamdani might signal about a new paradigm that prioritizes collective flourishing over individual charisma

* Self-regulation as revolutionary act: How showing up with a “still center” in the face of chaos—without capitulating or getting mealy-mouthed about principles—offers a model we desperately need

Cy’s recommendations:

* Rob Horning - Writer who has a Substack called “Internal Exile” and wrote the essay “Mass Authentic”

* David Chapman - Wacky but so smart about how he thinks about meaning

* Sarah Perry - Philosopher who wrote a “Every Cradle Is a Grave,” about the ethics of birth and suicide

* Richard Siken - Poet who won the Yale Series of Younger Poets for his book “Crush”; also wrote “War of the Foxes” and is a painter

Virginia’s recommendation:

* “Loved and Missed” by Susie Boyt - An incredibly moving novel about a woman who takes over the care of her granddaughter as her daughter contends with addiction.

What Rough Beast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe