Fatwa

Much of the audio about Jeffrey Epstein this year aimed to make sense of the monstrous acts the billionaire sexual predator allegedly committed, by unpacking his history and career.  Broken  interrogates the context around him, asking—as the host Ariel Levy of  The New Yorker  does in the first episode—“Is the Epstein case exceptional or representative?” Levy dives deeper into loopholes that allow the rich to evade the law and considers how ingrained misogyny can play out at its most extreme. The  Miami Herald  reporter Julie K. Brown, who is largely credited with bringing the Epstein story to light, also appears to discuss the victims she’s stayed in touch with and the difficult paths that some of their lives took. By the end of the show, it’s clear that the title  Broken  not only applies to Epstein, but is also a succinct description of the systems that allowed his alleged crimes to take place.