Billionaires And Virtual Spaces

The Epstein Class

Lindsay Beyerstein | Dissent | 26th March 2026

Jeffrey Epstein was incredibly proficient at manipulating wealth and wealthy people to commit horrifying crimes. And the wealthy have just become wealthier, and more vulnerable to such a predator, since his death. "The real scandal of the Epstein saga is not that a billionaire cabal runs the world. It’s that there is a billionaire class. The moral of the Epstein files is that nobody should be that rich" (2,800 words)

Puzzle: Play Nomido, the Browser’s daily word game.

My Prodigal Brainchild

Neal Stephenson | Graphomane | 23rd March 2026

Stephenson coined the term "Metaverse" in a 1992 novel. Here, he reflects on the demise of Facebook's virtual reality project of the same name. Its fatal flaw was the lack of plot. Successful virtual spaces — like Fortnite and Roblox — put users within the story-based framework of a game. There is no attraction to a place filled with "randos milling around waiting for something to happen" (2,000 words)