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The Epstein Investigation: Why an Independent Special Counsel Is Long Overdue (Part 4) (10/29/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to pick up
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: where he left off, talking about why it's important for
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  Speaker 1: a special counsel to be appointed. Mark Agnifilo is the
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  Speaker 1: kind of attorney whose experience illustrates why the candidate pool
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  Speaker 1: should extend beyond familiar figures from the federal prosecutorial establishment.
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  Speaker 1: Agnifilo has worked as both a federal prosecutor and a
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  Speaker 1: criminal defense attorney giving him substantial experience evaluating criminal cases
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: from opposing sides of the courtroom. His career has included
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: complex federal litigation, organized crime matters, and high-profile cases involving
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: defendants confronting the enormous resources of the government. That combination
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  Speaker 1: is particularly relevant to Epstein because the investigation would require
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  Speaker 1: an understanding of sophisticated criminal conduct and the institutional weaknesses
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  Speaker 1: that can emerge within the prosecutorial systems. A lawyer who
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  Speaker 1: has spent years challenging federal evidence is unlikely to be
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  Speaker 1: impressed merely because a government official insists that an investigative
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  Speaker 1: decision was appropriate. He would know that internal memoranda can
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  Speaker 1: omit context, that witnesses can protect colleagues, and that most
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  Speaker 1: consequential evidence may reside in communications never intended for public examination.
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  Speaker 1: He would also understand that allegations are not substitutes for proof,
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  Speaker 1: and that a successful prosecution requires evidence capable of surviving
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  Speaker 1: adversarial testing. Now, I'm not suggesting that Agnifilo has agreed
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  Speaker 1: to serve or that his professional relationships have already been
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  Speaker 1: examined for potential conflicts. Those questions would require proper vetting,
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  Speaker 1: particularly given his extensive experience representing prominent criminal defendants. But
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  Speaker 1: his background demonstrates the caliber of independent legal talent that
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  Speaker 1: should be considered rather than automatically turning to another career
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: department official who may feel compelled to defend the institution.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Alan Jackson represents another example of the kind of aggressive
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  Speaker 1: and experienced trial attorney whose skills could prove valuable in
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  Speaker 1: an investigation of this magnitude. Jackson built a reputation as
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  Speaker 1: a prosecutor before entering private practice and representing defendants in
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  Speaker 1: some of the country's most closely watched criminal cases. His
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: work in the Karen Reid proceedings demonstrated his willingness to
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  Speaker 1: challenge investigative methods, question official narratives, and subject government witnesses
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  Speaker 1: to intensive cross-examination. Those qualities are especially relevant when investigating
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  Speaker 1: an affair in which federal officials have repeatedly asked the
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  Speaker 1: public to accept conclusions without providing satisfactory answers to the
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  Speaker 1: underlying questions. Jackson understands how criminal investigations are supposed to function.
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  Speaker 1: because he has spent substantial portions of his career operating
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  Speaker 1: on both sides of the table. He also understands how
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  Speaker 1: important it is to examine the original evidence rather than
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  Speaker 1: relying exclusively on a polished summary prepared by the agency
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  Speaker 1: responsible for collecting it. An Epstein special counsel would need
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  Speaker 1: precisely that willingness to interrogate assumptions and challenge explanations that
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: have acquired legitimacy simply through years of repetition. Jackson's experience
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  Speaker 1: would not automatically qualify him for the position, and his
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  Speaker 1: past professional relationships would need the same comprehensive conflict review
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  Speaker 1: required of anyone else. But his career illustrates that serious
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  Speaker 1: legal talent exists outside the circle of officials traditionally entrusted
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  Speaker 1: with protecting the Justice Department's institutional interests. There's no reason
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  Speaker 1: the search for an independent prosecutor should be confined to
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  Speaker 1: people whose first instinct is It is to preserve the
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  Speaker 1: credibility of the very offices under examination. Now, Tenny Garagos
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  Speaker 1: represents another example of a criminal lawyer whose experience warrants
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  Speaker 1: consideration when discussing the qualities an outside prosecutor should possess.
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  Speaker 1: Garagos has worked extensively in federal criminal defense and has
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  Speaker 1: participated in complex cases involving sexual misconduct allegations, trafficking charges,
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  Speaker 1: and high-profile prosecutions. Her experience as counsel in the Sean
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  Speaker 1: Combs and Keith Rainieri proceedings, makes her very familiar with
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  Speaker 1: the evidentiary and strategic issues that arise in major federal
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  Speaker 1: sex trafficking cases. She also has experience representing people who
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  Speaker 1: may have challenged the conduct and conclusions of powerful prosecutors.
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  Speaker 1: That perspective could be extremely valuable in an investigation where
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  Speaker 1: the government's handling of evidence and its decisions about whom
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  Speaker 1: to prosecute are themselves central questions. A special counsel needs
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  Speaker 1: to appreciate the difference between a persuasive public narrative and
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  Speaker 1: an evidentiary record sufficient to sustain criminal charges. Garagos' professional
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  Speaker 1: background illustrates that such knowledge is not confined to people
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  Speaker 1: currently occupying government offices. Like Agna Filo, with whom she practices,
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  Speaker 1: she would be required to go through careful screening for
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  Speaker 1: client relationships, potential conflicts, and other issues affecting independents. No
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  Speaker 1: individual's courtroom reputation should substitute for the ethical and professional
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  Speaker 1: examination required before such an extraordinary appointment. But attorneys with
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  Speaker 1: a combination of federal trial experience and first-hand knowledge with
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  Speaker 1: adversarial challenges to government investigations belong in the broader conversation
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  Speaker 1: about what genuine prosecutorial independence should look like. Now listen,
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  Speaker 1: the names themselves are ultimately less important than the qualities
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  Speaker 1: they represent. because this appointment cannot become another celebrity competition. Agnifilo, Jackson,
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  Speaker 1: and Garagos are examples of the kind of accomplished lawyers
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  Speaker 1: who have demonstrated the capacity to confront serious criminal allegations
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  Speaker 1: and challenge government conduct in court. Their backgrounds have also
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  Speaker 1: underscored why the selection process would need to examine prior clients,
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  Speaker 1: professional relationships, financial interests, and possible witnesses with exceptional care.
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  Speaker 1: Nobody should receive a pass on conflicts simply because they
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  Speaker 1: are regarded as a brilliant trial lawyer or because their
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  Speaker 1: public reputation suggests a willingness to fight. If any candidate
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  Speaker 1: possesses a relationship that compromises independence in the Epstein matter,
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  Speaker 1: that candidate should be eliminated from consideration regardless of reputation.
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  Speaker 1: The same standard should apply to former federal prosecutors whose
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  Speaker 1: past careers involved offices, officials, or cases that might become
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  Speaker 1: subjects of the investigation. Independence must be genuine rather than
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  Speaker 1: a carefully manufactured appearance designed to satisfy a political demand.
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  Speaker 1: The chosen lawyers would have no obligation to protect the
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  Speaker 1: reputations of former colleagues, political patrons, wealthy associates or institutions
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  Speaker 1: that may have played a role in the scandal. Their
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  Speaker 1: professional responsibility should be to the law, their investigative mandate
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  Speaker 1: and the evidence they uncover. Anything less would amount to
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  Speaker 1: attaching the label independent to another investigation whose most consequential
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  Speaker 1: boundaries had already been established by the people in power.
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  Speaker 1: The mandate assigned to this special counsel would have to
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  Speaker 1: be comprehensive enough to examine the full history of the
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  Speaker 1: Epstein affair without becoming an undefined fishing expedition. It should
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  Speaker 1: begin with the original Florida investigations and the federal decision
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  Speaker 1: that produced the September 2007 agreement. Investigators should examine the negotiations,
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  Speaker 1: the review and approval process, the treatment of victims, and
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  Speaker 1: any credible evidence of unlawful interference by outside individuals. From there,
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  Speaker 1: the investigation should consider the circumstances surrounding Epstein's state incarceration
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: and work release, including allegations that abuse continued during periods
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  Speaker 1: when he was under correctional supervision. The record should then
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  Speaker 1: extend through the years between his Florida conviction and and
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  Speaker 1: his 2019 federal arrest, examining credible evidence of subsequent criminal
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  Speaker 1: conduct and potential participation by other individuals. Maxwell's recruitment activities,
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  Speaker 1: Epstein's financial arrangements, and the conduct of employees or associates
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  Speaker 1: whose involvement raises genuine criminal questions should fall within the
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  Speaker 1: appropriate jurisdiction. Investigators should also examine whether federal officials have
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  Speaker 1: mishandled relevant evidence, improperly limited investigative activity, or engaged in
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  Speaker 1: conduct that could constitute obstruction or another federal offense. The
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  Speaker 1: handling of records after Epstein's death, including any potentially unlawful
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  Speaker 1: concealment or destruction of evidence, deserves appropriate scrutiny. The special
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  Speaker 1: counsel should have the ability to request additional jurisdiction where
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  Speaker 1: new evidence establishes a legitimate basis for expanding the investigations.
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  Speaker 1: There's no justification for appointing an independent prosecutor only to
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  Speaker 1: construct an artificially narrow mandate that prevents the inquiry from
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  Speaker 1: reaching the most consequential decisions in the scandal's history. Financial
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: evidence should occupy a central position in that investigation because
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  Speaker 1: Epstein's wealth and financial arrangements were indispensable features of the
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  Speaker 1: environment in which his operation functioned. His relationship with major
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  Speaker 1: financial institutions, the movement of money, through various entities, and
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  Speaker 1: the funding of his properties and employees all present legitimate
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  Speaker 1: investigative questions. The government should understand where the money originated,
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  Speaker 1: how relevant expenditures were structured, and whether particular transactions facilitated
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  Speaker 1: criminal activity or concealed unlawful conduct. Financial institutions that maintain
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  Speaker 1: relationships with Epstein have already faced extensive civil litigation, including
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  Speaker 1: major settlements connected to their handling of his accounts and activities.
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  Speaker 1: Those civil proceedings do not establish that every person involved
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  Speaker 1: committed a criminal offense, but they've generated records and testimonies
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  Speaker 1: that could assist a properly authorized investigation. Bank communications, compliance records,
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  Speaker 1: payment instructions, corporate documentation, and employment arrangements may provide evidence
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  Speaker 1: that is far more useful than speculation about who attended
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  Speaker 1: a dinner party. A financially sophisticated investigative team could examine
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  Speaker 1: whether transactions correspond with witness accounts, travel records, or other
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  Speaker 1: evidence of potential trafficking conduct. Investigators should also determine whether
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  Speaker 1: suspicious activity was identified internally and whether relevant concerns were
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  Speaker 1: communicated to the proper authorities. Any potential criminal liability would
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  Speaker 1: need to be established according to the evidence and the
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  Speaker 1: applicable law rather than inferred merely for the existence of
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  Speaker 1: a financial relationship. But allowing the financial dimensions of the
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  Speaker 1: Epstein operation to remain inadequately examined would would leave an
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  Speaker 1: enormous part of the story outside the reach of the
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  Speaker 1: very investigation supposedly designed to uncover it. Alright folks, we're
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  Speaker 1: going to wrap up right here, and in the next
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  Speaker 1: episode dealing with the topic, we're going to pick up
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  Speaker 1: where we left off. All the information that goes with
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  Speaker 1: this episode can be found in the description box.