Perceptions of Epstein’s death according to a recent Emerson poll (N = 1,458):

Murdered –34.3%

Suicide — 33.4%

Unsure — 32.3%

A plurality of Americans believe Jeffrey Epstein was murdered rather than committed suicide. The margin is small, but dissensions from the official story are still in their relatively seminal stages.

The only other putative American conspiracy theory I’m aware of where a larger percentage of the public does not believe the official story than does believe it is JFK’s assassination.

Relatedly, the sober, thoughtful and emphatically not hyperbolic Jonathan Haidt predicts a looming democratic catastrophe:

I am now very pessimistic. I think there is a very good chance American democracy will fail, that in the next 30 years we will have a catastrophic failure of our democracy. … We just don’t know what a democracy looks like when you drain all the trust out of the system.

Since its inception, the GSS has asked respondents whether “most people can be trusted” or “you can never be too careful in life”. The percentages, by decade, who say most people are trustworthy:

While diversity is our strength, it may also be our accentuating suspicion. Percentages who say most people can be trusted, by race and by national origin:

GSS variables used: TRUST(1), YEAR, RACECEN1(1)(2)(4-10), HISPANIC(1)(2-50), ETHNIC(30), BORN