The Tangled Tale of the Tate Brothers and the Trumps

About this episode

<p><i>Warning: This episode contains strong language.</i></p> <p>Over the past decade, the Tate brothers have built a global empire around pornography, hypermasculinity and overt misogyny. At the same time, they have been repeatedly accused of assaulting and trafficking women.</p> <p>A Times investigation found that as their legal troubles mounted, the Tates found powerful allies in the Trump family and administration.</p> <p>Megan Twohey, who has been covering the story, explains just how important those alliances became and why they are now starting to unravel.</p> <p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/megan-twohey" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Megan Twohey</strong></a>, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.</p> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/andrew-tate-barron-trump-romania.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How a manosphere star</a> accused of rape and trafficking was freed last year.</li> <li>The Tate brothers were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/us/tate-brothers-arrest-miami.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">arrested in Miami last month</a> as the British authorities filed new rape and trafficking charges.</li> <li>The brothers, in federal custody, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/us/tate-brothers-trump-tucker-carlson.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">are seeing their powerful backers go quiet</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Eduard Vinatoru/Inquam Photos, via Reuters</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>