| Role | Editor-in-Chief, Nautilus1 |
| Board role | Secretary, NautilusThink, Inc., the magazine’s non-profit publisher; unpaid, two hours a week on the 2015 Form 9902 |
| Education | PhD in electrical engineering, MIT; BS in physics, University of Alberta, on the magazine’s own staff listing1 |
| In the released files | Named in Nautilus corporate and promotional material held in Epstein’s files, and in two email threads with other people which those people forwarded to Epstein, August 2013 to March 2018345 |
| Contact with Epstein | No message between Segal and Epstein appears in the documents cited on this page |
Michael Segal is the Editor-in-Chief of Nautilus, a science magazine published by the non-profit NautilusThink, Inc., of which he was also the corporate secretary.12 He appears in the Justice Department’s Epstein release in three ways: in Nautilus’s own promotional and corporate documents that were held among Epstein’s files; as a participant in two email threads that other people forwarded to Epstein; and as a byline in Nautilus newsletters that the magazine’s publisher, John Steele, sent to Epstein.3465 The magazine’s dealings with Epstein were conducted by Steele, who solicited him for funds and in November 2017 obtained his agreement to put up $25,000 toward a print run; no message between Segal and Epstein appears in the documents cited on this page.7
Nautilus and NautilusThink
Nautilus describes itself in a promotional document held in Epstein’s files as having been founded in June 2012 with a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, taking nine months to assemble a staff and launching online on 29 April 2013. The same document lists the John Templeton Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research as supporters, and says the magazine won two National Magazine Awards in its first year of eligibility, for General Excellence in Literature, Science & Politics and for Website, together with a Webby, Folio Eddie and Ozzie awards, and inclusion in The Best American Science and Nature Writing.8 These are the magazine’s own claims in its own marketing material.
The publisher is NautilusThink, Inc., employer identification number 46-3485787, a corporation formed in 2013 with New York as its state of legal domicile and exempt under section 501(c)(3). Its 2015 Form 990 reports gross receipts of $3,822,786 and total program service expenses of $2,550,292, all attributed to publishing the magazine.9
The return lists seven uncompensated officers and directors: John Steele as president and treasurer, Gayil Nalls as vice president, Segal as secretary, and Stuart Firestein, Thomas Campbell Jackson, Paul Miller and Gerry Ohrstrom as directors. Segal is recorded at two hours a week and no compensation.2 The contributors listed on the return’s Schedule B do not include Epstein or any company associated with him.10
Appearances in the released files
August 2013, the approach to Martin Nowak
On 8 August 2013 Martin Nowak, the Harvard mathematician whose Program for Evolutionary Dynamics Epstein had endowed with $6.5 million in 2003,11 forwarded Epstein an email Segal had sent him, adding: “exactly your topic! have you been in touch with them?”3 Segal’s message was a commissioning approach: “My name is Michael Segal. I’m editor of Nautilus, a new science and culture magazine,” followed by an invitation to write about evolutionary theory for an issue on secret codes, at a stated rate per word.3 Segal’s message was addressed to Nowak; the forwarding to Epstein and the comment on it are Nowak’s.3
December 2016, the Krauss book excerpt
On the evening of 20 December 2016 the physicist Lawrence Krauss wrote to Segal asking, “did we discuss having an excerpt of my new book in Nautilus?” Segal replied “We’d love to — when’s it out?” and then “Can we get an advance PDF?” Krauss answered that he would send a confidential galley, recommended a chapter, and noted that his publishers controlled first serial rights.4 Krauss’s reply was copied to two people at his publisher and to Lesley Groff, Epstein’s executive assistant, who forwarded the thread to Epstein the following morning.4 The documents cited here record that Groff was on the copy line and that she forwarded the exchange; they do not show Epstein taking any part in the arrangement, and no reply from him appears.4
2017 and 2018, newsletters carrying Segal’s byline
On 30 November 2017 Steele sent Epstein the contents of a new Nautilus issue, among them an interview written by Segal.6 On 8 March 2018 Segal emailed Steele a link to a tweet by Richard Dawkins about the magazine’s lead story; Steele forwarded it to Epstein the same afternoon with the note, “This was nice…the lead story from our new chapter. Thought you would appreciate it.”5 In both cases Segal wrote to Steele or to the magazine’s list, and Steele sent the material on.65
Corporate and promotional material
Epstein’s files contain a Nautilus overview setting out the magazine’s editorial approach, audience figures and awards, with a senior-staff page listing Segal as Editor-in-Chief;18 a Nautilus Education text-set pamphlet whose introduction is signed by Segal as Editor-in-Chief;12 a business outlook document stating that the magazine needed $1.5 million and was in merger talks with the American Association for the Advancement of Science;13 and NautilusThink’s 2015 Form 990.9 The documents cited here do not record who supplied them or when.
Nautilus and Epstein
The magazine’s approaches to Epstein were made by John Steele, its publisher and editorial director. On 28 November 2017 Steele wrote to Epstein that he was “reaching out to our most influential and supportive readers” and was trying to raise $25,000 for the printing and shipping of the next print issue. Epstein replied within the hour, “i will fund the 25 k.” Steele thanked him, “Again, I can’t thank you enough for your help on this”, and sent wire transfer details. Epstein’s accountant Richard Kahn asked him the next morning to “advise entity to pay,” and Epstein answered with the single word “gratutuede.”7 Segal is not a party to that exchange and is not mentioned in it. The documents cited on this page record the undertaking and the instruction; they do not include a record of the payment itself.7
Not to be confused with Nautilus, Inc.
Nautilus, Inc. is a U.S. Virgin Islands corporation of Epstein’s that held title to Little St. James Island; Epstein was its president and sole beneficial owner.14 It is a separate company from Nautilus the magazine and its publisher NautilusThink, Inc., and the documents cited on this page record no dealing between them.
Timeline
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug 2013 | Nowak forwards Epstein a commissioning email Segal had sent him | 3 |
| 20–21 Dec 2016 | Krauss proposes a book excerpt to Segal; Groff, copied on the reply, forwards the thread to Epstein | 4 |
| 28–29 Nov 2017 | Steele asks Epstein for $25,000 toward a print run; Epstein agrees and, asked which entity should pay, replies “gratutuede” | 7 |
| 30 Nov 2017 | Steele sends Epstein the new issue’s contents, including an interview by Segal | 6 |
| 8 Mar 2018 | Segal emails Steele about a Dawkins tweet; Steele forwards it to Epstein | 5 |
Statements
No statement by Segal about Epstein, or about Nautilus’s funding, appears in the documents cited on this page.
Related
- People: Martin Nowak; Lawrence Krauss; Lesley Groff; Richard Kahn; John Steele.
- Entities: Nautilus, Inc. (unrelated to the magazine).
Footnotes
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Nautilus senior staff listing. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00797032 p.11. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Form 990 for 2015, Part VII. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00805777 p.7. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Martin Nowak to Jeffrey Epstein, 8 Aug 2013, forwarding Michael Segal to Nowak. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01959593 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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Lesley Groff to Jeffrey Epstein, 21 Dec 2016, forwarding a Lawrence Krauss–Michael Segal thread of 20 Dec 2016. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00441562 p.1. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
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John Steele to Jeffrey Epstein, 8 Mar 2018, forwarding Michael Segal to Steele of the same day. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA02514092 p.1. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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John Steele to Jeffrey Epstein, 28 Nov 2017, and the reply chain with Richard Kahn of 29 Nov 2017. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00943890 pp.1–2. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Nautilus overview document, “Science Connected.” https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00797032 pp.3–5. ↩ ↩2
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NautilusThink, Inc., Form 990 for 2015. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00805777 pp.1–2. ↩ ↩2
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Form 990 for 2015, Schedule B, Part I. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00805777 p.22. ↩
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Michelle G. Kurilla, “Harvard Asked Its Lawyers to Review the University’s Ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Here’s What They Found.”, The Harvard Crimson, May 2, 2020, reporting Harvard’s review of Epstein’s gifts. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/5/2/harvard-concludes-epstein-review/ ↩
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Nautilus Education text sets pamphlet, introduction signed by Segal. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00805732 p.2. The same pamphlet was released again in the House Oversight Committee production at https://epstein-data.com/HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015462 (its first Bates page) and https://epstein-data.com/HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015463 (its second). Both were read at the image on 2026-09-14.
015462is the pamphlet’s front cover — the NAUTILUS masthead over “education”, the classroom illustration, a yellow “Text Sets” flash and the footer “BETA PRODUCT · Science Connected · NAUTIL. US” — and its corpus row is not one page but an 83,651-character merge of the entire pamphlet, so no page pin to that identifier binds.015463is the pamphlet’s printed page 2, folioed 2, headed “NAUTIL.US | TEXT SETS” and titled “Introducing Nautilus Education”, and it does carry the “—Michael Segal / Editor-in-Chief” signature line, so the verbatim match with EFTA00805732 p.2 asserted above is confirmed at the image and not only in the text layer. An earlier version of this footnote said that “neither House Oversight identifier could be rendered and checked at the image level”. That conflated a route with a sheet and is corrected: the site’s/pdf/store does return HTTP 403 forHOUSE_OVERSIGHT_*identifiers, and both sheets are ordinary page images that open and read. ↩ -
Nautilus “Outlook” business document, whose traffic data runs to April 2017. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA00805771 p.1. ↩
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Quitclaim deed, L.S.J., LLC to Nautilus, Inc., December 2011, and the accompanying affidavit of Jeffrey Epstein as president and sole beneficial owner of Nautilus, Inc. https://epstein-data.com/EFTA01305148 pp.1, 4. ↩