Is Your DNA Safe? Inside 23andMe’s Bankruptcy and Insurance Challenges
Insurance Vs History
Is Your DNA Safe? Inside 23andMe’s Bankruptcy and Insurance Challenges What happens when a company owns your DNA data—and then goes bankrupt? In this episode, I dive into the complicated story of 23andMe, exploring its insurance challenges, genetic data risks, privacy concerns, and the ongoing impact for consumers in today’s health and insurance landscape. If you have data with 23andMe or any other consumer focused genetic data company, I strongly suggest you listen. Selected References: 23andMe, Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review, Volume 119, No. 4 (Bankruptcy Documents) Hire...
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Tesla’s Insurance Gamble: Why Cheaper Isn’t Always Better (& What History Teaches Us)
Insurance Vs History
Tesla’s Insurance Gamble: Why Cheaper Isn’t Always Better (& What History Teaches Us) Why would Tesla get into the insurance business, and is it really a new idea? In this episode, I explore Tesla’s foray into insurance, the bumps they've hit along the way, and why history shows automakers rarely succeed with insurance. Selected References: 1. 2. 3. 4. ...
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When Insurance Meets Scandal: The Boy Scouts Abuse Crisis Explained
Insurance Vs History
When Insurance Meets Scandal: The Boy Scouts Abuse Crisis Explained How did insurance influence the Boy Scouts of America’s response to decades of sexual abuse allegations? In this episode, I dig into the organization’s troubled history, insurance involvement, bankruptcy, survivor compensation, institutional accountability, and my personal reflection on how insurance both helped and hindered justice for victims. References: On My Honor: The Secret History of the Boy Scouts of America, by Kim Christensen: Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boy...
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Noncompete Agreements: How the FTC’s Rule Change Impacts Insurance, Employees, and History
Insurance Vs History
Noncompete Agreements: How the FTC’s Rule Change Impacts Insurance, Employees, and History Do you know the history behind noncompete agreements — and how they impact the insurance industry today? On the latest Insurance vs History Podcast, I take a quick look at the FTC’s shifting stance on noncompete agreements, industry implications, and their surprising 15th-century origins. Reference Articles: Hire me to speak at your meeting! I can talk about the topic of your choice, or I can talk about the history of insurance and why insurance matters. Reach out for booking info or just...
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When Did Pollution Happen? Unpacking Montrose, DDT, and Liability Insurance
Insurance Vs History
When Did Pollution Happen? Unpacking Montrose, DDT, and Liability Insurance Imagine a pollution disaster so messy that it’s taken over 40 years to work out the insurance payments. In this episode of Insurance vs History, I dive into the story of Montrose Chemical and DDT, a discussion spanning WWII, Superfund lawsuits, and barrels of toxic waste leaking off California’s coast. Join me to discuss the reason why it’s taken 40 years to resolve, what the heck Montrose wording even means, and why it matters. Hire me to speak at your meeting! I can talk about the topic of...
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Trailer: Insurance vs History
Insurance Vs History
Insurance vs History is a show doing for insurance what Freakanomics did for economics. Don't understand insurance? Can't imagine why anyone should care about a global industry that impacts your daily life in ways you don't even realize? Host Meredith Brasher shines a light on both the good and bad stories of insurance, explaining it along the way. Season Five starts in September 2025 with new episodes twice a month.
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Taking the summer off!
Insurance Vs History
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Insurance vs Cuthbert Heath
Insurance Vs History
Insurance vs Cuthbert Heath Who is Cuthbert Heath, and why is he considered the Founder of Modern Lloyds? Join me for a discussion of Cuthbert Heath, and a slightly different take on the man, the myth, the legend. Hire me! Contact Tip me! See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Website: www.insurancevshistory.com Email: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-brasher-76736926
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Insurance vs The British Abolition Movement
Insurance Vs History
Insurance vs The British Abolition Movement What happens when an insurance case sparks the beginning of a national movement? Join me for the second episode of my series on Insurance and Slavery, where I talk about British Abolition, the Massacre on the Slave Ship Zong, and Lord Mansfield’s insistence on NOT talking about slavery. Hire me! Contact for details. Tip me! See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Selected Sources and Links: · The "Somerset" Effect: Parsing Lord Mansfield's Words on Slavery in Nineteenth Century America. Derek A...
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Insurance vs The Station Nightclub Fire
Insurance Vs History
Insurance vs the Station Nightclub Fire Without giving my age away entirely, I will admit…I’m a child of the 80s. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen several of my favorite 80s artists perform their greatest hits. It never crossed my mind that something could go wrong during a concert and I might be in danger. But on February 2, 2003, more than 400 people who also loved the 1980s attended a concert at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. But that night, something went wrong. A fire broke out at the concert, resulting in 100 deaths and 230 injuries. When bad things...
info_outlineInsurance vs The Gambling Act of 1774
Why can’t you take out a life insurance policy on anyone you want?
Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In my seventh episode, I talk about the early development of life insurance in England, and how policies were often a lot closer to gambling than to insurance. Join me as I investigate some of the crazy things you could do with a life insurance policy in the 18th century and how the Gambling Act changed everything.
Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com
Contact me!
Twitter: @insurancevshist
Instagram: @ insurancevshistory
Facebook: Insurance vs History | Facebook
Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com
Links:
- A License to Bet: Life insurance and the Gambling Act in the British Courts https://www.lehman.edu/academics/arts-humanities/history/documents/14.pdf
- Insurable Interest and the Doctrine of Privity of Contract | (lawexplores.com)
- Senior Life Settlements: A Cautionary Tale (fdic.gov) A well-written, great explanation of SLS and the risks associated with them. In particular, well worth the case study read where a bank allows a company to secure loans using life insurance policies they purchased as third-party transactions.
- The Incredible Chevalier d'Eon, Who Left France as a Male Spy and Returned as a Christian Woman - Atlas Obscura
- com: Monsieur d'Eon Is a Woman: A Tale of Political Intrigue and Sexual Masquerade: 9780801867316: Kates, Gary: Books I didn’t get a chance to read this but it’s on my to-do list.
- The Chevalier d'Eon | British Museum
- William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield - Wikipedia
Law Journal Articles (sorry, no links):
- Emigration, Fraud, Humanitarianism, and the Founding of Londonderry, South Carolina, 1763-1765, Robert A. Selig, Eighteenth-Century Studies, Autumn 1989, volume 23, No 1 pp 1-23
Books:
- Betting On Lives: The Culture of Life Insurance in England, 1695-1775 (Politics, Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain): Clark, Geoffrey: 9780719056758: Amazon.com: Books A great starting point to understand the entire picture of the culture of betting and life insurance in England.
- Annals, anecdotes and legends: a chronicle of life assurance : Francis, John : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Written in 1853, this book is archived online.
- A History Of British Insurance : E Raynes : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive From 1948, archived online
Music Credits:
- Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library