Libsyn Directory

Insurance vs Enron

Release Date: 09/18/2023

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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.

Taking the summer off!

Insurance Vs History

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

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...

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...

More Episodes

For the first episode of Season 3, I’m talking about Enron and the company’s spectacular rise and even more spectacular fall. It’s a story about how creativity can sometimes mean stupidity, how culture impacts a company’s survival, how hiring decisions matter, how ideas mutate, and how companies that put stock price and profits above all else can easily be the architects of their own demise. And--how blind people can be about a lot of things if what they are doing is making money.

Who was responsible for Enron? What were the major causes of its bankruptcy? Who spoke up, and who listened (or didn’t?) And what insurance responds when half of your executives are being criminally charged, and the shareholders and creditors are suing everyone they can think of? Join me to find out!

Selected Sources and Links:

1. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) - IMDb

2. Guest Post: D&O What to Know: A Guide to the Evolution of Directors and Officers Insurance from 1933 to the Present | The D&O Diary (dandodiary.com)

3. https://nypost.com/2001/12/13/oh-boies-this-is-bad-ex-enron-cfo-hires-top-defense-lawyer/

4. The defendants of the Enron era and their cases (chron.com)

5. Enron Executives: What Happened, and Where Are They Now? (investopedia.com)

6. SKILLING v. UNITED STATES (cornell.edu)

7. ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP V. UNITED STATES (cornell.edu)

8. Enron: Annual Reports (enroncorp.com)

9. Enron: The Good, The Bad, The Lessons, Lori Zulaf, Peter Grierson, International Business & Economics Research Journal, Volume 1, Number 11

10. Enron: A Financial Reporting Failure, Anthony H. Catanach Jr. & Shelley Rhoades-Catanach, Vol 48, Villanova Law Review, 2003

11. The Other Enron Story, Toni Mack, Forbes, October 14, 2002