Insurance Vs History
Exploring all the ways that Insurance changed History...or failed to. www.insurancevshistory.com
Episodes
Ever wondered how insurance intersects with slavery in America? My latest episode of Insurance vs History dives into the world of life insurance and American slavery. I'll reveal how life insurance on enslaved people helped historians and genealogists uncover stories that few textbooks ever mention. From lost documents to innovative legislation, we'll explore the surprising ways insurance records have brou...
Insurance Festivus: Real Grievances, 23 and Me Updates, and Tesla Turmoil Happy Festivus—it's time to air all our insurance grievances! Featuring real listener comments, updates on the 23andMe bankruptcy (cyber insurers, anyone?), and the wild world of Tesla Insurance, this is a great way to close out the year.
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Insurance CEO Pay: What's Fair, What's History, and What's Next?
I started trying to answer one question: is Insurance CEO pay fair? and ended up with a massive project. In this episode, I dig into the history of executive pay, share eye-opening stats from AIG, and ask for your help with figuring out who gets paid what and how that's changed over time. Plus, submit your insurance grievance ...
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 a...
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.
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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 hindere...
Noncompete Agreements: How the FTC's Rule Change Impac...
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 ...
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.
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 meredith@insurancevshistory.com
Tip me! See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the way...
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.
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, ...
Three years ago, when I started thinking about making a podcast about insurance and history, I had only one topic in mind: slavery. It took three years of reading and researching before I was ready to share it with you, but this episode represents part one of a three-part series about insurance and slavery—an overview of the Atlantic Slave trade and how insurance contributed to and supported that trade. It's a ...
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 peop...
How can insurance save a company from bankruptcy? How does litigation funding work? Why did a lawsuit about a famous wrestler's sex tape become a warning to journalists everywhere about the power of Silicon Valley?
Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I talk about a case called Bollea v Gawker, which involved Hulk Hogan's sex tape, and Gawker, one of the first big o...
Was King Hammurabi's Code the first written mention of insurance? How did insurance come to be, after all? And how does history change over time?
Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I talk about King Hammurabi's Code, often considered to be the first legal code ever written and the first written mention of insurance. But is that really the case? Join me to find out...
Insurance vs The Mystery of Helen Brach and Horse Insurance Fraud
How did the disappearance of a candy heiress result in the discovery of an insurance fraud ring? And were people hiring someone to murder their horses?
Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I tackle the true crime story of Helen Brach, and how the investigation into her disappearan...
How has the NRA impacted insurance? And why are insurers being asked to regulate the gun industry?
Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I try and tackle the NRA's impact on the insurance industry, as well as discuss a new wrinkle in the discussion of gun safety: asking the insurance industry to take a regulatory role.
Sources and Links:
Note: This is only a selection. There was a LOT here, and I read a lot ...
Is Double Indemnity the best insurance movie ever? Is double indemnity even a real thing?
Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I discuss the movie Double Indemnity starring Fred McMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G Robinson, and the concept of double indemnity in the insurance industry.
Sources and Links:
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