Short Circuit 268 | God and Man at Harvard and Yale
Podcast (short-circuit): Play in new window | Download
Who ever said insurance isn’t interesting? Certainly not the Eleventh Circuit, and certainly not IJ’s Ben Field. He tells us a harrowing story of a church—a church of all places!—which weathers two acts of God (hurricanes) while taking insurance contracts and kicking insurances claims (actually, the insurance company kicked the claims). Ben weaves together the competing views of contract interpretation as personified by Harvard’s Samuel Williston and Yale’s Arthur Corbin to explain how the court ended up where it did. We even delve into the Gospel of John for inspiration. Then, in slightly less theological matters than contractual interpretation, we look at what the Fifth Circuit cooked up when it comes to free speech. Whether you’re a veggie burger connoisseur or not, you’ll want to hear about Louisiana’s attempt to stymie the labeling of meatless meat such as Tofurky. IJ’s Betsy Sanz tells us why the court did not find the law unconstitutional, but also why that means the law might not end up doing very much.
Recent Episodes
Short Circuit 449 | Supreme Court Preview
Our annual Supreme Court term preview, this year from Wake Forest Law and released today, First Monday, the first day of the Supreme Court’s new […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 448 | Are Prediction Markets Legal?
We’ve all seen the ads for prediction markets, like Kalshi, and some of us have even placed bets with them. But are they actually “bets”? […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 447 | How Constitutional Are Your Claims?
We focus on a district court case that has appellate court explanatory power. As our special guest Professor Robert Steinbuch says, if you reside in […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 446 | SWAT Teams at the Supreme Court
Say a gaggle of police with military-grade toys fire a boatload of tear gas into a home and then run in and break a bunch […]
Listen Now