New Episodes Each Month

Hosted by Dean Blake Hudson, Cumberland Research Radio provides short but insightful glimpses into the exciting scholarly work of Cumberland School of Law faculty, alumni, and friends.

The Cumberland School of Law community possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience and have a passion for sharing it. Did you know that a person can be legally dead in one state, transported across state lines, and legally resurrected in another state—with important implications for trusts and estates law? Did you know that Mark Twain may have run afoul of common law copyright when he wrote a short story based upon an oral slave narrative? These are just a few of the many interesting topics our faculty are exploring.

But our program expands beyond the Cumberland School of Law faculty and alumni to discuss important and interesting research topics with academic faculty and practitioners around the nation and the world.

New episodes are available on the first Wednesday of every month and can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Should Federal Anti-Kickback Laws Apply to Private Health Insurance Providers?
December 1, 2023

Currently the primary federal anti-kickback statute, which helps combat health insurance fraud, only applies when kickbacks are given for services provided by government health insurance plans like Medicare and Medicaid. Cumberland School of Law’s Chinelo Dike-Minor discusses why these consumer protections should be extended to private health insurance programs.

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Did Mark Twain Violate Former Slave Mary Ann Cord’s Common Law Copyright Protections?
November 7, 2023

Former slave Mary Ann Cord recounted an oral history to Mark Twain about her tragic experiences while enslaved. Twain subsequently published A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It. But Cord never received any credit for the work, nor a dime of the proceeds from the sale of the book. Through the lens of common law copyright law, Cumberland School of Law’s Tim McFarlin takes a close look at whether Cord should have been considered a co-author of Twain’s book, entitling her (and her heirs) to both credit and compensation.

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How Creepy Quirks of State Law Affect Trust and Estate Law
November 7, 2023

Did you know that you can be dead in one state but alive in another? Cumberland School of Law's Professor Alyssa DiRusso talks about how this creepy quirk of state law affect trust and estate law, such as when property can be handed down at one's death.

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