How We Value Life: The 9/11 Victim Fund (with Ken Feinberg)

This week on the Stay Tuned with Preet podcast, renowned mediator Ken Feinberg, known for his role as Special Master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, joins Preet to discuss the new edition of his book, What is Life Worth? Reflections 25 Years After 9/11. Feinberg breaks down the central question in his new edition, whether the United States could deal with a catastrophe so effectively today, as he compares the country’s political climate in 2001 to today’s. Preet and Feinberg then discuss the moral dilemma that comes with deciding what someone’s life is worth and whether there are other tragedies that merit taxpayer funded victim compensation funds, like gun violence. Throughout their conversation, Feinberg shares some of the stories he heard from victims and why the emotional aspect of his job was the hardest part of it. Finally, they talk about their careers and why Feinberg believes planning ahead doesn’t always work. In the bonus for Insiders, Preet and Feinberg discuss Congress’s response to the 9/11 Fund and who opposed it. Join the Insider community for access to bonus content from Stay Tuned and weekly episodes of the Insider podcast hosted by Preet and Joyce Vance. Visit staytuned.substack.com to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work. Photo by Spencer Platt via Getty Images Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website. Watch this episode on our Youtube channel. Shop Stay Tuned merch and featured books by our guests in our Amazon storefront. Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices