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Andrew McDermid

Andrew McDermid

Dr Andrew McDiarmid is a historian and SFI-IRC Pathway Fellow at University College Dublin specializing in the financial and cultural history of tontines in Britain and Ireland.

Jul 27, 2026

16:17
I think I did, but I wasn't quite sure of the details of it and how it functioned, really.
16:24
Okay.
16:25
Well, the reason I ask that is, today, usually, when you mention it, Tontine, either people haven't heard of it, or if they have heard of it, they have this idea that it incentivises murder in some way, or some kind of nefarious practices operate around a taunting.
16:44
And for me, that has to go back to its place in popular fiction.
16:50
There was an episode of The Simpsons in 1995, which is all about a taunting.
16:56
Mr Burns is at the centre of it, you won't be surprised to hear.
17:00
It goes back to his war days where his battalion find a lot of treasure or artworks and they put aside and they say the last survivor will inherit all these artworks.

17 MINS LATER

33:48
But is there any one story you think that has maybe emotionally resonated with you, just stuck with you throughout your research?

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