Biography

Bethany McLean is a columnist for Slate and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. She joined Slate in October 2010 and Vanity Fair in July 2008 after spending thirteen years at Fortune, where she was an editor-at-large. In early 2001, McLean was one of the first reporters to raise questions about Enron, with her story Is Enron Overpriced? She and fellow Fortune senior writer Peter Elkind exposed the Enron scandal and wrote the national bestseller The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron, which went on to become an Oscar-nominated documentary.

McLean has also written in-depth pieces about the credit rating agencies, Goldman Sachs, President Clinton’s global philanthropy, Australia’s Macquarie Bank, and more. Before joining Fortune, she spent three years as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. She graduated from Williams College in 1992 with a double major in mathematics and English.

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Fracking and Environmental Justice

Author of Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It’s Changing the World, Bethany McLean shares her expertise on fracking with audiences. McLean shares her insights on the issues surrounding fracking as well as its causes and effects on other areas of our society – how low-interest rates are driving fracking, the shifting world of energy, and changing relationships between Russia and Europe. She discusses the issue of the development of fossil fuels not aligning with the math of the Paris climate accord, posing the question of what might be next for fossil fuels and how we can protect the environment in finding the answer.

Business Ethics

From her experience as an analyst at Goldman Sachs through her work at Fortune exposing the Enron scandal, Bethany McLean gives audiences a look into what it means for a business to be ethical. In her talks, she delves into the discrepancies between morality and illegality and offers insight into the corruption that occurs when the people at the top take on all of the reward and none of the risk. In these talks, McLean draws on her published works and her personal findings as a member of the business world.

The Financial Crisis (All the Devils Are Here)

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Government Regulation of Business

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Wall Street

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Print Journalism

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Enron (The Smartest Guys in the Room)

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Booksby Bethany McLean

All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis

The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World

Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants

Blog Posts

Embrace the Future: Unlock Your Career Potential with AI

Uncover expert insights from economic futurist Andrew Busch on using AI to transform your career and drive innovation in an ever-changing world.

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Embrace Your Authenticity and Lead Better Teams with Mike Robbins

Great teams aren’t built on talent alone—they’re built on trust, authenticity, and human connections. Learn more in our podcast episode with Mike Robbins.

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Unlock Your Creativity With Progress And Bold Ideas

Embrace creativity, progress, and bold risk-taking to unlock innovation and empower personal growth in this week's newsletter.

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How Businesses Can Use More Creative Thinking with Natalie Nixon

In this episode of The Keynote Curators Podcast, keynote speaker Natalie Nixon discusses her transformative approach to creative thinking in the workplace.

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Why Embracing Imperfection Is the True Path to Success

Learn why progress, not perfection, is the key to success through empowering insights on resilience, positivity, and personal growth.

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Become a Powerful Leader By Inspiring Others Through Your Actions

Executive coach and keynote speaker Amy Eliza Wong shares how she empowers leaders to transform everyday interactions into trust-building, impactful moments.

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Blog Posts

 

Embrace the Future: Unlock Your Career Potential with AI

What if your career could take off simply by exploring the latest AI tools? In...

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Embrace Your Authenticity and Lead Better Teams with Mike Robbins

Great teams aren’t built on talent alone—they’re built on trust, authenticity, and strong human connections....

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Unlock Your Creativity With Progress And Bold Ideas

"Creativity is intelligence having fun." – Albert Einstein Somewhere along the way, many of us...

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How Businesses Can Use More Creative Thinking with Natalie Nixon

Creative thinking isn’t just an extra skill—it’s the ultimate competitive edge. In today’s hyper-competitive business...

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Why Embracing Imperfection Is the True Path to Success

I used to think success meant having it all figured out. That if I just...

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Become a Powerful Leader By Inspiring Others Through Your Actions

What makes a leader truly exceptional beyond simply completing daily tasks? In a world where...

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