On The Gist, the free press.

Aretha Franklin has died at 76, and she was much more than a golden voice. Slate's Chris Molanphy recalls her talents at the piano and in the composition room, where she wrote timeless music and, with her covers, transformed songs from her own genre and beyond. (See "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Let It Be," and, of course, "Respect.") Molanphy is the host of the Slate podcast Hit Parade.

In the Spiel, the straw ban and balloons.

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