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“Easy returns” are an essential part of the online shopping experience. But 20-30 percent of online purchases get sent “back,” which is to say, they then enter the labyrinth of third-party return facilities, destined for re-evaluation, restocking—or possibly, the garbage.

Guest: Amanda Mull, staff writer at The Atlantic.

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Going through airport security is a legal requirement. Is it fair for a private company to interject itself in that process—and cut to the front of the line?

Guest: David Zipper, visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, focused on mobility, cities and technology.

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On this week’s episode of The Waves, why can’t the feminists all get along? Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth is joined by Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR political correspondent and author of the Substack, This F**king Job. They dig into what went wrong with Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In, why it wasn’t all completely wrong, and how to stop giving anti-feminists the ammo they need to attack.   

In Slate Plus: We’re talking May December! 

If you liked this episode, check out: We See Dead Girls

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected].

Clips Used:

“Sheryl Sandberg: Women Must Learn to ‘Lean In’” - ABC News

“I bought the book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg” - Sarah Tollemache

“Girl boss culture gotta go” - Rachel Turner 

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In recent years, several states and localities have passed “crown” laws, statutes that keep employers from discriminating against African Amercans for wearing their hair in natural styles. That’s because, historically, having straight hair has often been a requirement for professional advancement for Black women in particular. But there is more science emerging that connects chemical relaxers with cancer. In today’s episode of A Word, reporter and cancer survivor Victoria St. Martin speaks with host Jason Johnson about the dangers of formaldehyde in hair relaxers, the history of marketing toxic cosmetics to African Americans, and consumer efforts to raise awareness.

Guest: Victoria St. Martin, Inside Climate News reporter 

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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Earlier this week, the Texas Supreme Court said Kate Cox couldn’t have an abortion.Cox’s doctors had diagnosed the fetus with Trisomy 18, an almost certainly fatal genetic condition. On top of that, there were concerns about whether or not Cox would be able to have children again in the future if she continued with this pregnancy. None of this was enough for nine judges in Texas to allow Cox to have an abortion.

Cox’s story isn’t unique. Amanda Zurawski almost died after a Texas court said she couldn’t have an abortion. Today, she’s the lead plaintiff in Zurawski v. State of Texas. She joins Amicus this week to show the real, human effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Zurawski is joined by one of the lawyers representing her in the case, Jamie Levitt.

In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern talks about another made-up case that this time, won’t make it to SCOTUS. 

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This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers speculate on the Federal Reserve’s surprising new interest rates, whether Starbucks’ store closings are anti-union, and the financial machinations of Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani. In the Plus segment, Felix and Emily hash it out over the usefulness of the UN’s climate change conference. 

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work.

Podcast production by Jared Downing.

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Fast-fashion titan Shein is preparing for its initial public offering, even as questions of sustainability and labor practices linger. 

Guest: Jordyn Holman, business reporter covering the retail industry and consumerism for The New York Times

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the free-speech controversies that are roiling college campuses since the war in Gaza began; the questions related to Trump cases that the U.S. Supreme Court will answer; and the latest high-profile abortion case coming out of Texas that has real-life and political consequences. 

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Hannah Natanson and Susan Svrluga for The Washington Post: Harvard President Claudine Gay to remain after antisemitism testimony

Michelle Goldberg for The New York Times: At a Hearing on Israel, University Presidents Walked Into a Trap

Elad Simchayoff @Elad_Si on X 

Danielle Allen for The Washington Post: We’ve lost our way on campus. Here’s how we can find our way back.

David French for The New York Times: What the University Presidents Got Right and Wrong About Antisemitic Speech

Santul Nerkar and Jonah E. Bromwich for The New York Times: How the Israel-Hamas War Tore Apart Public Defenders in the Bronx

Michael Barbaro and Nicholas Confessore for The Daily: Antisemitism and Free Speech Collide on Campuses

Zah Montague and Tracey Tully for The New York Times: Education Dept. Is Investigating Six More Colleges Over Campus Discrimination

Mark Sherman and Eric Tucker for AP: Special counsel Jack Smith asks the Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted and Mark Sherman: Supreme Court will hear a case that could undo Capitol riot charge against hundreds, including Trump

Bob Dylan on YouTube: Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind (Official Audio)

Robert Legare and Robert Costa for CBS News: Investigators accessed Trump White House cellphone records and plan to use them at trial, special counsel says

Sabrina Tavernise for The Daily: The Woman Who Fought the Texas Abortion Ban

Carter Sherman for The Guardian: US abortion rates rise post-Roe amid deep divide in state-by-state access

Kate Zernike for The New York Times: Texas Judge Says Doctors Can Use ‘Good Faith Judgment’ in Providing Abortions

Here are this week’s chatters: 

John: One Line A Day: A Five-Year Memory Book and James Barron for The New York Times: Bob Dylan Sings, and Talks, on These Tapes From 62 Years Ago 

Emily: Sydney Lupkin and Danielle Kurtzleben on All Things Considered: The Supreme Court will decide the fate of abortion pill mifepristone

David: Paul Schwartzman for The Washington Post: With sports teams primed for move to Va., downtown D.C. frets its future and City Cast: Work with us.

Listener chatter from Margaret in Jersey City: Chair Watch on Facebook

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk about Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night?by Emily Badger, Ben Blatt, and Josh Katz for The New York Times and Why pedestrian deaths in the US are at a 40-year high by Marin Cogan for Vox. See also Political Gabfest: “The World Is Burning” Edition and Vision and night driving abilities of elderly driversby Nicole Gruber, Urs P Mosimann, René M Müri, and Tobias Nef.

In the next Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth 

Research by Julie Huygen

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Kate Cox’s fight to abort her pregnancy and save her fertility in Texas says a lot about America’s post-Roe, fractured approach to reproductive rights.

Guest: Selena Simmons-Duffin, health policy correspondent at NPR.

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Over 100 hostages being held by Hamas were released during the temporary ceasefire last month. But Sagui Dekel-Chen, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was not among them. With Gaza under bombardment again, all his father can do is plead with the Israeli government, and wait.

Guest: Jonathan Dekel-Chen, professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, father of Sagui Dekel-Chen, who is presumed to be one of the hostages held by Hamas.

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