Special Episode: Alev Scott & Cash Cow

Social media ads for egg freezing. A craigslist-like site for breast milk. Fertility fairs featuring IVF clinics alongside shamanic nutritionists. Surrogacy contracts offering a discount for multiple embryos. The rapidly-growing global fertility industry promises hope, fulfillment, and control, as long as you can afford it. Participating in this industry can be empowering. All parts of reproduction are commodified these days, so why not use your free will to take advantage of that, whether through selling breast milk or freezing your eggs? But the global fertility industry is also blatantly exploitative, preying on those who are desperate and vulnerable in order to maximize profits. In Cash Cow: How the Maternal Body Became a Global Commodity - and the Hidden Costs for Women, author and journalist Alev Scott explores that blurred line between empowerment and exploitation in this globally varied industry. Her reporting takes her through the underbelly of the breast milk market, the complicated world of fertility tourism, and the legal and emotional turmoil of surrogacy. As she describes, the morality, legality, and expenses of different procedures are a moving target across the globe, reflecting the struggle to attach moral judgment when science and circumstances change so rapidly. Tune in for a truly fascinating conversation.

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Jaksot(304)

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Shortly after birth, many newborns are given vitamin K to help their blood clot properly and reduce the chances of hemorrhage. Increasingly, especially here in the US, parents are refusing this life-s...

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Ep 221 Electroconvulsive Therapy Part 2: A current conversation

This week, we’re picking up where we left off last episode in our exploration of ECT by examining how this therapy is administered, which conditions it’s used for, and what we know about why it works....

8 Syys 58min

Ep 220 Electroconvulsive Therapy Part 1: A charged history

For many, a mention of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) conjures images of torture or mind control from popular media like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or Requiem for a Dream. Comparatively few know...

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Special Episode: Clayton Page Aldern & The Weight of Nature

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25 Elo 44min

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Few spiders hold the dubious honor of name recognition among the general public. Most that do, like black widows, Australian funnel-web, the Goliath birdeater, are renowned not for their cute colors o...

18 Elo 58min

Special Episode: Deborah Cohen & Bad Influence

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11 Elo 51min

Ep 218 The Lowdown on Statins

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4 Elo 1h 10min