1A

Four years after the fall of Roe v. Wade upended federal protections for abortion access, abortion opponents have set their sights on a new target in the world of fertility: surrogacy.

A gestational surrogate is a woman who carries an embryo that was formed using the egg of another woman. Before the pregnancy, the surrogate also agrees to return the baby to its intended parents once born.

At its core, surrogacy is a contractual agreement. But because there’s no federal law regulating surrogacy agreements, it’s left up to state to decide how they can be enforced. That’s the issue at the heart of a high-profile legal dispute between an Alaska surrogate and a California couple.

Why are some abortion opponents looking to ban surrogacy? And could they succeed? And how does the patchwork of regulations that govern surrogacy agreements complicate the process?

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On Tuesday, August 25th, American country musician, philanthropist, and icon Dolly Parton died at the age of 80 in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Years before her death, she asked her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, to make a video announcing her passing. In the video posted to social media yesterday, he shared this exchange with his aunt:
 

“Dolly called me and said she wants to rest on a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable, and have some rest.”
 

In 2023, we celebrated the queen of rhinestone’s achievements and music here on 1A. Please enjoy this replay of that show in honor of Dolly Parton’s legacy. Here's what we wrote about that conversation at the time.

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Dolly Parton’s resume is as big as her hair. And at age 77 she’s adding another title to it: “Rockstar.”

Her new album was released on Nov. 17. It’s a mix of covers of classic rock songs, featuring collaborations with a whopping list of who’s who in Rock-n-Roll. And there are almost 30 tracks – give or take a few – depending on the version of the album that you buy. With 9 new singles, “Rockstar” is Dolly’s most significant foray into Rock and Roll music.

While Dolly has fully embraced a new “Rockstar” persona – down to the black studded outfits – glimmers of rockstar have existed in Dolly’s previous eras. And over the past fifty years, Dolly has won plenty of awards and accolades for her songwriting, becoming one of music’s most prolific songwriters.

Sit back and grab yourself a cup of ambition. For this edition of the 1A Record Club – Dolly Parton’s new album “Rockstar” and what her latest musical evolution represents.

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Throughout history, people have been fascinated by automation, technological progress, and how it can change our lives.

In 1956, General Motors made a film about the distant future of 1976, when cars would drive themselves with the help of traffic-control towers. In 1993, AT&T envisioned what sounds a lot like today’s smart home and smart watch technology.

Much of what the companies behind these advertisements promised has come true. The idea, running through all of it, was that technology will set you free. It will connect you. It will give you power over your own life. It will make things better.

We sit down to talk with historian Jill Lepore about whether or not that’s true.

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The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the deadliest in the country’s history.

With over 2,500 deaths and more than 5,000 confirmed cases, it’s now the second largest ever worldwide. And it’s spreading at record speed. It’s even outpacing the West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people between 2014 and 2016.

What do we know about why this outbreak is moving so quickly?

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Imagine that the U.S. isn’t a democracy. Instead, it;s run like a corporation. The nation’s leader acts as a CEO and always has the final say.

This would be a world of unchecked capitalism. It’s a world where countries are replaced with privately-owned startups, and technology renders democracy obsolete. It sounds like a setup to a dystopian sci-fi movie.

But it’s a world that some of the biggest leaders in the tech industry are trying to make a reality.

In this installment of “If You Can Keep It,” we dig into the motivations of America’s real-life tech billionaires, what they really want with our system of governance, and what it all means for us.

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