It's Been a Minute Folgen

A newly available kind of genetic testing, called polygenic embryo screening, promises to screen for conditions that can include cancer, obesity, autism, bipolar disorder, even celiac disease. These conditions are informed by many genetic variants and environmental factors - so companies like Orchid and Heliospect assign risk scores to each embryo for a given condition. These tests are expensive, only available through IVF, and some researchers question how these risk scores are calculated. But what would it mean culturally if more people tried to screen out some of these conditions? And how does this connect to societal ideas about whose lives are meaningful? Brittany gets into it with Vardit Ravitsky, senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School and president of the Hastings Center, a non-partisan bioethics research center, and Katie Hasson, associate director of the Center for Genetics and Society, a nonprofit public affairs organization that advocates for responsible use of genetic technology.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Brittany keeps looking at a new couch online, and every time she goes to buy it she sees an option to "Buy Now, Pay Later," which made her wonder...should she? Here's what she found:Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans have become one of the go-to ways to get access to credit fast. Companies like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay make buying big purchases relatively easy by allowing people to pay in installments over time. But some Americans have taken to using this method for everyday items like groceries, and when BNPL service providers like Klarna partners with DoorDash so customers can "eat now, pay later"... it feels like a debt trap waiting to happen. And that's just scratching the surface.This... is Money Troubles.And for the past few weeks we've been looking into the ways everyday people are trying to make ends meet... and what it says about how our culture views labor, basic needs, or even our favorite pastimes.In this final episode, NPR Life Kit's Andee Tagle and author Malcolm Harris join Brittany to get into why Buy Now, Pay Later has become so popular and how 'cheap credit' may be another lifestyle subsidy for a new generation.You can hear more of Andee's and Life Kit's reporting on Buy Now, Pay Later here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Children's educator and YouTube star Ms. Rachel has used her social media to advocate for the safety of children all over the world - but when she used her platform to call attention to the plight of children in Gaza, she was accused of being paid by Hamas. This week, Brittany is joined by Defector managing editor Samer Kalaf and The Guardian's data editor Mona Chalabi to unpack why it's suddenly so controversial to advocate for kids.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy