About this episode
KATY IS BACK! And we are proud to report that her new baby no longer looks like far-right French politician Éric Zemmour. Relief all around!
It’s been a hectic time in Europe, but we’re happy to be covering it all—or, you know, a sizable sliver of it—starting with Latvia’s potential withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and the European Parliament’s call for new regulation of algorithmic tech in the workplace. Algorithmic management has made its way into all sorts of industries; we dig into whether or not that’s a good thing and how new legislation might help to protect us all.
Then it’s off to Paris, where tens of thousands of shoppers have already flooded the aisles of the new brick-and-mortar Shein store and thousands of others have been protesting its very existence. That’s not only because of Shein’s environmentally toxic business model but because of the recent appearance of some despicable products on its website—which has led the French government to threaten to ban the fast-fashion giant. To break it all down, we rang up Paris-based fashion journalist Dana Thomas, author of the book Fashionopolis and host of the podcast The Green Dream.
Mentioned in this episode:
‘“Cynical and completely reckless” Latvia has the highest femicide rate in Europe — including Russia. Its parliament just voted to exit a treaty protecting women from violence.’ - Meduza, November 4, 2025
EU study: 37% of employees are monitored for working hours
1 in 4 workplaces make decisions with algorithms
Case studies in algorithmic management
Dana’s book Fashionopolis
Dana’s newsletter, The Style Files
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations are the Rosalía album Lux and
