Avery Trufelman is the New York-based radio producer behind Articles of Interest, a fashion podcast that has non-fashion people gripped in their millions

Did you know that the zipper only came about because a Swedish-born engineer named Gideon Sundback fell in love with a factory owner’s daughter? Or that it took longer for it to be developed than it took for the Wright brothers to invent the aeroplane? You probably know that pockets have become a symbol of gender privilege – but were you aware that in the 18th century, women’s pockets were big enough to hold tools for writing, a small diary and a snack for later? Perhaps most surprising is that layering, which has made Uniqlo one of the biggest brands in the world, was in effect invented in the 1940s by a man named Georges Doriot, who was also famous for inventing venture capital.

All these nuggets and more are included in Articles of Interest, a podcast by 34-year-old Avery Trufelman. Listeners tune in for the smarts but also her disarming sense of fun. Not to mention her low, husky voice, which seems made for podcasting. “I don’t take care of it, if that’s what you’re asking,” she says over video call from her apartment in New York.

More than 50 organisations report sites being restricted or removed, with abortion hotlines blocked and posts showing non-explicit nudity triggering warnings

Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks in what campaigners call one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on its platforms in years.

The takedowns and restrictions began in October and targeted the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts of more than 50 organisations worldwide, some serving tens of thousands of people – in what appears to be a growing push by Meta to limit reproductive health and queer content across its platforms. Many of these were from Europe and the UK, however the bans also affected groups serving women in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

We’d like to know more about your how much your pets feature in your life during the festive period

We’d like to find out more about you and your pets at Christmas.

Do you spend more on buying Christmas gifts for your pets than your family and friends? Or do you skip party plans altogether to stay with your animal companion?

Singer told Jimmy Fallon that ‘the ink is not dry’ on a deal but the prospect of a stage version of her critically acclaimed album was ‘very exciting’

Lily Allen has said she is in discussions over adapting her hit album West End Girl into a play, possibly for the West End itself.

Speaking on The Tonight Show in the US, host Jimmy Fallon said: “In London, they’re trying to make West End Girl into a play.”

Weaker-than-forecast quarterly data for Larry Ellison’s tech company shows slowdown in revenue growth and big rise in spending

• Business live – latest updates

Oracle ’s shares tumbled 15% on Thursday in response to the company’s quarterly financial results, disclosed the day before.

The business software company, co-founded by Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison, saw roughly $80bn vanish from its value, falling from $630bn to $550bn in market capitalization and fuelling fears of a bubble in artificial intelligence-related stocks. Shares of chipmaker Nvidia, seen as a bellwether for the AI boom, fell after Oracle’s.

Exclusive: Use of toxic plastic beads in treatment works is unnecessary and outdated say conservationists after hundreds of millions wash up on beach

The use of tiny, toxic plastic beads at sewage works should be banned nationwide, an MP and wildlife experts have said after a devastating spill at an internationally important nature reserve.

Hundreds of millions of “biobeads” washed up on Camber Sands beach in East Sussex last month, after a failure at a Southern Water sewage treatment works caused a catastrophic spill. This caused distress and alarm for local residents and conservationists, as not only are the beads unsightly, but they pose a deadly threat to wildlife.

The Free Birth Society (FBS) is a multimillion-dollar business that promotes an extreme version of free birth, meaning women giving birth without medical assistance. The Guardian can now reveal that the organisation has been linked to dozens of cases of maternal harm and baby deaths around the world. After a year-long investigation, Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne explain why some women they interviewed found FBS’s views so appealing, and why medical professionals say their claims about birth are dangerous

• The Birth Keepers: I choose this – episode one

Government lost Lords vote on employment rights bill by 24 votes, just hours after the creation of 25 new Labour peers

Good morning. Yesterday Keir Starmer announced the creation of 25 Labour new peers. About an hour or so later, the government lost an important vote on the employment rights bill – by 24 votes.

The defeat was unexpected, because the government because already announced a significant U-turn on the bill, as part a compromise deal negotiated with business and unions intended to ensure the legislation clears the Lords quickly. What is going to happen next is not yet clear.

Flagship workers’ rights reforms face a further holdup as peers inflicted a defeat over a late change linked to the government concession on unfair dismissal that has been branded “a job destroyer”.

The latest setback means a continuation of the parliamentary tussle over the employment rights bill known as “ping-pong”, when legislation is batted between the Commons and Lords until agreement is reached.

Continuing to vote down the employment rights bill – a clear manifesto commitment – is undemocratic. This bill has been debated and scrutinised for months. Tory Peers are actively defying the will of the British public and their own supporters who overwhelmingly support measures in this bill.

The behaviour of the House of Lords can no longer be seen as constructive scrutiny and increasingly looks like cynical wrecking tactics that risk a constitutional crisis if they continue.

Further delay is in nobody’s interests and only prolongs uncertainty, the bill must pass before Christmas including lifting the caps on compensation.

US president says Europeans pushing for meeting as ‘Coalition of Willing’ due to hold call about war

In other news, we will also hear from Nobel peace prize winner María Corina Machado later today, as she arrived in Oslo overnight after a truly incredible trip from Venezuela.

The Wall Street Journal reported on the details of the operation to get her out of the country and over to Norway, describing how she “ slipped through 10 military checkpoints to reach a fishing boat bound for Curaçao and a private jet headed to Norway, ” where she met members of her family for the first time in almost two years.