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Best of '16: End Period Shaming, Hip Hop & Grey Poupon, & Burglar's Guide to the City

The end of the year is a time for reflection, celebration, and for media outlets Best-of Lists and we are no exception. All this week, we’re presenting our favorite stories and interviews of 2016. Today we revisit a conversation with a music critic about how hip hop artists shaped the protest songs of 2016.

Then, an interview that made it to the top of many of our lists, all about a growing movement to get over the shame and secrecy around menstruation.

Plus, a design critic looks at cities through the eyes of a burglar.

All this week, we're revisiting some of the team's favorite segments from the past year. Read some of the reasons why they were chosen below. 

End Period Shaming

"It was an awesome interview, but more importantly, it brought up a lot of points we think are very relevant. And it’s something that more than half the world’s population deals with, and certainly less than half the world’s population thinks about."

-Molly

"We talked about this in our pod probably the longest we’ve ever talked about a script when we were prepping this. So many things were brought up that we weren’t aware of and I feel like the men in our group were really surprised to hear a lot of it too. It really helped put a fine point on the struggles that women have not just in this country, but all over the world, with their period and it's something they deal with every month." 

-Logan

When you think of luxury items you probably think of products like jewelry, cosmetics, cologne. These items are often subject to a luxury sales tax because they are not considered a necessity.  In most states, tampons and pads are also taxed, because they're not necessities either.

Surprised? You're not alone. In January of this year, twenty-four year old YouTube star Ingrid Nilsen asked President Obama about the tax during an interview.

Abigail Jonesis senior writer at Newsweek, where we found her cover story"The Fight to End Period Shaming is Going Mainstream."

Listen to this segment again at this link

Sounds of Protest

 "What I really like about this segment is, it’s a sort of Word of Mouth segment we just love to do, where we take what’s happening in the world, what’s going on currently and applying a historical lens to it. A lot has changed since we aired this segment."

-Maureen

We spoke with Justin Charitya staff writer with Complex magazine about what protest sounds like in 2016.  

Listen to this segment again at this link.

Hip Hop & Grey Poupon

"I don’t want to give away too much with my pick, but if you get to play Jay-Z and Outkast on New Hampshire Public Radio, I’m all about that."

-Jimmy

The famous 1981 commercial brought luxury, class and a memorable catch-phrase to Grey Poupon. A decade later, the bougie mustard found an unexpected audience - hip hop. Brooklyn-based Das EFX made what is likely the first Grey Poupon reference in hip-hop in 1992. And that was just the beginning. Estelle Caswelltracked just how often the condiment comes up in songs. She put together aninteractive article and video forVoxshowing just how much Grey Poupon has spread out in hip-hop.  

Listen to this segment again at this link

Burglar's Guide to the City

"This segment looks at architecture and urban landscapes, and it looks at it from a very specific perspective that’s different than you probably have and it’s just really fascinating."

-Taylor

It’s the detective’s dictum: to catch a thief, think like a thief. To prevent a crime, you have to case a joint like a potential infiltrator. Look for the weak spots - the air shafts, sewer tunnels, the exposed walls and rooftops that become scenes of crimes - and getaways. Which means you have to think like an architect.

That’s one tactic, anyway, played out with a mad scientist’s delight by Geoff Manaugh in A Burglar's Guide To The City. The book gives us a pair of x-ray glasses - presenting the built environment through the eyes of former bank robbers, cops, FBI agents, and panic room builders, along with the mechanics of some historic heists. Manaugh is also author of BLDGBLOG  

Listen to this segment again at this link

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