Join left-right and center host Bob Shear for his new podcast, Shear Intelligence.

The twice-monthly podcast features thinkers and trendsetters in conversation with one of political journalism's leading voices.

Through the show's unique and sometimes surprising perspectives, you'll get up to speed on the current issues, shaping the Beltway and the world.

Find sheer intelligence on KCRW's iTunes page.

From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

The Year in Talking Point.

Hello again, I'm Armin Al-Ne, and this is a special year-end edition of To the Point from

Public Radio International. Every day on our program, we bring you a talking point on an

issue or an event that's helping to define the national conversation, even if it's not leading the news.

Today, a collection of our favorites.

We'll hear a report on how easy it is to build an assault rifle the government can't trace,

an argument for why the Middle East needs a sexual revolution.

We'll talk with a civil rights lawyer trying to memorialize every lynching perpetrated on American soil.

I'll ask National Book Award winner Tanahazi Coates to make the case for reparations.

We'll also listen to some Motown with biographer David Marinus, who's documented the rise and fall of Detroit.

First, here's the news.

Listen to KCRW's 24-hour all-news channel.

Stream BBC World Service, NPR and KCRW programs.

Continuous coverage and accessible via our smartphone app or online at kCRW.com.

Support for To the Point comes from the members of KCRW and from the Public Radio International Program Fund.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, back with this year-end edition of To the Point.

That's the sound of Andy Greenberg firing a 10-round magazine using the ghost gun he made in his office at Wired magazine.

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