The Five: An oral history, a comedy classic, and a must-hear "Moon River"

Senior producer Stephanie Curtis offers five things to watch, read, listen to or experience each week. 

1) Take a walking tour.

Pay for an expert guide, use an app, or just follow an itinerary.   

2) Read this terrifying oral history

"I Couldn't Even Imagine That They Would Kill Us An Oral History of the Attacks Against the Students of Ayotzinapa" by John Gibler is a devastating recounting of a mass kidnapping. By layering first-person accounts, the book plunges you into the chaos the students and bystanders experienced. It's brief and terror-inducing. (H/t to the well-stocked shelves of Moon Palace Books.)

3) Watch "Nine to Five."

This comedy classic starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dolly Parton has lost none of its zing. In some ways, this is unfortunate, since Dabney Coleman's octopus-armed sleaze of a boss doesn't seem that far removed from a possible corporate lothario still working today. 

And that theme song!

4) "Watch Your Tone!"

Psychologist Rick Hanson argues that being tart is not just bad for the unfortunate souls on the receiving end of your rejoinders, it's bad for your ability to effectively communicate. 

People are more sensitive to tone than to the explicit content of spoken or written language. To paraphrase the poet Maya Angelou, people will forget what you said, but they'll remember how you made them feel. And we are particularly reactive to negative tone, due to the negativity bias in the brain.

5) Listen to this rendition of "Moon River"

Here's something sweet to counter a sour mood: 

"Moon River" performed by Petra Haden and Bill Frisell.