On Point
On Point was born in the immediate aftermath of the attacks of 9/11, when the country was looking for answers and impatient with old certitudes. We still carry that urgency today: to test, challenge and probe.
Episodes
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The Jackpod: We're going back
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the historic eras the U.S. could return to if Donald Trump’s various campaign policies are enacted.
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The Jackpod: 'Fed ... on fantasies'
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the political power of fantasy over reality and its role in Trumpian politics in the U.S.
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The Jackpod: Reality bites
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty draws a line from Donald Trump’s appearance as a savvy businessman on The Apprentice to his belief in tariffs as a powerful tool to benefit the U.S. economy and even prevent war.
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The Jackpod: You’re too honest
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the moments in the vice presidential debate when Republican candidate JD Vance contradicted the evidence of his own track record with misrepresentations and obliquities.
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Is extreme heat an extreme disaster?
Phoenix, Arizona has crossed a troubling milestone. More than one hundred days of temperatures over 100 degrees. Across the country, extreme heat kills more Americans than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. So why don’t we label is a disaster?
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Killing barred owls to save northern spotted owls: Rethinking American wildlife conservation
The Barred Owl is considered “invasive” in the Pacific Northwest and it’s pushing the Northern Spotted Owl to extinction. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a plan -- kill nearly half a million Barred Owls over the next 30 years.
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The Jackpod: Not going back
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the meaning of Kamala Harris’ rallying cry at the Democratic National Convention and four themes he observed.
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Inside the wrongful conviction of Ben Spencer
No witnesses. No physical evidence. An ironclad alibi. Nevertheless, a Texas jury sentenced Ben Spencer to life in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Journalist and author Barbara Bradley Hagerty shares what it took to set Spencer free.
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The Jackpod: From June 6, 1944 to January 6, 2021 -- How did America get here?
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty traces how the politics of revenge triumphed over the politics of remedy in the years between D-Day and the attack on the U.S. Congress. This special episode was recorded in front of a live audience at WBUR CitySpace.
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The Jackpod: Naked to mine enemies
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on Joe Biden’s display of frailty in his old age at the CNN debate and what that could mean for his campaign for a second term in the Oval Office.
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The Jackpod: Stop it now, Joe
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty lays out the ways that President Biden’s Gaza policy has been, what New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof calls, “a moral, practical and political failure.”
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Why the ancient philosophy of stoicism is having a modern revival
The Greco-Roman philosophy of stoicism is having a moment. Through wisdom, temperance, courage and justice you can create a virtuous, well-lived life. But have modern day stoics got it right?