Some colleges receive tens of thousands of applications every year. Admissions officers are turning to Artificial Intelligence to help with the screening. What that could mean for who gets into college and how.
Sep 04, 2024•47 min
On Point’s “money ladies,” Michelle Singletary and Rana Foroohar, are back to answer your questions about housing, inflation, the lingering impact of COVID and more.
Sep 03, 2024•47 min
Some estimates say artificial intelligence could replace hundreds of millions of jobs in the not-too-distant future. Why the rapid advances in AI may be the best argument yet for universal basic income.
Sep 02, 2024•47 min
Rebroadcast: The United States has set ambitious goals to transition to clean energy. We’ll need more mining to do it. But given the environmental, political, and human costs of accelerating mineral mining, can the United States meet its climate targets?
Aug 30, 2024•47 min
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the potency of humiliation in politics today.
Aug 30, 2024•37 min
Rebroadcast: To electrify our economy, the world needs more nickel. Indonesia has plenty and hopes it can pave the road to prosperity. How the rush for metals is shaking up global geopolitics.
Aug 29, 2024•48 min
Rebroadcast: Most of the world’s cobalt is extracted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But to get it, hundreds of thousands of Congolese people labor with no other means to survive. On episode three of On Point’s special series -- cobalt and the human cost of mining.
Aug 28, 2024•47 min
Rebroadcast: Copper is key to our green energy future, but copper extraction is deeply harmful to the environment now. Episode two of On Point’s special series “Elements of energy” explores how to resolve that contradiction.
Aug 27, 2024•47 min
Rebroadcast: The U.S. sits on some of the largest lithium reserves in the world. It’s a key element for clean energy. The first episode of On Point’s weeklong exploration “Elements of energy” takes us inside America’s push for a lithium boom.
Aug 26, 2024•47 min
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the meaning of Kamala Harris’ rallying cry at the Democratic National Convention and four themes he observed.
Aug 24, 2024•37 min
Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. The first Black woman to do so. Thursday night she gave the biggest speech of her life. How did she do?
Aug 23, 2024•47 min
Democrats have a 2024 policy platform, covering topics like the economy and immigration. But they wrote it when Joe Biden was the nominee. What do the Democrats stand for with Kamala Harris out front?
Aug 22, 2024•47 min
VP candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz hail from Midwestern states. Both use that identity to try and appeal to voters. Who will Midwesterners decide has it right?
Aug 21, 2024•47 min
Last week, Boston Red Sox player Jarren Duran was suspended for two games after responding to a heckling fan with a homophobic slur. Men’s pro sports have a rocky history with LGBTQ issues, and although teams are trying, some question whether it’s enough.
Aug 20, 2024•47 min
For three years, hundreds of people in Texas and Illinois received payments of $1,000 a month, no strings attached. It was the biggest study of its kind. And after eight years of research – the results are in. What did we learn?
Aug 19, 2024•47 min
The topline numbers about the U.S. economy don’t seem to match what millions of Americans are feeling. Which information is right?
Aug 19, 2024•47 min
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on Donald Trump’s propensity for lies and falsehoods, and their connection to the power he has over his followers.
Aug 17, 2024•45 min
On Point and ProPublica are launching a new collaboration, bringing you monthly special episodes that combine ProPublica’s groundbreaking investigative reporting with On Point’s incisive analysis. In the first episode: The world is awash in plastic waste. Oil companies claim to have a solution, an advanced form of chemical recycling. But can it deliver on its promise?
Aug 16, 2024•47 min
Disabled and sunk ships. Frightened sailors. Not because of sharks – but because of whales and orca. Scientists seeing an increase in unexpected large marine mammal interactions. Why?
Aug 15, 2024•47 min
Companies track your data online. So it's no surprise that they know a lot about your habits and preferences. Now, they're trying to use that data to offer different prices to different customers, for the same items.
Aug 14, 2024•47 min
It's been a month since the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The Secret Service is finally, publicly accepting responsibility. But what decisions and lack of resources led to the failure?
Aug 13, 2024•48 min
Hot flashes. Brain fog. Sleep problems. Millions of women go through menopause each year. But what’s happening in the brain during this life transition? Lisa Mosconi joins Meghna Chakrabarti.
Aug 12, 2024•47 min
This week, a federal judge issued a ruling that could shake up how we use the internet. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google has illegally used its dominance to stifle competition and quash innovation. Back in October, we undertook a detailed examination of the case, known as U.S. v. Google, with Tim Wu , an expert on monopolies....
Aug 11, 2024•49 min
Meghna Chakrabarti and On Point senior editor Dorey Scheimer do their best knowing even together, they are not one Jack Beatty. They take your messages and questions about President Biden's decision to drop out and the new state of the 2024 presidential race.
Aug 11, 2024•25 min
More than 30 years ago, sociologist James Davison Hunter coined the term "culture wars." Since then, those wars have poisoned American politics. Today, Hunter says cultural resources that create a sense of national solidarity could end America's culture wars. But what exactly are cultural resources? And can they be renewed?
Aug 09, 2024•47 min
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.
Aug 08, 2024•47 min
The last time Congress passed a law to protect children on the internet was 26 years ago. That’s before Facebook or the iPhone was even created. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree regulation is long overdue. It’s the 'how' that’s the question.
Aug 07, 2024•47 min
More than a quarter of young Americans have cut ties with one of their parents. Sometimes on the advice of therapists, who say families are traumatizing. But some families say they’re the ones being traumatized. We discuss the debate over family estrangement.
Aug 06, 2024•47 min
High housing costs are pushing more Americans to find roommates, including baby boomers and empty nesters. We take a look at the growing trend of intergenerational living.
Aug 05, 2024•47 min
Anti-tourism protests spread around the world this summer. Some cities are charging tourist entry fees, banning cruise ships or imposing fines for bad behavior. Some say the solution to the world’s growing wanderlust isn‘t for people to travel less but to travel better.
Aug 02, 2024•47 min