The Jackpod: Follow the frogs
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on Donald Trump’s musings about being president for a third term and what paths might exist for that to happen.
Apr 03, 2025•41 min
On Point | Podcast
Hosted by Meghna Chakrabarti, On Point is a unique, curiosity-driven combination of original reporting, newsmaker interviews, first-person stories, and in-depth analysis, making the world more intelligible and humane. When the world is more complicated than ever, we aim to make sense of it together. On Point is produced by WBUR.
Episodes
How the mariner shortage could impact maritime security
The merchant marines are sometimes referred to as the "fourth arm of national defense." So what does a shortage mean for American security?
Apr 03, 2025•47 min
'I thought I was doing something good': The scam that took Judith Boivin's life savings
Rebroadcast: Judith Boivin thought she was helping the FBI go after drug traffickers. But in reality she had fallen victim to an elaborate plot to rob her of her retirement savings. She is not alone. How elaborate new scams are trapping well-meaning Americans.
Apr 02, 2025•42 min
'The federal workforce feels tormented': Federal employees on the consequences of losing their jobs
They used to work in now-shuttered regional social security offices, or protecting our National Parks or nuclear security. Then President Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE terminated their positions -- and thousands more.
Apr 01, 2025•41 min
What does China make of the chaos in the U.S.?
Escalating trade wars, disputes with allies, group chats with top U.S. officials' attack plans. What does the second Trump administration look like from China?
Mar 31, 2025•43 min
Banned from speaking in public, Afghan women tell us their stories
Dozens of Afghan women studying abroad are terrified of being sent back to Afghanistan if the State Department cancels their U.S.-funded scholarships. In this archive episode from September last year, Afghan women reveal what it's like to live under Taliban rule.
Mar 29, 2025•49 min
How to move from languishing to flourishing
Rebroadcast: Languishing. That feeling of a lack of motivation or direction. Most people feel a sense of languishing at some point in their lives. So how do we move from languishing to flourishing? Sociologist Corey Keyes has spent his career trying to find the answer.
Mar 28, 2025•42 min
The Jackpod: April Fool
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty looks ahead to April 2nd, what the Trump administration has dubbed Liberation Day, when an array of reciprocal tariffs go into effect.
Mar 27, 2025•38 min
America's gold fever
Conspiracy theorists believe more than $400 billion of gold is missing from Fort Knox. President Trump says he will visit Kentucky with Elon Musk to see if the gold is there. Some economists and historians say this tells us more about the economy in general than security of gold resources.
Mar 27, 2025•46 min
How Trump plans to get government out of the mortgage business
Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been under government conservatorship since 2008. President Trump wants to privatize them. But what could that mean for America's mortgage market?
Mar 26, 2025•47 min
The dirty truth about the global waste trade
Americans throw away more than 15 billion pounds of electronic waste every year. In his new book 'Waste Wars,' Alexander Clapp reveals how millions of pounds of our trash get shipped around the world, making a few people rich and many people sick.
Mar 25, 2025•44 min
The most powerful tech mogul you’ve never heard of
Masayoshi Son is pouring billions of dollars into U.S. artificial intelligence and flexing his ties to President Donald Trump. Who is this Japanese billionaire and what does he want?
Mar 24, 2025•44 min
The Jackpod: Outside the beltway
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on emerging angst and growing protests over the Trump administration, far from the centers of political power in Washington D.C.
Mar 20, 2025•41 min
Rethinking how dyslexia is diagnosed
Rebroadcast: Dyslexia affects one in every 5 Americans. But only 2 million are diagnosed and receive the help they need. Why?
Mar 20, 2025•43 min
What a polarized U.S. might learn from other countries in 'Another World is Possible'
Journalist Natasha Hakimi Zapata's book “Another World is Possible” explores what the U.S. could learn about ways to tackle issues such as inequality, health care and homelessness from innovative solutions deployed abroad.
Mar 20, 2025•47 min
What big changes inside the Pentagon could mean for U.S. national security
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to reshape the Pentagon. How the Trump administration is making sweeping changes to the U.S. armed services, just two months into its term.
Mar 19, 2025•47 min
A daughter, a father and a family's struggle with 'American Bulk'
In the U.S., shopping is almost a religion. For Emily Mester’s family, Costco was their Sunday ritual. In her new book, 'American Bulk,' Mester tells the story of how her family struggled with the desire to own everything they possibly could.
Mar 18, 2025•47 min
What the detention of Mahmoud Khalil reveals about free speech in the Trump era
The Trump White House is using Department of Homeland Security intelligence to identify pro-Palestinian college protesters. Courts have ruled that campus protests are protected by the First Amendment. But as the Trump administration seeks to punish speech it does not like, whose first amendment rights are next?
Mar 17, 2025•47 min
America's new Gilded Age
President Donald Trump declared America is entering a “Golden Age” on Inauguration Day. But as inequality grows, some historians say that the country is in a new Gilded Age.
Mar 14, 2025•47 min
The Jackpod: Strategic empathy
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty looks at the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine from Russian president Vladimir Putin’s perspective, as a ‘preventive war.’
Mar 14, 2025•39 min
What happened when AI went after welfare fraud
Artificial Intelligence algorithms are being used to decide who gets welfare benefits, and how much. Some experts say it’s leading to “devastating” cuts in benefits for those most in need.
Mar 13, 2025•47 min
The wonder of Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park
Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park was first designated a national monument a century ago. Even with climate change, Glacier Bay has a surprising story to tell about nature’s resilience.
Mar 12, 2025•47 min
Trump's 2017 tax cuts: Who's better off, who's not?
The House has passed a budget resolution, and a plan to extend President Trump's 2017 tax cuts. What’s known about the impact of those cuts on American taxpayers and the economy?
Mar 11, 2025•43 min
Federal judge Frederic Block on second chances -- and 'who deserves it'
In 1997, Walter Johnson was given five life sentences for robbery and drug offences. Decades later, he was released by the same judge who originally sentenced him. A conversation with that judge about the power of second chances.
Mar 10, 2025•48 min
Is NASCAR a monopoly?
Basketball legend Michael Jordan’s automotive racing team 23XI is suing NASCAR, alleging the organization is an illegal monopoly. The case could make waves across the entire sport.
Mar 07, 2025•46 min
The Jackpod: Where the roads lead
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the numerous ways Donald Trump has sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin since re-entering the White House.
Mar 07, 2025•41 min
Is Kash Patel a modern-day J. Edgar Hoover?
FBI Director Kash Patel wants to go after President Trump's enemies. That reminds some historians of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI's notorious first director. But some say Patel wants to weaponize the FBI so completely, even Hoover would disapprove.
Mar 06, 2025•47 min
Is education technology actually helping students learn?
From laptops to learning software, schools invest billions of dollars each year on education technology. But what do we really know about how effective that tech is in the classroom?
Mar 06, 2025•47 min
How the bond market could check Trump's power
Bond traders are worried about President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts – and the ever-growing national debt. Could the bond market be a check on Trump’s agenda?
Mar 04, 2025•47 min
A meltdown in the White House over Ukraine
An Oval Office meeting devolved into a televised shouting match Friday. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “gambling with World War III” and being ungrateful for U.S. aid. What this unprecedented moment means for the Ukraine war and the world.
Mar 03, 2025•47 min
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