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.

Website : https://www.wbur.org/radio/programs/onpoint

RSS Feed : https://rss.wbur.org/onpoint/podcast  

Last Episode : September 17, 2025 6:00pm

Last Scanned : 3.5 hours ago

Episodes

Episodes currently hosted on IPFS.

What to know as the student loan industry becomes more privatized
Confirmed 3
Congress has overhauled the federal student loan system, including big changes on borrowing caps and loan restrictions. Education experts say this will up the demand for private loans. So, what does that mean for student borrowers?
Expires in 45 hours
Published Wednesday
How presidents use the U.S. military in the war on drugs
Confirmed 2
President Trump's order to attack a Venezuelan boat on drug smuggling suspicions has alarmed some Republican lawmakers.
Expires in 21 hours
Published Tuesday
What Charlie Kirk's assassination reveals about political violence in America
Confirmed 1
Charlie Kirk helped shape conservative politics over the last decade. His assassination raises a question for all Americans: Can anything turn back the rising tide of political violence in America?
Expires in 13 hours
Published Monday
Have we taken therapy culture too far?
1
A growing number of young people say their mental health diagnosis is an important part of their identity. But by medicalizing imperfection – could young people be losing what makes them uniquely human?
Published Friday
The long-term effects of nuclear waste in St. Louis
1
For decades, kids in St. Louis County caught crawdads in Coldwater Creek, made mudpies, went swimming -- and were exposed to nuclear waste. Hear the story of how St. Louis became a dumping ground for radioactive waste generated by the Manhattan Project.
Published Thursday
The great freight recession
1
The trucking industry, and more broadly the freight industry, still hasn't fully recovered from the business impacts of COVID. What's behind that?
Published 09/10
The 'hotshot' life
1
River Selby served as a hotshot – an elite wildland firefighter. Selby shares the reality of the life and work of firefighters trying to save America’s western forests. And how despite fire seasons getting longer and longer, fewer people want to join hotshot crews.
Published 09/09
What 25 years of CDC data on autism tells us
1
One in 31 American children have autism spectrum disorder, according to the CDC. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to find the cause. But experts are skeptical.
Published 09/08
Why it's the end of the road for the Humvee
1
The Humvee is an American military icon. Yet the Department of Defense has announced the vehicle’s retirement. What does this say about our shifting military priorities?
Published 09/05
The Jackpod: The autocrat of the cabinet table
1
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on President Trump’s marathon cabinet meeting, how his cabinet addresses him, and what that says about his presidency.
Published 09/05
How Trump is transforming the way corporations do business in the U.S.
1
President Trump demanded cuts from private businesses. Blacklisted major law firms. And threatened companies to invest more in America. The uncertain legal landscape for U.S. businesses today.
Published 09/04
The fight against Trump's 'war on history'
1
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Blight says President Donald Trump is attacking American history and scholarship for political ends. Blight says it’s time for historians to fight back.
Published 09/02