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 : July 30, 2025 6:00pm

Last Scanned : 6 hours ago

Episodes

Episodes currently hosted on IPFS.

Did Apple empower China?
Verifying 1
Financial Times reporter Patrick McGee argues in his new book 'Apple in China' that China wouldn’t be the China it is today without Apple.
Expires in 37 hours
Published Wednesday
A former CDC vaccine adviser has words for RFK Jr.
Confirmed 2
Last month, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired an influential committee of vaccine advisers to the CDC. What that decision could mean for vaccines and America’s public health.
Expires in 12 hours
Published Tuesday
Are we thinking about AI the wrong way?
1
AI researcher Ethan Mollick says most public conversation focuses too much on potential AI catastrophes and not enough on making the technology work for people. Mollick says if we don’t change that, none of us will be prepared for the near future where “everything will change all at once.”
Published Friday
The Jackpod: Action Completed This Day
1
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a model of government inefficiency and the prospects for FEMA reform.
Published Friday
The new crisis in American kids' health
1
Mortality rates, mental health conditions, obesity and chronic disease rates are all up significantly in American children. Why are kids in the U.S. so unhealthy?
Published Thursday
What we know about the Epstein files
1
Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown knows more about the Jeffrey Epstein case than just about anyone. What does she think might be in the files the Trump administration hasn't released?
Published 07/23
How Trump cuts are causing a ‘brain drain’ in American science
1
The Trump administration is attacking American academic institutions on multiple fronts, including cutting grant funding and targeting foreign exchange programs. That gives other countries a chance to surpass the U.S. in scientific discovery.
Published 07/22
How did being a sports fan get so expensive?
1
It can cost a fan up to $5,000 a year to follow major sports, between merchandise and game tickets and TV streaming access. Is the pursuit of profit harming sports fans?
Published 07/21
Week of Wonder: Can we save the quietest places in the world?
1
Our planet’s rich nature sounds are disappearing, drowned out by human-made noise. Sound recordist Matt Mikkelsen travels the world, listening to and working to preserve our vanishing soundscapes.
Published 07/18
Week of Wonder: Volcanologist Tamsin Mather on her 'adventures in volcanoland'
1
What's it like standing on the slopes of an active, erupting volcano? Volcanologist Tamsin Mather takes us on her journey to some of the world's biggest volcanoes.
Published 07/17
Week of Wonder: The truth about your period
1
Menstruation is a definitive experience of a woman's life, and an indicator of her health. So why has period blood or menstrual fluid been largely under-researched?
Published 07/16
Week of Wonder: 'Vivaldi smells like breakfast sausage'
1
Smell can trigger memories and influence emotions. New research is giving us insight into how that happens, including why some people can "smell" music and why losing the sense of smell can alert us to what might make us sick.
Published 07/15