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On Point

Let's make sense of the world – together. Produced by WBUR in Boston, On Point’s vibrant conversation covers everything from breaking news to ancient poetry, and features writers, politicians, journalists, artists, scientists and ordinary citizens from around the world. For all stories from On Point, visit their website.

Show Host

Meghna Chakrabarti
Recent Episodes
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    Social media. Streaming. Swiping. Today, it's normal to reach for our phones when we're bored. But researchers say passive boredom like scrolling is not the kind of boredom that sparks creativity. How can we reclaim boredom in the digital age?

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    An ever-warming world, rising sea levels, shrinking glaciers — it’s easy to despair over the climate crisis. But scientist Tim Lenton says not every tipping point leads to doom.

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    Family estrangement – cutting ties with a parent, grandparent, or sibling – is often seen as at odds with the meaning of family as we know it. Sociologist and author Rin Reczek says it’s time to rethink what family means and what we expect from it.

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    153 million U.S. drivers' licenses were hacked and put up for sale on the Dark Web. That's more than half of all licensed drivers. How that happened and what it says about who's doing what with our data.

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    What did the Jurassic world actually sound like? Using fossils and AI, scientists have reconstructed the calls of insects that lived alongside the dinosaurs. The result is the closest we've ever come to hearing prehistoric Earth.

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty looks into the devotion of white evangelical Americans to Donald Trump and the power of political Christianity.

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    Ecologist Kullu Suryawanshi has spent 20 years tracking one of the most elusive animals in the world, deep in the mountains of Asia. What has he learned about snow leopards and the humans that share their home?

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    Top AI researchers and leaders worry AI is developing too fast. But critics argue the U.S. can't risk to slow down in its AI race with China. So, what might a slowdown look like and who would enforce it?

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    A Virginia mom let her 5-year-old son take a walk alone in her gated community. The authorities found out and now she’s on Virginia's child abuse and neglect registry. Who decides what's in a child's best interest.

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump’s plan to control how ballots get sent in the mail. But that does not mark the end of the President's efforts to undermine mail-in voting, and change who votes and how.

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: wbur.org/giveonpoint