• 40 minutes 6 seconds
    A road trip through American history

    Historian Beverly Gage hit the road to learn about our country's history. She visited more than 300 historic sites -- from museums and battlefields to roadside attractions. What she learned about how America honors its history.

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

    2 October 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 45 minutes 40 seconds
    Ex-Republican Sarah Longwell says she knows how to defeat Trumpism

    After spending 8 years running focus groups with voters, the former Republican operative and Never-Trumper says she knows not only how voters think but why they vote the way they do.

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

    1 October 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 41 minutes 39 seconds
    Inside the life of a 'degenerate' sports gambler

    More than half of men under 50 in the U.S. have an open online sports book. Public health experts warn it's easier than ever to get addicted to gambling. Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins spent a year exploring the world of sports betting, and why the pastime is particularly bad for young men.

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

    30 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 39 minutes 56 seconds
    How the 'super' El Niño could reshape global weather

    El Niño has become an annual global climate phenomenon. But this year, scientists are warning of a record-setting 'super' El Niño. What that could mean for the weather everywhere on planet earth.

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

    29 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 42 minutes 3 seconds
    The forgotten history of Britain's slave trade

    The UK abolished the slave trade more than 200 years ago. But the wealth it created still shapes the country today. A new database reveals the businesses, families and monarchs enriched by slavery. And it’s forcing a reckoning in the UK that's long overdue.

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

    28 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 42 minutes 3 seconds
    The Jackpod: Ten seconds to midnight

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on why the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has set its Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, its highest estimate of the likelihood of global catastrophe.

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

    28 September 2026, 10:00 am
  • 38 minutes 16 seconds
    The bored and the beautiful: How the smartphone killed boredom

    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

    25 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 39 minutes 25 seconds
    What we can actually do to save the planet

    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

    24 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 40 minutes 47 seconds
    Is the meaning of family changing?

    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

    23 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 38 minutes 1 second
    Is your driver's license on the dark web?

    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

    22 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 40 minutes 24 seconds
    The sound of the land before time

    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

    21 September 2026, 8:00 pm
  • More Episodes? Get the App