On Point | Podcast

WBUR

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.

  • 42 minutes 18 seconds
    '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.

    2 April 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 40 minutes 42 seconds
    '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.

    1 April 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 42 minutes 30 seconds
    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?

    31 March 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 49 minutes 18 seconds
    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.

    29 March 2025, 10:00 am
  • 41 minutes 41 seconds
    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.

    28 March 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 37 minutes 30 seconds
    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.

    27 March 2025, 7:59 pm
  • 46 minutes 15 seconds
    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.

    27 March 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 47 minutes 26 seconds
    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?

    26 March 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 44 minutes
    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.

    25 March 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 43 minutes 55 seconds
    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?

    24 March 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 41 minutes 25 seconds
    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.

    20 March 2025, 8:35 pm
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