On Point

In recent speeches to the U.S. military, President Trump has laid out a politicized vision for America's armed forces. How Trump could change what the U.S. military is for, who it serves and who it’s fighting against.

Prediction markets have long been an under-the-radar way to bet on politics, sports and pop culture. Now, platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket are going mainstream. Why are they getting so popular, and how could they impact the way we predict the future?

President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff strategy has created uncertainty around the world. Can America’s 35 million small businesses stay afloat?

From 2021 to 2025, Jake Sullivan served as President Joe Biden's U.S. national security adviser. He had enormous influence on the U.S. response to some of the deadliest conflicts in the world.

Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could overturn a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that protects against racial discrimination. Without it, some legal experts say states and local jurisdictions would be permitted to effectively silence the votes of millions of people.

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on Kristi Noem. How the former South Dakota governor rose to head the Department of Homeland Security and the impact she is having on the agency that’s been described as “too big to manage.”

Major League Baseball will add an automated ball-strike system next season. How human judgement is giving way to technology across the sports world, and what that means for players, umpires and fans.

How can a lawyerly society and an engineering society learn from each other? And what’s at stake if they fail? Author Dan Wang set out to answer those questions about the U.S. and China.

Charlie Kirk's assassination. The United Healthcare CEO's murder. Several recent high-profile killings seem to have political motivations. What’s driving this — and what can we do about it?

Free speech, funding and academic freedom at U.S. colleges are under attack. Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber shares how his university is weathering the storm.

Meghna recently appeared on this episode of This Old House Radio Hour to talk about her childhood home in Corvallis, Oregon. She has a great time talking about the house, her family, and the American dream. We hope you enjoy it too.

Host Meghna Chakrabarti and executive producer Jonathan Dyer offer a behind-the-scenes look into how On Point is produced. Recorded in front of a live audience at WBUR CitySpace.

Las Vegas is in a tourism slump. Hotel occupancy and air travel are down, and many local hospitality employees are experiencing layoffs or cuts in their hours. What's driving this downturn, and can Sin City bounce back?

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on a concept that explains an anomaly in today’s economic news: retail sales are up while other key economic indicators are down.

From leased property to defense contracts, private space companies have become fully intertwined with public infrastructure. But not everyone’s sold on how intertwined these systems have become.

Elon Musk says xAI has one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. It’s located in Memphis, Tennessee and it’s called Colossus. But neighborhood residents say Colossus belches colossal pollution.

Today, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is known as a conservative juggernaut. But that hasn’t always been the case.

President Trump has issued an Executive Order requiring the Justice Department to prosecute people for burning the American flag. But the Supreme Court has ruled flag burning is free speech. What the debate reveals about the value of national symbols.

If you have ever found yourself dealing with a threatening person, and instead of fleeing them, you flattered – that’s called fawning. Psychologist Ingrid Clayton on the psychology behind this self-preservation strategy.

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the U.S. vote against a UN resolution backing a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.