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On Point

Let's make sense of the world – together. From the economy and health care to politics and the environment – and so much more – On Point host Meghna Chakrabarti speaks with newsmakers and everyday people about the issues that matter most. On Point is produced by WBUR.

  • Retired consultant paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass speaking about the publication of the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People (The Cass Review) at the PA Media offices in west London. The former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health was appointed to lead the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People in 2020. Picture date: Tuesday April 9, 2024. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)
    'The evidence was disappointingly poor': The full interview with Dr. Hilary Cass
    British pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass led a highly anticipated independent scientific review of gender health services for children in England, commissioned by the National Health Service. Now popularly known as the 'Cass Review,' it concludes for most young people, "a medical pathway will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress.” She gave On Point her first broadcast interview in the U.S. About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • Retired consultant paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass speaking about the publication of the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People (The Cass Review) at the PA Media offices in west London. The former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health was appointed to lead the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People in 2020. Picture date: Tuesday April 9, 2024. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)
    'Cass Review' author: More 'caution' advised for gender-affirming care for youth
    A groundbreaking review out of the UK finds “poor” or “low quality” evidence for using puberty blockers and hormones to help gender-distressed young people. Dr. Hilary Cass, who led that review, gives her first U.S. broadcast interview to On Point. About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • LAKEWOOD, COLORADO - APRIL 2: Lucas Gwinner, 13, works on letter sounds during the Bright Minds Dyslexia Support program at Alameda Jr./Sr. High School on May 2, 2022 in Lakewood, Colorado. The school is piloting a program to help students who may have dyslexia (but not necessarily diagnosed) improve their reading skills. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
    Rethinking how dyslexia is diagnosed
    Dyslexia affects one in every 5 Americans. But only 2 million are diagnosed and receive the help they need. Why? About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • TOPSHOT - Ukrainian Defence minister Oleksii Reznikov (L) shakes hands with Russian negotiators prior the talks between delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Belarus' Brest region on March 3, 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. - Russia and Ukraine will discuss a ceasefire at upcoming talks on the border between Poland and Belarus, Moscow's chief negotiator said on March 2, nearly one week into Russia's invasion of its pro-Western neighbour. - Belarus OUT (Photo by Maxim GUCHEK / BELTA / AFP) / Belarus OUT (Photo by MAXIM GUCHEK/BELTA/AFP via Getty Images)
    The story behind 2022's secret Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations
    The Russia-Ukraine war has lasted over two years. But just weeks after Russia's 2022 invasion, both sides came close to a settlement that could have ended the war and saved thousands of lives. What happened? About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • President Donald Trump hands a signed "Make America Great Again," hat back to a supporter, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, in Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
    The Jackpod: The red hat
    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the power of the MAGA red hat to forge an identity and spread a political message around the world. About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • DANVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES - 2024/04/23: A "vote here" sign is seen at the Danville Area Community Center which serves as the polling place for Danville's Second Ward in Montour County. Pennsylvania's primary election is being held on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
    Is the U.S. a democracy?
    For decades some conservative scholars and politicians have asserted the United States is a constitutional republic, not a democracy. So which one is it? About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • Black students walk through rows of white students to integrate Clinton High School. This went without incident, despite racial disturbances in the town prior to this.
    'A most tolerant little town': The forgotten story of desegregation in Clinton, Tennessee
    Rebroadcast: In 1956, a federal judge ordered the town of Clinton, Tennessee to desegregate its high school. The unrest that followed tore the town apart. About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • FALMOUTH, ME - AUGUST 24: Bird watchers look through their binoculars at a bird pointed out by naturalist Doug Hitchcox during the weekly bird walk at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth on Thursday, August 24, 2023. (Staff photo by Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
    Author Amy Tan's 'backyard bird chronicles'
    Celebrated author Amy Tan doesn’t just write best-selling novels. She’s a passionate birder, too. Her new book on birding describes the wonder she sees looking out her window. About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • JERUSALEM - APRIL 07: Israeli citizens demonstrate in front of Knesset (Israeli Parliament) as hundreds of people stage the protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister and the return of Israeli detainees in Jerusalem on April 07, 2024. During the ongoing demonstrations, anti-Netanyahu groups chanted anti-Prime Minister Netanyahu slogans. (Photo by Saeed Qaq/Anadolu via Getty Images)
    Roundtable: What do ordinary Israelis want from their leaders?
    More than six months since the Hamas attack on Israel, dozens of Israelis are still held hostage, over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and there’s no peace in sight. Israelis on the future of Israel. About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • View of the addiction clinic where an armed group executed six people in San Pedro Tlaquepaque, state of Jalisco, Mexico, on July 25, 2022. - Six people were shot dead at a drug rehabilitation center near the western Mexican city of Guadalajara, authorities said Monday. Five men and one woman were killed in the late Sunday attack in the suburb of San Pedro Tlaquepaque, the Jalisco state prosecutor's office said. (Photo by ULISES RUIZ / AFP) (Photo by ULISES RUIZ/AFP via Getty Images)
    Underground addiction care in Mexico -- and its spread to the U.S.
    Across Mexico, thousands of illegal rehab centers treat patients with drug addiction, often holding them against their will. Now, these "anexos" -- informal, underground treatment facilities -- are here in the United States. About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • A student prepares to do steel work at Ironworkers Local 29 during an apprenticeship in Dayton, Ohio, on October 24, 2022. - In the face of the rising prices that are crushing this election campaign, Joe Biden is hammering home his message: the tens of billions of dollars voted on by the Democrats will revive American manufacturing and its "good-paying jobs." He is trying to reconnect with the white working class, which has been largely lost to a Democratic Party that has long supported free trade. But in Ohio, where Donald Trump came out on top in the last two presidential elections, inflation and a deep sense of disenfranchisement are hampering this strategy. (Photo by Megan JELINGER / AFP) (Photo by MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
    The Jackpod: The company they keep
    On Point new analyst Jack Beatty argues that Democrats are losing touch with working class voters. What could they do to change that? About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
  • LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 28: Packs of menthol cigarettes (BOTTOM) are displayed for sale in a smoke shop on April 28, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to ban both menthol-flavored cigarettes and flavored cigars in a move hailed by public health experts which could potentially lead to 1.3 million people quitting smoking. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
    Should the U.S. ban menthol cigarettes?
    More than 80% of Black smokers smoke menthol cigarettes. The FDA is now pushing to ban the products, saying it will prevent death and disease. Phillip Gardiner and Alan Blum join Deborah Becker. About: On Point is WBUR’s award-winning, daily public radio show and podcast. Every weekday, host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world.
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