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On Point

On Point was born in the immediate aftermath of the attacks of 9/11, when the country was looking for answers and impatient with old certitudes. We still carry that urgency today: to test, challenge and probe. 

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Episodes

  • caption: Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump gestures as he departs a campaign event at Central Wisconsin Airport, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Mosinee, Wis. (Alex Brandon/AP)

    The Jackpod: Reality bites

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty draws a line from Donald Trump’s appearance as a savvy businessman on The Apprentice to his belief in tariffs as a powerful tool to benefit the U.S. economy and even prevent war.

  • caption: Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

    The Jackpod: You’re too honest

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the moments in the vice presidential debate when Republican candidate JD Vance contradicted the evidence of his own track record with misrepresentations and obliquities.

  • caption: A pedestrian crosses a street holding an umbrella to protect herself from the sun in downtown Los Angeles during a heatwave Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

    Is extreme heat an extreme disaster?

    Phoenix, Arizona has crossed a troubling milestone. More than one hundred days of temperatures over 100 degrees. Across the country, extreme heat kills more Americans than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. So why don’t we label is a disaster?

  • caption: Delegates cheer during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, Aug. 21 in Chicago. (Paul Sancya/AP)

    The Jackpod: Not going back

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the meaning of Kamala Harris’ rallying cry at the Democratic National Convention and four themes he observed.

  • caption: (David Goldman/AP File Photo)

    Inside the wrongful conviction of Ben Spencer

    No witnesses. No physical evidence. An ironclad alibi. Nevertheless, a Texas jury sentenced Ben Spencer to life in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Journalist and author Barbara Bradley Hagerty shares what it took to set Spencer free.

  • caption: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, and President Joe Biden, right, speak simultaneously during a presidential debate hosted by CNN, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

    The Jackpod: Naked to mine enemies

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on Joe Biden’s display of frailty in his old age at the CNN debate and what that could mean for his campaign for a second term in the Oval Office.

  • caption: US President Joe Biden leaves the room at the end of a press conference following a solidarity visit to Israel, on October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

    The Jackpod: Stop it now, Joe

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty lays out the ways that President Biden’s Gaza policy has been, what New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof calls, “a moral, practical and political failure.”