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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: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and former South Dakota Governor, gives the keynote speech during a naturalization ceremony at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)

    The Jackpod: Homeland insecurity

    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.”

  • caption: A personal shopper gathers items to fill an online grocery order in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

    The Jackpod: Plutonomy

    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.

  • caption: President Donald Trump at the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

    The Jackpod: Strong and wrong

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on how Donald Trump projects strength through his lack of inhibition and self-constraint.

  • caption: John, left, Jenny and Lila, right, Mackenzie walk around their flood-damaged property in Peachman, Vt. on Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Beliakov)

    The Jackpod: Action Completed This Day

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a model of government inefficiency and the prospects for FEMA reform.

  • caption: Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist. (Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

    The Jackpod: Culture warrior

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on how political activist Christopher Rufo became one of the most influential voices in conservative politics today.

  • caption: Eliot House at Harvard University, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

    Trump v. higher education

    Harvard University is suing the White House. What the university’s clash with the Trump Administration means for the rest of higher education.

  • caption: FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2013, file photo, Ingrid Forsmark kayaks on Kintla Lake in Glacier National Park, Mont. Public access to Glacier National Park's east entrances has been prohibited since March 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating worries for businesses that rely on tourism. (AP Photo/Matt Volz, File)

    The wonder of Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park

    Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park was first designated a national monument a century ago. Even with climate change, Glacier Bay has a surprising story to tell about nature’s resilience.