• Why giving can feel so good
    Dec 19 2025

    The holidays are all about giving, whether it's presents, donations or volunteer work. What's causing the warm glow you feel when you give someone a gift?

    *** Thank you for listening. Help power On Point by making a donation here: www.wbur.org/giveonpoint

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    33 mins
  • The Jackpod: It can happen here. It is happening.
    Dec 19 2025

    On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on Philip Roth’s 2004 novel "The Plot Against America," and its parallels with the U.S. today.

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    44 mins
  • Why seeing red can give you the blues
    Dec 18 2025

    Color can affect our mood, memory and relationship to people and places. How is color being used to design the world around us and shape our feelings?

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    36 mins
  • What's driving the rise in grandparent childcare
    Dec 17 2025

    The number of grandparents helping with childcare is going up nationally. According to a 2023 Harris Poll, 42% of working parents rely on grandparents for childcare. What does it mean for the lives of those grandparents and the support they need?

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    32 mins
  • Siddhartha Mukherjee on understanding cancer now
    Dec 16 2025

    In 2011, Siddhartha Mukherjee won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of cancer, “The Emperor of All Maladies.” Now, he’s back with an update on how our understanding of cancer has advanced -- and what lies ahead.

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    33 mins
  • Can we even trust videos anymore?
    Dec 15 2025

    OpenAI’s Sora 2 app lets anyone with a smartphone create AI-generated deepfake videos, from phony footage of a corgi rock climbing to fake videos of kids carrying guns in school. Is it time to stop believing our eyes?

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    34 mins
  • The Atlantic and 'The unfinished revolution'
    Dec 13 2025

    Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, joins Meghna at WBUR’s CitySpace to discuss The Atlantic's new project examining America at 250 and the most urgent, complex and challenging questions the country is facing.

    Then, Goldberg interviews Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss on topics ranging from the state of the Democratic party to the Trump administration's intentions in Venezuela.

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    58 mins
  • The once and future dictionary
    Dec 12 2025

    The quest to define and canonize new words in American English is as old as the country itself. In the new book "Unabridged: the thrill of (and threat to) the modern dictionary," author Stefan Fatsis explores how that quest has changed in the age of the internet.

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    35 mins