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About the Show
Tom Ashbrook in the studio

Tom Ashbrook in the studio

On Point is the fastest growing talk show on NPR — two hours broadcast daily across the country, hosted by award-winning journalist Tom Ashbrook. The show’s lively conversation covers everything from breaking news to ancient poetry, with newsmakers, thinkers, journalists, artists, scientists and ordinary citizens from around the world.

Broadcast live from 10 a.m. to noon ET, with listener call-in, from WBUR in Boston, the show airs throughout the day on 120 NPR stations coast to coast.

Here’s what Tom has to say about the show:

In ballet, “on point” means up on your toes.

In war, it’s the lead soldier on patrol

In conversation it’s the heart of the matter.

That’s where we strive to be every day with our listeners — up on our toes, out front, at the heart of what’s going on.

Here at On Point, we’re looking to create a different kind of conversation about the country and the world we live in — about who we are, and where we’re going. Maybe it’s the kind of national conversation you’ve always wanted. Fast, fun, serious, surprising. Open to everyone. And above all, unflinchingly honest. With voices from all over the planet. Fresh voices. Passionate voices.

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. And while we do it, to celebrate the people, arts and ideas that make life a joy.

We hope you’ll add your voice to the On Point conversation — on the air, and here online. We look forward to hearing from you.

-Tom Ashbrook

On Point staff

Tom Ashbrook is On Point’s host and managing editor. Jack Beatty, On Point’s news analyst, appears each Friday on our Week in the News roundtable and on other shows throughout the week.

On Point’s senior producer is Wen Stephenson. Our senior editor is Karen Shiffman. Our team of producers includes Julie Diop, Eileen Imada, Stefano Kotsonis, Hilary Barngrove McQuilkin, Tania Ralli, and John Wihbey, with assistance from Pien Huang, Sam Gale Rosen, Silvia Spring, and interns Samina Uddin and Will Roseliep. Our technical director is James Ross.

On Point’s website is designed and maintained by WBUR’s New Media department.

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On Point airs live nationally each day from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET, and is rebroadcast at various times throughout the day. See a list of NPR stations that air the show.

If you are a program director interested in learning more about On Point, please call us at 617-358-1468. For all other queries, please contact us here.

On Point Today
Hour 2
The Christmas Revels
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 Christmas Revels

The Christmas Revels invade our studio for old Wessex carols, a Somerset Wassail, and Thomas Hardy’s “Under the Greenwood Tree.”

Comments [1]
 
Hour 1
Hope in Hard Times
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 hope1

Theologian Martin Marty and physician Jerome Groopman join us for a conversation about hope in turbulent times — where we find it, and how we hold on.

Comments [11]

Recent Shows
Cures, Quacks, and Medicine Men
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 Frontier Medicine

A new look at frontier medicine, and the wildest tonics of the old Wild West.

Comments [11]
 
Caroline Kennedy’s Senate Bid
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, listens to a reporter's question during a news conference at City Hall in Buffalo, N.Y. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. Kennedy is campaigning for the open Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton.  (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

Caroline Kennedy reaches for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat. We look at the politics, the history, at Caroline, and the national mythology, all in play.

Comments [29]
On Point Blog
Here, for the holidays…
By Eileen Imada

One of the great pleasures of directing On Point is that I hear just about every show we produce. And around the holidays, I listen back to some of our best shows to rebroadcast while the staff takes a well-deserved break. This year we’ve reached deep into our archives for some gems of the past [...]

More »
 
Canon Wars, Cont.
By John Wihbey

Jay Parini, Middlebury College professor and jack-of-all-literary trades, makes the case in our second hour today for America’s thirteen “representative” books in his new tome “The Promised Land.” Of course, the idea of a great list or “canon” of hallowed must-reads is a controversial one, having its roots in now age-old academic wars. It’s fraught with huge [...]

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How Much to Pay the College Prez?
By John Wihbey

Today’s second hour looks at how the financial crisis is hitting higher education. And as belts tighten, it’s perhaps inevitable that executive compensation – the big payouts to people at the top – will come under scrutiny in academia as it has on Wall Street and in Detroit. In fact, officials at Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University [...]

More » | Comments [5]