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Hour 1
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People in Star Trek costume as a Klingon, center, and Mr. Spock in Germany. (AP)

Klingon poets, Esperanto rock stars, and other bards of invented tongues. We explore, with linguist Arika Okrent.

Hour 2
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Eric Bogosian and Alicia Silverstone in a Manhattan Theatre Club production of "Time Stands Still,” 2010. (AP/Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Joan Marcus)

We talk with actor, writer, and performer Eric Bogosian about sex, death, celebrity, talk radio, and his new novel, “Perforated Heart.”

 
Recent Shows
Pat Conroy’s “South of Broad”
Pat Conroy after the publication of "The Prince of Tides." (AP)

Master storyteller Pat Conroy’s novel “South of Broad” is his first in more than 14 years. It’s set in his beloved Charleston, SC. And everything is on the table again: love, lust, race, religion.

(Wednesday, September 1, 2010)
Comments [8]
 
Eve Ensler on Global Girlhood
Eve Ensler with girls from eastern Congo (AP).

“Vagina Monologues” playwright Eve Ensler is now looking at the lives of teenage girls, from American suburbia to the Congo.

(Wednesday, September 1, 2010)
Comments [61]
 
Thelonious Monk: Music and Myth

From the ’40s to the ’70s and beyond, the myth of legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk nearly overshadowed the man. We speak with biographer Robin Kelley about Monk’s life and music.

(Tuesday, August 31, 2010)
Comments [5]
 
The Knotty Debate Over Marriage

Comedian Sandra Tsing Loh and her friend, essayist Caitlin Flanagan, have very different takes on the institution of marriage. We hear their views.

(Tuesday, August 31, 2010)
Comments [124]
 
The Genius and Madness of Byron

We speak with Irish novelist Edna O’Brien about Lord Byron in love.

(Monday, August 30, 2010)
Comments [12]
 
Maya Lin’s Green Memorial
Maya Lin's memorial (Courtesy of MayaLin.com)

A decade ago, Maya Lin announced she was out of the memorial business. But she’s done one more, to vanishing species. And this one you can hear.

(Monday, August 30, 2010)
Comments [32]
Producer's Picks
Iraq After the Drawdown
An Iraqi policeman in Baghdad, August 2010. (AP)

We look at the country American combat troops are leaving behind. Top reporters Anthony Shadid and Liz Sly join us live from Baghdad to talk about the road ahead now for Iraq.

(Tuesday, August 24, 2010)
Comments [38]
 
One Reporter’s Middle East
Credit: PublicAffairs

Another round of Middle East peace talks begins, this time under Pres. Obama. It’s a good time to listen back to NYTimes correspondent Neil MacFarquhar reflect on his time in the region.

(Monday, May 4, 2009)
Comments [27]
 
James Conlon on Rediscovered Opera

A world of music, between Mahler and Schoenberg, was blacked out by the Nazis. Now, James Conlon of the Los Angeles Opera is bringing that music back for American audiences.

(Thursday, February 28, 2008)
 
Real-Life ‘Bucket Lists’

Tom Ashbrook mentioned on Friday that Phil Krone, a longtime friend and sometime On Point guest, passed away recently. Hear the full show with Phil, Kris Carr, and Judith Freedman – all of whom battled cancer.

(Wednesday, January 23, 2008)
 
The Biology of Consciousness

Renegade philosophers Pat and Paul Churchland say consciousness itself is straight biology, a machine. We hear their case.

(Monday, March 12, 2007)
 
Elizabeth Gilbert on “Eat, Pray, Love”
Julia Roberts playing Elizabeth Gilbert in the movie "Eat, Pray, Love"

The new movie starring Julia Roberts is out. Listen to an original interview with author Elizabeth Gilbert. We talk with her about soul seeking, resetting her compass, and her book “Eat, Pray, Love.”

(Monday, March 6, 2006)
Comments [12]
On Point Blog
Wash Post: Elizabeth Warren Drops Harvard Class, Fuels More Speculation

The Washington Post reports today that Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren — a leading candiate to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — has suddenly dropped out of teaching this fall, prompting more speculation that she may take a permanent job in the Obama administration.

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VP Biden in Iraq, Changing Command

Following Pres. Obama’s Oval Office address last night, Vice President Biden spoke in Iraq today, on the occasion of Iraqi troops taking command. Here’s the text.

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Climate Skeptic Lomborg’s New Tune?

The U.K.’s Guardian reports that the world’s most prominent climate skeptic, Bjorn Lomborg, has taken a “U-turn” of sorts in his views. Lomborg spoke recently with On Point. Are his latest comments indeed a “huge boost” to flagging environmental efforts?

More | Comments [5]
 
Heads Up! This Week’s Shows…

This week, On Point is rebroadcasting shows that we have selected from our archives. We hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we have enjoyed producing them. Here’s the menu.

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“Katrina on Steroids”: More from Adil Najam on Pakistan Flooding

Last week, On Point interviewed Boston University professor Adil Najam about the flooding in his native Pakistan. Here’s an update on what Najam is thinking now, as the disaster continues to unflold.

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