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Notes & Updates
Posted by Pien Huang on Thursday, November 19, 2009

We had a rousing discussion about Google vs. Murdoch, and what it says about the whole future of news, with Michael Wolff, Jeff Jarvis, and Steven Brill. Here’s what Wolff and Jarvis had to say about the delusions of both Murdoch and Google.

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Posted by John Wihbey on Monday, November 9, 2009

Last week, host Tom Ashbrook was on stage with Google CEO Eric Schmidt, asking him about some of the biggest technology and business issues of our time.
It was part of an MIT event held on Thursday, Nov. 5, to commemorate computer science professor Michael Hammer, who died last year. Here’s video of the full interview, courtesy of WBUR.org:

Among other things, Schmidt said the possibilities [...]

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Posted by Hilary Barngrove McQuilkin on Monday, November 2, 2009

On Point is headed west!
No, no. Not for good. Only for one show. But it’s a very special show!  The NPR station in Thousand Oaks, California – KCLU – is celebrating their 15th anniversary. We’re lucky to have been on their airwaves for nearly seven years, and they invited us out west to host a live [...]

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Posted by Pien Huang on Friday, October 30, 2009

A new study supports the idea that U.S. dominance in engineering and science is threatened — but not for lack of training and education. It has more to do with a lack of social and economic incentives.

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Posted by John Wihbey on

Matthew Hoh, a former Marine captain, became the first foreign service official to publicly resign in protest over the war in Afghanistan. The move has generated a lot of reaction. You can read Hoh’s resignation letter, posted by The Washington Post, which reported on it here.
It’s a topic for our news roundtable today. What [...]

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Posted by John Wihbey on Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Our show today about the life and times of Thelonious Monk had us peering into the jazz world to look for the children of the “George Washington of be-bop.” Who are Monk’s musical and spiritual heirs?
Producer John Comerford, who appeared on our show this year to talk about his film “Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense,” suggested before the [...]

 
Posted by John Wihbey on Wednesday, October 21, 2009

In today’s first hour, Whole Earth guru Stewart Brand and energy expert Amory Lovins debated whether the U.S. should build more nuclear power plants in the effort to reduce carbon emissions.
Brand’s new book, “Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto,”  takes on a number of what he calls environmental “pieties,” including opposition to nuclear power. He says [...]

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Posted by Suzanne Merkelson on Monday, October 19, 2009

On Point intern Suzanne Merkelson writes: For me, listening to today’s show was the audio equivalent of looking in the mirror. I too am a member of the Class of 2009’s “Lost Generation.” Only I don’t really consider myself lost…

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Posted by John Wihbey on Monday, October 12, 2009

Each week CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States and publishes findings of key flu indicators in a report called FluView. During the week of September 27 – October 3, 2009, a review of the key indictors found that influenza activity increased in the United States.

 
Posted by John Wihbey on Friday, October 9, 2009

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

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Posted by Stefano Kotsonis on Wednesday, October 7, 2009

New York Times investigative reporter Michael Moss sends us a followup note about possible reasons for the apparent surge in hamburger E. coli outbreaks since 2007.

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Posted by Pien Huang on

Journalist Douglas Burns, a guest on our show about the “rural brain drain,” makes his pitch for why living in rural Iowa is better: “The time other people spend driving we spend living.”

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Posted by Patrick Rosso on Friday, October 2, 2009

The news is in. Chicago is out. And Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Summer Olympics. On Thursday we spoke with Brazilian journalist Paulo Sotero and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Laura Washington.

 
Posted by Wen Stephenson on Thursday, October 1, 2009

Ambassador Peter Galbraith joined us for an hour on Thursday morning. On Wednesday, he was recalled — fired — from his post as the second-highest ranking diplomat in the United Nations mission in Afghanistan after clashing with his boss, Kai Eide, head of the UN mission in Kabul, over how to handle widespread fraud in the August [...]

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Posted by John Wihbey on Friday, September 25, 2009

“Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner talks about the Emmy-winning show’s new season: “I have a theme for the season. I always have an idea of what I’m trying to express…. Season Three to me is about chaos.”

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On Point Today
The Pandora Effect
Friday, November 20, 2009 image

We’ll talk with the founder of Pandora, the online music service that claims it knows what you’ll want to hear.

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Week in the News
Friday, November 20, 2009 image

Obama in China. Healthcare crunch time in the Senate. And the mammogram controversy rages on. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

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Recent Shows
Poker: America’s Game
Thursday, November 19, 2009 image

Poker and American history. How the game of presidents, cowboys, gangsters, and online gamblers helped shape America.

Comments [9]
 
Google vs. Murdoch
Thursday, November 19, 2009 image

Rupert Murdoch wants to block the search giant from scooping free content from his newspapers. We’ll look at the staredown.

Comments [131]