The Jackpod: History, literature and politics with Jack Beatty

In this new weekly special podcast, On Point’s news analyst Jack Beatty offers his unique perspective and insight on aspects of current political life in the U.S.

Former US President Donald Trump sits in New York State Supreme Court during the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, in New York City on January 11, 2024. (Peter Foley/AFP via Getty Images)

The Jackpod: How it looks to a Republican

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty reviews the evidence that former President Donald Trump’s multiple criminal prosecutions are politically motivated.

33:25Apr 12, 2024

Voting booths are set up in a high school gymnasium in Hollis, N.H. (David Goldman/AP)

The Jackpod: How to steal an election

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty tells Meghna what he expects to see outside and inside polling stations in November 2024

28:53Apr 5, 2024

The Jackpod: Missing misery

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty looks at what’s counted in official U.S. inflation numbers and finds that the cost of money is not factored into the cost of...

26:42Mar 29, 2024

From the Black Notebook, circa 1 923. Found in the collection of the National Library of Israel. Artist Kafka, Franz (1883-1924). (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

The Jackpod: What leopard?

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty watches a Donald Trump campaign rally with a famous Franz Kafka quote about the normalization of the abnormal in mind.

34:50Mar 23, 2024

This combination of pictures created on Sept. 29, 2020 shows former President Donald Trump (L) and President Joe Biden squaring off during the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 29, 2020. (Jim Watson and Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

The Jackpod: The Xanadu Effect

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on how presidents lose touch with reality.

33:40Mar 15, 2024

President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP)

The Jackpod: Still

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on President Biden’s State of the Union address and the politics of memory, versus the politics of hope.

39:04Mar 9, 2024

Voting stickers are seen on a table. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The Jackpod: Low information voters

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the potential influence of low information voters on this year’s presidential election, and the future of U.S. democracy.

27:24Mar 1, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a climate event at the White House complex November 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Jackpod: Goodbye to all that

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty compares and contrasts what a second term for Donald Trump or Joe Biden would mean for U.S. efforts to combat climate change.

30:23Feb 23, 2024

U.S. Secretary of State George P Shultz (left) watches as U.S. President Ronald Reagan speaks on the telephone in the White House's Oval Office, Washington DC, August 12, 1982. (Mary Anne Fackelman/White House via CNP/Getty Images)

The Jackpod: Saving Rafah

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty looks back to 1982 and the presidency of Ronald Reagan as he considers how and why the U.S. should intervene to prevent an Israeli...

31:56Feb 16, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his "Bidenomics" economic agenda and his Investing in America agenda at an Amtrak facility in New Castle County, Delaware, on November 6, 2023.(Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The Jackpod: The bystander

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty discusses Republican pollster Whit Ayres' observation that Joe Biden is “a bystander watching events spin out of control.”

32:06Feb 9, 2024

(CARLOS BARRIA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Jackpod: The meddler’s trap

From the annexation of the Philippines in 1898, to looming confrontation with Iran today, On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on U.S. leadership, vested military interests, and unintended military entanglements.

28:14Feb 2, 2024

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hands off a signed hat during a campaign stop in Londonderry, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (Matt Rourke/AP)

The Jackpod: Not the odds, but the stakes

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty has been reading The Authoritarian Handbook: 2025, a new report by the bipartisan group Protect Democracy, outlining the promises, powers and plans of Donald...

33:42Jan 26, 2024

President Truman responds with a warm smile as he is greeted by an estimated 30,000 persons in Cleveland's Public Square, Oct. 9. (Bettmann / Contributor via Getty Images)

The Jackpod: A little touch of Harry in the night

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty discusses the moral character of President Harry Truman, and whether character matters today for presidents or presidential candidates.

28:21Jan 20, 2024

Roads remain icy following a day of snow on January 17, 2024 in Bartlett, New Hampshire. Republican presidential candidates are criss crossing the state of New Hampshire in freezing weather as the state prepares to host the 2024 Presidential Primary. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Jackpod: Buried in snow

Technical gremlins thwarted our plans for The Jackpod today, but we have a plan. Fingers crossed.

01:35Jan 19, 2024

The Jackpod: Democracy and its discontents

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the Americans who seem poised to reject democracy in 2024.

23:33Jan 12, 2024

The Jackpod: In the host's seat

In the last Jackpod of 2023, On Point News Analyst Jack Beatty answers listener questions, ranging from political messaging to what binds us as a nation.

31:59Dec 22, 2023

Former US President and 2024 Presidential hopeful Donald Trump arrives to speak at a Team Trump Iowa Commit to Caucus event at Jackson County Fairgrounds in Maquoketa, Iowa, on September 20, 2023. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The Jackpod: They want revenge

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the appeal of Donald Trump’s promise of revenge and retribution to many Republican voters.

35:29Dec 15, 2023

Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defense table while waiting for proceedings to begin in his civil business fraud trial in New York State Supreme Court on December 7, 2023 in New York City. Trump's civil fraud trial alleges that he and his two sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump conspired to inflate his net worth on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to secure loans. New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued seeking $250 million in damages. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez-Pool/Getty Images)

The Jackpod: The disappearance of political persuasion

A social media post from Donald Trump has On Point news analyst Jack Beatty inquiring about the demise of political argument in the U.S. and what that means for democracy.

35:56Dec 8, 2023

An American flag flaps in the wind in Denver. (David Zalubowski/AP)

The Jackpod: The uncertainty of existence

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on evidence the U.S. is failing at the fundamental mission of keeping its people alive, and the correlation between politics and life expectancy in...

32:24Dec 1, 2023

Donald Trump is surrounded by Army cadets. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The Jackpod: The 'F-word'

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on the rise in Donald Trump’s use of rhetoric and imagery associated with 1930’s Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Two leading historians say the...

31:21Nov 17, 2023