Tim Skoog

Sound Designer and Producer, On Point

Barry Rosen says he can understand in some way what the hostages in Gaza are going through. Rosen was press attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 when he was taken hostage and held, along with 51 others, until January 1981.

First person: He was held hostage for 444 days

Claire Donnelly

Producer, On Point

Barry Rosen, 77, a former US diplomat who was one of the 52 hostages held in Iran during 444 days from 1979 to 1981, speaks to AFP journalists outside the Coburg palace in Vienna , Austria, on January 14, 2022. - When Rosen, one of the 52 hostages in the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran, traveled to Vienna to demand the release of prisoners in Iran, he had no idea of the impact of his initiative. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

nuclear-AUSTRIA-US-IRAN-NUCLEAR-HOSTAGE-DIPLOMACY

Politics

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"First Person" is On Point's radio diary series. Pitch your own story about life during the pandemic at onpoint@wbur.org.  

First Person

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It's been more than 40 days since Hamas kidnapped some 240 people in Israel. Only four have been released. What's next?

The plight of the hostages in Gaza

Meghna Chakrabarti

Host, On Point

People walk outside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem, on which are projected pictures of the hostages abducted by Palestinian militants on the October 7 attack and currently held in the Gaza Strip, on November 6, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-HOSTAGES

It's been more than 40 days since Hamas kidnapped some 240 people in Israel. Only four have been released. What's next? Gili Roman and Dani Gilbert join Meghna Chakrabarti. 

No stereotype can tell the story of more than 20 million people. We look at the true diversity of the Asian American academic experience. 

Debunking myths about the Asian American academic experience

Jonathan Chang

Producer/Director, On Point

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images).

Students and lecturers gathered at UCLA Bruin Plaza to celebrate with s rally after a strike was averted Wednesday morning. Lecturers across the UC system were planning to strike Wednesday and Thursday over unfair labor practices.

No stereotype can tell the story of more than 20 million people. We look at the true diversity of the Asian American academic experience. Julie J. Park joins Meghna Chakrabarti.

Life

On Point's Paige Sutherland reports on a Supreme Court case that has the potential to grant firearms access to hundreds of thousands of domestic abusers who are currently prohibited.

Should domestic abusers have gun rights?

Paige Sutherland

I need a protective order because I am afraid that Zack will kill me and my son.

The founding generation was intimately familiar with the scourge of domestic violence. They never addressed that problem through any sort of firearms restriction.

Some abusive intimate partners will legally access firearms they were previously forbidden from possessing, and some will use those firearms to terrorize or even kill their victims or others.

68% of mass shooters have a history of domestic violence or killed an intimate partner in the mass shooting.

A Walther P22 pistol, which according to

On Point's Paige Sutherland reports on a Supreme Court case being heard on Nov. 7 that has the potential to grant firearms access to hundreds of thousands of domestic abusers who are currently prohibited.

Podcast extra: Should domestic abusers have gun rights?

News

The border crisis is no longer just a border issue. Northern cities like Chicago are scrambling to accommodate busloads of migrants arriving daily, causing political backlash at the local and national level.

The border crisis arrives in Chicago

Daniel Ackerman

Floating Producer 

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 11: Venezuelan migrants Yorbis Natera (red tee) and Ismar Aular (pushing stroller), left, who are living at the Chicago Police Department's 15th District walk their kids to school on Monday, September 11, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Since last year, over 14,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have arrived in Chicago by bus from the Texas border. Chicago, which is a sanctuary city has been housing the asylum seekers at police stations, O'Hare International Airport, and city-run shelters.  (Photo by Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Migrants Are Seen At The Chicago Police Department's 15th District In Chicago

The border crisis is no longer just a border issue. Northern cities like Chicago are scrambling to accommodate busloads of migrants arriving daily, causing political backlash at the local and national level. Cata Truss, David Moore and Jack Beatty join Meghna Chakrabarti.

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty tells us how a second Trump administration could drastically weaken federal agencies and increase the power of the president.

Kakistocracy: Jack Beatty on government by the worst

Jack Beatty

News Analyst, On Point

An anti-war protestor holds an upside-down American Flag during a demonstration against war in Iraq and Iran outside the White House on January 4, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Alex Edelman/Getty Images)

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.

The Jackpod: History, literature and politics with Jack Beatty

Earlier this week, Harvard professor Claudia Goldin won the Nobel Prize in economics, only the third woman in history to do so. In this conversation with Goldin from last year, we hear how her focus on women in the workforce has led to great discoveries.

Nobel prize winner Claudia Goldin on women, the work force and the pandemic

Dorey Scheimer

Senior Editor, On Point

In this Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, file photo, women fill out job applications at a JobNewsUSA job fair in Miami Lakes, Fla. (Lynne Sladky/AP)

Job Openings

Earlier this week, Harvard professor Claudia Goldin won the Nobel Prize in economics, only the third woman in history to do so. In this conversation with Goldin from last year, we hear how her focus on women in the workforce has led to great discoveries. Claudia Goldin joins Meghna Chakrabarti.

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty tells us what stands to him out about the districts of the eight representatives who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. Also, listeners respond to last week’s episode about ‘The line’ -- the feeling man

'I voted my district': Jack Beatty on who the McCarthy ousters represent

Kevin McCarthy

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty tells us what stands to him out about the districts of the eight representatives who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. 

Also, listeners respond to last week’s episode about ‘The line’ -- the feeling many working-class Americans have about being left behind.

The Supreme Court is hearing a case this week that could hamper federal enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case may also change the way the government enforces civil rights laws across the board.

Disability rights enforcement could be weakened in latest SCOTUS case

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: The U.S. Supreme Court is shown at dusk on June 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. The high court is expected to release more opinions tomorrow ahead of its summer recess, with cases involving affirmative action and student loan debt relief still to be decided.  (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Supreme Court Continues To Deliver Decisions This Week Ahead Its Summer Break

On Point News analyst Jack Beatty explores Donald Trump's appeal to voters who see their dignity affronted daily. Plus, a searing message for Democrats and President Biden from one Black voter who polls indicate is far from alone.

The line: Jack Beatty on the sources of white working-class anxiety

(Jacobs Stock Photography Ltd via Getty Images)