The Point

Last spring schools across the Cape and Islands were abruptly forced to close their doors and shift to remote learning because of the pandemic. During the summer teachers and administrators had to completely re-think how to engage students in learning while also keeping the entire school community safe from infection.

Technology has always been a double edged sword; it has allowed schools to remain open during the pandemic, but it might also be also causing a spike in online predation of children. Locally, Children’s Cove, the Cape and Islands Child Advocacy Center has seen a dramatic increase in referrals for child sexual exploitation. Today we discuss how to keep children safe as they spend more of their day online.

Coronavirus spikes continue around the region. Local social media lights up on Sunday morning with the questions: "Did you feel that? Did we just have… an earthquake?" And police continue their search for a missing Mashpee teen. We have those stories and more on the local news roundup, as CAI News Director Steve Junker speaks with some of the region’s leading journalists. This week's guests include CAI's Jennette Barnes and Sam Houghton; Noah Asimow of the Vineyard Gazette; Jessica Hall of the

Walk along the streets of Nantucket, Edgartown, or New Bedford and you’ll likely pass by the historic homes of whaling ship captains. These iconic homes are reminders of how central whaling was to economy of this region during the 9 th century. However, one important aspect of our whaling heritage has been missing from the narrative: the abundance of people of color who not only went to sea on whaling ships, but rose to the highest rank, that of Captain.

Museums and cultural centers are open again, including the Nantucket and New Bedford Whaling Museums and the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. On The Point, we discuss protocols for visiting, some of the exhibits on display, and the wealth of artifacts that these museums keep in the archives. We also discuss how museum staff work with historians and researchers both locally and across the globe.

Climate change and racial justice are increasingly understood to be intimately linked, especially in the U.S. where white men have driven the narrative and controlled power for generations. A new book makes the case that the only way to address the climate crisis is to diversify leadership, and prioritize antiracist and feminist policy.

On The Point, we get updates on bird action (and other creactures) from Wildlife Biologist Mark Faherty of Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary . People flocked to Race Point in Provincetown this week when word got around that a birder had spotted a rare ancient murrelet. Many drove hours to try for a glimpse of this rare alcid, seldom seen in these parts: it's the 4th state record. Meanwhile on the home feeders, bird visitors go from busy to sparse: Mark offers thoughts about the question he's

After a day of passions at the polls, “Count Every Vote” rallies spring up locally. And, officials say, community-spread coronavirus is now on the Cape. We have those stories and more on the local news roundup, as CAI News Director Steve Junker speaks with some of the region’s leading journalists.

On The Point, w e continue our monthly conversations with the MBL’s Falmouth Forum Lecture series guests. This month we talk with Susan Hockfield Former President of MIT and author of The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build The Next Technology Revolution . Her book examines how engineering and biology can come together to address climate change, drought, famine and disease.

On The Point, we continue our coverage of the 2020 Election. We go over the results of the races here on the Cape and Islands, a number of which are contested.