The Point

WCAI News Director Steve Junker hosts a roundup of some of the week's top local and regional news, including: Cape hospitals and nursing homes restrict visitors as a precaution against the new coronavirus, even as questions arise about testing locally and in the state; we round up preparations and cancellations around the region; and the Cape Cod Commission gives a favorable report on the plan to restore the Herring River.

Friends are the family we choose, but what drives those bonds? Biology, psychology and evolution are important under pinings to our relationships. On The Point, w e talk with science journalist Lydia Denworth about her research into friendships and whether social media is changing the nature of our relationships. Denworth’s latest book is Friendship- The Evolution, Biology and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond .

The words we use and our pronunciation varies regionally across our country. Josh Katz, graphics editor at the New York Times, uses linguistics data and a map of the US to illustrate where those differences arise. In an interview o n The Point, Katz talks with host Mindy Todd about the intersections of language, culture and geography, and his new book titled Speaking American .

Signs of spring are all around. Woodcocks are beginning their seasonal displays, bird song is increasing, and migrants are returning. Mark Faherty, science coordinator at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, has all the latests bird news and some thoughts on Fishers. Mindy Todd hosts.

C. L. Fornari is an artist, gardener, and author of 8 gardening books. Her first gardening book was published 25 years ago, and much has changed since then: we have new pests, a different climate and a better understanding of how and when to fertilize. Her latest book, Sand and Soil: Creating Beautiful Gardens on Cape Cod and the Islands, touches on many of those changes and provides a resource of a variety of plants that thrive in our region.

WCAI News Director Steve Junker hosts a roundup of some of the week's top local and regional news, including: the field has been narrowed for the special election for the Plymouth-Barnstable State Senate seat; and local officials are making preparations in the event that COVID-19 makes an appearance in the region.

On The Point, we talk about books on fish and fishing culture with Dennis Minsky and Jill Erickson. They share their top picks of the many great books on this topic. Mindy Todd hosts. Here's a link to a list of the books mentioned on the program.

Influenza or the flu is thought of as a common but mild disease and yet it kills up to fifty thousand people in the United States a year. In 1918 one third of the world’s population was infected with influenza: it's estimated that between fifty and one hundred million people died in that pandemic. While we have learned a lot since then, vital questions about the flu continue to confound even the leading experts. Dr. Jeremy Brown is an emergcy room doctor and the author of Influenza: the Hundred

Accumulating stuff is surprisingly easy. With the click of a button you can order pretty much anything you want; you might find yourself with a closet of clothes you don’t wear, or kitchen gadgets you never use. Or maybe you’re storing boxes of things that haven’t been opened since you last moved, twenty years ago. For some people the impulse to collect and keep things is difficult to control, and begins to impact mental and physical welfare. Others recognize they have too much stuff, but don’t

Some Cape Cod districts have changed school start times, so high school students go to school later and elementary students start earlier. Other districts considered similar changes but elected not to do so. On The Point , we discuss some of the issues surrounding school start times. We also check in to hear from parents, students, and administrators. Mindy Todd and Steve Junker host.