On this month's book program for The Point, we explore the world of Irish literature. Jill Erickson, of Falmouth Public Library , and Nelson Ritschel, Author and Professor in the Humanities Department at Mass Maritime Academy , join host Mindy Todd in the studio to discuss their top picks, along with listeners from around the region calling in or emailing suggestions and comments.

A serious or life-threatening illness can make us look at life differently. It can bring our priorities into sharper focus but also leave us struggling with larger questions. Terri Luanna da Silva was 37, and had a young daughter, when she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Terri decided to write about her experience in a blog she shared with friends and family. At Terri’s request, her aunt Laurie O’Neil has published her blog: it’s now a book titled Graceful Woman Warrior, A Story of

WCAI News Director Steve Junker hosts a roundup of some of the top local and regional news of the week, including: a provider of pediatric palliative care is ending its services on the Cape; the state approves the Cape's police academy; reaction keeps coming to a controversial social media post by a Barnstable County Commissioner; and a plow driver faces charges that he intentionally sprayed a group of protestors with snow and ice.

Barnstable County Sheriff Jim Cummings has become the third sheriff in the state to opt into Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287 (g) program, making the sheriff’s department a delegated authority for immigration enforcement. We sit in on a public information session with ICE and Sheriff Cummings, and discuss how the 287 (g) program in Bristol County under Sheriff Hodgson has impacted New Bedford immigrants.

On The Point, we talk about feeling lonely, and how we connect with our fellow humans. How do social media and the internet help with loneliness, and when do they make it worse? We discuss social anxiety, a common reason for loneliness, and we hear from listeners across the Cape and Islands about their experiences.

In December, the Commonwealth passed a new short term rental tax that includes the establishment of a trust fund to pay for waste water management on Cape Cod and the Islands. We discuss which rentals must collect the new tax, and which are exempt. We also discuss the role of the Water Protection Trust Fund in helping towns pay for wastewater clean up and management.

WCAI News Director Steve Junker hosts a roundup of some of the top local and regional news of the week, including: growing concerns about whether the Cape is ready for its first summer after a fatal shark attack; the Barnstable County Sheriff's office has a public meeting to discuss its work with federal immigrations authorities; and the Cape may already be home to a nesting pair of bald eagles.

Regardless of your view of Valentine’s Day, a new collection of poems titled Love Poems (For Married people) will likely make you smile if not laugh out loud. On The Point, we talk with author John Kenney about the humor in long term relationships. Mindy Todd hosts.

One island, two newspapers, and the reporter who played them both: this is the premise of Nicole Galland’s new novel On the Same Page . On The Point, we talk with the author about the book, and her portrayal of tensions between seasonal and year-round residents on an island.

WCAI launches a new podcast focused on Alzheimer’s disease: it's called “ T he Forgetting: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's . " The twice-monthly podcast is co-hosted by two well-respected Alzheimer's experts and authors: David Shenk, author of " The Forgetting: Alzheimer's, Portrait of an Epidemic " and Greg O'Brien, author of " On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer' s". On The Point, we listen to excerpts from the podcast, and talk with David, Greg, and Executive Producer Sean Corcoran. Here's