The Point

On The Point, a discussion about the psychology of screen time and technology. Seventy percent of teens have smart phones, and many spend hours a day on their devices. We talk about the do's and don'ts of social media, common pitfalls, family agreements about limits on computer time, and related parental quandaries.

The process of adoption is more open today than it was a generation ago. Laws have changed to give adoptees access to their birth records, international adoption is more common, and families tend to share an adoption as good news instead of something to keep hidden. Yet as our society becomes more comfortable with adoption, the experience of being adopted hasn’t changed significantly. We talk about adoption from the perspective of the adoptee and how we can better support adoptees and their

WCAI News Director Steve Junker hosts a roundup of some of the top local and regional news of the week. His guests include: Geoff Spillane of the Cape Cod Times, Sara Brown of the Vineyard Gazette, Tim Wood of the Cape Cod Chronicle, Andy Tomolonis of South Coast Today, Ann Wood of the Provincetown Banner, and George Brennan of the Martha's Vineyard Times.

Some experts say Americans spend upwards of 10 hours a day in front of screens. This holiday season, many are grappling with whether or not to give children a gift with a screen. On The Point, we talk about screen use guidelines for adults and children, and steps for raising children to be conscious digital citizens instead of just digital consumers.

Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm on October 4th. It’s not an overstatement to say the island was devastated; not only were many structures damaged or flattened by wind, the power grid was destroyed and thousands of people were without access to fresh water and food for weeks. Dr. Stephanie Prior is a physician at The Community Health Center of Cape Cod and recently returned from a medical humanitarian trip to Puerto Rico. Dr. Prior treated patients in clinics

People are living longer. On The Point, we discuss the factors that contribute to healthy aging, and the challenges and opportunities we face as we prepare for an aging population at the community level. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that by 2030 about 1 of every 5 Americans will be age 65 or older: that’s about 72 million people. We will see a similar trend in our region: it’s estimated that the percentage of our state population of older adults will increase from 15% in 2015 to 21%

On The Point, Mark Faherty, ornithologist at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary , joins our host Mindy Todd to talk about winter birds. Somewhere out there in the complete darkness of the arctic, snowy owls are hunting for sea ducks. Some of them will come this far south. Sea birds abound in our local waters; one can see hundreds of razorbills in Cape Cod Bay, and also other alcids (stocky oceanic birds that includes razorbills, dovekies, murres, and puffins).

WCAI News Director Steve Junker hosts a roundup of some of the top local and regional news of the week. His guests include: Geoff Spillane of the Cape Cod Times, Sara Brown of the Vineyard Gazette, Tim Wood of the Cape Cod Chronicle, Andy Tomolonis of South Coast Today, Ann Wood of the Provincetown Banner, and George Brennan of the Martha's Vineyard Times.

We take a trip to Melissa Caughey’s chicken coop in Barnstable to meet her flock, observe their interactions and hear their vocalizations. Melissa’s latest book is titled How to Speak Chicken, Why Your Chickens Do What they Do & Say What They Say.

Singer Songwriter Judy Collins started performing at age thirteen; six decades later, she’s still at it, performing folk, rock and roll, and show tunes. Brian Morris talks with her about her eclectic repertoire and her social activism.