The Point

Nitrogen loading of bays, estuaries and freshwater ponds is an ongoing problem, and one we’ve been addressing for decades. Are we making progress? What are the new technologies or options for preventing nitrogen loading and restoring habitats? Host Mindy Todd talks with the Cape Cod Commission and leaders of non-profits tackling the issue of water quality.

What is lost when people spend more time online or on their phones and less time reading a book? What do we lose as individuals and a society, when people stop reading? And why should educational curriculums not neglect the arts and humanities in the push to promote STEM? On The Point, we talk with Robert Waxler , professor of English at UMass-Dartmouth. His new book is titled Why Reading Books Still Matters; the Power of Literature in Digital Times .

We live in a beautiful part of the world that attracts tourists and second home owners. While these individuals contribute greatly to our economy, they’re also driving up the price of real estate and reducing the availability of year round housing. It’s not just low income wage earners who are affected; workers in the middle income bracket also struggle to find and afford housing in our region. Two nonprofits have teamed up to help boost affordable housing production; they're calling it the Cape

WCAI News Director Steve Junker hosts a roundup of some of the top local and regional news of the week. His guests include Patrick Cassidy of the Cape Cod Times; Sara Brown of the Vineyard Gazette; Tim Wood of the Cape Cod Chronicle; Josh Balling of the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror; Ann Wood of the Provincetown Banner; Tao Woolfe of the Sandwich Enterprise; and George Brennan of the Martha's Vineyard Times.

The Woods Hole Folk Music Society has brought live music to this village for forty six years. On The Point, Society member Clyde Tyndale talks about the history of the organization. We also hear from musicians Bill Staines , Cindy Kallet and Gordon Bok . Mindy Todd hosts.

David Gessner spent twenty years of his youth in the thrall of a unique game, and he revisits them in his latest book Ultimate Glory: Frisbee, Obsession and My Wild Youth . Mindy Todd hosts this interview on The Point.

On The Point, this month's book show features children's books. Mindy Todd sits down in the studio with Sara Hines, of Eight Cousins Bookstore, and Mary Cronin, educator, writer, and poet. They discuss favorite kid's books, and share tips for helping young people get the most out of literature.

Gerry Studds served as U.S. Representative from 1973 to 1997. He’s known for passing legislation protecting American fishermen from overfishing by international boats, and limiting president Ronald Reagan’s wars in Central America. After an affair with a page was revealed, Gerry Studds became the first openly gay member of congress. He went on to champion AIDS research and equal right for gays. On The Point, we talk with author Mark Schneider about his new biography of Gerry Studds .

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; Josh Balling of the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror; Ed Miller of the Provincetown Banner; and George Brennan of the Martha's Vineyard Times.

Who was Katharine Lee Bates? Much more than the author of America The Beautiful . Born on Cape Cod in the town of Falmouth, Katharine Lee Bates was also an accomplished writer, a professor of English at Wellesley College, and a social activist. A new book, Katharine Lee Bates From Sea to Shining Sea, has just come out, and author Melinda Ponder joins Mindy Todd on The Point to talk about it.