The Point

Our book experts sit down to talk over favorite summer reading picks. Mindy Todd, Jill Erickson, and  Jennifer Gaines have a long list of titles to share, and we hear from listeners throughout the region with ideas for great summer reading.

On The Point, we discuss the developmental and social impacts on children of having an incarcerated parent. We hear from an adult who experienced parental incarceration as a child, and about a residential camp for children with incarcerated parents. In 2014 an estimated 1.4 million U.S. Children had a parent in jail or in prison, according to the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated.

For most of us, riding a bike, paddling a kayak, or hiking a trail is something we take for granted.  But for those with physical or cognitive limitations, engaging in sports can be a challenge. One solution is adaptive sports. On The Point, we talk with sight impaired individuals who have accomplished incredible feats in sailing and hiking, and a new adaptive sports program at Nickerson Sate Park in Brewster. 

On The Point, we talk about the psychology of change. Mindy Todd hosts psychiatrist Marc Whaley in a conversation about the many and varied changes we inevitably face in life, and how these effect us. We hear advice about how we can get the support we need for dealing with changes.

On The Point, our host Mindy Todd and horticulturist Roberta Clark talk about gardening. Lots of tips for getting the best results with all your favorite plants. We also hear questions and comments from listeners throughout our region, about everything from lawns to fruit trees and peonies.

WCAI News Director Sean Corcoran rounds up the top local news stories of the week with several area journalists.

WCAI and Twenty Summers present Telling Tales in a World of Alternative Facts: Junot Díaz and Jacqueline Woodson in Conversation. What does it mean to be a fiction writer of color in America today?

On The Point, we talk about skin cancer and how we can best protect ourselves from the sun’s damaging rays. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. It's estimated that one American dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows new cases of Melanoma in Massachusetts are 26 percent higher than the national average, and Nantucket County has one of the top 5 rates of new melanoma diagnoses among counties nationwide, 146 percent above the national average.

June is LGBTQ Pride Month, and events are happening across the country. Locally, Cape Cod Pride Day is Saturday, June 24 in Falmouth. Joining us on The Point to talk about the event and the ongoing efforts to support members of the LGBTQ community in our region are Rabbi Elias Lieberman of the Falmouth Jewish Congregation, and Paul Glass, a member of the Massachusetts Commission on LGBT Aging, and Co-Chair of the LGBT Elders of Color.

Birds all around our region are busy feeding their chicks. If you listen, in many places you can hear the nestlings calling for food. On The Point, Mark Faherty, ornithologist and science coordinator at Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, talks with Mindy Todd and our listeners about what's happening in the world of birds.