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Wall Street Journal
Rebecca Blumenstein is Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and former Beijing Bureau Chief, for the Wall Street Journal.
PROFILE
Rebecca Blumenstein
Guest
FROM Rebecca Blumenstein
To the Point
The way forward in a post-truth world Fake news isn't new. It's about as old as news itself. What is new is the speed and potency of fake news in the age of social media, and the way in which it figured in this year's election. From stories about Hillary Clinton selling weapons to ISIS to claims by the President-elect that he won the popular vote… sensational and poisonous stories have spread rapid fire on Facebook and Twitter, helped along by ad sales and algorithms that propel fake news to the top of pack, occasionally with violent results. How damaging is fake news to democracy, and what role do mainstream media outlets as well as technology companies play in defusing it?
To the Point
The Beijing Olympics: Promises and Realities "Beijing Welcomes the World" is the slogan everywhere in China's capital with the Summer Olympic s scheduled to start just over a month from today. In order to get the Games, China promised it would be clean, green and accessible, but not all its commitments are being kept. Some $40 billion in US dollars have been spent on space-age venues and infrastructure, including the world's largest airport. But competitors are worried about air pollution; tight new visa requirements are keeping travelers away and media coverage may be severely restricted. We hear about those issues and ask which athletes are the ones to watch. How's the US expected to do? Are the Olympics always as much about politics as athletics?
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To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?