Dartmouth College
Jeff Sharlet is an assistant professor of English at Dartmouth College. Also a journalist, he is the author of several books on American religion, including Radiant Truths: Essential Dispatches, Reports, Confessions, and Other Essays on American Belief.
Independence Day in a divided country The Pledge of Allegiance calls the US "indivisible," but that’s beginning to sound like wishful thinking. A century and a half since the Civil War, divisions remain between North and South, between cities and countryside. Democrats and Republicans are enemies. The fracturing of the media allows for different entertainment and news coverage-- reflecting different cultural values. And Donald Trump is the first American President to openly divide, rather than unify. What are the prospects for a Happy Fourth of July?
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?