Contributing Writer, New York Times Magazine
Contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine
PROFILE
Jon Gertner
Guest
FROM Jon Gertner
To the Point
Fires, Drought and Our Role in the Destruction They Cause After a year with almost no rain in Southern California, almost a million people have been forced from their homes in just four days. The National Climate Data Center has reported that 43% of the country is in condition of moderate to extreme drought. Although California's wildfires and evacuations have dominated this week's news, on the other side of the country, there's a kind of slow-motion disaster that has Georgia, Alabama and Florida competing for a dwindling supply of water. It's also hotter and drier than usual in Minnesota, the North East and the Mid-Atlantic. Is it a spell of strange weather or long-term climate change? Is it caused by global warming? Will industry, agriculture and residential development have to change to ward off future disaster?
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To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.