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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
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
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
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.