- Social:
Naval War College
Thomas Nichols is a professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College and the author of The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters.
PROFILE
Thomas Nichols
Guest
FROM Thomas Nichols
To the Point
Why Don't Facts Matter? In this divided nation, more and more people respond only to new information that reinforces their established opinions. When they're presented with facts that contradict what they believe, their opinions get stronger — even when the contradictory evidence is irrefutable. Has the country become the Emotional States of America, or is there something about the way the human brain is wired? Is it the consequence of our culture, our politics or the way our brains are structured? We talk to a neuroscientist, a foreign-policy expert, and an obstetrician who performs abortions in Alabama in the name of science… and Christianity.
Recommended
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
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
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
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.