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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The City as the Power Center

    The 50 states are central to America’s political system…but real power now lies in the growing metropolitan regions that cross state boundaries. We’ll hear how cities are getting together to overcome our national gridlock before unsolved problems reach the crisis stage.

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    By Warren Olney • Jul 4, 2016 • 52m Listen

    The 50 states are central to America’s political system…but real power now lies in the growing metropolitan regions that cross state boundaries. We’ll hear how cities are getting together to overcome our national gridlock before unsolved problems reach the crisis stage.

    Twitter trolls, status updates, and ALL THOSE cat videos – The Internet is vast. But is it art? We’ll talk with a cultural critic who says it’s THE great masterpiece of civilization.

    Photo: Illustration from Parag Khanna's Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization

    In this episode

    3 stories
    1. 1:56

      Congress to Vote on Gun Measures

      This week House Republicans are slated to hold a vote on so-called “no fly, no buy” gun legislation -- just holding a vote is an about-face for GOP leadership. It comes after Democrats staged their 25 hour sit-in on the floor of Congress last month. But the bill being offered by the Republicans falls short of what Democrats wanted.

      Read the story
      6 min
    2. 8:55

      Will the United States Become the United Cities of America?

      The 50 United States are accidents of history, unrelated to current population density or productivity. They were never designed to solve today's problems. Now there's a movement for something new: connections across state borders between the vast metropolitan regions where power really lies.

      Read the story
      33 min
    3. 42:38

      Is the Internet Art?

      The Internet has “changed everything.” It’s so important in the development of civilization that it rivals monotheism. To understand it, we need “a new hierarchy of values.” All that’s according to Virginia Heffernan, former TV critic for the New York Times now a digital culture columnist.

      Read the story
      10 min
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Barbara Bogaev

      radio journalist

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christine Detz

      Producer, 'To the Point'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

      NewsNationalPolitics

    In this episode

    3 stories
    1. 1:566 min

      Congress to Vote on Gun Measures

    2. 8:5533 min

      Will the United States Become the United Cities of America?

    3. 42:3810 min

      Is the Internet Art?

    Back to To the Point