Warren Olney’s ‘To the Point’ looks back to understand the present

After 50 years in TV and radio, Warren Olney is taking “To the Point” from daily broadcast to weekly podcast. For the last week on air, we opened up the KCRW archives to look back at what’s changed since the show began- and how we got here.

“To the Point” took to the airwaves at a moment of national crisis: the Florida recount of the 2000 presidential election. Those 36 days of uncertainty shook Americans’ trust in democratic institutions — from the courts to the ballot box to the chattering pundits on cable news. In that way, the year 2000 is a perfect starting point for understanding some of the divisions that gave rise to President Donald Trump.

Listen below.

Monday – The Courts: How the judiciary has grown more partisan.

Tuesday – The Military: America’s “forever war.”

Wednesday – The Vote: losing faith in the franchise, from “hanging chads” to Russian meddling.

Thursday – The Media: How weaponizing distrust in the free press has threatened democracy.

Friday – The Tech Sector: How technology has disrupted our lives for better and worse.