On Point on WKNO HD-2

President-elect Joe Biden says ‘America first’ is history. But is the U.S. as world leader history, too? We discuss Biden’s foreign policy team and America’s place on the world stage.

Guests

Peter Beinart, contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and editor-at-large for Jewish Currents. Professor of journalism at the City University of New York. (@PeterBeinart)

Hear our hour on the mutual benefits of kindness.

Allyson Cook is a 23. She’s a grad student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

And since the pandemic began, she’s been volunteering for something called the Get Connected program at the Northwood long-term care facility.  “This was an opportunity for volunteers to reach out to seniors … just asking if they were interested or not,” Allyson says.

Republicans made inroads among Latinos this election – the same voters that Democrats also believe are key to the future of their party. We talk with Democrat Vicente Gonzalez about the lessons he says his party needs to learn.  

Hear today’s radio diary on an ER doctor’s ethical dilemma amid the pandemic. 

The pandemic has been rife with ethical dilemmas: from patient care to vaccine distribution nationwide. We discuss how to think through the ethical implications of COVID-19.

Dec. 14 marks the day electors from 50 states meet to certify election results. The states have already certified their votes. But key Republicans are still filing lawsuits to overturn the result. We discuss the democracy stress test and what happens next.

Guests

Bertrall Ross, chancellor’s professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. (@Bertrall_Ross)

President-elect Joe Biden announced his health care team this week. We’ll check out their credentials and ask if they’re up to the task of pushing back the pandemic and pushing forward health care in America.  

What would the Biden team need to do, in concrete terms, to help specific communities? For example – the Navajo Nation. Navajo leaders say the coronavirus is spreading virtually uncontrolled across 75 communities. And this week, the Navajo Nation expanded its current lockdown by an additional three weeks, until at least Dec. 28.

In Kentucky, a high school newspaper uncovered a disturbing story. For years, the State Police had used a training manual celebrating quotations from Adolf Hitler. Today, the student journalists share the whole story with us.  

“We need[ed] to sacrifice in the short-term to gain the long-term back — and to gain our lives. And it worked.” That’s how the Australians beat back the COVID pandemic to just a few cases across the entire country. We discuss how Australia did it, and lessons for the U.S.  

Guests

Dina Rosendorff, manager of ABC Radio Melbourne. (@DRosendorff)