© 2024 KOSU
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

On Point Announces Two New Hosts

Jesse Costa / WBUR
Meghna Chakrabarti and David Folkenflik

On Point, WBUR’s syndicated weekday talk show, will hit the reset button with two new hosts.

Meghna Chakrabarti will be the voice and face of the national two-hour morning program Monday through Thursday. David Folkenflik will host on Fridays. Both will start the week of Aug. 20.

They replace founding host Tom Ashbrook, who was dismissed in February after an investigation conducted by Boston University, which owns WBUR’s broadcast license, found that Ashbrook had created an abusive work environment.

"At a time when media is so polarized, On Point has long been the home for America’s national conversation on public radio," WBUR General Manager Charlie Kravetz said in a statement. "We’re excited for Meghna and David to carry on the tradition at On Point of inspired conversation and respect for a wide range of opinions."

Chakrabarti is the current host of Radio Boston, a one-hour weekday program on WBUR, which will begin a search for her replacement. Previously, Chakrabarti was a reporter in the WBUR newsroom, and had been a producer and director at On Point.

“It’s an honor to join the On Point staff and serve its nationwide community of listeners,” Chakrabarti said in a statement. “For the past ten years, I’ve been lucky enough at WBUR to hone a style of journalism that combines a reporter’s dogged, enterprising approach along with the freshness and intensity of live conversation. It’s a privilege to bring that to a national stage and to work with David, who I’ve followed and admired for years.”

Folkenflik is and will remain the media correspondent for NPR while hosting On Point one day a week from New York.

“Our era calls for meaningful news and conversation about the issues, people and events that define contemporary life,” Folkenflik said in a statement. “On Point will be infused with a sense of history, humanity and humor -- and it will endure as a forum where our listeners can themselves be heard. I’m gratified by the trust shown in me by WBUR and NPR in naming me to this new role, and to share it with someone as talented as Meghna."

Folkenflik arrived at NPR in 2004 after more than 10 years at The Baltimore Sun, where he covered higher education, national politics and the media. He’s a four-time recipient of the National Press Club’s Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism and the author of "Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires."

In addition to Radio Boston, Chakrabarti hosts Modern Love: The Podcast and is the primary fill-in host for Here & Now, a midday news program produced at WBUR and distributed by NPR. Radio Boston, with Chakrabarti, has won numerous awards.

Chakrabarti and Folkenflik will also have to cement the show’s production team. The show’s executive producer and directors are all veterans. Staff say the churn that was typical during the Ashbrook era has slowed, but that only one senior producer remains. News Analyst Jack Beatty is staying. Jane Clayson will continue to be the primary fill-in host.

KOSU is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.
Related Content