KCRW's To the Point

Venezuela is in mourning for President Hugo Chavez, who died yesterday in Caracas. As Latin American leaders arrive to pay their respects, we look at his life and legacy.

The White House found a way to delay a decision on the Keystone Oil Pipeline until after the President's re-election, but now the pressure is on. We look at the options.

Even before they start selecting the next Pope, the College of Cardinals has plenty to talk about -- sex abuse, financial scandal and the role of women.

Arbitrary, across-the-board federal budget cuts are a fact of life today. President Obama blames the Republicans. We look at the impacts of "sequestration" around the US.

America's population is aging, but retirement won't be what it used to. More than half the current work force won't be prepared. Are workers themselves to blame?

As predicted, conservatives on the US Supreme Court today took aim at Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We hear the arguments and what the justices had to say.

America's new Secretary of State is taking another shot at diplomacy. But with Assad getting help from US rivals, how much longer can we refuse to arm Syrian opposition?

The $85 billion in across-the-board federal spending cuts are scheduled for Friday How great is the threat to a struggling economy? What's the role of political theater?

Polls show more than three-fourths of Americans think the best marriage allows mothers and fathers equal time to work and take care of family, but that's increasingly hard.

President Obama wants to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for genetics. But even scientists concede that "mapping the brain" is vastly more complex.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped other minorities get the right to vote in states of the former Confederacy. But Alabama and other states insist that times have changed.

President Obama wants pre-school education for every child in America. Would that help break the poverty cycle? Are there other benefits to justify a new federal program?

The latest mass killing has renewed multiple controversies about mobilizing science and medicine to prevent violent crime. What are the legal and ethical issues?

New York's Governor Cuomo says the lesson of Superstorm Sandy is the vulnerability of coastal development to climate change. Instead of rebuilding damaged properties...

Mainstream Republicans and the Tea Party Express offered different responses to the President's SOTU speech this week. The GOP, a party split over pragmatism and principle.