Hello again,

In late April, an episode of On Point focused on an effort underway in Texas to strike down the 

preventive care provision in the Affordable Care Act. Since the act was signed into law in 2010, 

many preventive care screenings have been free of charge. But in April a federal judge in Texas 

ruled that the preventive care provision of the ACA is unlawful for those with private insurance. 
 

We spent that episode exploring the people and the motivations behind that effort — one that 

could impact 150 million Americans. If you didn’t hear it, you might not have even heard of the 

case; it hasn’t received prominent media attention. On Point Host Meghna Chakrabarti asked 

University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley, an expert on health law, what he thinks is 

behind that. “First of all, it’s complicated,” he replied. And that, at On Point, is our sweet spot. 
 

When there’s a topic that, in the words of Professor Bagley, is a “big deal” and we should “be 

taking this litigation seriously,” but isn’t getting the attention it deserves because of its complexity 

— and it can’t be encapsulated in a four and a half minute piece, a brief interview or a snappy 

sound bite — that’s where On Point can deliver. We offer something unique to public radio 

listeners who are hungry for rich, meaningful conversations and deep dives on a single topic 

each weekday. 
 

Listeners tell us that the inclination to lean into complexity and help guide the listener to 

understanding, is something they value. I also think it’s a big reason why On Point has earned 

seven journalism awards in the past two years alone. 
 

Our most recent honors are two Gracies from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation. The 

On Point episode, An Invisible Epidemic: Survivors of domestic violence on living with traumatic 

brain injury, was honored in the Investigative Feature Category and Behind the decades-long 

fight to close the ‘boyfriend loophole’ won in the Public Affairs category for nationally syndicated 

non-commercial radio. Not surprisingly, we are proud that our efforts to push the boundaries of 

how a show like On Point can make an impact are being recognized by our professional peers. 

But, frankly, we are even more gratified by the recognition that we get from listeners. 

Immediately following the traumatic brain injury show we received multiple messages from 

women, survivors of domestic violence, who told us that they had heard their own story being 

told. One wrote, “This show helped me to finally end the ongoing questions of self-doubt and 

blame that have haunted me for 65 years.” 
 

And it’s not just awards that On Point has been picking up recently — we’ve also been picking 

up new stations, so if you’re receiving this newsletter for the first time because you have 

recently added On Point to your schedule, we send our profound thanks. I know that with The 

Takeaway ending its run, consequent schedule changes are not taken lightly. We are truly 

energized by the opportunity to share our work with your listeners. 
 

Jonathan Dyer

Executive Producer, On Point