On Point Creators & Guests

David Folkenflik is a reporter serving as media correspondent for National Public Radio and is also one of the hosts of NPR's On Point.

Meghna Chakrabarti is a journalist and radio producer. She is the host of NPR's On Point, the former host of the WBUR news program Radio Boston and the Modern Love podcast. She is also the primary fill-in host for Here & Now, produced by WBUR and distributed nationally by NPR.

Tim Skoog is a sound designer and producer for On Point.

Stefano Kotsonis is a producer for On Point at WBUR-FM.

Diane C. Swonk is an economist. Currently, she is Chief Economist at Grant Thornton LLP.Swonk's first book, "The Passionate Economist: Finding the Power and Humanity Behind the Numbers," was published in 2003.

Andrew Desiderio is a congressional reporter who covers the Senate, national security and foreign policy for Politico.Before joining Politico, Desiderio reported for The Daily Beast.Desiderio was raised in Philadelphia. He received his B.A. in Journalism and Italian from The George Washington University.

Dorothy A. Brown is a lawyer and professor. She is best known for her work on the racial implications of federal tax policy. Currently, she is Professor of Law at Emory University.Brown's first book, "The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans -- and How We Can Fix It," was published in 2021. She is also the author of the textbook "Critical Race Theory: Cases, Materials, and Problems," which is currently in its 3rd edition.Brown received her B.S. from Fordham University, her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and her L.L.M. in Tax from New York University School of Law.

Jessica Yellin is a broadcast journalist.

Franco Ordoñez is a political reporter, currently servicing as the White House Correspondent for NPR's Washington Desk.Previously, Ordoñez covered the White House for McClatchy. He has also written about diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and immigration, and has been a correspondent in Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and Haiti.Ordoñez has received the Casey Medal, the Gerald Loeb Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Journalism. He has been a reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists.Ordoñez received his undergraduate degree from The University of Georgia, and his M.Sc. in Journalism from Columbia University.

Kathryn Paige Harden is a psychologist and behavior geneticist. She is an associate professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Norman Ornstein is a political scientist.

Adam Entous is a New Yorker staff writer and CBS contributor.

Eric J. Troutman is a class-action defense lawyer who specializes in defending telemarketers against Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits.

Leila Farsakh (Arabic: ليلى فرسخ) is a Palestinian political economist who was born in Jordan and is a Professor of Political Science at University of Massachusetts Boston. Her area of expertise is Middle East Politics, Comparative Politics, and the Politics of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Farsakh holds a MPhil from the University of Cambridge, UK (1990) and a PhD from the University of London (2003).

Marisa Lagos is a reporter who specializes politics. She is currently KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk, and co-hosts a weekly show and podcast Political Breakdown.Previously, Lagos covered San Francisco City Hall for the San Francisco Chronicle. She has also reported for the San Francisco Examiner and the Los Angeles Times. She has won awards for her work investigating the 2017 wildfires and her ongoing coverage of criminal justice issues in California.

Mona Charen Parker is a columnist, journalist, political commentator, and writer who writes about foreign policy, terrorism, politics, poverty, family structure, public morality, and culture. She is currently Policy Editor of The Bulwark website and host of the podcast "Beg to Differ."Charen wrote for and then became an editorial assistant for National Review magazine. She then became a speechwriter for Nancy Reagan. During the Reagan administration, she worked in the White House Office of Public Liaison and in the Office of Communications. She then went on to work as Jack Kemp's speechwriter.Charen's syndicated column has been featured in more than 200 papers. Her columns have also appeared online at National Review Online, TownHall.com, and the Jewish World Review.Charen was a weekly commentator on CNN's Capital Gang Sunday while it was on the air. She appears regularly on John Batchelor's radio show.Charen's first book, "Useful Idiots: How Liberals Got it Wrong in the Cold War and Still Blame America First," was published in 2003. Her second book, "Do-Gooders: How Liberals Hurt Those They Claim to Help (and the Rest of Us)," was published in 2005. Her third book, "Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense," was published in 2018.Charen was born in New York City and raised in Livingston, New Jersey. She received her B.A. from Barnard College and her J.D. degree from The George Washington University Law School.

Ian Russell McEwan is an English novelist and screenwriter.

Lawrence Gostin is a law professor who specializes in public health law, best known as the author of the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act and as a significant contributor to journals on medicine and law. He is also Professor of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University and Director of the Center for Law & the Public's Health at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities.Gostin received his B.A. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Brockport and his J.D. from Duke Law School.