Stanford grad the host of new PBS late-night debate show
“Enough shouting. Let’s use our inside voices.’’
That’s the promotional plea for “Point Taken,” a new late-night debate program that began airing last month on PBS.
The weekly show (11 p.m., Tuesdays) is an attempt by PBS to tap into the country’s appetite for debate while emphasizing a more civil tone than what is typically found on the 24/7 cable stations.
“From this year’s surprising presidential campaign to the Oscars controversy to evolving church and state boundaries, there could not be a better time to create a wide-open arena for curious people to come together and debate the critical issues facing this country,” says Carlos Watson, the host of “Point Taken.”
Watson, a San Francisco resident and former MSNBC and CNN anchor, left cable news to cofound OZY Media, a digital news and culture magazine that launched in September 2013.
Watson graduated from Harvard University with a degree in government and went on to attend Stanford Law School, where he was editor of the Stanford Law Review and president of the Stanford Law School Student Government. He graduated from Stanford in 1995.
Each week, he moderates a panel of journalists, artists, academics and experts, as they debate a single topic. “Point Taken” also relies on audience participation through preshow polling and voting online and in-studio.
LIFE AFTER ‘WIFE’: This Sunday, “The Good Wife” (9 p.m., CBS), the acclaimed legal series created by San Jose native Robert King and his wife, Michelle, ends its seven-season run. But there’s no break for the Kings. They’re already at work on “BrainDead,” their next CBS drama.
“BrainDead,” which debuts on June 13, is a radical departure from “The Good Wife.” Set in Washington, D.C., it’s a comic thriller about what happens when alien spawn come to Earth and begin eating the brains of congressmen and government staffers.
The Kings have described it as a cross between “The Strain” and “The West Wing.”
“There could not be a better time to create a wideopen arena for curious people to come together and debate the critical issues.” — Carlos Watson