From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Saying goodbye to a year that many would like to forget and looking for hope in the year to come.

I'm Sarah Terry sitting in for Warren Allney, and this is to the point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

2010 was a rough year for many people who continued to struggle through a difficult economy,

and it was definitely a rough-and-tumble year in politics as Tea Partyers stirred up the elections.

What's ahead on the political and economic horizons?

Who's thinking about new answers to solving ongoing problems and prevent future disasters?

These may be challenging times for Western countries, but how does the future look for the

developing world?

On reporter's notebook, 2010 started with a humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

How effectively does aid reach those who need help?

First, the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica

and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D.

and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. I'm Sarah Terry, sitting in for Warren Allney, back with To the Point from PRI. We'll be

talking about some of the biggest stories in 2010, including the economy, and a shift to the

right on the political front. How will those two stories play out in the year

ahead? We'll also look at some simple and surprising ideas for how to make the world a better

place. And we look at the years behind and ahead of us from a different perspective, how things

look from the developing world. On reporter's notebook, tracking where humanitarian aid goes and doesn't go.

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