For more than 20 years, Mindy Todd has been one of the most trusted and recognizable voices on WCAI, the Cape Cod and Islands’ public radio station. Before arriving on the Cape, her career took her through television and radio markets from White River Junction, Vermont, and Portland, Maine, to Indianapolis and Nashville — experiences that shaped the steady, thoughtful presence listeners hear today.
As host of The Point, she guides listeners through conversations that move easily from the deeply serious to the seasonal; as the station’s news editor, she has navigated years of budget tightening without losing the journalistic depth, local focus and on-air personalities listeners rely on.
On a sunny January morning, I saw that work up close from inside WCAI’s new studios near Beebe Woods in Falmouth during a live broadcast of The Point.
Q: Watching you work live in the studio today, I was struck by how often guests expressed real gratitude — off-air calling you “an angel,” and on-air saying how honored they were to be part of the conversation.
A: I don’t know that I really take it in. We’ve been on for so long, and it reaches such a large audience, that I think people are just really happy to be here and talk about whatever their passion or message is.
Q: When WGBH leadership moved WCAI from Woods Hole to this beautiful location, there were lots of reactions internally and within the community. How have you settled into this beautiful studio?
A: It’s a really peaceful spot. Here the large windows look out on trees, birds, squirrels — everything moving around you. Sometimes, if you just take a minute to debrief or clear your head, even a quick walk down one of the paths helps. It’s almost like a meditative place.
Q: You’re such a strong listener — do you think that’s something you were born with or something you’ve learned over time?
A: Definitely acquired over time. In my younger years, I was probably not the listener I am today. I think you actually learn a lot by listening. We do our research, we have questions — but if you’re not listening, you might miss that little gem someone says that makes a great follow-up.
Q: You’re talking to listeners across the south coast, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket all at once. Do you keep those different communities in mind as you’re interviewing someone?
A: Not when I’m in the studio, but when we’re choosing topics we think a little bit more about that. But if you look across our listening area, we’re all coastal communities. And so there are a lot of similarities.
Q: What’s the planning and prep for the news roundup?
A: I’m reading the stories the different editors will be talking about. Sometimes I might suggest a story, but generally it’s whatever is the big news. I produce it as a giant newscast — bigger stories early in the show, and I try to end on a lighter note, a kicker, or some kind of human interest thing.
Q: You wear two hats here — overseeing the newsroom and hosting The Point . How do those roles intersect for you?
A: I’m really lucky. We have very experienced reporters, and they’re all so good at what they do. They have great ideas, their reporting is solid and we have a lot of conversations throughout the week on what everybody’s working on and how it feeds into The Point . If it screams bigger discussion, then we’ll make it into a Point program. We took Sam (Houghton) back from the Martha’s Vineyard Times and he’s on Morning Edition . It’s a solid, strong team.
Q: How have the national budget cuts affected the station?
A: We still have financial pressures as we’re part of WGBH and we lost CPB [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] funding. There has definitely been some trimming. Our development folks have a three-year plan to address those gaps.
Q: Tell me about the pledge drives. Do you ever get pledge-drive fatigue? How do you keep it fresh over and over again?
A: The pledge drive folks lead the strategy, and we just follow along! The big bulk of our support comes from listeners, so ours is an important role. I don’t think anybody likes a pledge drive, but it’s a necessity to be able to pay the bills.
Q: NPR is often perceived as leaning more liberal. Do you think about that in your work as executive editor?
A: Coming from a news background, you want to get as many points of view as you can. People say that it leans left, but I don’t know if this is still true today. A while back NPR did a survey and it was like a third of the listeners identified as left, a third identified as right, and a third in the middle, or something like that. So, I think the audience is mixed, really.
Q: A community station like this feels especially important in a coastal place that’s a bit more removed. Does that change the way you think about your role or the work you do?
A: Well, I think there’s two things. We want to bring as much local content because people want to know what’s happening in their communities. And as far as The Point , where else do you have local conversations like this where people [in the community] are invited to join in the conversation and share their ideas and thoughts? You don’t find that a lot anymore.
Q: Covering the Jaws anniversary last year, was there anything that you discovered or rediscovered about Martha’s Vineyard?
A: I knew that [Vineyard fisherman] Craig Kingsbury was an influence on Robert Shaw’s character. But I didn’t realize just how involved he was in that movie. I never knew him. I wish I had.
Q: Looking ahead, is there a story percolating in our world that is about to break on a national level?
A: Oh, I wish I had a crystal ball to see that, right? When Paul Pronovost was editor at the Cape Cod Times , we used to joke that all roads lead to Cape Cod. You give us a story and we will find you a Cape Cod or Islands connection!
Q: When are you coming back to the Vineyard?
A: We’re bringing back Pub Nights this winter! Stay tuned because we’ll be doing one on the Vineyard at The Ritz in March. It’s a listening event to meet the staff and the people who are the voices they listen to. They have ideas or thoughts they want to share about programming, or sometimes they pitch a book! Thank you, Mindy Todd. See you at The Ritz!
For more information on Pub Night, visit capeandislands.org.
Sissy Biggers is the Q&A columnist for The Vine and a frequent contributor to Martha’s Vineyard Magazine.
All photos by Jeanna Shepard.
This article appears in Heart of the Vineyard – 2026.