The Brian Lehrer Show

Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, previews the state of the competitive midterm elections in our area as early voting is set to begin in a few days.  Photo: A sign directs voters to a polling station on the first day of early voting for the midterm elections. (Photo by Tim Evans / AFP via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for infor...

Theodore Schleifer , covers billionaires and their impact for the New York Times , talks about the massive amounts of money currently at play in the midterm elections, the billionaires who donate it and how it affects what happens. Photo: Demonstrators protest against the Trump administration and billionaire class outside the New York Public Library. (Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Imag...

For this pledge drive, listeners try their hand at a quiz. Today, name five things in a category.  Photo: Stock illustration by MaxMariz via iStock / Getty Images Plus Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Julian Zelizer , professor of history and public affairs at Princeton, Foreign Policy columnist, NPR contributor, scholar in residence at the Brennan Center for Justice, author of The Long View on Substack and author of many books, including Rumble on the Promenade: The Clash of Justice and Power at the 1964 Democratic Convention (W.W. Norton, 2027), talks about today's political news through his...

Each day during this pledge drive, we're talking fall food. Today, Carla Lalli , video host and author of several cookbooks, including her latest, Food is a Feeling (Clarkson Potter, 2026), talks about her favorite warming spices and how to use them in creative ways.  Photo: Hot mulled wine in ceramic pot with spices, orange and autumn leaves over black wooden background. (Photo by: Natasha B...

David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker and the host of The New Yorker Radio Hour , talks about the national political news of the day, plus the conversations happening soon at The New Yorker festival. Photo: Jon Stewart talks with David Remnick during The 2025 New Yorker Festival at Webster Hall on October 26, 2025 in New York City. (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The New Yorker via Getty Ima...

Chelsea Cirruzzo, Washington Correspondent for STAT news, talks about how vaccine policy could change, depending on which party gains control of Congress in the midterm elections. Photo: A woman receives the seasonal influenza vaccine. (NIAID, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic via Wikimedia Commons)   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about o...

For this pledge drive, listeners try their hand at a quiz. Today's theme is 2026 news oddities. Stock illustration by MaxMariz via iStock / Getty Images Plus Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Many critics panned the new Tom Cruise climate movie Digger. Jayson Greene, critic and author of the novel UnWorld and Molly Taft, senior writer for WIRED , covering climate change, energy, and the environment unpack why they think might actually be a great climate movie, despite not being a great movie movie. Photo: Tom Cruise attends the "Digger" Korea Press Conference on October 01, 2026 in Seo...

Each day during this pledge drive, we're talking fall food. Today, Carla Lalli, video host and cookbook author, including her latest, Food is a Feeling (Clarkson Potter, 2026) walks us through how to make a perfect loaf bread with different kinds of fall produce. Photo by jeffreyw ,CC Attribution 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.co...

Susan Page , USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of The Queen and Her Presidents (HarperCollins, 2026), talks about the challenges of covering the Trump administration, as the president has tried to ban reporters from certain outlets from accessing the White House. Photo: US Capitol, west side (Martin Falbisoner via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 )     Hosted by Simplecast,...

Kate Shaw , professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, co-host of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny and a contributing opinion writer with the New York Times , talks about the various proposals to reform the Supreme Court, including term limits, ethics reforms and reining in the so-called "shadow docket," which she says Democrats must do if they take control of Congress...

For this pledge drive, listeners try their hand at a quiz. Today's theme is 2026 news, so far. Stock illustration by MaxMariz via iStock / Getty Images Plus Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As part of the yearlong series "Wild NYC," Marielle Anzelone, urban botanist and ecologist and the founder of NYC Wildflower Week , and Monica Medina, board member and podcast host of Scientista , former Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and the first U.S. Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources at the U.S. State Department ta...

Each day during this pledge drive, we're talking fall food. Today, Carla Lalli , video host and cookbook author, including her latest, Food is a Feeling (Clarkson Potter, 2026), discusses how to make a cozy and tasty kitchen sink soup.  Stock photo of Irish Stew or Guinness Stew made in a crockpot or slow cooker. (by sumnersgraphicsinc via iStock / Getty Images Plus) Hosted by Simplecast, an...

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Kate Manne, professor at the Cornell University Sage School of Philosophy, offers her take on the casual misogyny that allows rape culture to thrive (First) | The Left's pleas for Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch (Starts at 45:00) | The literary legacy of brothers Frank and Malachy McCourt ...

Maria Ressa, journalist, CEO of the news outlet Rappler, professor at Columbia University and the author of The Fight Back: A Citizen's Guide to Standing Up to Dictators (Harper, 2026) talks about the role of the press and individuals in maintaining democracy, especially in this age of AI. Photo: Maria Ressa at the book fair Frankfurt 2025 (Jaramo81, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International...

Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist , talks about how the issue of affordability came up in this week's debate between Gov. Hochul and her Republican challenger, Bruce Blakeman. Photo: New York Democratic gubernatorial candidate, current Gov. Governor Kathy Hochul and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman face off in the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New...

Ash Wu, books news reporter at The New York Times, talks about Anne Carson, the Canadian poet, essayist and novelist who won this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, and where to start if you’ve never read her. Photo: Anne Carson, poet, at the 2024 National Book Awards finalist reading in the NYU Skirball Center (Jay Dixit, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International via Wikimedia Com...

Kate Manne, professor at the Sage School of Philosophy, Cornell University, author of the Substack newsletter More to Hate , and many books, including Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Crown, 2020), offers her take on the casual misogyny that allows rape culture to thrive. Photo: Students walk the campus grounds at Cornell University, on October 8, 2026, in Ithaca, New York. (Photo by Ryan...

Jimmy Vielkind , New York State Issues reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, offers analysis of how the ICE shooting in Marble Hill, and immigration and crime more broadly, came up in the debate between Governor Hochul and her Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman.      Photo: People participate in a march against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities on October 9, 2026 in New York City....

Julia Ioffe , founding partner and Washington correspondent of Puck and the author of Motherland: A History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy (Ecco, 2025), offers analysis of some recent wins that President Trump has handed Russian President Putin, and how Russia...and Ukraine have responded. Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrives...

Kristin LaBuz, executive director of Open House New York , talks about OHNY's annual festival this weekend . Photo: Bandaloop performs dance routines off of the facade of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center during their open house weekend on October 29, 2022 in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...

Errol Louis , political anchor of Spectrum NY1 News, host of Inside City Hall and The Big Deal with Errol Louis, New York Magazine columnist and host of the podcast You Decide, offers analysis of the issues in New York's governor's race, and in the debate that he moderated. Photo: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul debates in the race for governor at the studios of WNBC4-TV June 16, 2022 in New York City....

Francis Fukuyama, senior fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, former State Department official and the author of The End of History and the Last Man (Free Press, 1992) and his latest, In the Realm of the Last Man: A Memoir (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2026), tells his story and how it intersected with events and his political beliefs. Photo: Francis Fu...