The Brian Lehrer Show

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...

After ICE shot and arrested a 28-year-old man in Marble Hill last week, some DSA members are accusing the NYPD of collaborating with ICE and calling on Mayor Mamdani to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Ben Feuerherd , Gothamist/WNYC reporter covering public safety and policing, unpacks Mamdani's relationship with Tisch and digs into the Mayor's evolving approach to public safety more broadly....

Inspired by a Washington Post piece on grandmothers picking names like “Gigi,” “Mimi” and “Glam-Ma” instead of “Grandma,” listeners call in to share what their grandkids call them and how they landed on the name. Photo: Grandmother and grandaughter sharing quality time together. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for inf...

TK TK TK  Photo: The United States Disciplinary Barracks, where Nidal Malik Hasan is being held on death row, is seen in Fort Leavenworth. Hasan, the U.S. Army Major who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others during a mass shooting at Fort Hood in 2009, has been approved by U.S. President Donald Trump for execution by military firing squad. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightR...

Grace Rauh , executive director of Citizen's Union explains the five proposals on the ballots aimed at streamlining city government and why Citizens Union supports them. => " 2026 Ballot Proposals " (NYC Votes) Photo: Democratic voters in the 2025 primary elections cast their ballots at PS 153. ( SWinxy , Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International via Wikimedia Commons)  Hosted by Simp...

TK TK TK  Photo: Kimbles Beach, looking North. Pre-restoration, 2013. (Eric Schrading/USFWS, Wetlands Institute, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic via Wikimedia Commons) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tom Allon, founder and publisher of City & State New York, talks about the essays of the Irish-American writers (and brothers) Frank and Malachy McCourt, that they originally published in local New York City outlets. Photo: A memorial service for Frank McCourt at Symphony Space on October 6, 2009 in New York City. (Michael Loccisano via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. S...

Gwynne Hogan, senior reporter covering immigration and homelessness for The City Reporter , shares the latest reporting on the shooting of a man by ICE officers, that took place Thursday afternoon in a busy neighborhood, in front of the man's young son. And, Carmen De La Rosa , NYC Council Member (District 10, Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill) discusses its impact on her district. Photo:...

Billy House, Washington/Congress reporter for Newsday, talks about the issue of immigration and ICE funding in New York's 4th Congressional district, where the incumbent Democrat Laura Gillen is trying to fend off a challenge from Republican Jeanine Driscoll.   Photo: Advocates and community members rally marking the implementation of New York's ban on 287(g) agreements on August 25, 2026 in...

Jeff Jarvis, visiting professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism, fellow at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, emeritus professor at CUNY's Newmark School of Journalism, co-hosts the podcasts "Intelligent Machines" and "AI Inside" and the author of Hot Type: The Magnificent Machine that Gave Birth to Mass Media and Drove Mark Twain Mad...

Now on view at the Museum of the City of New York is "Halumii Ktapihna," a celebration and acknowledgement of the cultural impact of the Lenape/Lunáapeew, the original people of the land now known as New York City. Monxo Lopez, PhD , curator of community histories at the Museum of the City of New York and Brent Stonefish , curatorial advisor and founding member of the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collec...

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. NYC School Integration  (First) | Disability Rights  (Starts at 31:02) | Your Favorite TV Shows This Century  (Starts at 56:00) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and u...

Yesterday, an ICE Agent fired 7 rounds at a man identified by NYPD as Oscar Belgal. Arya Sundaram , WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering race and justice, shares the latest updates on the situation.  Photo: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Layla Law-Gisiko, president of the City Club of New York , talks about transit-related issues in the New York governor's race. Photo: Governor of New York Kathy Hochul is seen on March 21, 2025 in New York City. (NDZ/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jon Henley, the Guardian's Europe correspondent, based in Paris, talks about the student protests in France. Photo: Students block the road outside Sciences Po during a protest on October 7, 2026 in Paris, France. (Tom Nicholson via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Walter Isaacson, professor of history at Tulane, host of the new podcast "The Builders" and the author of several books, including The Innovators: How A Group Of Hackers, Geniuses, And Geeks Created The Digital Revolution (Simon & Schuster, 2014, new preface 2026) talks about his recent New York Times op-ed on Ada Lovelace and the need for human control of AI, and more. => EVENT: On Monday,...

Have you ever been bothered by a subway stop that seems just a little too close to the last? Joshua Wolk , software engineer and straphanger, joins to discuss his list of the MTA's least efficient subway stops and his petition to shut down the L Train's Third Ave station . Photo: Tdorante10 , Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International via Wikimedia Commons.  Hosted by Simpleca...