Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

This week, some of the hopefuls in the race for the GOP nomination will face off on a debate stage, though former President Trump, who's leading in the polls, will not be among them. On Today's Show: Susan Page , USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power (Twelve, 2021), rounds up the latest news from Washington, including a look ahead...

A multibillion-dollar recovery effort is underway in Hawaii following the deadliest fire in the U.S. in over a century. On Today's Show: Kaniela Ing , a seventh-generation indigenous Hawaiian from Maui and the national director of climate justice organization Green New Deal Network, discusses how residents now worry that wealthy outsiders will stand to make a profit, and Alana Casanova-Burgess , c...

Swing-state Georgia will be pivotal in the upcoming presidential election which means the legal process playing out over the outcome of the 2020 election could have a big political impact. On Today's Show: Stephen Fowler , political reporter for Georgia Public Broadcasting and host of the podcast Battleground: Ballot Box, talks about the indictments of former President Trump and 18 others and how...

Indictments were announced overnight in Georgia against former President Trump and 18 others, including former NYC Mayor Giuliani. On Today's Show: Elie Honig , senior legal analyst at CNN, host of the CAFE podcast "Up Against The Mob," former New Jersey and federal prosecutor and author of Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It (Harper, 2023), discusses the charges. Hosted by Simplecas...

Late last week, the Department of Justice named a special counsel to oversee investigations into the business conduct of presidential son Hunter Biden. On Today's Show: Idrees Kahloon , Washington bureau chief for The Economist, talks about the latest national political news. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the 'Back To School Jam' in the Bronx that helped launch hip hop culture into global popularity. On Today's Show: Joycelyn Wilson , assistant professor of hip-hop studies and digital media at Georgia Tech, explains the long relationship between hip hop, its artists, and politics. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about...

Last week, the FDA approved the first ever pill specifically intended to treat postpartum depression. On Today's Show: Nicole Cirino , MD, reproductive psychiatrist, chief of division of reproductive psychiatry, professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and Postpartum Support International board member, provides an expert look at Zurzuvae, the new medication which could help the estimated 1 in 8 wo...

Could more ballot measures  be a remedy for partisan gerrymandering around the country? Plus, some legal analysis of former President Trump's direct threats.  On Today's Show: Kate Shaw , law professor at Cardozo Law School, ABC Supreme Court contributor and cohost of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, breaks down the latest legal investigations into Trump's business and political careers.  Hosted by Si...

Voters go to the polls today in Ohio to  decide whether   future ballot initiatives will need a 60%, rather than a simple, majority, which could impact upcoming abortion protection measures.  On Today's Show: Rachel Cohen , senior policy reporter at Vox, and Haley BeMiller , state government and politics reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, explain what's at stake in Ohio and nationally...

With charges officially filed against former President Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, how are conservatives, including his voters, thinking about his 2024 campaign? On Today's Show: Charlie Sykes , founder and editor-at-large and host of a podcast at The Bulwark, MSNBC contributor and author of How the Right Lost Its Mind (St. Martin's Press, 2017), discusses the politics of former...

Friday Special: We present longform readings of key excerpts from the Trump indictment, plus analysis from legal experts.  On Today's Show: Hear portions of the indictment read aloud by  WNYC host Tiffany Hanssen ,  Kai Wright , host of WNYC's Notes from America,  Micah Loewinger , correspondent for WNYC's On the Media,  Elie Mystal , justice correspondent for The Nation and host of its new podcas...

How are Jewish interest groups in the United States responding to the unrest in Israel over Netanyahu's controversial attempts at court reform?  On Today's Show: Ron Kampeas , Washington bureau chief at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a news organization, discusses how Jewish Americans are reacting to a controversial judicial overhaul by the right-wing Israeli government. The new law severely weake...

Yesterday, Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith released a 45-page, 4-count indictment against former President Trump for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.  On Today's Show: Andrew Weissmann , professor of criminal and national security law at NYU School of Law, lead prosecutor in Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel's Office and the author of Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Inve...

In Niger, a military general declared himself leader after a coup against the nation's first duly-elected president, who was an ally of the West in fighting terror in the region. On Today's Show: Alexis Akwagyiram , managing editor at Semafor Africa, discusses the recent coup in Niger, Russia's presence in West Africa, and the wave of coups that have taken place in the region in the last few years...

A number of headlines broke over the weekend related to the legal troubles of both former President Donald Trump, and the son of the current President, Hunter Biden. On Today's Show: Jonathan Lemire , host of “Way Too Early" on MSNBC, Politico White House bureau chief, and the author of The Big Lie: Election Chaos, Political Opportunism, and the State of American Politics After 2020 (Flatiron Book...

If we're in one era of content that goes viral online, we're at the end of another. On Today's Show: Ben Smith , editor in chief of Semafor, former media columnist for The New York Times , and the author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral (Penguin Press, 2023), traces the rise and fall of digital media upstarts like HuffPost, Gawker and BuzzFeed. Hoste...

On Today's Show: Peter Coy , New York Times opinion writer covering economics, and Annie Lowrey , staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World (Crown, 2018), compare notes on whether a recession is coming, or whether the so-called "soft landing" the Fed was aiming for is happening, as the...

On Today's Show: Fred Kaplan , Slate's War Stories columnist and the author of many books, including The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War (Simon & Schuster, 2020), draws on his expertise in nuclear history to assess the historical accuracy of Christopher Nolan's epic new film "Oppenheimer". Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informati...

Last week, the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government held a hearing at which Republicans chose RFK, Jr. as a primary witness on government censorship.  The Democrats on the committee called Maya Wiley to counter his take.  On today's show,  Maya Wiley , civil rights attorney and president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, debriefs he...

Friday morning, Judge Aileen Cannon set a May 2024 date for former President Trump's documents case -- before the election, contrary to the his defense attorneys' request, but later than the prosecutors asked. On today's show, Susan Page , USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power (Twelve, 2021), rounds up the latest news from Washingt...

In his concurrence in the Supreme Court's recent decision that struck down race-based affirmative action, Justice Clarence Thomas cited Alison Stewart's book about the rigorous and formerly legally segregated public high school Dunbar. On Today's Show: Alison Stewart , host of WNYC's All of It and the author of First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America’s First Black Public High School (Lawrence H...

The Teamsters union, which represents UPS workers, may go on strike if a deal is not reached by the end of this month. On Today's Show: Jane McAlevey , organizer, senior policy fellow at the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, strikes correspondent at The Nation and co-author of Rules to Win By: Power and Participation in Union Negotiations (Oxfor...

On Today's Show: Oliver Franklin-Wallis , author of Wasteland: The Dirty Truth About What We Throw Away, Where It Goes, and Why It Matters (Hachette Books, 2023) and features editor for British GQ magazine, outlines the cost to the environment of everything we discard, as well as efforts to address the crisis. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...

The former head of the Council on Foreign Relations argues that domestic threats, related to civic participation, are more dangerous to American democracy than global threats. On Today's Show: Richard Haass , American diplomat, former longtime president of the Council on Foreign Relations (now president emeritus) and the author of The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens (Penguin P...

On Thursday, the Biden administration announced plans for a new income-driven repayment plan called the Saving on a Valuable Education — or SAVE. On Today's Show: Danielle Douglas-Gabriel , national higher education reporter at The Washington Post, explains what's in the plan and what legal and political challenges it may face. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...