Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

With vaccines and treatments, is it time to start 'living with COVID'? On Today's Show: Leana Wen , MD, emergency physician, professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post , and CNN medical analyst, suggests people should take the availability of vaccines and treatments into account when calculating their risks and not go back to masks mandates as long as...

On Today's Show: Marie Yovanovitch , former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and the author of Lessons From The Edge: A Memoir   (Mariner Books, 2022), shares her view on the situation in Ukraine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How should the globe's neoliberal geopolitics adapt to Putin's aggression in Eastern Europe? On Today's Show: Under the shadow of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, Anne Applebaum , staff writer for The Atlantic , senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Agora Institute, and the author of many books including Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of...

Violence at the airport or over mask mandates, rudeness, crime and reckless driving are all on the rise. How have the pandemic's upheavals made our behavior, stranger? On Today's Show: Olga Khazan , staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World (Hachette Go, 2020), explores the theories as to why people are behaving so badly. Hosted by Sim...

It's been a decade since Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. We asked Black listeners to reflect on growing up with visceral images of brutality against Black people. On Today's Show: Building on her New Yorker essay, Elizabeth Alexander , president of the Mellon Foundation, poet, educator, memoirist and scholar, examines the challenges of young Black Americans in her new book, The Trayvon Generat...

What parallels are there between Russia's invasion of Ukraine and some of the United States' military activities over the past decades? On Today's Show: Gideon Rose , distinguished fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, the former editor of Foreign Affairs and author of How Wars End (Simon & Schuster, 2010), explains why he thinks there are similarities between Russia's...

In a historic vote, New York City's warehouse Amazon workers become the first in the nation to unionize. What does it mean for workers, and the broader labor movement? 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, The Nation's strike correspondent and the author of A Collective Bargain:...

On the first day of Ramadan, we look at the word "inshallah," which literally means 'G-d willing,' but can be used to denote a wide range of sentiments. On Today's Show: Abdullah Shihipar , writer and public-health researcher based at Brown University, joins to discuss how the phrase "inshallah" — literally "G-d willing" — can take on many different meanings for Muslims. Plus, listeners call in to...

When we can, we like to hear from experts with unique perspectives on the Russian war against Ukraine. On Today's Show: Nina Khrushcheva , professor of international affairs at The New School and the author of In Putin's Footsteps: Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia's Eleven Time Zones (St. Martin's Press, 2019), shares her thoughts on Putin's approach to peace talks with Ukraine, a...

The questions of free speech, racial equity and "cancel culture" are multilayered and complex. On Today's Show: Suzanne Nossel , PEN America chief executive officer, and Elie Mystal , justice correspondent for The Nation and the author of Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution (The New Press, 2022), debate the state of free speech in America. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz c...

How could Florida's newly signed "Don't Say Gay" law could have ripple effects into other parts of education, including student support. On Today's Show: Dana Goldstein , national education correspondent at The New York Times and the author of The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession (Anchor, 2015), explains what the law actually says, and how that differs from what teach...

During Congress's SCOTUS confirmation hearings, N.J. Senator Cory Booker spoke about what it means for America that the nominee is Ketanji Brown Jackson. On Today's Show: We play extended excerpts of Sen. Booker's remarks, and hear from listeners about what a Black woman's nomination to the highest court in the land means to them. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for i...

This week Mayor Adams announced he would drop the vaccine mandate for sports players in New York City. On Today's Show: Monica Gandhi , MD, MPH, infectious-diseases specialist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, argues it's time to drop strict employee vaccine mandates for all employees, not just wealthy athletes, "there are other ways, as opposed to firing, t...

What's the situation on the ground in Ukraine? How is the world reacting? And might it push Russian officials to strip Putin of his power? On Today's Show: Masha Gessen , The New Yorker staff writer and the author of Surviving Autocracy (Riverhead Books, 2020), talks about their latest reporting on how Russians are reacting to Putin's war in Ukraine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See p...

A seasoned diplomat explains the bargaining chips at play in the efforts to bring an end to Russia's hostilities in Ukraine. On Today's Show: William Taylor , diplomat, vice president for Russia and Europe at the U.S. Institute of Peace and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, talks about the current situation in Ukraine and the prospects for ending the conflict. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz com...

When propaganda shapes our worldview, it makes it easier to commit atrocities under false pretenses. On Today's Show: Last week in a video addressed to the Russian people, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about how his father was "broken" after fighting in Hitler's Nazi army. Listeners called in to talk about their family members who were lured into fighting wars, or committ...

With Russian sanctions impacting the global price of oil, we look at what it means for drivers in the US, and why one idea to ease the burden, might not be a good idea. On Today's Show: Peter Coy , New York Times opinion writer covering economics, shares his analysis on the latest economic news including why he thinks a gas tax holiday is not a good solution for high gas prices and the effectivene...

Pressing issues like accountability for the Jan. 6 insurrection, and sanctions against Russia sit at the intersection of politics and the law. On Today's Show: Preet Bharara , Former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and host of the podcast "Stay Tuned with Preet," talks about the latest political news. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for in...

Whenever it's time for our clocks to spring forward or fall back, we wind up talking about whether daylight saving time should even exist anymore. On Today's Show: Luke Broadwater , congressional correspondent for The New York Times, talks about the surprise Senate passage of the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent next year and whether the House will follow su...

Last week, amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States announced it was banning all imports of Russian oil and gas. On Today's Show: Bill McKibben , educator, environmentalist, and co-founder of 350.org, and author of several books including Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? (Henry Holt and Co., 2020), talks about why climate activists are saying this is a go...

A relatively obscure Harlem music festival in 1969 has been brought into the spotlight with a new documentary exploring its impact. On Today's Show: Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, musician, songwriter, director of "Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)," talks about the Oscar nomination for his film, which was put together from long-forgotten footage of 1969's Harlem Cult...

House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Rep. Gregory Meeks recently went to Poland's border with Ukraine. On Today's Show: Gregory Meeks , U.S. Representative (D, NY-5) and chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, talks about the latest news, especially the latest on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

After Fred Mogul suggested a potential off-ramp for Russia to end its aggression against Ukraine. Today, a State Department official weighed in on that suggestion. On Today's Show: Derek Chollet , counselor of the U.S. Department of State and senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State, talks about the U.S. State Department's view of the conflict in Ukraine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz co...

Its been 15 days since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. What does the global community's roadmap to de-escalation?  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), outlines a potential pathway to ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Hosted by Simplecas...

An update from a member of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees on the U.S. government's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On Today's Show: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), talks about her work in Washington and the conflict in Ukraine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adv...