Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

The Supreme Court once again takes up a challenge to affirmative action in college admissions. On today's show: Elie Mystal , justice correspondent for The Nation and author of the forthcoming book Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy's Guide To The Constitution (The New Press, 2022), discusses the news that the Court will revisit the question of affirmative action. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz com...

Justice Breyer has announced that he will step down from his Supreme Court seat, paving the way for President Biden to make his first SCOTUS nomination. On Today's Show: WNYC's legal analyst Jami Floyd talks about his legacy on the court and looks ahead to the process to replace him, including her pick for the seat, and discusses implications for the rest of this Supreme Court session that will be...

The new Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin is working to ban so-called "divisive concepts" including 'Critical Race Theory' in the state's schools. On Today's Show: Brian Jones , director of the Center for Educators and Schools at New York Public Library and contributor to Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice (Haymarket Books, 2020) discusses how such a ban might impact c...

What does it mean for the impartiality of the Supreme Court that the spouse of one of its Justices is a conservative activist? On Today's Show: Jane Mayer , chief Washington correspondent for The New Yorker , talks about her new piece on Ginni Thomas, a vocal right-wing activist and the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, and whether her work with interest groups threatens Supreme Court impartiality....

On Today's Show: With hopes of reducing energy emissions, pollution and unethical labor practices in the global fashion industry, a new bill in the state legislature would require large apparel and footwear brands to disclose their environmental impacts and supply chains. One of the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act's sponsors, New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi  (D-34) an...

On Today's Show: Steve Lohr , New York Times technology and economics reporter, talks about recent economic research that points to artificial intelligence as a reason for widening economic disparity. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the one-year anniversary of Biden's inauguration, we brought together two commentators from both ends of the political spectrum to assess his presidency so far. On Today's Show : Amanda Carpenter , columnist at The Bulwark, director of Republicans for Voting Rights, author of Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us (Broadside Books, 2018), and Jamil Smith , senior corresponden...

We asked one of the nation's most influential legal scholars for his insight into the current Supreme Court bench, and some of the other constitutional issues facing this country. On Today's Show: Laurence Tribe , University Professor and professor of constitutional law emeritus at Harvard Law School, discusses the Supreme Court and U.S. democracy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm...

Just because there's one particular global threat -- COVID-19 -- that's got our attention in the U.S., it doesn't mean it's the only global threat we need to keep our eye on. On Today's Show: Ian Bremmer , president of Eurasia Group and GZero Media and the author of Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism (Portfolio, 2018) and the forthcoming The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – and Our Response...

On MLK Day, we wanted to look at how Dr. King's legacy of civil rights, and particularly voting rights, has evolved since his efforts toward equality. On Today's Show: Kai Wright , host of the WNYC podcast The United States of Anxiety, talks about the push for voting rights in the United States today and in history. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abou...

The leader of the white supremacist militia the Oath Keepers has been charged with sedition. What does that tell us about what Jan. 6 could have looked like if they succeeded? On Today's Show: Devlin Barrett, reporter focusing on national security and law enforcement for The Washington Post, discusses the Justice Department's response to last January's attack on the US capitol, including news that...

The president has thrown his support behind a Senate rule change that would allow Democrats to pass voting rights reforms by ending the filibuster. Senators Manchin and Sinema support the reforms, but oppose the repeal of the filibuster, without which, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act are unlikely to pass. On Today's Show: Theodoric Meyer , national politica...

As President Biden urges Senate rule changes to secure voting rights reforms, a conversation about the intersection of voting rights and civil rights. On Today's Show: Al Sharpton , civil rights leader, host of MSNBC’s PoliticsNation, founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN) and the author of Righteous Troublemakers: Untold Stories of the Social Justice Movement in America (Hanov...

There are some confounding stats coming out about COVID hospitalizations amid the omicron surge. On Today's Show: Craig Spencer , New York City emergency medicine physician and director of global health in emergency medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, describes the landscape of omicron infection in New York City hospitals, from "incidental infections" to staff shortages caused b...

The Senate could vote soon on a key voting rights bill ahead of the 2022 midterms. What changes are proposed, and what could the political impacts be? On Today's Show: Mara Liasson , NPR national political correspondent, 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 for adv...

It's been a year since the Jan. 6 insurrection. What does it mean that thusfar, the Justice Department has focused on rioters, and not those who allegedly incited them? On Today's Show: Jason Johnson , MSNBC contributor, author, professor of Politics and Journalism at Morgan State University and host of the Slate political podcast 'A Word … with Jason Johnson,' rounds up this week's political news...

On the anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, we take a look at how the Republican party has been reshaped over the past year, and what it means for the midterms. On Today's Show: Amanda Carpenter, columnist at The Bulwark, director of Republicans for Voting Rights, author of Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us (Broadside Books, 2018), and former communications director to...

One year ago tomorrow, extremists stormed the Capitol Building. How have militant groups changed their tactics since then? On Today's Show: Brandy Zadrozny , senior reporter for NBC News where she covers misinformation, extremism and the internet, talks about the landscape of extremism since January 6th and her new investigation that finds some militia and white supremacist groups have shifted tac...

As we move into the new year, we wanted to check in on a persistent economic condition that's likely to impact the U.S. and the globe: inflation. On Today's Show: Neil Irwin , chief economic correspondent at Axios, discusses how Reagan era Fed chairman Paul Volcker reduced high inflation 40 years ago by jacking up interest rates and muddling through a recession. With an almost opposite economic la...

What can we look forward to in the political realm in 2022, and what do trends in the parties' directions say about the future of governing the U.S.? On Today's Show: Amber Phillips , Washington Post political reporter and author for The 5-Minute Fix, takes listeners through her burning political questions in the new year like whether the Jan. 6 committee focuses too much on Trump, how voters will...

As we close out 2021, we wanted to check in on how closely our listeners have been listening to the news. On Today's Show: Kai Wright, host of The United States of Anxiety, joins Brian to test your 2021 knowledge. NOTE: This segment was taken from Brian's 12/29 live show, and will be our last Daily Politics Podcast of the year. See you in 2022! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ads...

One way to look back on a year is by taking a close look at the words that were called to occasion by, this year, an attempt to overturn an election, and a pandemic. On Today's Show: Ben Zimmer , linguist, a lexicographer, the language columnist for The Wall Street Journal, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, co-host of the Slate podcast ‘Spectacular Vernacular,’ and chair of the American Dial...

The CDC recently issued new guidance about how long to isolate following a close COVID contact or positive test. What does the science say, and how should risk factor into our behaviors now? On Today's Show : Daniel Griffin , MD, PhD, infectious disease clinician and researcher at Columbia, ProHEALTH chief of the division of Infectious Disease, senior fellow for Infectious Disease at UHG Research...

President Biden has the ability to set pandemic-related policies related to air travel. What is he weighing as the omicron variant surges, just in time for the holidays? On Today's Show: Jonathan Lemire , White House Bureau Chief at Politico, host of Way Too Early on MSNBC and an NBCNews analyst, discusses the latest national political developments and listeners report back on the holiday impacted...

This has been a big year for misinformation, disinformation, and all-around wrong information. On Today's Show: Glenn Kessler , editor and chief writer of The Fact Checker for The Washington Post, takes listeners through the biggest lies told this year by politicians and figures in authority. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...