Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

Are there any configurations of the policies in the Build Back Better agenda that could pass the Senate? On Today's Show: U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16) talks about the torpedoed Build Back Better bill, the Biden Administration's shifting focus to voting rights, and where the progressive agenda goes from here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informatio...

With the future of Biden's Build Back Better bill in question, how are progressive politicians responding to Joe Manchin break with the rest of Democratic party? On Today's Show: Anita Kumar , Senior Editor, Standards & Ethics at Politico, talks about the latest national political news, including Biden's response to the surging omicron variant of COVID-19, and the future of the initiatives in the...

The rapid surge in COVID cases over just the past few days presents new challenges in navigating another pandemic holiday season. On Today's Show: Ed Yong , staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers science, joins to discuss the news on the Omicron variant and why he believes it "poses a far graver threat" to American society than previous variants. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. Se...

Given the tragic frequency of school shootings, is the GOP's position on gun control at odds with its "pro-life" position on abortion rights? On Today's Show: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), member of the Foreign Relations committee and author of The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy (Random House, 2020), talks about his long-time work on gun regulations, plus th...

Democrats aim to pass the 'Build Back Better' bill by Christmas. New York's junior senator discusses what might be in the final version, including paid family leave. On Today's Show: Kirsten Gillibrand , U.S. Senator (D NY), talks about her work in the Senate, and more of the latest from Congress. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection an...

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled on a section of Texas's anti-abortion law. What does that have to do with the streak of violent Trumpism at the heart of Congress's Jan. 6 probe? On Today's Show: Dahlia Lithwick, who covers courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast Amicus, and Jim Newell , senior political writer for Slate, break down the latest news from the Supreme Court and national...

The conservative group ALEC is taking aim at laws aimed at addressing climate change, calling them 'energy discrimination.' On Today's Show: Kate Aronoff , staff writer at The New Republic and author of Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet - And How We Fight Back (Bold Type Books April 20, 2021), talks about her latest piece, "Conservatives Have a New Bogeyman: Critical Energy Theory," whic...

A new analysis suggests that the press is treating Biden similarly to how it treated Trump, despite the stark contrasts in these two presidencies. On Today's Show: Dana Milbank , columnist for The Washington Post, talks about his recent column, which found that the press coverage of President Biden has been as negative, or even more negative, than press coverage of Trump through most of 2020. Host...

President Biden recently had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as tensions flare along the Ukrainian border. What does a conflict halfway around the globe have to do with U.S. politics? On Today's Show: Susan Glasser , staff writer for The New Yorker, CNN global affairs analyst, joins to talk about the latest in national politics headlines, including the latest on Russia, as it m...

With the possibility that SCOTUS overturn Roe v. Wade, we discuss the Democrats approach to judicial appointments, and whether they could have fought harder to safeguard abortion rights. On Today's Show: Rebecca Traister , writer at New York Magazine and author of Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger (Simon & Schuster, 2018), discusses how the current Supreme Court case is just t...

Nurses are leaving the profession in droves, driven by extremely difficult pandemic-related working conditions. We invited nurses to call in and talk about the state of their profession. On Today's Show: Pat Kane , executive director of the New York State Nurses Association, discusses some of the reasons why nurses are quitting and what can be done to retain, and recruit, more. Hosted by Simplecas...

In the current phase of the COVID pandemic, marked by the omicron variant and still-rampant misinformation, we wanted to take stock of where we are, and what the science tells us . On Today's Show: Following World AIDS Day Wafaa El-Sadr, Columbia University professor of epidemiology and medicine and director Columbia World Projects and International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs, dra...

Today, lawyers argued before the Supreme Court in a case that casts uncertainty on the right to have an abortion. If you missed the arguments, we've picked out some  important exchanges .  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse shines a light on how 'self defense' defenses work in cases like his, compared to the case of Chrystul Kizer, who faces homicide charges for killing her adult sex abuser when she was 17 years old. On Today's Show: Kami Chavis , director of the criminal justice program at Wake Forest Law, and Jessica Contrera , reporter for The Washington Post, talk about why some...

A lot of questions are swirling about a newly detected COVID-19 variant, dubbed, 'omicron.' What do we know about it at this early stage, and what policies can address it? On Today's Show: Apoorva Mandavilli , reporter for The New York Times, focusing on science and global health, explains the latest news and what's known so far about the omicron variant. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company....

On Today's Black Friday Show: Listeners who work in retail call in to talk about what this holiday shopping season looks like from their perspective. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This Thanksgiving, we wanted to bust some of the myths surrounding the holiday's origin, and the lessons we can learn from the real story. On Today's Show: Kenneth C. Davis , author of Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned talks about the myths and realities of the 1621 first Thanksgiving. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See p...

Gas prices are running fairly high these days. Can the Biden administration address it while still keeping an eye on its climate priorities? On Today's Show: Timothy Gardner , climate and energy correspondent at Reuters, breaks down why the price of oil is so high and what, if anything, the Biden administration can do to fix it while also meeting climate goals. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz com...

If two people search broad terms like "patriot" or "vaccine" in YouTube, they might get very different results. On Today's Show: Kai Wright, host of the WNYC's The United States of Anxiety, and Kousha Navidar , senior digital producer for WNYC's The United States of Anxiety, offer an experiment to get past the filter bubbles that define what information gets to us. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...

What does Friday's "not guilty" verdict in the case of Kyle Rittenhouse, mean for the justice system, Black Lives Matter, and white supremacist violence? On Today's Show: Carol Anderson , professor of African American Studies at Emory University and the author of The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021), discusses the verdict and what comes next. Hosted...

This year, with vaccinations still climbing and public health pros telling us it's relatively safe to gather for the holidays, we explore just how "relative" that safety is, and how to minimize the (still present) risk. 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 Infecti...

The annual inflation rate in the United States is running at a three decade high. So what's behind the inflation we're seeing throughout the economy? How is it landing on business owners and consumers, and what can be done about it? On Today's Show: Wendy Edelberg , director of The Hamilton Project and senior fellow, economic studies at The Brookings Institution, discusses the underpinning factors...

The New York Times' 1619 Project is now a book with expanded essays. Its centering of slavery in the American history narrative has generated controversy. On Today's Show: Nikole Hannah-Jones , a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine, creator of the 1619 Project, now a book, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (One World, 2021), and Knight Chair...

The Jan. 6 insurrection was an attack on the democratic process. How is the investigation into the events that day a defense of that same process? On Today's Show: Kimberly Wehle , law professor at the University of Baltimore, former U.S. Attorney, author of What You Need to Know About Voting--and Why (Harper Collins, 2020) and an opinion writer for many publications including Politico and The Atl...

Many activist movements today are leaning on an old protest method: the hunger strike. So why is this tactic seeing a resurgence, and what makes these demonstrations effective? On Today's Show: Sharman Apt Russell, author of several books including Hunger: An Unnatural History (Basic Books, 2006) and Within Our Grasp: Childhood Malnutrition Worldwide and the Revolution Taking Place to End It (Deck...