Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

We've learned a lot more about  Trump's insurrection in the months since it happened. But we didn't know how far his military advisors went to avoid a constitutional crisis. On Today's Show: The Washington Post 's White House senior Washington correspondent   Philip Rucker   and national investigative reporter   Carol Leonnig , authors of   I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final...

At some point after the election, AG Barr reversed course on Trump's 'Big Lie.' But how did his actions  before  the election enable the former president's behavior? On Today's Show: Elie Honig , CNN senior legal analyst and author of Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department (HarperCollins, 2021) talks about his new book examining the Bill Barr er...

The anti-government protests in Cuba are sparking debates here in the US about the embargo and our icy diplomatic relationship with the island. How are Cuban-Americans thinking about it? Today: Dr. Andy S. Gomez , Retired Director of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies and former Assistant Provost and Dean of International Studies of Cuban Studies at the University of Miami, and Fra...

In the 1600s, Britain used Jamaica as a hub of the transatlantic slave trade. Now, the Caribbean nation is taking steps to demand restitution. On Today's Show: Selwyn R. Cudjoe , professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College and an expert in Caribbean literature and Caribbean intellectual history, discusses the reports that Jamaica plans to petition Britain for compensation for the slave trad...

Expanded child tax credits are expected to hit peoples' bank accounts in the next few weeks. So who's getting one, and what does the government hope the money gets spent on? On Today's Show: Michelle Singletary , personal finance columnist for The Washington Post and author of the new book What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits , breaks down what you need to know about the new monthly child t...

Some Democratic legislators in Texas have fled the state in an attempt to prevent sweeping changes to election law that would make it harder to vote. On Today's Show: Ari Berman , senior reporter at Mother Jones covering voting rights and author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, recaps President Biden's major speech on voting rights which comes at the same ti...

Twenty-three former members of Colombia's military have been arrested as suspects in the assassination of Haiti's president, including one with former ties to U.S. law enforcement. On Today's Show: Catherine Porter , Toronto Bureau Chief for the New York Times and and author of the memoir A Girl Named Lovely (Simon & Schuster, 2019) about her experience in Haiti after the 2010 Earthquake, and Marl...

We check in on the Biden Administration. In particular, its missed vaccine benchmark, and a timeline for Afghan troop withdrawal. On Today's Show: Jonathan Lemire , White House reporter for the Associated Press and political analyst for MSNBC/NBC News, discusses the latest national political developments, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden's vaccine goals, and a rising concern a...

Gun violence is a tragic, complicated and confounding problem. What does the research say about why young men in particular pick up firearms. On Today's Show: Rachel Swaner , research director at the Center for Court Innovation; Elise White , deputy research director at the Center for Court Innovation; and Basaime Spate , community-based research coordinator at the Center for Court Innovation, tal...

Over the weekend, Biden celebrated his first 4th of July as President. We look at his remarks on the occasion, and how his version of patriotism compares to his predecessor. On Today's Show: Yamiche Alcindor , White House correspondent for the PBS NewsHour and moderator of Washington Week, and a political contributor to NBC News and MSNBC, discusses President Biden's July 4th, and the latest headl...

The Supreme Court issued its final opinions of the term, including a ruling that Arizona's legislature can make it harder to cast early votes. On Today's Show: Jami Floyd , senior editor for race and justice and legal editor at WNYC, offers her analysis of the 6-3 opinion by Justice Alito (and a strong dissent from Justice Kagan) upholding Arizona's voting laws. Plus, her take on the surrender for...

On the last day of Pride Month, we spotlight some reporting and analysis of how some companies mask anti-LGBT behaviors behind rainbow branding. On Today's Show: Zach Stafford , MSNBC contributor, the former editor-at-large of BuzzFeed and the first Black editor-in-chief of The Advocate, the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the United States, discusses a recent study which found that some co...

There's a debate in public health about whether vaccine policy should target American children, or adults globally. On Today's Show: Dr. Leana Wen , emergency physician, professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, CNN medical analyst, former Baltimore Health Commissioner and the author of the forthcoming book Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight...

Two matters of law  — a voting rights case in Georgia and an indictment of officials in the Trump Organization  — have moved forward in recent days. On Today's Show: Aziz Huq , professor of law at the University of Chicago School of Law, explains the legal underpinnings behind these two cases, how the parties might proceed. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informat...

If you've been noticing long lines at the store, it's probably not capacity requirements anymore. Instead, look at why so many workers are leaving retail. On Today's Show: Anna North , senior correspondent at Vox and author of the bestselling book Outlawed (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021), joins to take calls from listeners on how this exodus is affecting their lives -- whether from the perspective o...

On Monday, the Las Vegas Raider's Carl Nassib announced on Instagram that he is gay. On Today's Show: Jane McManus , director of Marist's Center for Sports Communication and Deadspin sports columnist, joins to discuss the news and what we as a society expect from male professional athletes with Jeff Rueter , staff writer at The Athletic, who recently wrote an article on the topic. Hosted by Simple...

New York City is using "ranked choice voting" for the first time. It's the largest implementation so far of this different way of tallying votes. On Today's Show: It's the day of the primary, so we asked listeners to call in for an "exit poll" on how they decided their ballot rankings. Plus, Susan Lerner , executive director of Common Cause New York, talks about what she is seeing at poll sites, a...

A group of conservative Catholic bishops have laid the groundwork to deny President Biden communion over his support of abortion rights. On Today's Show: Catholics call in to discuss whether they think it's justified or hypocritical. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On June 19th, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to ensure that all enslaved people were freed, ushering in the end of slavery. Now, Congress has made it a holiday. On Today's Show: Elizabeth Alexander , president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, poet, educator, memoirist and scholar, looks back through American history — both recent and not — and asks the fundamental question "wh...

On June 19th, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to  ensure that all enslaved people were freed, ushering in the end of slavery. This week, Congress made it a national  holiday. On Today's Show: Clint Smith , staff writer at   The Atlantic , award winning poet, and author of   How the World is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America   (Little, Brown and Company...

Throughout the pandemic, Amazon has grown exponentially, as have calls for fairer working conditions for the logistic giant's workers. On Today's Show: Prize-winning investigative reporter and best-selling author Jodi Kantor, and Grace Ashford , a researcher and reporter  with  The New York Times' Investigations unit,  break down the key takeaways from a months-long investigation of the JFK8 Amazo...

The Senate has a lot on its plate, from infrastructure to voting rights. On Today's Show: Kirsten Gillibrand , U.S. Senator (D NY), talks about her work in the Senate on military justice, plus updates on the status of the Senate's other important business. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Newly released IRS documents show how the nation's tax enforcement treats the rich differently, often to their benefit. On Today's Show: ProPublica received a trove of IRS data showing that the wealthiest Americans "sidestep" income taxes, legally. Jesse Eisinger , senior reporter and editor at ProPublica, talks about his reporting, and what it says about the inequality baked into the US tax syste...

Can businesses require their employees to disclose their vaccination status? Can they fire you if you don't want to get vaccinated? Is it OK to ask your colleagues about their status? On Today's Show: Robert Iafolla , reporter covering labor and employment for Bloomberg Law, joins to discuss what employers can and cannot mandate. Plus, he takes listener calls on how they would like their offices t...

There are internal disputes at the American Civil Liberties Union over its tradition of defending all speech, including neo-Nazi protests and Klan rallies. On Today's Show: Nadine Strossen , professor of law at New York Law School, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union, member of the ACLU’s National Advisory Council, and author of HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, No...