Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

Portland has been protesting police brutality for 2 full months. In recent weeks, the addition of federal agents seems to have re-ignited the public's outrage. On Today's Show: Anna Griffin , vice president of news at Oregon Public Broadcasting, Anne Applebaum , staff writer at The Atlantic , historian and author of Twilight of Democracy: the Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism , and Dr. Shirley A....

Federal agents are cracking down on Portland protesters and AG William Barr set to testify on that. Plus, Trump's mixed messages in responding to COVID.  On Today's Show Ayesha Rascoe , NPR White House reporter, talks about the latest political headlines Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's Monday morning politics. Today's top stories -- will congress extend the $600 unemployment checks, and are the BLM protests in Portland still about Black lives? On Today's Show: Eugene Scott , politics reporter for The Fix at  The Washington Post , talks about the latest national political news, including where Congress is on the next coronavirus relief bill, the federal agents in Portland an...

On today's show: Hakeem Jeffries , U.S. Representative (D NY-8th, Brooklyn and Queens), talks about the next coronavirus relief bill currently being debated in Congress. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As businesses re-open and employees go back to work, how can they be sure their employers are taking their health seriously enough? And if they get sick, could they sue? On Today's Show: Heidi Li Feldman , professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, explains worker's rights and the legal protections for their employers as reopening continues during the pandemic. Hosted by Simplecast, an...

There's a newish acronym, BIPOC, that encompasses the victims of US colonization and slavery. But should they be lumped together? And who does that label leave out? On Today's Show: Jonathan D. Rosa , sociocultural and linguistic anthropologist at Stanford University, who researches language and race, talks about and answers questions on what BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) means, who i...

The President's aversion to facts has created fertile ground for conspiracy theories to take root. The most important question: will he and his base accept the results of the election? On Today's Show: Fareed Zakaria , Washington Post columnist and host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, talks about his latest CNN special, examining President Trump's  proclivity for conspiracy-theory thinking, its histo...

The late Rep. John Lewis was a powerhouse of civil rights activism, and a leader for justice among lawmakers. We dip into the archive and listen to the history of "Good Trouble" he lived. On Today's Episode: We hear a conversation Brian had with Rep. John Lewis on the day that President Obama became the first Black Democratic nominee for president, tape of C.T. Vivian , a top lieutenant of Rev. Dr...

Schools around the nation weigh the safety of students and staff against pressure from parents who can't go back to work with their kids staying home. Part 2 of a 2-part discussion: What do teachers need in the discussion about  re-opening schools? On Today's Show: Michael Mulgrew , president of the United Federation of Teachers, offers the union's view on how to balance the need to reopen schools...

Schools around the nation weigh the safety of students and staff against pressure from parents who can't go back to work with their kids staying home. Part 1 of a 2-part discussion: What do parents need in the discussion about  re-opening schools? On Today's Show: Brigid Schulte , director of the Better Life Lab and author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play when No One has the Time , and New York...

You might know her from MSNBC as AM-JOY, but now, Joy-Ann Reid is getting her own show, making her the first Black woman in the host chair on prime time TV since Gwen Ifill. On Today's Show: Joy-Ann Reid , MSNBC political analyst, host of the new show "The REIDOUT" and the author of  The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story  (William Morrow, 2019), discusses her car...

An open letter in  Harper's Magazine argues that social media public shamings hamper free speech. A rebuttal letter argues that cancel culture is about shuffling who has a platform and the power to wield it. Claire Potter , professor of history at The New School, and the executive editor of Public Seminar, a digital magazine of politics and culture based at The New School, signed the letter, and M...

As the rest of the country contends with rising COVID-19 numbers, the North East is concerned that returning travelers will bring the virus back with them. On Today's Show: Dr. Leana Wen , emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post , and Baltimore's former Health Commissioner, talks about the rise in Covid-19 case...

With President Trump is still leaning on the racist rhetoric that helped him win in 2016. But this time, it's not working. So what's different now? On Today's Show: Perry Bacon Jr ., senior writer for FiveThirtyEight, breaks down the latest national political data and news, including Biden's vice-presidential options, and Trump's falling poll numbers. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced that international students would have to leave the country unless they were enrolled in an in-person class. On Today's Show: Nicole Agu , vice chair for international student affairs University Student Senate of CUNY, and Dan Berger , partner at Curran, Berger & Kludt, specializing in academic immigration, discuss the response to a new ICE pol...

The Supreme Court ruled on whether President Trump has to release his tax returns. The verdict? It's complicated, but we got two people deep on this beat to explain it. On Today's Show: Andrea Bernstein , WNYC senior editor, co-host of WNYC's and ProPublica's podcast Trump Inc., and the author of American Oligarchs: The Kushners, The Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power (W.W. Norton and Com...

People are struggling right now, and the Federal government is now deliberating over a 5th-round stimulus. But are there sustainable solutions that look beyond today's urgent needs? On Today's Show: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) talks about the Senate's response to the public health and economic crisis. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about ou...

In this episode, we look at the distant, and not-so-distant past in the context of today's Republican Party and the confederate statues being torn down around the country. On Today's Show: Julian Zelizer , professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, CNN political analyst, co-host of the podcast Politics and Polls, and author of  Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall...

The US has tightened its borders to reduce the spread of COVID-19. But it's not raising a drawbridge, there are visas and green cards at play. What do those policies mean for immigrants? On Today's Show: Anu Joshi , vice president of policy at the New York Immigration Coalition, talks about the latest immigration news, including President  Trump's suspension of new work visas until the end of the...

During the pandemic, unemployment is top of mind. But it won't go away when we get control over the virus. Our guest wrote about a "vaccine" for unemployment: a federal jobs guarentee. On Today's Show: Pavlina R. Tcherneva , associate professor at Bard College and research scholar at the Levy Economics Institute and the author of  The Case for a Job Guarantee , talks about the Modern Monetary Theo...

As we go into the July 4th weekend, we're seeing COVID-19 cases take a dramatic rise across the country. Did we declare independence from the virus too soon? On Today's Show: Health officials are urging Americans to rethink their holiday plans as virus case levels reach new highs. Dr. Ashwin Vasan , physician, epidemiologist, and professor at Columbia and CEO of Fountain House, a community-based m...

 What can we learn from the writings of James Baldwin, a Civil Rights era thinker who, in exploring injustice, treated the whole person, body and soul, as subject? On Today's Show: Eddie Glaude , chair of Princeton's African-American studies department, talks about his new book,  Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own (Crown, 2020). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...

A generation of Black children has been raised on videos of violence against those who look like them, committed by police. How can we help them make sense of these traumatic images? On Today's Show: Elizabeth Alexander , poet, educator, memoirist, scholar and president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, talks about raising Black sons, and how they and their generation are coping with the trauma...

A moment at last week's Senate Judiciary Hearing on policing reform underscored a persistent and common misunderstanding about the difference between personal and systemic racism.  On today's show:  Eugene Scott ,   The   Washington Post   political reporter covering identity politics for The Fix.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

Systemic racism is everywhere, from social media policies around hate speech, to the Department of Justice. Today, a look at some of the finer details of the reforms needed beyond policing. On Today's Show: Rashad Robinson ,  president of Color of Change, talks about the change his organization is pushing for, and where he sees the Black Lives Matter protest movement going from here. Hosted by Sim...