Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

The COVID-19 pandemic has put healthcare systems around the world under close scrutiny. Today, we discuss what works, what doesn't, and where there's room for improvement. On Today's Show: Ezekiel Emanuel , vice provost for global initiatives, and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, an "ar...

Not long ago, New York was suffering the worst COVID outbreak in the world. Now, other states, like Texas Florida and Arizona, are showing case rates ticking up. On Today's Show: Dr. Uché Blackstock , emergency medicine physician, founder & CEO of Advancing Health Equities and a Yahoo News medical contributor and Dr. Amesh Adalja , infectious disease doctor and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top medical expert in the federal response to this pandemic, on the role of the media, the upticks in Florida and other places, other pandemic updates. On Today's Show: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, discusses how the U.S. is doing in its fight against COVID-19 and the effect the virus is having on the American healt...

On the same day of the president's poorly attended in-person rally in Tulsa, the Poor People's Campaign held a highly attended virtual rally to set an agenda to address systemic injustices. On today's show: Jonathan Capehart , member of The Washington Post editorial board, host of the “Cape Up” podcast and an MSNBC contributor. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...

The urgent needs of Black politics today have roots in the failures of the Reconstruction era. Today, a look at how that history led us to the present moment, and what the future could hold. On Today's Show: Adam Serwer , staff writer at The Atlantic talks about how to be anti-racist now and the past and future of Black politics. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for in...

Trump tried to rescind an Obama policy granting legal status for those who illegally immigrated as children. The Supreme Court said the reversal was "arbitrary and capricious." On Today's Show: Jami Floyd , WNYC's legal editor and host of All Things Considered, and Beth Fertig , senior reporter at WNYC covering immigration and courts, talks about the Supreme Court's decision. Hosted by Simplecast,...

On policing, what happens in communities on the ground often has to do with the tone set by the brass. So what happens when the President stokes his base by applauding rough policing? On Today's Show: Chuck Rosenberg, MSNBC contributor and host of " The Oath " podcast, former US attorney, senior FBI official and acting head of the DEA, talks about the new season of his podcast, a series of intervi...

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that LGBT people cannot be fired for simply being LGBT, a landmark ruling that has consequences for gender equality in its many forms. On Today's Show: Gabriel Arkles, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project (and part of the team on the Aimee Stephens case), talks about the landmark Supreme Court decision. Hosted by Simplecast, an Ads...

As we reckon with racism in our present, many point to today's injustices as a continuation of a history of racism. So what should be done with the historical symbols of that racism? On Today's Show: Lecia Brooks , outreach director at the Southern Poverty Law Center talks about what statues have gone down in the past few weeks, and what remains. Plus Gurminder Bhambra , professor of postcolonial...

Around the country, states are starting to reopen, some faster than others. Given that, and the fact that cases are climbing in some areas, have we learned how to start up again, safely? On Today's Show: Alice Miranda Ollstein , health care reporter for   POLITICO ,   discusses where states went wrong while reopening their economies. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com fo...

The city of Camden, New Jersey disbanded and rebranded it's police department in 2013. As reform advocates around the country weigh the options, what can we learn from Camden? On Today's Show: Allison Steele , news reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer , talks about the extent to which Camden, NJ's 2013 dissolution of its dysfunctional police department, and its replacement with a county force, c...

Police on TV, from Law and Order detectives to the reality show Cops give an unrealistic sense of what it's like to be in law enforcement. And some of them are given easier access to city permits for their positive portrayals. On Today's Show: Alyssa Rosenberg , opinion writer covering culture at The Washington Post , argues that Hollywood should immediately (but not permanently) halt production o...

CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour has seen a lot of unrest around the globe. She says we have to see the George Floyd protests for what they are. An uprising. On Today's Show: Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor and host of CNN's Amanpour and of Amanpour & Company on PBS, talks about international reaction to George Floyd’s murder and what it is like covering it as a foreign...

Now that protesters have gotten politicians to commit to action on police reform, we explore just what form those reforms should take. On Today's Show: L. Joy Williams , president of the Brooklyn branch of the NAACP, political strategist, creator and host of the podcast "Sunday Civics" and chair of Higher Heights talks about the protests in Brooklyn, and the political change she and other advocate...

Mayor Bill de Blasio answered questions from listeners and Brian about the protests, police violence, looting and COVID-19 in NYC, and how he's managing a crisis within a crisis. On Today's Show: Bill de Blasio , mayor of New York City takes calls from listeners and discusses this week in NYC.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and u...

President Trump has laid the groundwork for sending in the U.S. military in response to unrest over the police killing of George Floyd. We asked veterans what they thought of the idea. Raising issues that ranged from constitutional ideals to difficulties recruiting service members from communities of color, today's callers, like some of the President's current and former military advisers, take is...

Police weigh in on policing protests. Protesters weigh in on protesting the police. And our expert guest weighs in with what the research says about when the two groups meet. On Today's Show: Jamiles Lartey , a New Orleans-based staff writer for The Marshall Project, looks at what research shows works best for policing protests, and when over-policing leads to more violence. Hosted by Simplecast,...

What are the political roots of this country's ongoing racial injustices? And what will be the political impact of this moment? Let's break down where we are, and how we got here. On Today's Show: Dr. Jason Johnson , professor at Morgan State University, political contributor at MSNBC, contributor to The Grio and Sirius XM, and Christina Greer , political science professor at Fordham University, h...

Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. The list of unarmed black people killed by the police and other armed white people keeps getting longer.  On Today's Show: Ijeoma Oluo , author of So You Want to Talk About Race  (Seal Press, 2019) and the forthcoming MEDIOCRE: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  (Seal Press, 2020) talks about how Americans can have honest conversations about th...

On Monday, a white woman made a racially charged 911 call on a black birdwatcher in Central Park after he asked her to leash her dog. In what has now become an infamous viral video, taken by the birdwatcher, the woman says “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.” On Today's Show: Brian Benjamin , New York State Senator (D, 30th district),   argues that  false r...

Our COVID-19 strategy started with containment and then shifted to flattening the curve. As we begin to reopen and learn to live with COVID-19, it's time for a "harm reduction" approach. On Today's Show: Dr. Leana Wen , emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, and former Baltimore Health Commissioner, argues th...

Trump wants his renominating convention to be "a party." But are the roughly 17,000 GOP members who planned to attend OK with taking on those health risks? And could this hurt Trump in North Carolina in November? On Today's Show: Politico reporter  Alex Isenstadt  talks about President Trump's threats to move the Republican National Convention from North Carolina if the governor can't guarantee th...

A month after being hospitalized for COVID-19, NYT's Mara Gay is still fighting double pneumonia, and she's got some advice for the country: Don't underestimate this disease. On Today's Show: The New York Times editorial board member talks about her firsthand experience with COVID-19, the patients of color she met who didn't make it, and takes calls about how to ballance Memorial Day traditions ag...

We know a lot more now than we did at the beginning of this pandemic, and we know it's going to take a lot more to come out strong on the other side. Is Washington, D.C. up for it? On Today's Show; U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D NY) talks about federal relief, including SNAP benefits and state and local funding for hard-hit areas. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com f...

She pioneered the way we think about disaster economics. Today, the author of Shock Doctrine explains who's profiting from the new telecommuting surge. On Today's Show: Naomi Klein, senior correspondent for The Intercept, the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University, co-founder of The Leap, a climate justice organization, and the author of many book...