Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

Almost immediately after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed, videos were circulating on social media, and many people saw the gruesome crime without meaning to just by logging on. On Today's Show: Adam Clark Estes , senior technology correspondent at Vox, talks about how little content moderation big tech companies are doing these days, how the algorithm fed off people pausing to watch the video, an...

Democrats in the Senate are debating whether to allow the government to shut down when it runs out of funding later this month. On Today's Show: Zack Beauchamp , senior correspondent at Vox and the author of The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World (PublicAffairs, 2024), talks about what's at stake in the debate over whether to go along with the Repu...

On today's show: Kelly Drane , research director at Giffords Law Center,  Ned Parker , investigative reporter at Thomson Reuters, and  McKay Coppins , staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Romney: A Reckoning (Simon & Schuster, 2023), talk about guns and the state of political violence in America, after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event on a Utah college c...

On Today's Show: Ben Casselman , chief economics correspondent for  The New York Times , talks about the adjustments to hiring numbers showing 911,000 fewer jobs were created in the 12 months before March 2025, as listeners share their real-world job search stories. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adver...

After a string of losses in lower courts by the Trump administration, in an unsigned order on Monday, the Supreme Court lifted a restriction on ICE from conducting indiscriminate stops and raids in Los Angeles that have been decried as racial profiling.  On Today's Show: Lindsay Nash , professor of law at Cardozo Law, co-director of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic and co-direct...

Cristian Farias , legal journalist who writes for Vanity Fair , The New Yorker , and other publications, and the host of The Bully’s Pulpit, a podcast of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, talks about the many legal issues the Trump administration is running into, related to sending the National Guard in to LA and DC, deportations and more.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsW...

Recent developments on the world stage may be shifting the geopolitical calculations of the Israel-Hamas war.  On Today's Show: Jane Arraf , international correspondent covering the Middle East for NPR, talks about the latest developments in Gaza as Israel clamps down on volunteer doctors and threatens more restrictions on humanitarian aid amid reports of famine.     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWi...

With the Epstein case and the possibility of other powerful abusers still at large, we look at the latest. On Today's Show: Jacob Shamsian , legal correspondent at Business Insider, talks about the latest developments in the Epstein saga as several survivors of Jeffrey Epstein urge Congress to act. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...

We look at how the media, including social media, is part of President Trump's approach to politics. On Today's Show: Ben Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor, and the author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral (Penguin Press, 2023), shares his analysis for how the president has come for civil servants, and what it might mean for the governm...

Congress is returning from its summer recess to a host of issues of national and international importance. On Today's Show: U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey as congress returns to work, including his recent trip to Asia, deportations and immigrant detention, further rescission demands, and why he's supporting Zohran Mamdani. Hosted by Sim...

On Today's Show: Nick Miroff , staff writer for The Atlantic who covers immigration and the Department of Homeland Security, talks about the changes at the immigration enforcement agency and how the $75 billion budget bump will be spent. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In an executive order on Monday, President Donald Trump directed each state’s National Guard to be prepared to respond to civil disturbances On Today's Show: Dan Lamothe , U.S. military and Pentagon reporter at The Washington Post , breaks down the latest news and what this might mean for cities like Chicago, Baltimore and New York City. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.co...

Between a meeting with South Korean leaders, further tariffs, and foreign investments, this week has seen several headlines regarding Trump's economic agenda.  On Today's Show: Lydia DePillis , New York Times reporter covering the American economy and Shawn Donnan , Bloomberg News senior writer, talk about the latest economic and tariff news, including U.S. investment in Intel, other deals involvi...

The left is taking a variety of different, somewhat disjointed approaches to counter-messaging the Trump administration.  On Today's Show: Tom Nichols , staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic Daily newsletter, talks about national politics, including Democratic messaging strategies, like California Gov. Newsom's efforts to 'troll' Trump on social media. Hosted by Simplecast, an...

In July, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced it had issued subpoenas to medical providers that had provided gender-affirming care to minors. On today's show: Washington Post reporter Casey Parks discusses one of those subpoenas, which was newly made public, and what it means for transgender healthcare.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our col...

As the Trump administration conducts a review of the content in the Smithsonian museums, the president wrote on social media earlier this week that the Smithsonian Institution was too focused on the horrors of slavery. On Today's Show: Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University, a CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair , talks about what could be lost i...

In a leaked recording, NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo suggests that Trump will urge his supporters to vote for him, rather, rather than GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa. On Today's Show: Elizabeth Kim , Gothamist and WNYC reporter, and Jeff Coltin , Politico reporter and co-author of the New York Playbook, talk about the latest news in the mayoral campaign, including Andrew Cuomo's comments regardin...

Wall Street is reportedly worried that President Trump will come after big banks the way he did big law firms and elite universities. On Today's Show: William Cohan , co-founder of Puck News and author of many books, including Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon (Penguin Random House, 2022), talks about the many ways President Trump is interfering in big U.S. businesses   Hosted b...

The Presidents of Russia and the U.S. will meet in Alaska to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.  On Today's Show: Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNBC; writer for MSNBC and contributing writer to The Atlantic , talks about the upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for inform...

President Trump is reportedly using federal agencies to beef up law enforcement presence in Washington DC.  On Today's Show: David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2025), talks about the context and implications of Pres. Trump's takeover of policing in Washington, DC, plus other national news. Host...

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has canceled nearly half a billion dollars in federal funding for future vaccine development. On Today's Show: Michael Osterholm , PhD, MPH, founding director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), member of the Vaccine Integrity Project, and the author, with Mark Olshaker, of the forthcoming book, The Big One: How We Must Prepare f...

After many delays and negotiations, most of President Donald Trump's tariffs went into effect last Thursday, August 7th. On Today's Show: Eric Levitz , senior correspondent at Vox, break down the latest news, including why Trump’s tariffs, no matter how tough they might be on American pocketbooks, might be very hard to reverse. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...

One of NYC's most likely mayoral hopefuls has been finding success supporting some extremely left-leaning policies.  On Today's Show: Zohran Mamdani, New York State assembly member (D-36, Queens) and the Democratic nominee for mayor, makes his pitch to voters as he runs for mayor of New York City.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

With Congress on summer recess after passing the big spending bill, GOP representatives are now tasked with defending their legislative records to their constituents.  On Today's Show: Eleanor Mueller , congress reporter at Semafor, talks about the particularly tough crowd Republican congressman Mike Flood faced on Monday evening and other news coming out of Congress.  Hosted by Simplecast, an Ads...

With recent stories around the Fed chair, and US employment figures, a former government economist explains the latest, and the stakes.  On Today's Show: Robert Reich , recently retired as Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, Secretary of Labor under Pres. Clinton, a columnist for Newsweek and The Guardian and Substack, and the author of several books,...