The Brian Lehrer Show

Brigid Bergin , WNYC's senior political correspondent, talks about the competitive congressional races in New York's primary, and what voter turnout is signaling so far. Jon Campbell , Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about the Democratic primary in NY-17, where the candidate that wins will take on Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in the general election in November. Photo: Democratic New...

Micah Loewinger , co-host of WNYC's On the Media, draws on his reporting from On the Media's series on FEMA to talk about the future of the agency, the Trump administration's new nominee to run it and how a weakened FEMA will affect New Yorkers just as the Atlantic hurricane season is beginning. Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sign is displayed at their...

Isaac Butler , culture historian, critic, podcaster and the author of The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars (Bloomsbury, 2026 ) revisits the late 1980s start of the culture wars as the religious right took on the contemporary art world. Photo: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - August 21: Banned books are chained to a table in "JD Vances Livingroom" at the Hotties For Harris...

Listeners call in to share a news story from the country they’re cheering on at the 2026 World Cup. Photo: An Indian (R) and Nepalese football player (L) vie for the ball during a qualifier match for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 at Dasrath Stadium in Kathmandu on March 17, 2015. The teams drew 0-0. AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH MATHEMA (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP via Getty Images)   Hosted by Simpleca...

Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist, contributor to The iPaper and the author of many nonfiction books and his latest, a novel, A Capital Calamity (Miniver Press, 2024) offers analysis of what's in the Iran deal, and whether it will even hold up amid on-and-off violence. Photo: TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 18: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY â" MANDATORY CREDIT - 'IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT' - NO MARKETIN...

Catalina Gonella, WNYC and Gothamist reporter, talks about her investigation into an alleged real estate scammer, who allegedly took money from dozens of apartment hunters, and never refunded the deposits even when they didn't get the apartment. Plus, she offers tips on how to avoid real estate scams, and what to do if you think you've been swindled out of cash.   Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 1...

Alvaro Bedoya, senior advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project and former FTC commissioner, offers his opinion on how the Paramount - Warner Brothers Discovery mega merger will affect every day people and their jobs, and more on what he calls the pervasiveness of monopolies and their effects in the US today. Photo: The Paramount Pictures logo is displayed on the water tower in Los Angele...

Darby Saxbe, clinical psychologist, professor of psychology at the University of Southern California and author of Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men's Lives (Flatiron Books, 2026) discusses her research on how becoming a father changes men, from their bodies and brain architecture to their hormones and sense of purpose.  Photo: 06 May 2026, Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg: At...

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. [00:00] What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?  [29:31] Ultra-Processed Foods and Colon Cancer  [49:27] Ultra-Processed Foods Policy Proposals   If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here . Photo: Packets of chips are on display at a supermarket in Mumbai, India, on September 7, 2025. (Photo by Ind...

U.S. Senator  Raphael Warnock (D GA), senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and the author of The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America (Penguin Press, 2026), draws on the book of Isaiah to offer lessons on the moral crises facing America, from gun violence to voter suppression and climate change, and how to address them spiritually and politic...

As we enter the last weekend of early voting ahead of Tuesday's New York primary day, Ben Max , host of the "Max Politics" podcast and executive editor and program director at New York Law School’s Center for New York City Law, recaps the stories breaking out of competitive congressional races, the statewide comptroller race, and more.  Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: New Yorkers participa...

For Father's Day, listeners who didn't have a dad around growing up call in to talk about who taught them how to be a good dad.  Photo: Indian father Shailesh throws up his son, Harish, at a park in Amritsar on June 19, 2016, on Father's Day, a day observed in many countries to celebrate fathers and fatherhood. (Photo by NARINDER NANU / AFP) (Photo by NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images)   Hosted b...

Ahead of World Refugee Day, David Miliband , president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, reports from Ukraine on the conditions there, and the state of refugees worldwide as the US has pulled back so dramatically on humanitarian assistance. Photo: KYIV, UKRAINE - MAY 24: People hide in subway during Russian air attacks on May 24, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Ze...

William C. Rhoden , columnist for Andscape and former longtime sports columnist at The New York Times , talks about the New York Knicks' road to the 2026 NBA championship as the city hosts a victory parade. Then, Brian and William continue with special coverage ahead of the ceremony at City Hall, which you can watch in full here . Photo: SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - JUNE 13: Fans wave a large flag that re...

Barbara Barke r, Newsday sports columnist and features writer, and Brittany Kriegstein , WNYC and Gothamist reporter, talk about the City's celebrations of the Knicks NBA championship, from the ticker-tape parade to the City Hall awarding of the Keys to the City. Photo: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani marches in National Puerto Rican Day Parade on 5th Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday, June 14, 2026. Micha...

Reid Epstein , national political correspondent for The New York Times , talks about the results in this week's primary elections, including how President Trump's influence was felt, and more news related to the midterm elections. Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 17: Voting stickers are seen during the New York Primary elections at the Brooklyn Museum on June 17, 2025 in the Prospect Heights neigh...

In the last few weeks of the Supreme Court term, Kate Shaw, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, co-host of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny, and a contributing opinion writer with The New York Times , breaks down the latest news including recent rulings and legal news on President Trump's $1.776 billion so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund." Photo: WASHINGTON, DC -...

David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times and the author of New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West (Crown, 2024), discusses the details of an agreement between the United States and Iran to end the war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com...

The federal government has issued new work requirement rules for some people on Medicaid, which will go into effect in January, 2027. Ginny Shubert, co-founder of Housing Works, talks about how the new rules will affect New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS. Photo: US Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Mehmet Oz takes questions from reporters during a press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Bri...

S. Mitra Kalita , co-founder of URL Media and CEO and publisher of Epicenter-NYC, talks about the themes coming up in the primary campaigns in Queens, where the issues in many of the races are representative of the citywide political conversation right now.  Photo: Queens, New York. October 26, 2020. People lining up for early voting in Astoria. (Credit: Massimo Giachetti) Hosted by Simplecast, an...

Katie Thornton , host of The Divided Dial, a Peabody Award-winning series on WNYC's On the Media and a freelance print and audio journalist, talks about Esperanto, its history as a language invented to bring people together across borders, and who is speaking it today. " Love Language: The undying dream of Esperanto " (Harper's Magazine, June 2026) Photo: View taken on on April 5, 2017 shows histo...

Katy Tur, host of MS NOW's "The Moment with Katy Tur", discusses her new show focusing on breaking news and tying the headlines of the day to the upcoming midterm elections. Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 15: Katy Tur speaks onstage during the Variety and Rolling Stone Truth Seekers Summit presented by Paramount + at Second on August 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Variety vi...

Each year WNYC hosts a "health convening," with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, as an opportunity for healthcare experts and practitioners to inform WNYC's health reporting. This year, the topic is ultra-processed foods and how they affect our health.  Kevin Hall , Ph. D., former senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) discusses his groundbreaking, tightly contr...

Each year WNYC hosts a "health convening," with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, as an opportunity for healthcare experts and practitioners to inform WNYC's health reporting. This year, the topic is ultra-processed foods and how they affect our health.  Fang Fang Zhang , M.D., Ph. D., cancer epidemiologist and chair of the Division of Nutrition Epidemiology and Data Science at the Frie...

Each year WNYC hosts a "health convening," with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, as an opportunity for healthcare experts and practitioners to inform WNYC's health reporting. This year, the topic is ultra-processed foods and how they affect our health.  David Kessler , MD, former FDA Commissioner, breaks down a citizen petition he filed with the Food and Drug Administration last summer...