The Brian Lehrer Show

Jeffery Mays , New York Times reporter covering politics with a focus on New York City Hall, talks about the new worker and vendor protections passed by the City Council, overriding Mayor Adams' vetoes. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A recent Washington Post article explained how most families have a secret language that only they understand, or a "familect" as some linguists call it. Listeners call in to share the words in their family that only they use, which are often conjured in the minds of small children and then used for years down the road. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information...

Ari Berman , voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones and author of Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024), talks about his latest article on the "rapidly escalating" threats to America’s election system, including how the Trump administration is making it harder to vote, the DOJ's civil rights division has dr...

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Lawmakers Attempt to Improve the Ticket-Buying Experience  (First) |  The City's Rat Czar Shares Progress and Challenges (Starts at 23:40) | Helping Monarch Butterflies Thrive in NYC  (Starts at 44:44) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

As the US economy and consumer preferences fluctuate, listeners in the restaurant industry and their customers share how they're adapting to tariffs, slowed job growth, widespread use of GLP-1 medications altering appetites, and other trends. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 the debate among Democrats over whether to go along with the Republican plan to fund the government or withhold their votes, resulting in a shutdown. => " The Democrats’ shutdown debate is about something much big...

This week, the French government lost a confidence vote in the National Assembly, forcing the prime minister François Bayrou and his cabinet to resign. Sophie Pedder , Paris bureau chief at The Economist , breaks down the latest and what's on the table for President Emmanuel Macron to remedy what's being called a "collapse" of his government. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswi...

James Skoufis , New York State Senator (D - 42nd District), talks about his bill that would regulate the live events ticketing industry, plus shares why he agrees with Zohran Mamdani's petition to FIFA to improve consumers' ticket-buying experience for the men's World Cup, which will be in the US next year. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our col...

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 campus. Hosted by S...

Benji Jones, senior environmental correspondent at Vox , shares his reporting on how cities like New York can nurture threatened species, including monarch butterflies. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steven Markowitz , MD DrPH, an occupational medicine physician, internist, and epidemiologist who directs the Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment at the City University of New York, talks about the latest data from the World Trade Center Health Program. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for a...

Nancy Solomon , host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, recaps her conversation with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on the assassination of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the Governor's planned economic trip to India and his executive order to ensure COVID vaccinations (and medical insurance coverage) to New Jerseyans. Plus, Nancy talks about the latest news in the governor's...

It has been more than two years since Mayor Adams appointed a "rat czar."   Kathleen Corradi , citywide director of rodent mitigation, reports on progress in the city's fight against the pests, and challenges that remain, like persistent rats nests near playgrounds and in parks.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...

Listeners share stories of when they've lost big but managed to come back, inspired by Amanda Anisimova's comeback in the U.S. Open to make the finals after her infamous "double-bagel" loss at Wimbledon. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gothamist and WNYC reporter Elizabeth Kim and Errol Louis , political anchor of Spectrum NY1 News, host of Inside City Hall and The Big Deal with Errol Louis, New York Magazine columnist and host of the podcast You Decide, talk about the latest news in the mayoral campaign, including a new poll that shows Mamdani retaining a comfortable lead; Errol's conversation with Mamdani on public safety from...

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 advertising.

As New York's mayoral election enters its final stretch, Boston voters are casting ballots to narrow their own mayoral field—and President Trump is attempting to influence both races.   Emma Platoff , political enterprise reporter at The Boston Globe , talks about the state of the Boston mayoral election. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our colle...

Peter Hotez , MD, PhD, founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, codirector of the Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, and professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine and Michael E. Mann , presidential distinguished professor and director of the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Penn...

Kyle Chayka , staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the weekly column Infinite Scroll, talks about his latest column about ghosting and discusses whether our hyperconnected digital moment has made us all expect too much of each other.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court lifted a restriction on ICE from conducting indiscriminate stops and raids in Los Angeles that have been decried as racial profiling. Lindsay Nash , professor of law at Cardozo Law, co-director of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic and co-director of the Center for Immigration Innovation, offers legal analysis of the ruling, and other immigr...

Dana Rubinstein , New York Times reporter who covers New York City politics and government, and Brigid Bergin , senior political correspondent for WNYC and Gothamist, share their reporting on the possibility that Mayor Adams will drop out of the mayoral race to take a job with the Trump administration (despite the mayor's assertion that he's staying in the race). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz c...

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 AdsWiz...

President Trump announced he will rename the Department of Defense the "Department of War." Fred Kaplan , Slate's War Stories columnist and the author of many nonfiction books and his latest, a novel, A Capital Calamity (Miniver Press, 2024), explains the symbolic and actual implications for this decision, plus talks about the dubious legality of the Trump administration's fatal attack on a Venezu...

Following up on Thursday's calls from parents of kids whose education was interrupted by the pandemic lockdown, Angela Mora , LMSW, child therapist at Cope With School NYC, talks about some of the emotional health issues children face today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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, plus other news on the war and attempts to end it.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use o...