The Brian Lehrer Show

Rachel Feintzeig , writer based in Connecticut, talks about her recent New York Times  guest essay "Why You, Too, Need a Nemesis" as listeners share how they've drawn inspiration from proving someone wrong about them. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jacob Bogage , Congressional economics correspondent at The Washington Post, and Joseph Rosenberg , senior fellow at the Urban Institute's Tax Policy Center, offer analysis of the Republicans budget plan, how it may or may not advance President Trump's legislative agenda and what it might mean for his tax cuts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...

Charlotte Cowles , financial advice columnist for The Cut ,offers advice for federal student loan borrowers who are navigating the complicated system, especially as President Trump threatens to shut down the Department of Education, and key components of former President Biden's student loan relief plan are tied up in court. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informa...

The price of a dozen eggs is surging throughout the New York area. Dionne Searcey , New York Times reporter, reports on how bird flu is causing the sticker shock on eggs, how different types of businesses are dealing with the cost and how New Yorkers are finding deals. Plus listeners share their tips on where to find affordable eggs and whether the prices are causing them to change up how eggs fit...

Listeners share their memories of Christo & Jeanne-Claude’s “The Gates” which transformed part of Central Park with orange banners twenty years ago this month, plus other art projects that changed their view of public spaces. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lisa Friedman , reporter covering climate policy and politics at The New York Times , discusses moves made by the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency administration, Lee Zeldin, including the administration's attempts to claw back President Biden's funding for "green energy" infrastructure and more.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information a...

Julie Rovner , chief Washington correspondent at KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast, and Alyssa Goldberg , USA Today Wellness reporter, discuss moves made by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including a recent vow to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule and SSRIs. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informa...

Listeners call in to share what their favorite Wikipedia page is, niche or highly trafficked, and share a little-known nugget of knowledge, a humorous edit or anything else. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As our centennial series continues, Jacoby Adeshei Carter , philosophy professor at Howard University, director of the Alain Leroy Locke Society, author of African American Contributions to the Americas’ Cultures: A Critical Edition of Lectures by Alain Locke  (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) and co-editor of Philosophizing the Americas (Fordham University Press, 2024), talks about the Harlem Renaissanc...

Tim Padgett , WLRN Americas Editor covering Latin America, the Caribbean and their key relationship with South Florida, and Saraya Wintersmith , reporter covering Boston City Hall for GBH News and is the host of the “What Is Owed?” podcast, preview WNYC's evening public radio station special "Haiti On The Line," which examines the history of the country and the current news that the Trump administ...

Andy Kim, U.S. Senator (D NJ), talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Analysis from Elie Mystal as a judge deliberates Mayor Eric Adams' future (First) | Richard Stengel, Former Under Secretary of State during the Obama administration, on Trump's pivot away from European allies and towards President Vladimir Putin's Russia (Starts at 35:47) | The best political sketches so far in SNL's 50-year hi...

House Speaker Mike Johnson has several holdouts in his own party on the budget blueprint he wants to put on the House floor in the coming days. Meredith Lee Hill , Congress reporter for POLITICO covering GOP leadership, breaks down the beleaguered House budget and the Republicans pushing Johnson not to slash SNAP benefits and Medicaid. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com...

U.S. Justice Department attorneys and Mayor Eric Adams appeared before federal Judge Dale Ho, asking that the five federal corruption and bribery charges against Adams should be dropped. Elie Mystal , justice correspondent and columnist for The Nation  and host of their legal podcast, "Contempt of Court," author of Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution  (The New Press, 2023),...

A recent AP story focused on people who take naps to help refocus on workdays and callers share if they break for naps and if their employers support that. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Katherine Wu , staff writer for The Atlantic , explains how the Trump administration's cuts to research grants has already — and will continue to — impact scientific progress in the United States. =>" The Breaking of American Science " (The Atlantic, Feb. 14, 2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advert...

European leaders have called an emergency meeting after President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine is to blame for Russia’s invasion of it. Richard Stengel , former Under Secretary of State during the Obama administration, political analyst at MSNBC and author of Information Wars: How We Lost the Battle Against Disinformation (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2019), breaks down the latest as Trump seemingly...

Stephen Nessen , transportation reporter for the WNYC Newsroom, breaks down the latest news that President Donald Trump has intervened to halt congestion pricing in Manhattan. Christina Greer , associate professor of political science at Fordham University, co-host of the podcast FAQNYC and the author of How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams (Cambridge...

Yoni Appelbaum , historian, a deputy executive editor of The Atlantic and the author of Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity (Random House, 2025), argues that progressive policies have unintentionally restricted mobility in America, making it harder for people to move toward opportunity and reinforcing economic inequality. → How Progressives Froze t...

Edward-Isaac Dovere , CNN senior reporter covering Democratic politics and campaigns across the country, and the author of  Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats' Campaigns to Defeat Trump  (Viking, 2021), shares his reporting on how voters, interest groups, and unions are frustrated with Democratic politicians in the early weeks of Trump's second term, while  Christopher Fasano , former attor...

Robert P. Jones , president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute ( PRRI ) and the author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: And the Path to a Shared American Future  (Simon & Schuster, 2023), Ryan Burge , associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, research director for Faith Counts, and the author of The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and...

As Mayor Adams faces pressure to step down over allegations of a deal to have his federal corruption charges dropped, Gov. Hochul met with City leaders to discuss his future. Brigid Bergin , WNYC's senior political correspondent, and Jimmy Vielkind , New York State Issues reporter for WNYC, talk about the latest developments. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for inform...

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), recaps the recent Trump administration officials' visits to Europe, where Vice President JD Vance said European leaders should not shun far-right political parties and more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informati...

Benji Backer , founder and CEO of Nature Is Nonpartisan and visiting fellow at The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, offers his right of center take on how to combat climate change, and how he believes he can influence President Trump's energy secretary to be both pro-energy and pro-environment. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our col...

As our centennial series continues, Lisa Stulberg , associate professor of the Sociology of Education at NYU, and Anthony Chen , associate professor of sociology and political science at Northwestern University, look at the last century of admission preferences at colleges and universities. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use o...