Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

On Today's Show: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D CT), member of the Foreign Relations committee and author of The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy (Random House, 2020), talks about his new book that seeks to explain America's high levels of violence — from our history to today's violence at protests and the police shootings that sparked those protests.

On Today's Show: Shawna Thomas, content executive at Quibi, talks about the latest national political news, as the Republicans and Democrats have wrapped up their conventions. Plus honoring the legacy of actor Chadwick Boseman, and the historical significance of the day he died, August 28th.

Four days of televised convention later, the RNC is over. So, we brought together political commentators from across the spectrum to talk about it. On Today's Show:Charlie Sykes, Wisconsin-based editor-at-large of The Bulwark and host of the Bulwark podcast, Juan Williams, journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel, and Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and adjunct professor at The Institute of World Politics, recap President Donald Trump's concluding speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention and offer analysis of the four-night event.

Some national sports teams have decided not to take the field in unsanctioned 'wildcat' labor strikes in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha. On Today's Show:William Rhoden, former longtime sports columnist at The New York Times, now a writer for the site The Undefeated, talks about how the players got here, and what their high profile protests could mean for Black Lives Matter and racial justice in the United States.

Our guest says it's time to call what's happening at the post office what it is: voter suppression. On Today's Show: Derrick Johnson, President & CEO of the NAACP, explains the effect changes the USPS is making have on voter suppression. PLUS, an exchange from the recent congressional hearing between Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Rep. Katie Porter (D, CA-45)

The immigrant stories featured at the RNC celebrated those who came to the US legally. But most took place under other presidents. Would those stories be the same under Trump? On Today's Show:From plans to build a wall, to calling Mexicans rapists, President Trump has done a lot to anger Latino voters, and yet according to the PEW research center a third of Latino voters still support him. Maria Hinojosa, anchor and executive producer of Latino USA, and the author of the forthcoming Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America (Simon and Schuster, 2020), talks about Trump's popularity among Latino voters, and after "Tio Bernie's" popularity whether Biden can make up lost ground.

What to expect from this week's Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to harp on 'law and order' messages, and to cast doubt on our elections infrastructure. On Today's Show:Aamer Madhani, White House reporter at The Associated Press covering the Trump campaign, talks on what to expect this week coming out of the RNC and a look at the Trump re-election campaign.

The postal service has been directed to slim down. Ahead of a vote-by-mail election, that could cause problems. The head of USPS will testify about it before Congress on Monday. On Today's Show:U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney (D, NY-12) talks about her legislation the House will be voting on this weekend that aims to prevent further changes to the USPS during the pandemic, previews the hearing she'll chair with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and talks about how mail-in voting issues affected her recent primary win.

Anyone who didn't know the Bidens before watching last night's convention events has now received a very thorough introduction. Did they like what they saw? What about after some of the nation's top military brass voiced their support? On Today's Show:Jonathan Capehart, member of The Washington Post editorial board and op-ed columnist, host of the “Cape Up” podcast and an MSNBC contributor, breaks down highlights from the second night of the Democrats’ virtual convention.

Democrats kicked off their convention by taking aim at Trump's handling of the pandemic, and invoked the notion that leadership can be both competent and compassionate. On Today's Show:Asma Khalid, political correspondent for NPR and co-host of "The NPR Politics Podcast," recaps the first night of the Democratic National Convention and previews what's ahead. Plus, listeners who are undecided call in and explain why.

This week's Democratic Convention will be unlike any in history. But before this unconventional convention begins, we look at what it means in the context of that history. What's at stake? On Today's Show:As the DNC gets underway, Dan Rather, former news anchor for the CBS Evening News, president & CEO of "News & Guts" and now author of the Audible Original Dan Rather: Stories of a Lifetime, looks back on his years covering conventions, including being roughed up by security guards on the convention floor in Chicago in 1968, and offers current analysis.

Coronavirus has made this a pretty strange election cycle. But with some campaign norms on the chopping block, why not take look at whether debates or conventions are good for democracy? On Today's Show: Elizabeth Drew, long-time journalist and author of Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixon's Downfall (The Overlook Press, 2014), and Molly Ball, Time Magazine's national political correspondent and the author of Pelosi (Henry Holt and Co., 2020), talk about how campaigns are different this year — and Elizabeth Drew's call to end the presidential debates.

Biden tapped Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, making her the first Black woman to appear on a major party ticket. Was it the right choice for the Biden campaign? On Today's Show:Jonathan Swan, national political reporter for Axios, and Jami Floyd, WNYC legal editor, talk about the selection of Sen. Kamala Harris (D CA) as Joe Biden's running mate. Plus, Swan discusses the experience of conducting a much-watched interview with President Trump on "Axios on HBO."

As workplaces and schools and other public spaces re-open, could good airflow help keep us safe indoors? On Today's Show:Dr. Linsey Marr, the Charles P. Lunsford professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, discusses what scientists know about how COVID-19 moves through the air and how ventilation could help lower the risk of spread.

After besting Bernie in the primary, Biden has his work cut out for him with young voters. Will they protest at the ballot box? Will his VP pick change minds? On Today's Show:Juana Summers, political reporter for NPR covering demographics and culture, on the latest political news and previews next week's Democratic Convention, Biden's VP pick, and whether young people will even tune in to conventions.

What if thinking about race and class in this country isn't enough? What if we considered the distribution of political power in terms of caste instead? On Today's Show:Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of The Warmth of Other Suns and her latest, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (Random House, 2020), argues that beyond race and class, America is structured in a caste hierarchy and how that shapes individuals' lives.

With negotiations stalled in the Senate over the next phase of federal COVID relief, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand talks about what's on the table, and her plan for the post office in a vote-by-mail year.

As Congress works on another round of COVID-19 relief, many are looking for them to extend unemployment benefits. But there's a spate of other issues that workers should keep an eye on. On Today's Show:Millions of Americans are unemployed and waiting for the federal government to come to an agreement on the next coronavirus relief bill. Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, and Ana María Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, talks about where lawmakers are on negotiating this deal, and what they'd like to see come through for workers.

The federal government let the $600 supplemental unemployment benefit expire earlier this week. We check in on Congress's negotiations, and on listeners who needed that money to get by. On Today's Show:Lawmakers remain at an impasse over what to include in the fifth coronavirus relief bill. Emily Cochrane, reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times, covering Congress talks about what's on the table, and listeners' calls on what the end of the $600-a-week unemployment benefit means for your life

This isn't the first time a President with authoritarian tendencies has sent in federal troops to quash protest and unrest. The last time was May 1, 1971. We look at the parallels. On Today's Show:Lawrence Roberts, investigative journalist and the author of Mayday 1971: A White House at War, a Revolt in the Streets, and the Untold History of America’s Biggest Mass Arrest (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020), talks about the anti-war protests of 1971 when President Nixon called in federal troops in D.C.

There was a lot we got wrong at the beginning of the pandemic. With cases rising around the country, maybe it's time to lock it down again, and take the second chance to get it right. On Today's Show:Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, infectious diseases physician with expertise in emerging infections and biosecurity, talks about the latest COVID-19 news, including what needs to happen to avoid another nationwide shutdown: faster and improved testing, a scaled up contact tracing program, and plans for isolation and quarantine for those who test positive. Plus, a look at how healthcare personnel are coping with no end in sight.

Portland has been protesting police brutality for 2 full months. In recent weeks, the addition of federal agents seems to have re-ignited the public's outrage. On Today's Show:Anna Griffin, vice president of news at Oregon Public Broadcasting, Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic, historian and author of Twilight of Democracy: the Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, and Dr. Shirley A. Jackson, professor of Black Studies at Portland State University, offer different perspectives on the clashes between federal agents and protesters in Portland, Oregon.

Federal agents are cracking down on Portland protesters and AG William Barr set to testify on that. Plus, Trump's mixed messages in responding to COVID. On Today's ShowAyesha Rascoe, NPR White House reporter, talks about the latest political headlines

It's Monday morning politics. Today's top stories -- will congress extend the $600 unemployment checks, and are the BLM protests in Portland still about Black lives? On Today's Show:Eugene Scott, politics reporter for The Fix at The Washington Post, talks about the latest national political news, including where Congress is on the next coronavirus relief bill, the federal agents in Portland and more.

On today's show: Hakeem Jeffries, U.S. Representative (D NY-8th, Brooklyn and Queens), talks about the next coronavirus relief bill currently being debated in Congress.

As businesses re-open and employees go back to work, how can they be sure their employers are taking their health seriously enough? And if they get sick, could they sue? On Today's Show:Heidi Li Feldman, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, explains worker's rights and the legal protections for their employers as reopening continues during the pandemic.

There's a newish acronym, BIPOC, that encompasses the victims of US colonization and slavery. But should they be lumped together? And who does that label leave out? On Today's Show:Jonathan D. Rosa, sociocultural and linguistic anthropologist at Stanford University, who researches language and race, talks about and answers questions on what BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) means, who it serves, where it comes from and how it affects our society, presently and in our future.

The President's aversion to facts has created fertile ground for conspiracy theories to take root. The most important question: will he and his base accept the results of the election? On Today's Show:Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post columnist and host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, talks about his latest CNN special, examining President Trump's proclivity for conspiracy-theory thinking, its history in the U.S., and what his claims about voter fraud could mean for the 2020 election

The late Rep. John Lewis was a powerhouse of civil rights activism, and a leader for justice among lawmakers. We dip into the archive and listen to the history of "Good Trouble" he lived. On Today's Episode:We hear a conversation Brian had with Rep. John Lewis on the day that President Obama became the first Black Democratic nominee for president, tape of C.T. Vivian, a top lieutenant of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who died on the same day as Lewis, standing up to a sheriff in Selma, Alabama to defend the right to register Black voters. Jonathan Capehart, member of The Washington Post editorial board, host of the “Cape Up” podcast and an MSNBC contributor, remembers John Lewis, and talks about his legacy in Washington today.

Schools around the nation weigh the safety of students and staff against pressure from parents who can't go back to work with their kids staying home. Part 2 of a 2-part discussion: What do teachers need in the discussion about re-opening schools? On Today's Show:Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, offers the union's view on how to balance the need to reopen schools against the risks of COVID-19 exposure.

Schools around the nation weigh the safety of students and staff against pressure from parents who can't go back to work with their kids staying home. Part 1 of a 2-part discussion: What do parents need in the discussion about re-opening schools? On Today's Show:Brigid Schulte, director of the Better Life Lab and author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play when No One has the Time, and New York City Council Member Brad Lander (39th district in Brooklyn) discuss the school and child care puzzle that New York faces. NOTE: After this interview was completed on Wednesday, July 15, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan along the lines of the proposal Councilman Lander presented on the show. Lander's reaction to the mayor's plan is included at the end of this episode.

You might know her from MSNBC as AM-JOY, but now, Joy-Ann Reid is getting her own show, making her the first Black woman in the host chair on prime time TV since Gwen Ifill. On Today's Show:Joy-Ann Reid, MSNBC political analyst, host of the new show "The REIDOUT" and the author of The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story (William Morrow, 2019), discusses her career, her new show and being the only Black woman news host in prime time.

An open letter in Harper's Magazine argues that social media public shamings hamper free speech. A rebuttal letter argues that cancel culture is about shuffling who has a platform and the power to wield it. Claire Potter, professor of history at The New School, and the executive editor of Public Seminar, a digital magazine of politics and culture based at The New School, signed the letter, and Malaika Jabali, writer, activist and attorney, signed a response letter that argued the original letter “does not deal with the problem of power.”

As the rest of the country contends with rising COVID-19 numbers, the North East is concerned that returning travelers will bring the virus back with them. On Today's Show:Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, and Baltimore's former Health Commissioner, talks about the rise in Covid-19 cases, including the surge in Florida; quarantining travelers coming to New York, and more.

With President Trump is still leaning on the racist rhetoric that helped him win in 2016. But this time, it's not working. So what's different now? On Today's Show:Perry Bacon Jr., senior writer for FiveThirtyEight, breaks down the latest national political data and news, including Biden's vice-presidential options, and Trump's falling poll numbers.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced that international students would have to leave the country unless they were enrolled in an in-person class. On Today's Show:Nicole Agu, vice chair for international student affairs University Student Senate of CUNY, and Dan Berger, partner at Curran, Berger & Kludt, specializing in academic immigration, discuss the response to a new ICE policy requiring international college students in the U.S. to attend in person classes in the fall in order to remain in the country.

The Supreme Court ruled on whether President Trump has to release his tax returns. The verdict? It's complicated, but we got two people deep on this beat to explain it. On Today's Show:Andrea Bernstein, WNYC senior editor, co-host of WNYC's and ProPublica's podcast Trump Inc., and the author of American Oligarchs: The Kushners, The Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power (W.W. Norton and Company, 2020), and Jami Floyd, WNYC's legal editor and host of All Things Considered, break down what these rulings mean and what's likely to come next.

People are struggling right now, and the Federal government is now deliberating over a 5th-round stimulus. But are there sustainable solutions that look beyond today's urgent needs? On Today's Show:U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) talks about the Senate's response to the public health and economic crisis.

In this episode, we look at the distant, and not-so-distant past in the context of today's Republican Party and the confederate statues being torn down around the country. On Today's Show:Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, CNN political analyst, co-host of the podcast Politics and Polls, and author of Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party (Penguin Press, 2020), talks about his new book and offers historical context for today's news.

The US has tightened its borders to reduce the spread of COVID-19. But it's not raising a drawbridge, there are visas and green cards at play. What do those policies mean for immigrants? On Today's Show:Anu Joshi, vice president of policy at the New York Immigration Coalition, talks about the latest immigration news, including President Trump's suspension of new work visas until the end of the year.

During the pandemic, unemployment is top of mind. But it won't go away when we get control over the virus. Our guest wrote about a "vaccine" for unemployment: a federal jobs guarentee. On Today's Show:Pavlina R. Tcherneva, associate professor at Bard College and research scholar at the Levy Economics Institute and the author of The Case for a Job Guarantee, talks about the Modern Monetary Theory and why it allows for full employment at a living wage -- even now.

As we go into the July 4th weekend, we're seeing COVID-19 cases take a dramatic rise across the country. Did we declare independence from the virus too soon? On Today's Show:Health officials are urging Americans to rethink their holiday plans as virus case levels reach new highs. Dr. Ashwin Vasan, physician, epidemiologist, and professor at Columbia and CEO of Fountain House, a community-based mental and public health organization, talks about which states are now setting single-day reporting records, and takes your calls.

What can we learn from the writings of James Baldwin, a Civil Rights era thinker who, in exploring injustice, treated the whole person, body and soul, as subject? On Today's Show:Eddie Glaude, chair of Princeton's African-American studies department, talks about his new book, Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own (Crown, 2020).

A generation of Black children has been raised on videos of violence against those who look like them, committed by police. How can we help them make sense of these traumatic images? On Today's Show:Elizabeth Alexander, poet, educator, memoirist, scholar and president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, talks about raising Black sons, and how they and their generation are coping with the trauma of watching police violence against Black people, caught on video.

A moment at last week's Senate Judiciary Hearing on policing reform underscored a persistent and common misunderstanding about the difference between personal and systemic racism. On today's show: Eugene Scott, The Washington Post political reporter covering identity politics for The Fix.

Systemic racism is everywhere, from social media policies around hate speech, to the Department of Justice. Today, a look at some of the finer details of the reforms needed beyond policing. On Today's Show:Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, talks about the change his organization is pushing for, and where he sees the Black Lives Matter protest movement going from here.

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 "architect of Obamacare," co-host of the podcast "Making the Call," and the author of Which Country Has the World's Best Health Care?, compares the healthcare systems around the world, including Taiwan, Germany, Australia and Switzerland, to see which country does it best and could be a model for the U.S.

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 University Center for Health Security, talk about COVID-19 surging in places like Arizona, Florida and Texas, and testimony before Congress by Dr. Fauci and CDC director Dr. Redfield.

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 healthcare system.

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.