Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

The urgent needs of Black politics today have roots in the failures of the Reconstruction era. Today, a look at how that history led us to the present moment, and what the future could hold. On Today's Show:Adam Serwer, staff writer at The Atlantic talks about how to be anti-racist now and the past and future of Black politics.

Trump tried to rescind an Obama policy granting legal status for those who illegally immigrated as children. The Supreme Court said the reversal was "arbitrary and capricious." On Today's Show:Jami Floyd, WNYC's legal editor and host of All Things Considered, and Beth Fertig, senior reporter at WNYC covering immigration and courts, talks about the Supreme Court's decision.

On policing, what happens in communities on the ground often has to do with the tone set by the brass. So what happens when the President stokes his base by applauding rough policing? On Today's Show:Chuck Rosenberg, MSNBC contributor and host of "The Oath" podcast, former US attorney, senior FBI official and acting head of the DEA, talks about the new season of his podcast, a series of interviews with former government officials about what the oath of office meant to them, plus offers his take on national security news.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that LGBT people cannot be fired for simply being LGBT, a landmark ruling that has consequences for gender equality in its many forms. On Today's Show:Gabriel Arkles, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project (and part of the team on the Aimee Stephens case), talks about the landmark Supreme Court decision.

As we reckon with racism in our present, many point to today's injustices as a continuation of a history of racism. So what should be done with the historical symbols of that racism? On Today's Show:Lecia Brooks, outreach director at the Southern Poverty Law Center talks about what statues have gone down in the past few weeks, and what remains. Plus Gurminder Bhambra, professor of postcolonial studies at the University of Sussex on the parallel protests happening in Britain around symbols dedicated to the British Empire and colonialism.

Around the country, states are starting to reopen, some faster than others. Given that, and the fact that cases are climbing in some areas, have we learned how to start up again, safely? On Today's Show:Alice Miranda Ollstein, health care reporter for POLITICO, discusses where states went wrong while reopening their economies.

The city of Camden, New Jersey disbanded and rebranded it's police department in 2013. As reform advocates around the country weigh the options, what can we learn from Camden? On Today's Show:Allison Steele, news reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, talks about the extent to which Camden, NJ's 2013 dissolution of its dysfunctional police department, and its replacement with a county force, can be a model for police reformers today.

Police on TV, from Law and Order detectives to the reality show Cops give an unrealistic sense of what it's like to be in law enforcement.And some of them are given easier access to city permits for their positive portrayals. On Today's Show:Alyssa Rosenberg, opinion writer covering culture at The Washington Post, argues that Hollywood should immediately (but not permanently) halt production on cop shows and movies and take the time to rethink the stories it tells about policing in America.

CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour has seen a lot of unrest around the globe. She says we have to see the George Floyd protests for what they are. An uprising. On Today's Show: Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor and host of CNN's Amanpour and of Amanpour & Company on PBS, talks about international reaction to George Floyd’s murder and what it is like covering it as a foreign correspondent.

Now that protesters have gotten politicians to commit to action on police reform, we explore just what form those reforms should take. On Today's Show: L. Joy Williams, president of the Brooklyn branch of the NAACP, political strategist, creator and host of the podcast "Sunday Civics" and chair of Higher Heights talks about the protests in Brooklyn, and the political change she and other advocates are pushing for.

Mayor Bill de Blasio answered questions from listeners and Brian about the protests, police violence, looting and COVID-19 in NYC, and how he's managing a crisis within a crisis. On Today's Show:Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York City takes calls from listeners and discusses this week in NYC.

President Trump has laid the groundwork for sending in the U.S. military in response to unrest over the police killing of George Floyd. We asked veterans what they thought of the idea. Raising issues that ranged from constitutional ideals to difficulties recruiting service members from communities of color, today's callers, like some of the President's current and former military advisers, take issue with militarizing America's streets. On Today's Show:Robert Costa, national political reporter at The Washington Post and moderator of Washington Week on PBS, talks about the latest national news - including the president's handling of the protests, Gen. Mattis' criticism of the president and more.

Police weigh in on policing protests. Protesters weigh in on protesting the police. And our expert guest weighs in with what the research says about when the two groups meet. On Today's Show:Jamiles Lartey, a New Orleans-based staff writer for The Marshall Project, looks at what research shows works best for policing protests, and when over-policing leads to more violence.

What are the political roots of this country's ongoing racial injustices? And what will be the political impact of this moment? Let's break down where we are, and how we got here. On Today's Show:Dr. Jason Johnson, professor at Morgan State University, political contributor at MSNBC, contributor to The Grio and Sirius XM, and Christina Greer, political science professor at Fordham University, host of the podcast FAQNYC, politics editor at The Grio and the host of The Aftermath on Ozy , talk about the uprisings happening across the country, and the political ramifications.

Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. The list of unarmed black people killed by the police and other armed white people keeps getting longer. On Today's Show:Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race (Seal Press, 2019) and the forthcoming MEDIOCRE: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America (Seal Press, 2020) talks about how Americans can have honest conversations about these killings, and race, racism and white supremacy.

On Monday, a white woman made a racially charged 911 call on a black birdwatcher in Central Park after he asked her to leash her dog. In what has now become an infamous viral video, taken by the birdwatcher, the woman says “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.” On Today's Show: Brian Benjamin, New York State Senator (D, 30th district), argues that false reporting of a crime should be added to the list of charges eligible for hate crime status.

Our COVID-19 strategy started with containment and then shifted to flattening the curve. As we begin to reopen and learn to live with COVID-19, it's time for a "harm reduction" approach. On Today's Show:Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, and former Baltimore Health Commissioner, argues that the United States needs to move to the public health strategy of harm reduction.

Trump wants his renominating convention to be "a party." But are the roughly 17,000 GOP members who planned to attend OK with taking on those health risks? And could this hurt Trump in North Carolina in November? On Today's Show:Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt talks about President Trump's threats to move the Republican National Convention from North Carolina if the governor can't guarantee the event will be able to move forward at full capacity.

A month after being hospitalized for COVID-19, NYT's Mara Gay is still fighting double pneumonia, and she's got some advice for the country: Don't underestimate this disease. On Today's Show:The New York Times editorial board member talks about her firsthand experience with COVID-19, the patients of color she met who didn't make it, and takes calls about how to ballance Memorial Day traditions against the risks of this pandemic.

We know a lot more now than we did at the beginning of this pandemic, and we know it's going to take a lot more to come out strong on the other side. Is Washington, D.C. up for it? On Today's Show;U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D NY) talks about federal relief, including SNAP benefits and state and local funding for hard-hit areas.

She pioneered the way we think about disaster economics. Today, the author of Shock Doctrine explains who's profiting from the new telecommuting surge. On Today's Show:Naomi Klein, senior correspondent for The Intercept, the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University, co-founder of The Leap, a climate justice organization, and the author of many books, including On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal (Simon & Schuster, 2019), argues that the pandemic has been a major opportunity for Big Tech to integrate more completely into Americans' lives, and that politicians have given Silicon Valley more power than ever before.

Germany, Finland, Taiwan and New Zealand have at least two things in common: women heads of state, and relative success battling the coronavirus pandemic. On Today's Show:Amanda Taub, writer for The New York Times Interpreter column, looks at what we can — and cannot — learn from that information.

From Madison to Atlanta to California, cities and states are starting to re-open, and we asked callers from around the US to report on how their areas are handling slackening anti-COVID measures. On Today's Show:Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief, discusses the latest COVID-19 news, the political nature of the debate over masks and shelter-in-place measures, and the latest developments in national politics.

A new documentary is spreading dangerous misinformation about COVID-19. In the age of Trumpian untruth, we explore why, how and with whom these conspiracy theories have taken root. On Today's Show:Adrienne LaFrance, executive editor of The Atlantic, talks about how conspiracy theories are appealing to a growing number of Americans, how the president often amplifies them and why that is a threat to all of us.

Amid the COVID crisis, don't forget that it's census year! Today, a history of censuses, all the way back to the Bible, plus listeners' questions. On Today's Show:Andrew Whitby, data scientist and author of The Sum of the People: How the Census Has Shaped Nations, from the Ancient World to the Modern Age (Basic Books, 2020), breaks down the three-thousand-year history of the census and traces the making of the modern survey and how it impacts political power in the digital age.

What role does testing play in fighting this pandemic? Trump's mixed messages on testing, plus, should people, or their police officers be responsible for enforcing social distancing? On Today's Show:Dr. Mary Bassett, Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, as well as professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, talks about the longstanding health and socio-economic disparities that have made minorities more vulnerable to Covid-19.

Joe Biden isn't staying as quiet as you might think. Still, many Dems want to see more of their presumptive candidate. Plus, how good are the alternatives to in-person voting? On Today's Show:Gabriel Debenedetti, national correspondent at New York Magazine, and Emily Bazelon, staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, co-host of Slate's "Political Gabfest" podcast, Truman Capote fellow for creative writing and law at Yale Law School and author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration (Random House, 2019), talk about the latest on the Biden campaign and look ahead to November.

Congress is slowly inching toward another COVID relief package, and several White House staffers have tested positive for the virus. What's going on in the nation's capitol? On Today's Show:U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (D, NY-4, Nassau County) on Congress, the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic, and on the DOJ's decision to drop the charges against Gen. Mike Flynn.

Sweden's herd immunity approach to the pandemic sets a seductive example. But other countries should approach with caution. Plus your calls from around the world. On Today's Show: Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and Gzero Media, host of the new public television weekly show, Gzero World, and the author of Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism (Portfolio, 2018).

She's the most powerful woman in Washington. On this episode, a look at the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the federal relief bills she's negotiating, how she got where she is, and what's next for her? On Today's Show:Molly Ball, Time magazine's national political correspondent and the author of Pelosi (Henry Holt and Co., 2020), talks about Nancy Pelosi's life and her leadership during the pandemic.

The dean of Harvard's Public Health Institute wants the CDC to be part of the nation's COVID response. So why isn't the Center for Disease Control playing a starring role? Our expert guest talks about the disbanding, and subsequent un-disbanding of Trump's Coronavirus task force, talks about how to re-open the economy, and learns a thing or two about elevators of all things from a particularly insightful caller. On Today's Show:Dr. Ashish Jha, professor of Health Policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, explains the relationship between the Trump administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and how it may impact the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virus is a virus. It can't discriminate. So why are people of color being hit harder? And how should we think about the inequities playing out in the COVID-19 pandemic? In this episode, we look to the lessons and icons of the civil rights movement. On Today's Show: Peniel Joseph, professor of history and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. (Basic Books, 2020) talks about his new book, plus the racial disparities in the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Most college students didn't expect to spend Spring semester off-campus. Now, amid much uncertainty, higher-ed administrations nationwide are scrambling to plan for the fall semester. On Today's Show:Lilah Burke, reporter at Inside Higher Ed talks about the varying plans and possibilities and takes calls from parents, educators and students concerned about the upcoming academic year.

Workers at companies like Amazon, Shipt, Instacart and Walmart are walking out Friday to protest working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jane McAlevey, organizer, senior policy fellow at the University of California at Berkeley’s Labor Center, The Nation's strike correspondent and the author of, A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing & the Fight for Democracy (Ecco, 2020) talks about how they are organizing, how the companies are responding and what may come next for these essential workers plus, Chris Smalls, whistleblower and former Amazon employee, talks about the planned strike.

Joe Biden has promised to tap a woman for his VP pick. But allegations against him by a former staffer are creating a difficult situation for those hoping to share the ticket. On Today's Show: Rebecca Traister, writer-at-large for New York Magazine and the author of, most recently, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger (Simon & Schuster, 2018), talks about Biden, his yet-to-be-selected VP candidate and the known unknowns of Tara Reade's claims.

Congress is hammering out the details of COVID Relief/Stimulus 4.0. Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D NY-8th, Brooklyn and Queens) updates us on those talks, the meatpackers who could strike over a Trump order to keep working, and the latest national political news.

This is an unprecedented election year in a lot of ways, but that doesn't mean history can't be a good teacher. Today, we look at how Biden is squaring up against Trump for the election in November. 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 the forthcoming Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party (Penguin Press, 2020) , offers historical context for the current crisis and the upcoming election.

If widespread testing is the first step toward getting control over this pandemic, then the second step is contact tracing. But a virus that can spread without symptoms poses special challenges. With sexually transmitted infections, the list of potential contacts is finite, and mostly knowable. With COVID-19, that list would include people who visited the supermarket at the same time as you, people who have touched your building's doorknob. So the teams of contact tracing investigators being amassed around the country have their work cut out for them. On Today's Show:David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), talks about what the plan entails, and how contact tracing has been used to stem other diseases like HIV, Zika and Ebola.

As New York City announces the results of their first phase of antibody testing, and plans for future phases. So what do we know now, and what's left to learn? On Today's Show:Apoorva Mandavilli, science journalist, frequent contributor to the New York Times, and the 2019 winner of the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Reporting, talks about New York State's preliminary antibody test results and what they may mean for the future of the COVID-19 epidemic and lockdown.

Rather than giving assistance to state, Maj. Leader McConnell says he'd prefer to make states whole by letting them declare bankruptcy. On Today's Show:Sen. Chris Murphy (D CT), member of the Foreign Relations committee and author of the forthcoming book The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy (Random House, 2020), discusses the latest relief package, Connecticut's plans for reopening, the need to support the WHO, and Mitch McConnell's statements on states hard hit by the pandemic to declaring bankruptcy, rather than receive federal relief.

President Trump says that he wants to halt parts of the immigration system in response to COVID-19, leaving many in limbo, including those who were on their way to obtaining green cards.On Today's Show:Sayu Bhojwani, founder and president of New American Leaders and the author of People Like Us: The New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy’s Door (The New Press, 2018) talks about the president's latest return to immigration as a central issue, and reflects on stories of uncertainty from listeners in the immigrant community.

Gyms. Bowling alleys. Tattoo parlors and piercing shops. Barbers and hair and nail salons. Masseuses. If you live in Georgia, some of those establishments could be open for business as early as this Friday. But those tracking COVID-19 say that the Peach State has yet to hit its peak infection rate. As Governor Kemp hastens to reopen, residents of Atlanta are worried about what the consequences will be for the state's biggest city. On Today's Show:Gregg Gonsalves, co-director of the Global Health Justice Partnership and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and contributing writer to The Nation, discusses the state of testing, how it needs to be expanded, and why the federal government and state governments need to cooperate.

As the infection, hospitalization and death rates begin to plateau in hard-hit New York City, pandemic-adjacent issues -- food security, unemployment and right-wing protests against social distancing measures -- come into clearer focus. On Today's Show:Tom Suozzi, U.S. Representative for NY's 3rd District, an area that includes parts of Long Island and Queens, NY, and member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, talks about the federal response, the politics of pandemic and the need for a widespread testing regime.

On Today's Show:Rep. Max Rose represents a swing district in NYC. Today, he talks about his work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, both in Congress and on National Guard duty.

New York City is the densest city in the US. The runner up is San Francisco. NYC has more than 10,000 COVID-19 deaths. As of Monday, San Francisco had 15. Not 15,000. Fifteen people. California got hit with COVID-19 first, but they didn't get hit hard. We explore why, and what places like New York can learn from their approach. On Today's Show:As states begin to weigh how to enter people back into the workforce, Thomas Fuller, San Francisco bureau chief for The New York Times, discusses how California is approaching the move and what New York can learn from the state and Moritz Kraemer, scholar and researcher of epidemiology at Oxford University, joins to discuss what we know about how the virus has spread worldwide.

What does science tell us about the smartest, safest steps to take to restart the country once we start coming down the other side of the flattened curve? And what could life look like during the reboot? On Today's Show:Sharon Begley, senior science writer for STAT News, and author of Can't Just Stop: An Investigation of Compulsions, discusses when it will be safe to relax the COVID-19 lockdown, and how it should happen.

New York Times opinion columnist Thomas Friedman argues that Joe Biden should create a unity cabinet, appointing members across the political spectrum to serve in key positions, from Democrats on the Bernie Sanders left to Republicans on the Mitt Romney right.

COVID-19 originated in China and exploded across the US. Today, a look at the leaders of those two countries: What have they done right to contain this pandemic, what have they done wrong, and what haven't they done at all? On Today's Show:Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer, Peabody, and Polk-prize-winning health and science writer, and author of multiple best-selling books on global health and epidemic diseases, including, The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance ( Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1994) discusses her cover story from The New Republic’s May issue about how Presidents Trump and Xi set the stage for the coronavirus pandemic.

Susan Page, Washington bureau chief of USA TODAY, talks about some of the things that might have flown under the radar during this public health crisis.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit some groups harder than others. Why is this virus affecting healthcare workers, Black and Brown neighborhoods and poorer communities worse than others? On Today's Show:Irwin Redlener, professor of pediatrics and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, co-founder of the Children's Health Fund, and the author of The Future of Us: What the Dreams of Children Mean for Twenty-First-Century America (Columbia University Press, 2017), talks about the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic and issues of testing, medical volunteers and disparities in outcomes by sex, age, income and race.