Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

On World AIDS Day, a look at the impact of foreign aid cuts on HIV prevention programs, particularly in South Africa.On Today's Show:Pratik Pawar, Future Perfect fellow at Vox, talks about a new HIV prevention drug the U.S. is making available worldwide, except to South Africa, the country with the most people living with HIV.

President Trump and his allies are framing the kidnappings and other attacks in Nigeria as Islamic attacks on Christians, and even threatening military actionOn Today's Show:Emmanuel Akinwotu, international correspondent for NPR, talks about the situation, including how extremist groups are killing people of all faiths in the country, not just Christians.

On points where he disagrees with the scientific concensus, what makes RFK. Jr so sure he's right?On Today's Show:Michael Scherer, staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about his Atlantic cover story on HHS Secretary RFK, Jr., and other news.

After a busy weekend for national political headlines, a local congressional leader weighs in.On Today's Show:House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY8) offers his take on how the meeting between President Trump and Mayor-elect Mamdani went, and more national political news.

President Trump and NYC's Mayor-elect Mamdani are meeting in DC today after many traded barbs and concerns over how the two very different administrations will work with, or against, each other.On Today's Show:Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNOW, writer for MSNOW and contributing writer to The Atlantic, talks about the national political news of the week.

For our monthly 'Call Your Senator' series, NJ listeners asked about their healthcare prices, and other national issues.On Today's Show:U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey, including the debate over ACA subsidies, the Gateway tunnel funding, and the Epstein files.

President Trump has reportedly reversed course on the Epstein investigation over the weekend, now urging his party to baack a vote to release a large tranche of emails and other documents. On Today's Show:Eleanor Mueller, congress reporter at Semafor, talks about the latest national political news from Congress, including the shutdown winners and losers, the upcoming vote in the House on the Epstein files and more.

With so much political baggage attached to labels like communism, socialism and Marxism, we look at the terminology, and how much the distinctions matter. On Today's Show:Carlo Invernizzi-Accetti, professor of political science and executive director of the Moynihan Center at The City College of New York, and author of 20 Years of Rage: How Resentment Took the Place of Politics (Mondadori, 2024), explains the core principles of the various strains of thought on the left.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives returned to work after a 54-day hiatus, and have been releasing documents throughout the day related to Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump.On Today's Show:Nicholas Wu, congressional reporter at POLITICO, talks about the contents of the files, the upcoming vote in the House on the funding bill that would end the government shutdown, why some Democrats are furious at their Senate colleagues who broke ranks to cut a deal and more.NOTE: This conversation was recorded on the morning of Wednesday, 11/12/25, amid a developing story. Check other trusted news sources for the latest.

On Veterans Day, we explore recent changes to the US military under Pete Hegseth.On Today's Show:Paul Rieckhoff, independent national security, veterans affairs and political analyst, host of the Independent Americans podcast, founder & CEO, Independent Veterans of America, co-founder of American Veterans for Ukraine, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), discusses how vets are viewing the changes Pete Hegseth is making to the armed forces, and how well they feel they are being taken care of under Hegseth and the Trump administration.

A Long Island congressman explains his centrist, bi-partisan approach to the current political moment.On Today's Show:U.S. Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY3) talks about the Senate's possible end to the longest shutdown in history, and what the election of Zohran Mamdani means for the Democratic party.

As Rep. Nancy Pelosi announces her decision to retire from Congress in 2027, the longest ever shutdown of the federal government continues.On Today's Show:Toluse Olorunnipa, staff writer at The Atlantic, discusses the latest national political news.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week on the legality of President Trump's tariffs. On Today's Show:Aziz Huq, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and author of The Rule of Law: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2024), offers legal analysis of the case, and how the justices might be inclined to rule, based on their questions.

Democrats won big in several electoral contests across the nation yesterday, including in NYC, New Jersey, Virginia and California. On Today's Show:Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of several books, including The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters (Simon & Schuster, 2024) and the forthcoming The Queen and Her Presidents (Harpers, April 2026), talks about what the New York City mayoral results might mean for Democrats moving forward, and offers analysis of election results across the country.

In the Virginia governor's race, Democratic nominee and former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger has maintained a lead in polls since very early in the race over Republican nominee Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears.On Today's Show:Markus Schmidt, senior Virginia politics reporter and deputy editor at The Virginia Mercury, breaks down the latest on Virginia's gubernatorial race.

One of the nation's most prolific historical documentarians takes on the American Revolution, ahead of next summer, when the US will celebrate its 250th birthday. On Today's Show:Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker, and Sarah Botstein, co-director of "The American Revolution," talk about their new, 12-part docuseries on PBS called "The American Revolution," which is being released ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, in July 2026.

Due to the government shutdown, millions of Americans are likely to miss their Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) paychecks starting this Saturday. On Today's Show:Grace Yarrow, food and agriculture policy reporter for POLITICO and author of POLITICO Pro's daily Morning Agriculture newsletter, reports on which states will be most impacted and how recipients are preparing. Plus, Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, explores how local and state resources are responding to the expected needs of NYC's communities.

The federal shutdown continues, as President Trump continues to push the limits of executive power.On Today's Show:Joyce Vance, a legal analyst for MSNBC and former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, University of Alabama School of Law professor, and author of the Civil Discourse Substack, and of the new book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy (Dutton, 2025), talks about the rule of law and offers legal and historical context for the current moment in American history as she calls for citizens to uphold the Constitution.

On Today's Show:Julia Ioffe, founding partner and Washington correspondent of Puck and the author of Motherland: A History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy (Ecco, 2025), talks about her new book that delves into the feminist history of Russia and why it offers context for the war in Ukraine, and the latest news of Melania Trump's backchannel conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The nation's largest city is in the midst of both a mayoral election, and various standoffs with the Trump administration.On Today's Show: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," talks about how each mayoral candidate says they will respond to ICE or other federal agents conducting raids in the city, like the one that happened earlier this week in Chinatown.

In response to the "No Kings" protests this weekend, President Trump shared an AI-generated video involving brown liquid that surely signifies excrement. On Today's Show:Stuart A. Thompson, reporter at The New York Times covering online influence, breaks down his latest reporting on how President Donald Trump is using fake artificial intelligence generated imagery to attack his perceived enemies and successfully rouse his supporters.

Recently, President Trump commuted the sentence of former Long Island congressman George Santos.On Today's Show:Grace Ashford, New York Times reporter covering New York State politics and government, talks about why Trump wanted Santos's early release after serving less than three months of his long sentence for crimes related to theft and fraud.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called this weekend's "No Kings" protests "hate America" rallies. On Today's Show:Listeners call in to share what they were rallying for and against, and respond to Johnson's characterization of the marches.

The Supreme Court has, over the past few years, opted to grant the federal government and the executive branch more and more leeway. On Today's Show: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) previews the cases the Supreme Court will take up in its new term, including a redistricting case they are hearing arguments on this week, and offers analysis of just how much presidential power the court will afford to President Trump in upcoming decisions.

President Trump has been using different executive agency programs to target certain cities. On Today's Show:U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D NJ) weighs in on the Trump announcement that the Gateway tunnel project is "terminated."

The federal government shutdown is now in its 15th day.On Today's Show:David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker and the host of The New Yorker Radio Hour, talks about the latest national political news, including the latest on President Trump's 'autocratic' tendencies.

On Saturday, the Trump administration rescinded the layoffs of hundreds of scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who were mistakenly fired the day before. On Today's Show:Apoorva Mandavilli, science and global health reporter at The New York Times, explains what happened and who remains at the CDC.

On today's show: Julian Brave NoiseCat, writer, filmmaker, student of Salish art and history and the author of We Survived the Night (Knopf, 2025), talks about his new book, the story of North American indigenous people through his reporting and his own story, all in the style of a traditional "coyote story."

Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado has been named as the 2025 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.On Today's Show:Gideon Rose, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the former editor of Foreign Affairs and author of How Wars End (Simon & Schuster, 2010), talks about Corina Machado's work, and related world news.

The federal government shutdown continues, as Trump's efforts in the Middle East draw praise.On Today's Show:Jonathan Lemire, co-host of "Morning Joe" on MSNBC, contributing writer at The Atlantic and author of the book,The Big Lie: Election Chaos, Political Opportunism, and the State of American Politics After 2020 (Flatiron Books, 2022), talks about what he calls the "project 2025 shutdown" and more national political news.

As the federal government shutdown enters its second week, a Democrat in the Senate shares his insights.On Today's Show:U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) talks about the ongoing shutdown and how issues like the Affordable Care Act are a part of the negotiations.

President Trump is making moves to deploy national guard troops to cities like Chicago and Portland, OR. On Today's Show:Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, talks about how states are reacting and why a federal judge keeps blocking the plan for Portland.

As the federal government shutdown continues, how is the White House using it for political leverage?On Today's Show:Russell Berman, a staff writer at The Atlantic talks shares the latest shutdown news. Note: This conversation was recorded on Friday morning about a developing story.

It's the second day of the latest federal government shutdown over funding.On Today's Show:Politico congressional reporter Nicholas Wu talks about the latest on the impasse, who is getting blamed for the shutdown, and what it will take to end it.

Universities have had to contend with a climate of protest, and pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on it. On Today's Show:Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton University and the author of Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right (Hachette, 2025), talks about issues of free speech and campus politics at Princeton, and the university's relationship with the Trump administration.

As Artificial Intelligence technology develops, and as nations vie for technical dominance, the UN has been considering its role. On Today's Show:Vilas Dhar, president of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Body on AI, talks about the two new institutions created by the United Nations to study and discuss the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence, and his goals for governing this emerging technology so that it serves the public good.

Learning institutions, from public schools to universities, have been the site of several political fights in recent times. On Today's Show:Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the author of Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy (Thesis, 2025), talks about her new book and explains why she says education protects democracy.

The prospect of a government shutdown is growing as Democrats are threatening to not help Republicans on the Hill pass a spending bill by the September 30 deadline. On Today's Show: Deirdre Walsh, congressional correspondent for NPR's Washington Desk, talks about the politics of the potential shutdown and related news from Congress.

Jimmy Kimmel's brief suspension and, as of yesterday evening, illustrates some of the thornier challenges around the ideal of free speech.On Today's Show:Greg Lukianoff, attorney, president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the author of several books on free speech, offers his thoughts on how he says both the political left and right weaponize crackdowns on speech, and why he thinks that is a problem for everyone's rights.

After President Trump and his public health chief raised concerns about the use of acetaminophen while pregnant, we look at what the science has to say.On Today's Show:Chelsea Cirruzzo, Washington correspondent for STAT News, talks about the results of last week's meeting of the federal advisory committee on vaccines and other public health news.

On today's episode, Richard Gowan, Director of UN and Multilateral Diplomacy at the International Crisis Group, shares insights on what to expect at the UN General Assembly, including President Trump's Tuesday address, the war in Gaza and the role of the United Nations worldwide.

Trump's administration has been using pressure to tamp down criticism by some major network late night hosts. On Today's Show:Elie Honig, senior legal analyst at CNN, New York Magazine columnist, former state and federal prosecutor and author of several books, including When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ’s Pursuit of the President, From Nixon to Trump (Harper, 2025), explores investigations by the Department of Justice of presidents and other high-ranking officials throughout the years, and how the system may be tested during Trump's second presidency, as well as his efforts to control narratives about his administration.

With the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's late night show, and the news that ABC has temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel, we explore the changing landscape and moving goalposts of 'free speech.'On Today's Show:Two Atlantic staff writers, Ashley Parker and Adam Serwer share highlights and discuss the latest from the world of politics, where President Trump's administration and its allies have taken aim at critics of Charlie Kirk in the wake of his assassination.

The Trump administration's recent lethal strikes on purported drug boats in Venezuela drew widespread condemnation from experts in international law. On Today's Show:Brian Finucane, senior adviser at the International Crisis Group and a non-resident senior fellow at Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU Law, talks about the strikes and the legal issues around them.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has issued a report on the state of children's health.On Today's Show:Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent, KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast, talks about the details of the report and where it fits into the Trump administration's MAHA initiative.

Almost immediately after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed, videos were circulating on social media, and many people saw the gruesome crime without meaning to just by logging on.On Today's Show:Adam Clark Estes, senior technology correspondent at Vox, talks about how little content moderation big tech companies are doing these days, how the algorithm fed off people pausing to watch the video, and how content like this may traumatize vast swaths of people.

Democrats in the Senate are debating whether to allow the government to shut down when it runs out of funding later this month.On Today's Show: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 what's at stake in the debate over whether to go along with the Republican plan to fund the government or withhold their votes in protest.

On today's show: 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.

On Today's Show: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.

After a string of losses in lower courts by the Trump administration, in an unsigned order on Monday, the Supreme Court lifted a restriction on ICE from conducting indiscriminate stops and raids in Los Angeles that have been decried as racial profiling. On Today's Show: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 its implications for previously established protections against racial profiling.