The Brian Lehrer Show

Mike Hayes, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering the New Jersey governor's race and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform (Kingston Imperial, 2023), talks about the results of New Jersey's contentious governor's race.

Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey governor-elect, talks about her big win and what comes next for New Jersey's next governor.

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 (Harper, April 2026), talks about what the New York City mayoral results might mean for Democrats moving forward, and offers analysis of election results in Virginia, New Jersey, and California.

Markus Schmidt, senior Virginia politics reporter and deputy editor at The Virginia Mercury, breaks down the latest on Virginia's gubernatorial race on election day, where 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.

Nancy Solomon, host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, talks about the Election Day news in the New Jersey governor's race, and listeners call for an informal, unofficial, thoroughly unscientific exit poll.

Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, offers analysis of what the early vote numbers might mean for the New York City mayoral race, and more news from the campaign trail on Election Day. Plus, Zohran Mamdani, New York State assembly member (D, D-36, Queens) and the Democratic nominee for mayor, Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York and independent candidate for mayor of New York City, and Curtis Sliwa, Republican nominee for NYC mayor, former WABC radio host and founder of the Guardian Angels, make their last minute pitches to voters.

U.S. Representative James Clyburn (D, SC 6), recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and author of The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation (Hachette, 2025), tells the story of the first eight Black members of Congress during Reconstruction, and the gap that followed up until his election in 1992. Event: On Leadership, Legacy, and Democracy: Jim Clyburn in Conversation with Sharon McMahon at The 92nd Street Y on November 11th.

Catherine Rampell, anchor at MSNBC and economics editor at The Bulwark, talks about the latest economic news, including on President Trump's tariffs and China, inflation numbers, SNAP benefits and more.

Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and the author of the memoir, The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports (Random House, 2025), talks about why he runs and joins listeners in sharing stories from Sunday's NYC Marathon.

A. J. Jacobs, host of the "Hello Puzzlers" podcast, essayist, and the author of The Year of Living Biblically, The Know-It-All, It's All Relative and his latest, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning (Crown, 2024), reports back on how AI is already woven into daily life with another take on being a "human guinea pig," going 48 hours without using AI.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.ACA Open Enrollment Starting (First) | 30 Issues in 30 Days: NYC's Overdose Prevention Centers (Starts at 34:26) | Your Newsy Halloween Costumes (Starts at 1:07:42 ) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Ahead of Halloween weekend, listeners call in to share their costumes based on news and current events.

Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker and co-director of "The American Revolution," and Sarah Botstein, co-director of "The American Revolution," talk about their new, 12-hour docuseries premiering on PBS on November 16th, which is being released ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, in July 2026.

Eric Blanc, assistant professor of Labor Studies at Rutgers University, author of several books including We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big (University of California Press, 2025), and writer of the Substack newsletter Labor Politics, and Michael Aronson, Daily News editorial page editor, debate the mayoral candidates' ability to fulfill their campaign promises, given that many will require action at the state level.

John Heinis, reporter for the Hudson County View talks about the Jersey City mayoral race, where seven candidates are running in the nonpartisan election and if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, the top two vote-getters will move on to a run-off election in early December.

Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society and co-founder of the Health Care for All New York Campaign, talks about what people can expect with next year's health insurance costs and how the government shutdown over ACA subsidies will affect open enrollment.The live-answer helpline to reach a Navigator at CSS is: 1-888-614-5400The New York State of Health Marketplace phone number is: 1-855-355-5777The Get Covered New Jersey (Official state health market place) phone number is: 1-833-677-1010

Nikita Biryukov, reporter who covers state government and politics for the New Jersey Monitor, talks about the latest in New Jersey elections news, including early voting turnout, how Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump are weighing in on the gubernatorial race and Justice Department election monitoring for Passaic County.

Jessie Gómez, reporter at Chalkbeat Newark covering Newark Public Schools, discusses the New Jersey gubernatorial candidates' visions for public education in the state—and how they intend to fund the schools.

Arlan Fuller, Project HOPE’s director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, talks about the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and other countries, as listeners report what they're hearing from friends and family in the area.

Calder McHugh, reporter at POLITICO Magazine, talks about the scandal surrounding leaked messages from the Young Republicans' group chat, and why he thinks they might be a "sign of where we could be headed."

Ethan Geringer-Sameth, discusses the mayoral candidates' stances on overdose prevention centers in New York City, including Zohran Mamdani's reversal of his longstanding stance to increase the centers, Andrew Cuomo's stance to keep existing centers but not expand them and Curtis Sliwa's stance against the existing centers. Plus, Sam Rivera, executive director of OnPoint NYC, talks about the two overdose prevention centers that OnPoint runs, in East Harlem and Washington Heights.

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, and Brigid Bergin, Gothamist and WNYC senior political correspondent, talk about the early voting numbers—which are way up from both the primary and the last mayoral election, so far—and other news from the campaign trail in the last week before Election Day.

Seth Berkley, MD, an infectious disease epidemiologist currently advising vaccine, biotechnology, and technology companies; an adjunct professor and senior adviser to the Pandemic Center at Brown University; former CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; cofounded COVAX; founded and served as CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; and the author of Fair Doses: An Insider’s Story of the Pandemic and the Global Fight for Vaccine Equity (University of California Press, 2025), talks about the need for vaccine equity and lessons learned (and ignored) from the COVID pandemic.

Nick Garber, politics reporter at Crain's New York Business, talks about where the NYC mayoral candidates stand on jobs and the minimum wage, and discusses their relationships with the broader business community.

Listeners still making up their minds on whether and how to vote share their dilemmas on candidates for any office and ballot questions.

Due to the government shutdown, millions of Americans are likely to miss their Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) paychecks starting this Saturday. 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, breaks down the latest news of how New York State will provide an additional $11 million to fund SNAP benefits for some 2.8 million New Yorkers.

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.

Nick Corasaniti, New York Times reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections, talks about how both Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill say they would deal with President Trump if they are elected governor, and other ways the president's influence is being felt in the tight race.

Rosemary Misdary, WNYC and Gothamist health & science reporter, explains the statewide ballot question about preservation in the Adirondacks and expanding skiing facilities.

New York City voters will see several questions on their ballots that aim to make it easier to build housing. Alec Schierenbeck, executive director of the Charter Revision Commission argues in favor of the measures, and Lincoln Restler, New York City Council member (District 33, Greenpoint, Northside Williamsburg, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Boerum Hill, Vinegar Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Navy Yard), explains why much of the City Council is opposed to the changes. Then, Andrew Berman, executive director of Village Preservation, shares why his group is opposed to ballot questions 2 through 4.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.30 Issues in 30 Days: ICE in the City (First) | 30 Issues in 30 Days: The Case for a Free CUNY (Starts at 17:50) | 30 Issues in 30 Days: Climate and Energy Policy (Starts at 33:13)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

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.

Samantha Maldonado, senior reporter for THE CITY, offers her takeaways on the mayoral debate and talks about other races on the ballot in NYC.

To wrap up a series on pets, listeners call in to shout out why their dog, cat, rabbit, bearded dragon, fish or any other type of pet is so special.

New York City would not be the first city in America to open a publicly-owned grocery store. Yasmin Tayag, staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about how other municipalities have fared in this experiment, Zohran Mamdani's grocery store proposal and the skepticism around it.

Throughout this membership drive we are talking about the animals we love and care for in our homes -- our pets. Today, Lyle Cleary, DVM, associate veterinarian at the Center for Avian & Exotic Medicine, @dr.lyle.dvm on Instagram, talks about the challenges of keeping birds as pets and what they need to thrive.

Listeners try their hand at a quiz identifying a person through a clue about their famous parents.

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, recaps the last mayoral debate between the three remaining candidates, Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, as early voting is set to begin this weekend.

Brigid Bergin, Gothamist and WNYC senior political correspondent, and David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, recap the last mayoral debate between the three remaining candidates, Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, as early voting is set to begin this weekend.

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 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.

New York Times reporter Eliza Shapiro talks about the cost of child care in New York City and the mayoral candidates' approaches to this aspect of the affordability crisis.

Throughout this membership drive we are talking about the animals we love and care for in our homes -- our pets. Today, Chi Cho, owner of Pacific Aquarium on Delancey St., talks about keeping fish as pets and how to keep them healthy.

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, previews the final mayoral debate and talks about the latest news from the campaign trail as Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa vie for votes. Plus, Ben Feuerherd, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering public safety and policing, talks about what he saw during yesterday when federal agents descended on Chinatown in what he said was an "apparent raid."

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.

Listeners hear an iconic or otherwise notable quote by a contemporary or historical public figure and try to identify who said it.

Listeners try their hand at a quiz with questions about iconic albums and recording artists.

Throughout this membership drive we are talking about the animals we love and care for in our homes -- our pets. Today, Amy Sedaris, actress, author, producer, rabbit enthusiast and host of the To the Rescue! gala, benefiting Humane World for Animals on November 7 talks about why she loves rabbits and how to help them thrive.

Avery Trufelman, host of the podcast Articles of Interest talks about the new season of her podcast, "Gear," where she explores the link between the U.S. military and the clothes we all wear, like t-shirts, chore jackets and other outdoor gear.

Caroline Spivack, reporter for Crain's New York Business, talks about the mayoral candidates' climate and energy policies, including their stances on Local Law 97.

Grace Ashford, New York Times reporter covering New York State politics and government, talks about why President Trump commuted former Congressman George Santos' sentence, which allowed him to leave prison after serving less than three months of his long sentence for crimes related to theft and fraud.