The Brian Lehrer Show

It has been more than two years since Mayor Adams appointed a "rat czar." Kathleen Corradi, citywide director of rodent mitigation, reports on progress in the city's fight against the pests, and challenges that remain, like persistent rats nests near playgrounds and in parks.

Listeners share stories of when they've lost big but managed to come back, inspired by Amanda Anisimova's comeback in the U.S. Open to make the finals after her infamous "double-bagel" loss at Wimbledon.

Gothamist and WNYC reporter Elizabeth Kim and 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, talk about the latest news in the mayoral campaign, including a new poll that shows Mamdani retaining a comfortable lead; Errol's conversation with Mamdani on public safety from earlier this week; the meaning and impact of socialism in the election; and reported efforts by President Trump to narrow the field of candidates.

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.

As New York's mayoral election enters its final stretch, Boston voters are casting ballots to narrow their own mayoral field—and President Trump is attempting to influence both races. Emma Platoff, political enterprise reporter at The Boston Globe, talks about the state of the Boston mayoral election.

Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, codirector of the Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, and professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine and Michael E. Mann, presidential distinguished professor and director of the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania and author of several books and co-author and, together, co-authors of Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World (PublicAffairs, 2025), talk about the specific groups promoting anti-science and how they make fighting the global threats of disease and climate change harder.

Kyle Chayka, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the weekly column Infinite Scroll, talks about his latest column about ghosting and discusses whether our hyperconnected digital moment has made us all expect too much of each other.

In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court lifted a restriction on ICE from conducting indiscriminate stops and raids in Los Angeles that have been decried as racial profiling. 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 other immigration and deportation-related news.

Dana Rubinstein, New York Times reporter who covers New York City politics and government, and Brigid Bergin, senior political correspondent for WNYC and Gothamist, share their reporting on the possibility that Mayor Adams will drop out of the mayoral race to take a job with the Trump administration (despite the mayor's assertion that he's staying in the race).

Cristian Farias, legal journalist who writes for Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and other publications, and the host of The Bully’s Pulpit, a podcast of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, talks about the many legal issues the Trump administration is running into, related to sending the National Guard in to LA and DC, deportations and more.

President Trump announced he will rename the Department of Defense the "Department of War." 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), explains the symbolic and actual implications for this decision, plus talks about the dubious legality of the Trump administration's fatal attack on a Venezuelan boat they say was transporting illegal drugs.

Following up on Thursday's calls from parents of kids whose education was interrupted by the pandemic lockdown, Angela Mora, LMSW, child therapist at Cope With School NYC, talks about some of the emotional health issues children face today.

Jane Arraf, international correspondent covering the Middle East for NPR, talks about the latest developments in Gaza as Israel clamps down on volunteer doctors and threatens more restrictions on humanitarian aid amid reports of famine, plus other news on the war and attempts to end it.

U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D, NY-12) talks about his decision to retire at the end of this session of Congress, plus reflects on his long career in politics, and the latest news of the day.

David D. Kirkpatrick, staff writer for The New Yorker, breaks down his tally of President Donald Trump profiteering during his presidencies, including five Persian Gulf mega-projects, a luxury jet from Qatar and half a dozen projects involving crypto and MAGA merch.

Filip Balunović, research fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade, explains the recent protests in Serbia, where a student-led movement is fighting back against an entrenched autocratic government that is aligned both with autocratic powers in the East, like Russia and China, and democratic powers in the West, like European Union and The United States.

Kids who were in kindergarten when the pandemic hit in March of 2020 are now starting middle school. Parents call in to talk about the lingering educational and social effects of the pandemic that they have noticed in their school-aged kids.

Jacob Shamsian, legal correspondent at Business Insider, talks about the latest developments in the Epstein saga as several survivors of Jeffrey Epstein urge Congress to act.

David Cruz, senior political correspondent and anchor, and moderator of Chat Box and Reporters Roundtable at NJ Spotlight News, talks about the latest news on the New Jersey gubernatorial race and how the state's changing voter demographics are impacting the candidates' campaign strategies.

Ben Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor, and the author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral (Penguin Press, 2023), shares his analysis for how the president has come for civil servants, and what it might mean for the government bureaucracy in the future.

Elizabeth Kim, WNYC and Gothamist reporter, talks about the latest news in the mayoral campaign. Plus Jon Campbell, WNYC and Gothamist Albany reporter, reports on the news that longtime Manhattan Congressman Jerry Nadler will retire next year, paving the way for generational change for the coveted seat.

Emma Goldberg, business features writer for The New York Times, reporting on cultural, societal and economic change, and the author of Life on the Line: Young Doctors Come of Age in a Pandemic (Harper, 2021), talks about her recent exploration of whether today's self-help books go too far in encouraging paying less attention to other people.→ Is Today’s Self-Help Teaching Everyone to Be a Jerk?

Caroline Lewis, health care reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about the availability of COVID vaccines this fall and how the FDA's changes are resulting in different access across the states and at pharmacies.

With so many iconic bands on tour again this summer, listeners call in to share what legendary acts they've seen recently and how the bands did -- or didn't -- stand the test of time.

Melissa Aviles-Ramos, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, looks ahead to the first day of school.

U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D NJ) talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey as congress returns to work, including his recent trip to Asia, deportations and immigrant detention, further rescission demands, and why he's supporting Zohran Mamdani.

Amy Maxmen, PhD, public health correspondent and editor at KFF Health News, discusses her reporting on the Trump administration’s interference with the CDC, which slowed its response to a measles outbreak in Texas that has since become the largest in the U.S. in 30 years.→ As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.

For this Labor Day holiday, highlights from our series for and about non-college careers:From our centennial series, Annelies Goger, an economic geographer and a fellow with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, and Justin Heck, research director at Opportunity@Work, look at the history of non-college employment and where it stands today.Audrey Mickahail, senior vice president at Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit working to expand access to career opportunities, and Aaliyah Siddiqi, marketing operations specialist for a Philadelphia pharmaceutical company, talk about alternative routes to professional careers.Blair Corcoran de Castillo, vice president of public sector and policy at Opportunity@Work, and Tony Gherardini, executive director at the Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, talk about how state governments and public agencies are rethinking hiring, training, and credential requirements to open up opportunity for STARs—workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes.Louisa Tatum, Career Services Manager at the New York Public Library, talks about the job and career landscape for people without college degrees—and we'll take calls from listeners who are looking for career advice.Support of WNYC’s coverage of economic mobility and opportunity is provided in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information about how the Gates Foundation supports economic mobility and opportunity, visit usprogram.gatesfoundation.org. These interviews were lightly edited for time and clarity and the original web versions are available here:100 Years of 100 Things: Non-College Employment (Oct 9, 2024)Another Way Into the Workforce (Apr 9, 2025)The Politics and Policy of Empowering Skilled Workers (Apr 30, 2025)Career Counseling Courtesy of the New York Public Library (May 2, 2025)

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.The New ICE (First) | Driverless Cars in NYC (Starts at 43:03) | Why Have Youth Sports Gotten So Intense? (Starts at 1:09:41)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

For this "Summer Friday" we've put together some of our favorite conversations this year:Hua Hsu, New Yorker staff writer, professor of English at Bard College and author of the memoir Stay True (September 2022), discusses what college students lose when ChatGPT writes their essays for them and what that says about our evolving understanding of the purpose of higher education.Jessica Gould, education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, shares her reporting on the deal struck between Big Tech and The American Federation of Teachers which offers artificial intelligence training and software to teachers in New York City public schools.Peniel Joseph, professor of history and public affairs and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Freedom Season: How 1963 Transformed America’s Civil Rights Revolution (Basic Books, 2025), talks about his new book, an examination of the impact of events in 1963 on the struggle for civil rights -- from MLK's “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to the assassination of JFK.From our centennial series, Bob van der Linden, commercial aviation curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, looks at the past 100 years of civilian air travel.Listeners share the best, maybe even most surprising, times they've been helped or helped others, inspired by an article for The Atlantic titled "A Wedding Reveals How Much Help Is Really Available to You," by Julie Beck. These interviews were lightly edited for time and clarity and the original web versions are available here:What Students Lose When ChatGPT Writes Their Essays (July 8, 2025)NYC Teachers' Union Embraces AI (July 28, 2025)How 1963 Defined the Civil Rights Movement (June 12, 2025)100 Years of 100 Things: Commercial Aviation (May 6, 2025)How Helping Can Feel Good (July 9, 2025)

With Labor Day around the corner, the end of summer is near. Listeners share what they've checked off their summer bucket list and the last few activities they'll take part in this weekend.

Nick Miroff, staff writer for The Atlantic who covers immigration and the Department of Homeland Security, talks about the changes at the immigration enforcement agency and how the $75 billion budget bump will be spent.=> "Fast Times at Immigration and Customs Enforcement" (The Atlantic, August 26, 2025)

Allie Volpe, correspondent at Vox, talks about her attempt to discover if we really are getting ruder to each other or if something else is going on.→ Are we in a crisis of rudeness?

The Hoboken PATH station shut-down this weekend is just the latest challenge for PATH riders in what's been called its "Summer of Hell." Larry Higgs, the transportation and commuting reporter at NJ.com and the Star-Ledger, shares options for the weekend and talks about the larger transit issues facing New Jersey commuters.

Inspired by a report that the MTA's lost and found isn't working as well as expected, listeners call in with their stories of things they've lost and later found.

Katie Honan, senior reporter at The City and co-host of the podcast FAQ NYC, talks about the latest news in the mayoral campaign including her experience covering mayor Eric Adams after receiving cash in a bag of chips from a former staffer, the culture of "toxic masculinity" amongst the candidates, and Zohran Mamdani's scavenger hunt.

In an executive order on Monday, President Donald Trump directed each state’s National Guard to be prepared to respond to civil disturbances. Dan Lamothe, U.S. military and Pentagon reporter at The Washington Post, breaks down the latest news and what this might mean for cities like Chicago and New York City.

Stephen Nessen, transportation reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom, talks about the news that the NYC DOT approved a pilot program to test Waymo's driverless cars in the city.

Ileana Najarro, reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in U.S. schools, and Kate Menken, professor of linguistics and a research fellow at the Research Institute for the Study of Language in an Urban Society at Queens College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and co-editor in chief of the journal Language Policy, discuss the news that the Trump administration has rescinded a 2015 directive standards for English Language Learners in U.S. schools.

Nostalgia for the late '90s and early 2000s is roaringly popular among Gen Z right now. Listeners call in with stories of life before the internet and what it is about that era that younger listeners wish for today, and we hear from Clay Routledge, social psychologist, director of the Human Flourishing Lab at Archbridge Institute and author of Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live a More Meaningful Life (Sounds True, 2023).=>"Why Gen Z Is Resurrecting the 1990s" (NYT Opinion, 8/24/25)

Two gas pipelines in New York are suddenly back on the table following a revival of talks between President Donald Trump and Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this year. Liz Krueger, New York State Senator (D, WF - 28th, Manhattan's East Side) and chair of the Finance Committee, and Rich Schrader, New York government affairs director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), talk about what's at stake for the environment if the projects, known as The Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline and the Constitution pipeline, get the green light from the Governor.

Lydia DePillis, New York Times reporter covering the American economy and Shawn Donnan, Bloomberg News senior writer, talk about the latest economic and tariff news, including U.S. investment in Intel, other deals involving foreign investment in U.S. businesses, and the Federal Reserve.

Inspired by a Business Insider report on Microsoft employees sharing salaries with each other on a massive internal spreadsheet, listeners share their most shocking pay transparency revelations from their workplaces.

In recent years, youth sports have quietly morphed from free community gatherings into a big business, with private leagues and one-on-one trainers capitalizing on a growing impulse to frame a child's athleticism as a ticket to their future. Vox senior correspondent Anna North discusses her article on the subject, headlined "The hidden forces ruining youth sports." Plus, the latest on RFK Jr.'s feud with the American Academy of Pediatrics over Covid vaccination guidelines for kids.

Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic Daily newsletter, talks about national politics, including Democratic messaging strategies, like California Gov. Newsom's efforts to 'troll' Trump on social media.

Ramsey Khalifeh, Gothamist and WNYC transportation reporter, talks about the latest on the MTA's plans to extend the Q to 125th Street.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.How President Trump is Bigfooting Big Business (First) | The Future of Using AI for Therapy (Starts at 27 :30) | Your Late-Summer Weekend Plans (Starts at 52:00)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

The independent Commission on Racial Equity filed a lawsuit against the City over the delays in releasing the racial equity plan, as required by the City Charter. Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and co-chair of National True Cost of Living Coalition, and Darrick Hamilton professor of economics and urban policy and founding director of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School, who served on the commission that helped establish the process, discuss the delay and the state of racial equity in NYC today.

As summer winds down, listeners call in to share how they're spending the weekend and offer recommendations for affordable 'daycations' nearby that don't require a plane ticket.

Zach Moller, director of the economic program at Third Way, talks about different policy approaches to helping workers without college degrees find economic stability and prosperity.