The Brian Lehrer Show

Jon Cohen, senior correspondent with Science, reports on how countries that suffer high rates of HIV/AIDS are coping now that USAID funding has dried up, and how local governments, especially in places like Lesotho, are attempting to figure out solutions. Plus, Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, Columbia University professor of epidemiology and medicine and director of ICAP, a global health center at the school of public health, discusses ICAP's work in implementing PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief) in sub-Saharan Africa, and discusses the future of PEPFAR under the Trump administration.

Marisa Donnelly, PhD, New York correspondent for Your Local Epidemiologist, talks about the various public health policies the mayoral candidates support, and what the mayor can do about public health more broadly.

Julie Tighe, president of New York League of Conservation Voters, and Keanu Arpels-Josiah, climate justice organizer with Fridays for Future NYC, talks about the mayoral candidates' positions on climate change and the environment.

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, offers analysis of the mayoral primary debate, and talks about the latest news from the campaign trail as early voting is underway.

Robert Macfarlane, a fellow at the University of Cambridge and the author of several books, including Underland and his new one, Is a River Alive? (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025), talks about the new book that questions how we treat rivers through the stories of rivers in Ecuador, India and Canada.

Susan Glasser, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of a weekly column on life in Washington, and the host of the Political Scene podcast, talks about the latest national political news, including the latest on Los Angeles, President Trump's military parade, the "No More Kings" protests and the politically-motivated shooting of lawmakers in Minnesota.

David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, offers analysis of the housing plans the mayoral candidates discussed in last week's Spectrum News NY1 debate.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.New Jersey’s Gubernatorial Primary Results (First) | The Gay Restaurants That Nurtured LGBTQ Americans (Starts at 45:00) | Mapping the Stars (Starts at 59:00)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

An extended excerpt from Thursday's debate between the leading Democrats running for the mayoral nomination. In this last section of the debate, the candidates discuss traffic and pedestrian safety.

An extended excerpt from Thursday's debate between the leading Democrats running for the mayoral nomination. In the first part of this clip, we hear the candidates discuss Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment scandal, and then we hear them addressing their approaches to public safety.

Extended excerpt from Thursday's debate between the leading Democrats running for the mayoral nomination: First, the candidates direct questions to each other and then they discuss how they will ensure all New Yorkers feel safe, particularly Jewish and Muslim New Yorkers, in the context of the war in the Middle East.

Elizabeth Kim, WNYC and Gothamist reporter, and Brigid Bergin, WNYC and Gothamist senior political correspondent, offer analysis of the mayoral primary debate, which was co-moderated by Brian Lehrer.

Extended excerpt from Thursday's debate between the leading Democrats running for the mayoral nomination: First, they are asked how they would respond were President Trump to deploy the national guard and marines as he has in Los Angeles and then they are asked about their leadership and experience.

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.

Andy Vasoyan, freelance reporter examining the intersection of technology and culture and former Weekend Edition host at KCLU, talks about his latest writing in WIRED sharing his experiences in joining as many class-action lawsuits as possible, and how you can get involved too.

Gothamist/WNYC reporter Elizabeth Kim previews the second Democratic primary debate and Rachel Holliday Smith, managing editor for The City, talks about the other competitive races in this month's primary, including city council and some of the borough president races. Plus, WNYC All Things Considered host Sean Carlson previews the next installments of "Word from the Curb."

Gustavo Arellano, columnist for The Los Angeles Times, offers his take on the protests in Los Angeles, the Trump administration's response and how local communities are showing up for their immigrant neighbors.

As Pride month is now in full swing, Erik Piepenburg, journalist and contributor to The New York Times, and author of the new book Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call Disco Fries at America's Gay Restaurants (Grand Central Publishing, 2025), talks about how LGBTQ-friendly restaurants have nurtured queer Americans and their fight for civil rights.

Alyssa Katz, executive editor of THE CITY, talks about Tuesday's debate among the Democrats running for NYC Comptroller.

Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, offers analysis of the Democratic and Republican winners of the NJ gubernatorial primary election, and talks about her new podcast, "Dead End: The Rise & Fall of Gold Bar Bob Menendez," on former Sen. Bob Menendez, who is scheduled to go to prison next week after he was found guilty of corruption.

The U.S. Health Secretary, RFK Jr., announced he was dismissing all the members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee. Katelyn Jetelina, founder and author of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist, talks about what RFK Jr. says are his goals, and what the consequences might be.

Jackie Faherty, astrophysicist and science educator at the American Museum of Natural History, talks about a new show at Hayden Planetarium that draws on new data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission to map the galaxy and our place in it.→ Encounters in the Milky Way

Callers share their ballot choices in today's New Jersey's gubernatorial primaries.

Paula DiPerna, author of Pricing the Priceless: The Financial Transformation to Value the Planet, Solve the Climate Crisis, and Protect Our Most Precious Assets (Wiley, 2023) and board chair of the group Humanity Insured US, responds to Friday's exchange with Oren Cass on the economic impact of climate change vs. the impact on jobs and prosperity.

Jake Tapper, lead DC anchor and chief Washington correspondent for CNN and co-author with Alex Thompson of Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again (Penguin Press, 2025), talks about his new book that looks back at the Democrats' loss in 2024 and how it happened.

Cullen Murphy, editor at large at The Atlantic, discusses his latest article on how the acceleration of privatization across the U.S. government may signal the country's move towards a form of government that resembles the feudalism of the Middle Ages.

President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to suppress demonstrations against immigration raids in Los Angeles. Leah Litman, professor of law at the University of Michigan and a former Supreme Court clerk, co-host of the podcast "Strict Scrutiny" and the author of Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (Atria/One Signal Publishers, 2025), offers legal analysis.

Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, breaks down the key issues as New Jersey voters head to the polls on Tuesday to cast their votes for the gubernatorial primaries.

Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about what lawmakers are up to as the end of the legislative session in Albany approaches, including the "Medical Aid in Dying" bill which passed the Assembly and is up for a vote in the State Senate today, plus other news from Albany.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.Katie Barnes, award-winning LGBTQ sports journalist, on trans women and girls in sport (First) | A recap of the first NYC mayoral debate (Starts at 47:30) | A 100-year history of Cancer research in the United States (Starts at 1:25:10)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Caroline Haskins, business reporter at WIRED, where she covers Silicon Valley, surveillance, and labor, talks about President Trump's plan to employ the tech company Palantir to compile data on America citizens.

Laura Roumanos, executive director and co-founder of Photoville, talks about this month's Photoville Festival with 80 exhibitions across the boroughs June 7-22, and opening weekend events in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Oren Cass, founder and chief economist of American Compass and editor of The New Conservatives: Restoring America’s Commitment to Family, Community, and Industry (Simon & Schuster, 2025), offers his take on the Republicans' tax bill, and President Trump's agenda, plus talks about his new book.

Alex Zimmerman, reporter at Chalkbeat New York, discusses what the Democratic mayoral candidates said about their plans for public education during this week's debate.

New York City and Minneapolis, Minnesota, recently ranked as the top of the list of being the happiest place to live in the United States. Listeners call in to share the happiest place they've ever lived, whether in a different country, state or borough, and what makes them happy to be there, whether it's proximity, cost of living or something else.

Katie Honan, senior reporter at The City and co-host of FAQ NYC, recaps last night's Democratic mayoral primary debate, which was sponsored by NBC 4 NY, Telemundo and Politico New York.

Marielle Anzelone, urban botanist, ecologist and the founder of NYC Wildflower Week, and Kelly Vilar, CEO of the Staten Island Urban Center, offer a "blueprint" for fostering biodiversity in NYC and explain its importance to city life.→ New York City Biodiversity Task Force report: OAKS, OUR CITY AND US: A VISION FOR NATURE IN NEW YORK CITY

Jerrold Nadler, U.S. Representative (D, NY-12), talks about an incident last week where one of his staffers was detained by officials from the Department of Homeland Security, and more about his work in Washington.

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, talks about the latest news from the campaign trail, including what she's expecting ahead of the first mayoral debate, the Working Families Party ranking Zohran Mamdani as top pick for mayor, and the battle for Asian voters.

Senators are currently negotiating their version of the so-called "big, beautiful bill." Ursula Perano, senate reporter at NOTUS, and Matt Brown, Associated Press reporter covering national politics, race and democracy issues, explain why some key provisions in the bill are under extra scrutiny, including one that would prohibit state and local governments from regulating AI for ten years.

John B. King, Jr., chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), former U.S. Education Secretary under Pres. Obama, and the author of Teacher By Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives (Legacy Lit, 2025), talks about his memoir, his work at many levels of the education system and the importance of the Education Department.

This year's WNYC Health Convening with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation continues with a look at the current state of cancer research in the United States. Sudip Parikh, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, and Otis Brawley, professor of oncology at The Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkin and co-editor of The Cancer History Project, and Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent at KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast, discuss what the impacts of the Trump administration's funding cuts to the National Health Institute have meant to clinical trials, and what a future without government funding to find a cure might look like should the science continue to be underfunded.

Each year the news division hosts the WNYC Health Convening with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as an opportunity for healthcare experts and practitioners to inform WNYC's health reporting. This year, as part of our centennial series "100 Years of 100 Things," Paul Goldberg, editor and publisher of The Cancer Letter and co-editor of The Cancer History Project, discusses the century of cancer treatment advancements and how the U.S. government played a major part in funding the science for treatment, early detection and prevention.

After a transgender high school athlete won two events at last weekend's California track and field championships, President Donald Trump has threatened to defund the state. Katie Barnes, ESPN senior writer covering the intersection of sports and gender, and author of Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates (St. Martin's Press, 2023), discusses the controversy surrounding trans women in competitive sports, fact-checks ideas the broader public holds about fairness and gender in athletics, and talks about current rules various leagues already set in place to ensure equity and inclusion.

Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNBC; writer for MSNBC and contributing writer to The Atlantic, talks about the latest national political news, including Sen. Joni Ernst's "we are all going to die" response to constituents' concerns over Medicaid cuts, what's brewing for Democrats regarding the 2028 election and more.

Early voting in New Jersey's gubernatorial primary starts Tuesday. Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, offers political analysis of the race and the leading Democratic and Republican candidates.

Listeners who are ambivalent about having kids call in to talk about why they feel that way.

Nicole Gelinas, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, a columnist at the New York Post and the author of the new book, Movement: New York's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car (Fordham Univ Press, 2024), and Dave Colon, reporter for Streetsblog NYC, talk about the mayoral candidates' proposals for making mass transit safe, affordable and reliable and for managing the "chaos" of use of streets by pedestrians, two-wheeled vehicles, and cars.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.Contrapoints' Natalie Wynn Deep Dives into the Philosophy of Conspiracies (First) | The Child Care Issue (Starts at :38) | 'Bad Vibes' at the Supreme Court (Starts at 1:08)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

The Trump administration announced it would "aggressively revoke" student visas for Chinese students who are planning to study in the United States. Liam Knox, the admissions and enrollment reporter for Inside Higher Ed and author of their Admissions Weekly newsletter, reports on the latest on that plus the dispute between the administration and Harvard over enrolling foreign students.