The Brian Lehrer Show

Apoorva Mandavilli, reporter for The New York Times, focusing on science and global health, discusses the government's approach to Bird Flu, and why veterinary scientists say that RFK Jr.'s approach (letting the infection burn through flocks to identify birds with high immunity) will likely cost more than it helps.

Jimmy Vielkind, New York State Issues reporter for WNYC and author of the substack "Notes from Jimmy", talks about the status of budget negotiations ahead of the April 1 deadline, the possibility of a mask ban, and federal funding that's included in the forecasts.

New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni and White House reporter Luke Broadwater, co-authors of Mad House: How Donald Trump, Maga Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby and a Man with Rats in his Walls Broke Congress (Random House, 2025), discuss their new book about dysfunctional House Republicans—and the extent to which the GOP-led Congress has provided a rubber stamp to President Trump's agenda.

On Friday, Columbia University's administration agreed to demands from the Trump administration over the institution's responses to pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Columbia faculty members Joseph Howley, associate professor of Classics, followed by Ester Fuchs, professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science, weigh in. Then, senior editor Sarah Brown and staff reporter Kate Bellows, from The Chronicle of Higher Education, bring their reporting on the situation at Columbia and at other colleges and universities around the country where Trump has attempted to exercise control over issues including campus speech, DEI and Title IX. Plus, listeners who are part of the Columbia community call in with their thoughts and questions.

Last week, Americans learned that ICE sent 238 Venezuelan migrants to the CECOT mega prison in El Salvador under the unsubstantiated pretense that all were members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Annie Correal, reporter at the New York Times, shares her reporting on the conditions at this prison, why Donald Trump and El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele have partnered on this endeavor, and the Venezuelan family members who fear their loved ones have been disappeared.

Andy Kim, U.S. Senator (D-NJ), talks about Social Security in the new Trump administration and what he's learned hosting town halls in Democratic and Republican districts across his state.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.Is This What Democracy Looks Like: Heather Cox Richardson (First) | Local UAW Leader (Starts at 30:48) | 100 Years of 100 Things: New Yorker Cartoons (Starts at 1:15:26)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

A recent article in Vox documents the writer's goal to get rejected a number of times per week, as an exercise in 'shooting your shot.' Listeners call in to share their stories, lessons and musings about being rejected, and the silver linings that can come from being told 'no.

The Trump administration is intent on downsizing the Education Department, leading to confusion for the millions of people who hold federal student aid. Annie Nova, who covers personal finance for CNBC, reports on the state of Trump's Department of Ed and the predicament for student borrowers.

Ishaan Tharoor, foreign affairs columnist at The Washington Post, and the author of the Today's World View newsletter and column, breaks down the latest news in global headlines and listeners with ties to countries outside the U.S. call in to talk share the news from abroad.

Brandon Mancilla, UAW Region 9A director, talks about his union's diverse local membership, which includes auto workers, as well as public defenders and workers at museums, movie theaters, higher education, and nonprofits; the effects of Trump administration cuts; and their ranked-choice-voting campaign in the mayoral primary.

Listeners call in to share their favorite hidden gems and secret spots that they frequent around New York and New Jersey, including parks, views, shops and buidlings.

Shane Goldmacher, national political correspondent for The New York Times covering the major developments, trends and forces shaping American politics, shares his reporting on how the Trump administration is attempting to sabotage Democrats' operations, and how it could affect elections and Democrats' ability to gain power in the future.

As our centennial series continues, Liza Donnelly, writer and cartoonist at The New Yorker and the author of Very Funny Ladies: The New Yorker's Women Cartoonists, 1925-2021 (Prometheus, 2022) and the Substack "Seeing Things", talks about the evolution of the "New Yorker cartoon" now on display in an exhibit at the Society of Illustrators.=>See Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration curated by Liza Donnelly at The Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, through May 3.=>To see the cartoons, check out the slideshows here: https://societyillustrators.org/event/the-history-of-the-new-yorker-a-conversation-with-liza-donnelly-and-michael-maslin/ https://societyillustrators.org/event/drawn-from-the-new-yorker-a-centennial-celebration/https://www.newyorker.com/gallery/a-centenary-cartoon-collection

Eli Dvorkin, editorial and policy director at the Center for an Urban Future, talks about their ideas for how NYC can retain young families.→ 5 Ideas for Retaining NYC's Young Families

Mayor Adams holds one off-topic press conference per week, where reporters can ask him questions on any subject. Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, recaps what he talked about at this week's event, including on the mayoral campaign and fundraising numbers, subway safety and more.

Listeners north of the border weigh in on the impact of Donald Trump's second term on their country's politics.

Heather Cox Richardson, professor of American history at Boston College and author of "Letters from an American" on Substack and several books, including Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America (Viking, 2023), offers a historian's take on the first weeks of the second Trump presidency.

After Chuck Schumer voted last week to prevent a government shutdown, Democrats have been deeply divided on whether he made the right decision or not, largely along generational lines. Philip Bump, national columnist for The Washington Post and the author of The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America (Viking, 2023) reports on how polls are showing voters are feeling about the episode and Charlie Mahtesian, senior politics editor at Politico, offers analysis of Schumer's decision and the Democrats' response to President Trump.

The Trump administration is rapidly canceling grants at the National Institutes of Health. Katherine Wu, staff writer for The Atlantic, explains how the agency is beginning to terminate active research grants — seemingly on political grounds.

Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, author of the "Work in Progress" newsletter and host of the podcast "Plain English," and Ezra Klein, New York Times opinion columnist and host of their podcast, the "Ezra Klein Show," co-authors of Abundance (Simon & Schuster, 2025), discuss their new book that argues limits placed by past generations to protect jobs and the environment are preventing solving shortages today.

Andrew Weissmann, professor of practice at NYU School of Law, MSNBC legal analyst, and the co-author of The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024), offers legal analysis of the ways the Trump administration has challenged the rule of law in the first few months, including on deportations, fired inspectors general and more.

S. Mitra Kalita, co-founder of URL Media and CEO and publisher of Epicenter-NYC, reflects on the COVID shutdown, how it profoundly changed the city and which consequences from it are still lingering and affecting people's lives.

As our centennial series continues, Annie Polland, president of the Tenement Museum, looks at the life and enduring legacy of Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member as Secretary of Labor who was instrumental in crafting The New Deal, and passing a slew of federal workers protections, including Social Security, a minimum wage and a 40-hour work week.

For St. Patrick's Day, listeners call in to share their family's immigration stories, from Ireland to America, plus listeners who have emigrated from the U.S. to Ireland share their stories.

The federal government has issued a list of demands to Columbia University that they say it must comply with in order to restore hundreds of millions of dollars of funding. Jake Offenhartz, New York City reporter for The Associated Press, talks about the nature of the ultimatum and the contentious relationship between the university and the Trump administration.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.The Nation Asks 'Are Men OK?'; (First) | 100 Years of 100 Things: Birth Control (Starts at 33:00) | Can We Change Our Personalities? (Starts at 46:20)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Eamon Whalen, freelance journalist and Nation contributor, offers analysis of the premise that men and boys are suffering, how to help them if they are, and how this intersects with the "manosphere," and the politics of the moment.

Whitney Tilson, former hedge fund manager and philanthropist, talks about his campaign for the Democratic nomination for NYC mayor in the June primary election.

Five years since COVID upended daily life, listeners weigh in on the biggest societal changes brought on by the pandemic.

Nancy Cook, senior national political correspondent at Bloomberg News, offers analysis of the Democratic split on the budget showdown in Congress, tariff chaos and more economic news from Washington.

Annabelle Williams, publishing editor at The Wall Street Journal, shares tips and best practices for managing "digital debt" in your relationships.

As our centennial series continues, Jane McManus, sportswriter, an adjunct professor at New York University at the Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport and the editor of The Year's Best Sports Writing 2024 (Triumph, 2024) and author of the forthcoming The Fast Track: Inside the Surging Business of Women's Sports (Temple University Press, 2025), talks about early attempts to organize women's sports and its post-Title IX growth.

Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, recaps her conversation with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. Topics this month: how federal cuts are affecting New Jerseyans, Murphy's position on ballot redesign, a sinkhole on I-80, and more.

David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times and the author of New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West (Crown, 2024), talks about the many ways Pres. Trump has upended the post-WWII international order.

Olga Khazan, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change (S&S/Simon Element, 2025), talks about her new book and what she found on her year-long quest to become a "better" person.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detailed Mahmoud Khalil—a legal permanent resident with a green card and prominent student-activist-turned-negotiator in pro-Palestine demonstrations at Colombia University. Peter Markowitz, professor of law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and the founding faculty member and co-director of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic, offers legal analysis of the detention.

Mayor Adams holds one off-topic press conference per week, where reporters can ask him questions on any subject. Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, recaps what he talked about at this week's event. Topics include the mayor's response to Columbia-grad pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil and how it may impact the Democratic primary election in June, developments in Adams' corruption case, plus why the mayor's stopped reading the news.

As President Trump's trade war heats up, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, and Mark DiPlacido, policy advisor at American Compass, talk about the pros and cons of tariffs and whether or not the president's current tariff policy could achieve Trump's stated goals.

Throughout this pledge drive, Brian Kelly, founder of the travel site The Points Guy and the author of How to Win at Travel (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 2025), shares advice on how to optimize your travel plans. Today, he shares his tips for how to behave in order to have a smooth experience for you, and everyone around you.

Every day during this pledge drive, listeners can try their hands at a quiz. Today's topic is music history.

Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale University and the author of the substack "Thinking About..." and the books, On Tyranny (Penguin Random House, 2017) and his latest, On Freedom (Crown, 2024), offers his analysis of recent actions by the Trump administration, including the elimination of USAID programs and attacks on the press.

Autism rates are rising but Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the author of Autism's False Prophets (Columbia University Press, 2008) and most recently Tell Me When It’s Over: And Insider’s Guide to Deciphering COVID Myths and Navigating Our Post-Pandemic World (National Geographic, 2024), says scientists have already debunked theories linking the rise to childhood vaccinations.

President Trump's U.S. Department of Agriculture has purged the agency's website of information related to climate change, extreme weather resilience and sustainable farming practices among other important topics. Now, one of New York's largest organic farming associations is suing the USDA. Emily Atkin, editor-in-chief of the HEATED newsletter, unpacks the story.

Throughout this pledge drive, Brian Kelly, founder of the travel site The Points Guy and the author of How to Win at Travel (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, 2025), shares advice on how to optimize your travel plans. Today, he shares advice on flying with your family, especially with babies and small children.

Every day during this pledge drive, listeners can try their hands at a quiz. Today's topic is American history, with some NY/NJ history questions sprinkled in.

As our centennial series continues, Elaine Tyler May, professor emerita of American Studies and History at the University of Minnesota and the author of several books, including America And The Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation (Basic Books, 2010) and Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy (Basic Books, 2017), reviews the history of birth control, from Margaret Sanger to Dobbs.

Elon Musk and DOGE are slashing the size of the federal workforce in what they say will bring big savings to taxpayers. Stephen Fowler, political reporter with NPR's Washington desk, reports on the typos, exaggerations and shoddy math in DOGE's receipts.

LaFontaine Oliver, president and CEO of New York Public Radio, talks about the very real threats to public radio coming from Washington, and what NYPR plans to do to deal with them.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.A hundred year history of the Equal Rights Amendment (First) | How potential cuts on the federal level would affect housing in New York City (Starts at 17:20) | Michelle Singletary's tips for planning group trips (Starts at 31:25)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.