The Brian Lehrer Show

Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter covering Democratic politics and campaigns across the country, and the author of Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats' Campaigns to Defeat Trump (Viking, 2021), shares his reporting on how voters, interest groups, and unions are frustrated with Democratic politicians in the early weeks of Trump's second term, while Christopher Fasano, former attorney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and organizing committee member of the NTEU 335, discusses how federal workers are fighting back Elon Musk's gutting of federal agencies.

Robert P. Jones, president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: And the Path to a Shared American Future (Simon & Schuster, 2023), Ryan Burge, associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, research director for Faith Counts, and the author of The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going (Fortress Press, 2021), and Konstantin Toropin, Military.com's Pentagon correspondent, discuss the overlap and contradictions in the Trump administrations policies toward identity and religious affiliation.

As Mayor Adams faces pressure to step down over allegations of a deal to have his federal corruption charges dropped, Gov. Hochul met with City leaders to discuss his future. Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, and Jimmy Vielkind, New York State Issues reporter for WNYC, talk about the latest developments.

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), recaps the recent Trump administration officials' visits to Europe, where Vice President JD Vance said European leaders should not shun far-right political parties and more.

Benji Backer, founder and CEO of Nature Is Nonpartisan and visiting fellow at The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, offers his right of center take on how to combat climate change, and how he believes he can influence President Trump's energy secretary to be both pro-energy and pro-environment.

As our centennial series continues, Lisa Stulberg, associate professor of the Sociology of Education at NYU, and Anthony Chen, associate professor of sociology and political science at Northwestern University, look at the last century of admission preferences at colleges and universities.

As SNL celebrates its 50th anniversary, Eric Deggans, TV critic for NPR talks, about how they've found humor in American politics over the decades.

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Slava Leontyv, Ukrainian artist, former soldier, and filmmaker, and Brendan Bellomo, film and commercial director, talk about their film, "Porcelain War," telling the story of three Ukrainian artists caught up in the Russian invasion, armed with guns, their art and a camera.

Rev. Michael Blake, former state assemblyman, talks about his campaign for the Democratic nomination for NYC Mayor in the June primary.

On Presidents Day, as our centennial series continues, Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University, a CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, talks about the history of U.S. presidents, their exercise of executive power and how President Trump's actions compare.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.Historian Jefferson Cowie offers a history White backlash to federal authority (First) | Filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie discuss their Oscar-nominated documentary "Sugarcane" and the long history of abuse at residential schools in Canada (Starts at 22:20) | Shiori Itō, director of "Black Box Diaries," talks about her Oscar-nominated documentary about her investigation of her own sexual assault case (Starts at 39:35)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, recaps her conversation with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

Dan Goldman, US Representative (D, NY-10), formerly lead counsel for the impeachment investigation of Pres. Trump in 2019 and former assistant US attorney SDNY, responds to President Trump's executive orders, and to the moves by Elon Musk and DOGE to drastically cut the federal work force.

Antonio Pagliarulo, writer and author of The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery & Magic of the Quiet Curse (Weiser Books, 2023) and the forthcoming The Queer Saints: A Radical Guide to Magic, Miracles and Modern Intercession, tells us about the saint for whom Valentine's Day is named, and listeners tell us about their secret loves.

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Julian Brave NoiseCat, writer and filmmaker, and Emily Kassie, filmmaker and investigative journalist, discuss their film "Sugarcane" that documents the long history of abuse at one Indian residential school in Canada and the damage to individuals, families and communities from the century-long practice across the U.S. and Canada.Sugarcane is streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

Samantha Max, reporter covering public safety for WNYC/Gothamist, talks about the news that the acting Manhattan U.S. attorney quit rather than comply with the DOJ's request that her office drop the charges against Mayor Adams, and explains the prosecutor's reasoning.

As our centennial series continues, Jefferson Cowie, historian at Vanderbilt University and the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power (Basic Books, 2022), reviews the history of white Americans fighting the federal government over civil rights legislation and more.

Kate Shaw, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, co-host of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny, and a contributing opinion Writer with the New York Times, talks about the constitutional issues at stake with some of the actions taken by the White House.

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Johan Grimonprez, director of "Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat", discusses his film's "fusion of jazz and geopolitics" that touches on colonialism, racism, the 1961 assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, and a State Department-backed goodwill tour by jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone.

Scott Stringer, former NYC Comptroller, talks about his campaign for the Democratic nomination for NYC Mayor in the June primary.

With the news that President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics, professor at Bennington College and former EPA Region 2 administrator, provides the broader state of plastic pollution in the United States, which efforts from former President Joe Biden actually worked and what the current president could rollback.

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Shiori Itō, director of "Black Box Diaries," talks about her film that tells the story of her investigation of her own sexual assault case, credited with starting Japan's #metoo movement.

The DOJ directed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the corruption charges against Mayor Adams. Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, reports on how the mayor is reacting, whether it will affect how City Hall cooperates with the Trump administration, and how the news may shake up the mayoral campaign.

President Trump has been clear he'd like to dismantle the Education Department. Dana Goldstein, education reporter at The New York Times and the author of The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession (Anchor, 2015), reports on how Elon Musk and DOGE have started to do that, and how their plans will affect schools and education.

At the end of January, the New York State Public Service Commission approved the creation of a new New York City area code. Listeners call in to share what their area codes mean to them as a personal point of pride.

Bahar Ostadan, Nassau County politics reporter at Newsday Media Group, reports on the news that Nassau County has authorized its police detectives to work with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants accused of committing crimes.

Monica Gorman, managing director at Crowell Global Advisors who served as special assistant to the president for manufacturing & industrial policy under former President Joe Biden, talks about the new 25% tariffs announced by President Trump on steel and aluminum imports, plus the broader trade policy.

Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, talks about the DOJ memo instructing prosecutors to drop the charges against Mayor Adams.

Since 2012, a total of 23 states have legalized cannabis. Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, author of Addiction: A Very Short Introduction, and a member of the Stanford Network on Addiction Policy, discusses why he thinks legalization has led to more frequent consumption and increased potency, arguing that those factors raise a range of concerns, for both mental and physical health.

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), talks about the latest national political news, as President Trump enters week four of his second administration.

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO for the Partnership for New York City, talks about polling on congestion pricing showing its popularity with New Yorkers, as well as the local business climate under the new Trump administration.

As our centennial series continues, David Levering Lewis, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and the author of The Stained Glass Window: A Family History as the American Story, 1790-1958 (Penguin, 2025), discusses his new book, which turns the historian’s lens on his own family tree.EVENT: David Levering Lewis will be in conversation with fellow historian Annette Gordon Reed at 92Y on Thursday, March 13th at 7 PM. Details can be found here: www.92ny.org/events.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.The State of Crime in the City (First) | 100 Years of 100 Things: Housing Inequality (Starts at 35:17) | Adam Gopnik's Insomnia (Starts at 1:11:4 0)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Micah Loewinger, co-host of WNYC's On the Media, offers guidance from reporters and consumers on how to navigate the "flood" of news items under the new Trump administration.

Kavitha Davidson, sportswriter and host of the podcast Sportly, previews the Super Bowl game between the Eagles and the Chiefs, as well as the pop culture sideshow, and listeners call in to share how they'll watch the game, the halftime show, the ads -- or their counter-programming plans.

Stephen Vladeck, professor of federal courts at Georgetown University Law Center, talks about some of the legal challenges to early actions by the Trump administration.

Chris Crowley, senior writer at Grub Street, talks about his reporting on the fears among local restaurant workers over potential ICE raids.

Federal agencies like the CDC, NIH and the FDA had to remove and alter some data from their websites to comply with executive orders issued by President Trump. Katelyn Jetelina, founder and author of the newsletter "Your Local Epidemiologist," explains why data is "gold," and how these changes may affect our health.

Shane Goldmacher, national political correspondent for The New York Times covering the major developments, trends and forces shaping American politics, talks about the Democrats ability to respond to the barrage of action by the new Trump administration and the national party's new leadership.

Adam Gopnik, staff writer for The New Yorker, and author of The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery (Liveright, 2023), discusses a recent essay in which he describes his long battle with insomnia.

News outlets are reporting that NYU Langone is cancelling some appointments for gender-affirming care for transgender children -- and that other hospital systems have removed mentions of gender-affirming care from their websites after President Trump issued a related executive order. Caroline Lewis, health care reporter for WNYC/Gothamist, reports on how trans kids and their families are reacting and the New York attorney general's warning to hospital systems that not providing the care would run afoul of state laws.

As Girl Scout Cookie season kicks off, Karen Lundgard, interim CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater New York, tells listeners about Troop 6000, a first-of-its-kind program to serve families living in temporary housing in the New York City shelter system, as well as asylum seekers in New York City, and their efforts to sell some of America's favorite sweets.

As our centennial series continues, Martha S. Jones, legal and cultural historian at Johns Hopkins University and the author of the forthcoming, The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir (Basic Books, 2025), shares her family's long history along America's "jagged color line" and what that's meant for her, her family and the society at large.

Andrew Prokop, senior politics correspondent at Vox, talks about the "vast powers" that President Trump has given to Elon Musk, what he's doing with them and what's underpinning the effort overhaul of the federal bureaucracy.

Mayor Adams cancelled his weekly press conference with reporters in favor of a trip to Albany to press the legislature for the city's priorities—traditionally known as "tin cup day." WNYC and Gothamist reporters Elizabeth Kim and Jon Campbell recap what he talked about and how legislators in Albany reacted to the mayor.

As our centennial series continues, Bernadette Atuahene, property rights scholar, professor at USC's Gould School of Law and leader of the grassroots Coalition for Property Tax Justice and Black Homes Matter campaigns, and the author of Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America (Little, Brown, 2025), explains the long history of inequality in property tax burdens rooted in redlining.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D NY) responds to the actions of the Trump administration so far, when and how Democratic in the Senate can push back, and other matters affecting New Yorkers and the country.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D NY-8th, Brooklyn) talks about his 10-point plan and explains what he is calling for Democrats to do in response to President Trump's moves on federal funding and more.

As the U.S. Agency for International Development faces a shutdown from the Trump administration, Elissa Miolene, reporter covering the USAID and the U.S. government at Devex, an independent news organization covering global development, explains what the agency does, who might be impacted and why the agency is being targeted.

Following Groundhog Day, listeners call in to share how they beat back the winter blues and what sort of rituals they have this time of the year when it's so cold and grey, and Hannah Docter-Loeb, homepage editor for Slate and a freelance writer, shares her tip -- to spend one Saturday eating ice cream for breakfast.