The Brian Lehrer Show

This year, many selective colleges are reversing Covid-era test-optional admissions policies, requiring applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores again. Emi Nietfeld, author of Acceptance: A Memoir (Penguin Press, 2022), discusses how taking the SAT changed her life and helped her, as a disadvantaged youth, to attend Harvard.

Aaron David​​​​ Miller, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former State Department advisor on the Middle East, and the author of several books, including The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace (Bantam, 2008), talks about the current state of ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas and the best pathways to peace in the region. Plus, he reacts to President Biden's live remarks on the campus protests.

David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC/Gothamist, talks about some of the latest housing news, including the landlord facing possible "house" arrest (in one of his unrepaired buildings) and the Rent Guidelines Board preliminary vote on rent increases of 2 to 6.5 percent.

U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill (D, NJ-11) talks about her priorities related to reproductive rights and the National Defense Reauthorization Act, plus reacts to the news overnight of police arresting campus protesters.

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 and on the news the morning after police dispersed on protests at Columbia and the City College of New York.

Bruce Ratner, real estate developer, philanthropist, founder of the Michael D. Ratner Center For Early Detection of Cancer (CEDC), and co-author of Early Detection: Catching Cancer When It’s Curable (OR Books, 2024), argues for earlier and more equitable cancer screening.

Marie French, reporter covering energy and the environment for POLITICO New York, discusses the collapse of three key wind farm projects in New York and their broader implications for the state's climate goals.

Activists at Columbia occupied a building overnight as administrators threatened to start suspending students. Joseph Howley, associate professor of classics at Columbia University, talks about how he and other faculty are supporting protesters at Columbia and Hadeeqa Arzoo, vice president of CCNY’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter and organizer at the CUNY Gaza Solidarity Encampment, shares what activists at the City College of New York are demanding.

BBC presenter Nuala McGovern compares notes over how the UK is handling migrants, talks about her reporting here in New York and remembers her time as a Brian Lehrer Show producer.EVENT:Global Movements, Local Impacts: An Evening with WNYC + BBC NewshourWednesday, May 1, 2024, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. ET, in person at the Greene Space (44 Charlton St in Manhattan).Tickets (pay what you wish starting at $5) and details here.

Incoming college students traditionally need to make their decisions about what college they'll attend by May 1 -- and while issues with financial aid have caused some schools to delay the date, many are sticking with May 1. Listeners call in to talk about how they or their children made their decision this year, and whether the FAFSA debacle, or campus protests have affected their choice.

Matt Katz, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering public safety and host of the new podcast "Inconceivable Truth," went on a quest to learn the truth of his paternity after surprising DNA test results. Along the way, he uncovered a web of shady artificial insemination practices in 1970s New York City that produced countless children with unknown biological fathers. He shares his findings and listeners share similar stories. EVENT: Matt will speak at NYU on Tuesday, April 30 at 7pm. More details and info to RSVP is here.

Stephen Nessen, WNYC and Gothamist transportation reporter, brings updates on the latest transit news, including a launch date for congestion pricing, the end of free bus routes and more.

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 her new biography of Barbara Walters, plus the latest national political news, including the White House Correspondents Dinner and Pres. Biden's agreement to a debate.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Your Arab-American Immigration Stories (First) | Reframing 'Free' Beyond Markets (Starts at 26:36) | A #PlasticsChallenge Wrap Up (Starts at 1:02:30) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Nicholas Kristof, opinion columnist for The New York Times and author of several books, including the forthcoming memoir Chasing Hope (Penguin Random House, 2024), shares his critique of how he says President Biden has mishandled the United States' role in Israel's war in Gaza, what he sees as Biden's reasoning, the political implications and what the United States could do moving forward to end the war.

Listeners call in to share an honest assessment of the single-use plastics in their lives and Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics, professor at Bennington College and former EPA Region 2 administrator, rides along to share tips and trick on how to reduce plastic use.

Claire Thornton, USA Today breaking news reporter, talks about the calls by pro-Palestinian student protesters for their colleges and universities to divest from companies with ties to Israel.

For National Poetry Month, we open up the phones for listeners to recite lines from their favorite poems.

In honor of National Arab American Heritage Month, Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a non-profit, nonpartisan, national civil rights advocacy organization, comes back on the show to tick through the long timeline of Arab-American immigration (and migration around the country), which shows the diversity of the community and where they landed throughout the country.

On today's show: Melissa Murray, NYU law professor, co-host of the "Strict Scrutiny" podcast and the co-author (with Andrew Weissmann) of The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024), previews the oral arguments the Supreme Court will hear on former President Trump's immunity case.

With teachers and students off of school this week, we open up the phones to hear stories from local classrooms that would otherwise be missed if not for the vacation.

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, university professor at Columbia University, chief economist at the Roosevelt Institute, and author of The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society (W.W.Norton, 2024), argues the neoliberal idea of freedom has led to economic crises and social unrest and argues for a more humane, 21st-century reframing of the concept.

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 when the NYPD intervenes on campus protests and the pushback on his reported selection of attorney Randy Mastro to lead NYC's legal department.

Erica Orden, Politico reporter, talks about the media diets of the jurors on the Trump "hush money" trial. Plus, she recaps the testimony of David Pecker, the former publisher for the National Enquirer, who talked about that publication's "catch and kill" strategy, which suppressed negative stories about people like Donald Trump.

Kate Hidalgo Bellows, staff reporter covering campus health and safety at The Chronicle, reports on how administrations at colleges here in New York and across the country are struggling to respond to ongoing, and growing protests over the Israel-Hamas War.

This Earth Week, Liz Moran, policy advocate for Earthjustice's Northeast office, talks about the ways the new New York State budget does, and does not, address climate change.

Jane McAlevey, labor organizer, columnist for The Nation and the author of several books, including (with Abby Lawlor) Rules to Win By: Power and Participation in Union Negotiations (Oxford University Press, 2023), reflects on her life's work in organizing and recent wins for labor, and what she sees as crucial for workers to do if they want to continue the positive streak for unions.

Listeners who protested on their college campuses in the turbulent years around 1968 reflect on that time, and share their thoughts on today's young protesters on campuses here in NYC and around the country.

As Passover begins, Noah Feldman, Harvard law professor, founding director of the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law, and the author of To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People (Macmillan, 2024), talks about his new book, inspired by his conversations with his children and even more relevant since 10/7, that tries to define what all Jews have in common.