Zohran Mamdani on His Big Night
Zohran Mamdani , New York State assembly member (D-36, Queens), talks about his big win in last night's Democratic primary election for mayor.
Jun 25, 2025•10 min•Ep. 1422
The Brian Lehrer Show
Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.
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Episodes
Primary Day Informal, Unofficial, Thoroughly Unscientific Exit Poll Take Two
Listeners call in to share who they ranked in the primary election, including in races besides just the mayoral, and Brigid Bergin , WNYC's senior political correspondent, shares her most recent reporting on the election, including the latest on what we know about early voting numbers.
Jun 24, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1414
100 Years of 100 Things: The Fight for Gay Rights
As our centennial series continues, Marc Stein , the Jamie and Phyllis Pasker professor of history at San Francisco State University, director of the OutHistory website , author and editor of many books, including Queer Public History: Essays on Scholarly Activism (University of California Press, 2022) and The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History (NYU Press, 2019), takes us through the history of LGBTQ rights in the US, from the founding of the first, though short-lived, gay rights organizatio...
Jun 24, 2025•29 min•Ep. 1415
Primary Day Informal, Unofficial, Thoroughly Unscientific Exit Poll
Listeners call in to share who they ranked in the mayoral primary election, and Brigid Bergin , WNYC's senior political correspondent, shares her most recent reporting on the election, including the various campaigns' "get out the vote" efforts.
Jun 24, 2025•46 min•Ep. 1412
How Black Lung Reemerged
Black lung had largely been eradicated by the end of the last century. Now, the disease has reemerged in coal country, and federal cuts threaten at-risk miners. Kate Morgan , Pennsylvania-based freelance journalist, talks about her reporting on black lung for the New York Times . → How Black Lung Came Roaring Back to Coal Country
Jun 24, 2025•19 min•Ep. 1413
Heat Emergency
The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning for the area through 8pm Tuesday. Zach Iscol , NYC Emergency Management commissioner, talks about what New Yorkers can do to stay safe.
Jun 23, 2025•10 min•Ep. 1411
Early Voting Numbers Roll In
Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent shares her reporting on the early voting numbers so far, plus listeners call in to react to the mayoral candidate interviews from the first hour of the show.
Jun 23, 2025•35 min•Ep. 1410
The Mayoral Candidates Make a Final Pitch to Voters
On the day before the primary election, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams , former State Assembly Member Michael Blake , former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo , New York City Comptroller Brad Lander , State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani , State Senator Zellnor Myrie , State Senator Jessica Ramos , former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer , and Whitney Tilson , former hedge fund manager and philanthropist, make their final pitch to voters who haven't cast their ballots yet....
Jun 23, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 1409
Legal News Roundup: Trump and the California National Guard and More
Emily Bazelon , staff writer for The New York Times Magazine , co-host of Slate's "Political Gabfest" podcast, Truman Capote fellow for creative writing and law at Yale Law School and author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration (Random House, 2019), discusses the latest news coming out of the Supreme Court, including President Donald Trump's legal battle for control of the California National Guard and more.
Jun 20, 2025•17 min•Ep. 1408
Two Opinions on Andrew Cuomo
First, Bill de Blasio , former mayor of New York City, explains why he does not think Andrew Cuomo should be the next mayor of New York City, plus responds to the New York Times editorial that blamed his administration for many of the city's problems, then New York State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn (D-42) chair of the Kings County Democratic County Committee, offers her reasoning for why she has endorsed Andrew Cuomo to be the next mayor....
Jun 20, 2025•40 min•Ep. 1407
Are We Going To War With Iran?
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), offers analysis of the Iran-Israel conflict and discusses his recent column appraising the odds of the United States joining the fight
Jun 20, 2025•32 min•Ep. 1405
The Mayoral Candidates on Transportation
Stephen Nessen , transportation reporter for the WNYC Newsroom, talks about where the mayoral primary candidates stand on issues related to public transportation.
Jun 20, 2025•21 min•Ep. 1404
Ask Governor Murphy: June 2025 Recap
Nancy Solomon , WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, recaps her conversation with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, including the results of the gubernatorial primary election, and the latest new on an immigrant detention center in Newark at the center of a fight between New Jersey Democrats and President Donald Trump.
Jun 19, 2025•24 min•Ep. 1401
A Doctor's Perspective on the SCOTUS Youth Gender Affirming Care Decision
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court's decided to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for minors in the United States v. Skrmetti case. Jack Turban , MD, MHS, adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist and author of Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity (Atria Books, 2024), offers his perspective on the ruling and how it will affect transgender children and their families.
Jun 19, 2025•20 min•Ep. 1402
Juneteenth at Lincoln Center
Carl Hancock Rux , poet, playwright, recording artist, essayist and radio journalist, talks about Lincoln Center’s fifth annual Juneteenth celebration, which pays tribute to enslaved people and their use of folklore to survive the trauma of the Transatlantic slave trade.
Jun 19, 2025•15 min•Ep. 1403
The Ad War in the Mayoral Primary
Juan Manuel Benitez , professor of local journalism at Columbia Journalism School and member of the New York Editorial Board, and Jeffrey Mays , a New York Times reporter covering politics with a focus on New York City Hall, talks about the broadcast (as well as print and digital) advertisements flooding the zone in the week before the Democratic mayoral primary, many paid for by the deep-pocketed super PAC supporting Andrew Cuomo; plus they discuss how the candidates are reaching out to voters ...
Jun 19, 2025•52 min•Ep. 1400
Israel's Attacks on Iran
Israel's attacks on Iran have caused destruction that shows no sign of letting up. Robin Wright , contributing writer and columnist for The New Yorker and distinguished fellow at Woodrow Wilson Center, discusses the conflict and its mounting death toll.
Jun 18, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1396
Legal News Roundup: SCOTUS on Gender Affirming Care for Minors 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 , discusses the latest news coming out of the Supreme Court, including the court's ruling in a Tennessee case regarding gender affirming care for minors and more.
Jun 18, 2025•37 min•Ep. 1399
City Politics: The Mayoral Race Heats Up
With less than a week before primary day, WNYC and Gothamist reporter Elizabeth Kim discusses the latest news from the mayoral campaign trail, including Comptroller Brad Lander's arrest by ICE, Assemblymember Mamdani's decision to hire additional security and what early voters are saying at their poll sites.
Jun 18, 2025•41 min•Ep. 1397
Your Top Three Mayoral Election Issues
As early voting in the Democratic mayoral primary is underway, listeners share their top three issues, and their top candidate or candidates.
Jun 17, 2025•14 min•Ep. 1395
Treating HIV/AIDS Abroad Without US Aid and PEPFAR
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...
Jun 17, 2025•28 min•Ep. 1392
The Mayoral Candidates and Public Health
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.
Jun 17, 2025•28 min•Ep. 1393
The NYC Mayoral Candidates on Climate
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.
Jun 17, 2025•39 min•Ep. 1394
Monday Morning Primary Campaign Politics
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.
Jun 16, 2025•50 min•Ep. 1387
The Rights of Rivers
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.
Jun 16, 2025•10 min•Ep. 1389
Monday Morning Politics: No More Kings Protests; Minnesota Lawmakers Shot
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.
Jun 16, 2025•21 min•Ep. 1390
The Mayoral Candidates Debate About Housing
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.
Jun 16, 2025•27 min•Ep. 1388
Brian Lehrer Weekend: New Jersey Results; Gay Restaurants; Mapping the Stars
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 .
Jun 14, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 1391
NYC Mayoral Primary Debate: Traffic and Pedestrian Safety
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.
Jun 13, 2025•10 min•Ep. 1386
NYC Mayoral Primary Debate: Cuomo Sexual Harassment and Public 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.
Jun 13, 2025•18 min•Ep. 1385
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