The Brian Lehrer Show - podcast cover

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

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, 202510 minEp. 1422

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, 202514 minEp. 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, 202529 minEp. 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, 202546 minEp. 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, 202519 minEp. 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, 202510 minEp. 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, 202535 minEp. 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, 20251 hr 3 minEp. 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, 202517 minEp. 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, 202540 minEp. 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, 202532 minEp. 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, 202521 minEp. 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, 202524 minEp. 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, 202520 minEp. 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, 202515 minEp. 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, 202552 minEp. 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, 202531 minEp. 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, 202537 minEp. 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, 202541 minEp. 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, 202514 minEp. 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, 202528 minEp. 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, 202528 minEp. 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, 202539 minEp. 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, 202550 minEp. 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, 202510 minEp. 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, 202521 minEp. 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, 202527 minEp. 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, 20251 hr 15 minEp. 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, 202510 minEp. 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, 202518 minEp. 1385
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