Kathryn Jezer-Morton , author of The Cut's Brooding newsletter, talks about her plan to "friction-maxx" this year in life and in parenting—that is, to build tolerance for "inconvenience" despite tech companies' attempts to make our lives smooth and frictionless. Photo: match, meet matchbox. Credit: Yann Segalen via Wikipedia Commons. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Mar 20, 2026•11 min•Ep. 2164
Giulia Heyward , WNYC and Gothamist reporter, talks about the tug of war between the state and the federal government over transgender care for those 19 and younger. Then, Jack Turban MD, MHS, adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist and author of Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity (Atria Books, 2024), offers best practices for transgender care for those 19 and younger. Photo: Dusk view of entrance to new Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, New York - stock photo. Credit: Barr...
Mar 19, 2026•20 min•Ep. 2159
Paulette Perhach , freelance writer and writing coach, shares tips on how to prevent your aging relatives from getting scammed. Plus, we take calls from listeners with their stories and questions about protecting yourself and loved ones against financial fraud. => " How to Prevent Aging Parents and Relatives From Making Financial Mistakes " (New York Times, January 2026) photo: A woman over 90 years old makes a phone call with an iphone on 16.03.2025 in Norden (Lower Saxony). Photo: Matthias ...
Mar 19, 2026•12 min•Ep. 2158
John Heilemann , chief political columnist at Puck and host of the podcast "Impolitic with John Heilemann, " and senior national affairs analyst for MS NOW, talks about the latest developments in the war in Iran and the role Israel has played. Photo: Donald Trump at a United Nations event on Religious Freedom Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. (Photo: Shealah Craighead / White House) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for infor...
Mar 19, 2026•50 min•Ep. 2157
Faiyaz Jaffer , Ed.D, executive director of the Islamic Center and chaplain at New York University, talks about how communities in our area and around the world are observing Ramadan this year. Photo: Muslims gather in Times Square to perform the Tarawih prayer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on February 20, 2026, in New York City. The event, held annually in Times Square since 2022, includes Quranic recitations, congregational prayers, and the distribution of meals for iftar, the breaki...
Mar 19, 2026•27 min•Ep. 2160
Martha C. Nussbaum , distinguished service professor of law and philosophy at the University of Chicago and the author of The Republic of Love: Opera & Political Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2026), offers her analysis of opera as an arm of the Enlightenment, from Mozart to today. cover image courtesy of the publisher Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Mar 18, 2026•17 min•Ep. 2154
Megan Messerly , a White House reporter at POLITICO, talks about the Republican support for the war in Iran and the concerns of the isolationists. Photo: American flags near the Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.CImage byMatt Hecht Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mar 18, 2026•42 min•Ep. 2156
Daniel Immerwahr , historian, contributing writer at The New Yorker, the Bergen Evans Professor in the Humanities at Northwestern University and the author of How to Hide an Empire (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019) offers historical context on the war in Iran and Trump's overall foreign policy. Photo: The aftermath of a US-Israeli strike on Tehran, Iran on March 3, 2026. Credit: محمدعلی برنو/Avash Media via Wikimedia Commons/CC 4.0 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com fo...
Mar 18, 2026•23 min•Ep. 2153
Austin C. Jefferson , Albany bureau chief for Streetsblog Empire State, talks about Governor Kathy Hochul's push for car insurance reform, including the problem it seeks to solve and where support and resistance lies. Photo: Gov. Hochul highlights her car insurance affordability proposal in Glenmont, NY on February 3, 2026. Credit: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...
Mar 18, 2026•25 min•Ep. 2155
For St. Patrick's Day, Nicholas Wolf , associate director for research and publishing initiatives at Glucksman Ireland House, NYU's study of Irish and Irish America, discusses the decades-long effort to restore the Irish language after it rapidly declined under British colonial rule. Photo: Bilingual Irish-English street name sign, named after St. Patrick, in which 'Port' is the Irish for 'Quay'. Credit: Mucklagh/Wikimedia Commons Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for...
Mar 17, 2026•13 min•Ep. 2150
A new report by Robin Hood and Columbia University found that the poverty rate in New York City has continued to climb, with 26 percent of the city's population now struggling economically. Richard Buery , CEO of the anti-poverty organization Robin Hood and former NYC deputy mayor for strategic policy initiatives, talks the findings of the report and what might be coming in the near future as the effects of federal cuts kick in. Photo: A volunteer fills a basket for a person in need of food at t...
Mar 17, 2026•21 min•Ep. 2151
Gov. Hochul has recently made it clear that she intends to try to postpone the implementation of New York's 2019 climate law, that required cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Jon Campbell , Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, reports on why she is doing this, and just how mad it's making environmental groups and others who supported the law. Photo: Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a press briefing at office on 3rd Avenue in Manhattan, on air quality affecting all counties of the state beca...
Mar 17, 2026•39 min•Ep. 2149
Jonathan Blitzer , New Yorker staff writer and the author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis (Penguin Press, 2024), talks about the scale of the U.S. immigrant detention program, health and safety issues and expansion plans, following the firing of DHS Sec. Kristi Noem. => " Trump’s Mass-Detention Campaign " (The New Yorker, March 15, 2026) photo: A warehouse purchased by the Department of Homeland Security that is slated to become ...
Mar 17, 2026•35 min•Ep. 2152
David Streitfeld , Pulitzer-prize winning reporter covering tech for The New York Times, explains the landmark trial regarding social media addiction, brought by a 20-year-old woman against Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube for optimizing their products to her mental and physical detriment. Photo: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves the Federal Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles after defending the company in a landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles, United States, on February 19, ...
Mar 16, 2026•23 min•Ep. 2144
Dan Lamothe , U.S. military and Pentagon reporter at The Washington Post , shares his reporting on the latest U.S. military actions in Iran, especially what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz, and more. Photo: People clear rubble in a house in the Beryanak District after it was damaged by missile attacks two days before, on March 15, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Credit: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...
Mar 16, 2026•51 min•Ep. 2148
Sam Sanders , host of The Sam Sanders Show on KCRW, recaps the winners, losers, and culture-defining moments from the 2026 Academy Awards ceremony. Photo: Michael B. Jordan, winner of the Best Actor Award for his role(s) in “Sinners,” poses in the press room during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...
Mar 16, 2026•14 min•Ep. 2145
Michael Sol Warren , New Jersey reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about Gov. Mikie Sherrill's first budget plan, which she says will address property taxes and school funding, as well as the proposed cut to the Stay NJ tax relief program, which aimed to keep seniors from leaving the state. Photo: New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill gives the Budget Address in the Assembly Chambers of the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J. on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Office of Governor / Rich Hundley III) Hosted by...
Mar 16, 2026•20 min•Ep. 2146
Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Christiane Amanpour on the War With Iran (First) | A $30 Hourly Minimum for NYC? (Starts at 33:07) | Oscar Talk: Streaming vs Theaters (Starts at 1:08:02 ) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here . Photo: A general view of Tehran with smoke visible in the distance after explosions were reported in the city, on March 02, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images) Hosted by...
Mar 14, 2026•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 2147
Burgess Everett , congressional bureau chief for Semafor, talks about the latest news out of Congress this week, including a bipartisan housing bill that passed the Senate, the stalemate over DHS funding, the president's push for the SAVE Act and more. Photo: US aviation faces a crisis due to a Department of Homeland Security partial government shutdown, leading to Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages. (Photo by Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, a...
Mar 13, 2026•32 min•Ep. 2143
Each house in the New York State legislature released its budget proposal, and both called for raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers. Jimmy Vielkind , New York State Issues reporter for WNYC, reports on how that will affect negotiations, since Governor Hochul is firmly against a tax hike, and other issues in the assembly's and senate's proposals. Photo: Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, left, and Speaker Carl Heastie, center, meet with Gov. Kathy Hochul, right, following a presentati...
Mar 13, 2026•35 min•Ep. 2141
On this Friday the 13th, listeners call in to share their superstitions, including ones that they don't really believe in but observe anyway. Photo: November morning in Stegna at the Levantine Sea, cat a the old storehouse of the fishermen (Archangelos, Rhodes, Greece). (Manfred Werner (Tsui), CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Mar 13, 2026•8 min•Ep. 2142
Sandy Nurse , City Council member (D-37, Cypress Hills, Bushwick, City Line, Ocean Hill, Brownsville, East New York), talks about her proposal for legislation that would increase New York City's minimum wage from the current $17 per hour to $30 per hour by 2030. Photo: Lidia Vilorio, a home health aide, gives her patient Martina Negron her medicine and crackers for her tea on May 05, 2021 (Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for...
Mar 13, 2026•35 min•Ep. 2140
Belinda Miles , PhD; president of SUNY Westchester Community College, talks about how Westchester Community College is dealing with funding cuts from the Trump administration, and how they will affect college access for low-income students, and employers and the workforce. Photo from Wikimedia Creative Commons: The Gateway Building on the campus of Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collecti...
Mar 12, 2026•26 min•Ep. 2137
David Graham , staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of The Atlantic daily newsletter, plus author of The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2025), offers analysis of how President Trump is changing the way he describes the status of the war with Iran, and why his public statements about it have shifted around so dramatically. Plus, Mohammed Sergie , editor of Semafor Gulf, talks about how the war has affected the Gulf states. Photo: Donald Trump ...
Mar 12, 2026•46 min•Ep. 2139
Kate Tellers , storyteller, host and director of MothWorks, talks about The Moth's upcoming event with the theme "what are we fighting for?" Photo: Matthew Mercier takes part in The Moth true personal storytelling show live-streamed from St. Ann's Church on April 21, 2021 in Brooklyn. (Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Mar 12, 2026•10 min•Ep. 2138
The Independent Budget Office led testimonies as the City Council begins reviewing the mayor's preliminary budget. Louisa Chafee , director of the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO), a non-partisan source of information on the budget and economy, gives their assessment of the assumptions underlying the budget and the mayor's plan to close the deficit. Photo: The Committee on Finance Holds Preliminary Budget Hearing For FY2027 with testimony from the Independent Budget Office, March 10...
Mar 12, 2026•27 min•Ep. 2136
Dana Stevens , film critic at Slate.com, co-host of the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast and the author of Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century (Atria Books, 2022), weighs in on Timothée Chalamet's comments about the importance of movie-going vs streaming for the future of the industry, plus the social/political meaning of two of the best picture frontrunners. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images: Timothée Chalamet speaks during the Valentine's ...
Mar 11, 2026•22 min•Ep. 2134
Of the nearly 3.8 million 911 calls routed to the NYPD in 2025, only about a quarter were reporting a crime in progress and more than 500,000 involved “harassment, verbal conflicts, or disputes between two or more parties.” This comes from a new analysis by the Vera Institute of Justice. Daniela Gilbert , who directs the Vera Institute Redefining Public Safety initiative and served on the Mamdani administration’s Community Safety transition team, talks about the analysis and argues that many of ...
Mar 11, 2026•26 min•Ep. 2135
John Leland , New York Times reporter and the author of Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons From a Year Among the Oldest Old (Sarah Crichton Books, 2018), offers some background information about the two men arrested after bringing homemade bombs to the Gracie Mansion protest. Photo: View of an unexploded homemade explosive device in front of Gracie Mansion, New York mayor Zohran Mamdani's official residence, in New York on March 7, 2026. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images) H...
Mar 11, 2026•16 min•Ep. 2133
John Cassidy , staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI (Macmillan, 2025) talks about his recent story, "How to Prevent Insider Trading on Trump’s Wars" and other recent takes on economics and politics. photo: Karoline Leavitt at her first Press Conference in 2025 (YouTube channel called White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informatio...
Mar 11, 2026•45 min•Ep. 2132
