Author Alva Gotby's book They Call it Love: The Politics of Emotional Life (Verso Books, 2023), coined the term emotional reproduction to describe the unseen and unappreciated labor involved in maintaining relationships that tends to fall on women in heterosexual pairings. For this Mother's Day, listeners call in to share how this concept appears in their lives and appreciate the emotional reproduction of the mothers in their lives. Photo: A woman gives a child a hug. (Credit: Myles Grant/Wikime...
May 08, 2026•7 min•Ep. 2312
Dean Seal , corporate news reporter for The Wall Street Journal , talks about how the Iran war and higher fuel prices were a major factor in the demise of Spirit Airlines, and how the budget carrier shutting down may mean higher fares across the board. Photo: Author John Mckenna, CC BY 2.0. Public Domain Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
May 07, 2026•38 min•Ep. 2308
Alvin Bragg , Manhattan district attorney, talks about recent work his office has done vacating wrongful convictions, a statistical decline in crime and more. Photo: Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., the District Attorney of New York County photographed on Central Park West and 74th Street (CmdrDan, 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....
May 07, 2026•33 min•Ep. 2305
Suzanne Goldberg , professor of law at Columbia Law School and co-founder of the school's Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, talks about the Trump administration's investigation of Smith College over its policy of admitting transgender students, plus the administration's lawsuit against The New York Times on behalf of a white man who is alleging the paper discriminated in their hiring practices. Photo: A brick wall sign with SMITH COLLEGE stands before a stately building amidst lush green tree...
May 07, 2026•27 min•Ep. 2306
Listeners call in to talk about the latest or best book they've listened to, plus discuss the types of books they prefer to listen to over read. Photo: Stock image (Credit: mi-vector via Getty Creative) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
May 07, 2026•6 min•Ep. 2307
Andy Kim , U.S. Senator (D NJ), talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey, including the war with Iran and partisan redistricting in the Garden State and around the country. Photo: US Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ). December 2024, Office of Senator Andy Kim U.S. Senate Photographic Studio, Public domain, 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....
May 06, 2026•45 min•Ep. 2301
NYC Health and Hospitals announced plans to shut down a storied program at Bellevue Hospital that treats torture survivors, citing tenuous federal funding and the possibility of ICE raids at the hospital. Allen Keller , M.D., associate professor of medicine and population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and founder of Bellevue's Program for Survivors of Torture, and Ibrahim, former patient at Bellevue's Program for Survivors of Torture, discuss the impact of the program and why they're...
May 06, 2026•28 min•Ep. 2303
The U.S. fertility rate dropped to another record low in 2025, according to provisional CDC data, marking a 23% drop since 2007. Jill Filipovic , attorney and author of several books, including OK Boomer, Let's Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind (Atria/One Signal Publishers, 2020), and Karen Guzzo , director of the Carolina Population Center and a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explain what's behind the decline, the current Republican and far-right c...
May 06, 2026•29 min•Ep. 2304
Wes Jackson , president of BRIC, unveils the lineup for the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! festival in Prospect Park, where the theme this year is "radical joy." Photo: A Celebrate Brooklyn! performance at the Lena Horne Bandshell in July 2022. (Credit: BailieSchaefer via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
May 06, 2026•8 min•Ep. 2302
On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily reinstated a Food and Drug Administration rule allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be prescribed via telemedicine. Amy Littlefield , abortion access correspondent at The Nation and author of Killers of Roe: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights (Hachette, 2026), explains the legal battle over the abortion pill playing out in courts and how abortion access in the United States could be upended if reproductive care becomes ina...
May 05, 2026•46 min•Ep. 2300
Zellnor Myrie , New York State Senator (D-20, parts of central Brooklyn including Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Park Slope), talks about his bill that would allow survivors of sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein to seek damages from the Epstein estate, plus other budget-related news of the day. Photo: State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, center, questions New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James, Daniel Martuscello III, commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervi...
May 05, 2026•20 min•Ep. 2299
Melissa Murray , NYU law professor, co-host of the podcast Strict Scrutiny, MSNOW commentator and the author of The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader (Simon & Schuster, 2026), explains the Constitution and how all the problems inherent in the founding are contained in it, not solved by it. Photo: The first page of the US Constitution. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration via Wikimedia Commons) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. ...
May 05, 2026•31 min•Ep. 2297
WNYC has been targeted by scammers who posed as hosts and offered authors interviews -- for a fee (which WNYC would never do). Rachel Tobac , co-founder and CEO of Social Proof Security, and Kenneth Atkins , assistant director of IT and data security at WNYC, talk about how to spot sneaky online phishing scams, and how to deal if you fall for it. Photo: Stock image (Vertigo3d via Getty Creative) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection an...
May 05, 2026•11 min•Ep. 2298
Nick Corasaniti , New York Times reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections, talks about how the Supreme Court's recent voting rights decision could fuel "endless redistricting wars," and how this may affect this year's midterm elections and beyond. Photo: Campaign signs in Takoma Park, Md. on Oct. 27, 2018. (Credit: Edward Kimmel/Wikimedia Commons BY CC 2.0 ) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...
May 04, 2026•45 min•Ep. 2293
Christine Clarke , commissioner and chair of the NYC Commission on Human Rights, talks about her new role, the Mamdani administration's priorities in human rights and the state of New York's anti-discrimination laws. Photo: Christine Clarke, chair and commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. (Credit: New York City Commission on Human Rights ) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advert...
May 04, 2026•26 min•Ep. 2291
Derrick Palmer , cofounder of the Amazon Labor Union and the author of Handbook for the Revolution: Building a More Perfect Union for the Twenty-First Century (Auwa Books, 2026), tells the story of organizing the first successful labor union for Amazon workers at the JFK8 Warehouse on Staten Island and offers advice for other workers seeking to organize. Photo: Cover art for Handbook for the Revolution: Building a More Perfect Union for the Twenty-First Century by Derrick Palmer. (Credit: Macmil...
May 04, 2026•27 min•Ep. 2292
Last Friday was "decision day" for high school seniors who are making plans to go to college in the fall. Listeners call in to share how much politics - or the job market - played into their decision (or their child's decision) on where to go. Photo: Stock image via fotosipsak/Getty Creative Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
May 04, 2026•6 min•Ep. 2296
Join WNYC and Theater Of War for a series of programs hosted by Kai Wright and TOW artistic director Bryan Doerries that re-imagine works of journalism in innovative and engaging ways, including performances by acclaimed actors. Actors Adepero Oduye ( 12 Years a Slave, Pariah, The Big Short ) and Jumaane Williams (NYC Public Advocate) performed “Our Longing for Inconvenience,” a recent essay written by Hanif Abdurraqib for The New Yorker. The essay helped kick off a conversation with WNYC listen...
May 03, 2026•57 min•Ep. 2295
Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. AI Creeps Into the Classroom (First) | PEN World Voices & Global Free Expression (Starts at 35:49) | Why Hospital Admission Is Getting Harder (Starts at 1:05:28) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
May 02, 2026•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 2294
Farnaz Fassihi , United Nations Bureau Chief for The New York Times, reports on the latest in the negotiations around the Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: A pro-Iran demonstration in Iran on March 31, 2026. (Credit: 110 and 135/Wikimedia Commons BY CC 1.0 ) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
May 01, 2026•39 min•Ep. 2287
Lawmakers in Albany are going back and forth over a bill that would require so-called "super speeders" — drivers who get caught speeding more than 16 times per year — to install speed governors in their car. J.K. Trotter , associate editor for Streetsblog NYC, explains the problem, the legislation, and his reporting on one NYPD cop who has racked up more than 500 speeding tickets. Photo: A speeding camera sign in Huntsville, Ala. pictured May 7, 2015. (Credit: formulanone/Wikimedia Commons CC BY...
May 01, 2026•28 min•Ep. 2290
The Department of Health and Human Services recently released new guidance that prioritizes childbirth over contraception. Mary Ziegler , UC Davis law professor and the author of Roe: The History of a National Obsession (Yale University Press, 2023) and Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction (Yale University Press, 2025), explains what's in the guidance and why she believes that the Trump administration is launching the most serious effort in decades to curb contraception. Photo: Birth ...
May 01, 2026•25 min•Ep. 2288
The New York Times released a list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters . Lindsay Zoladz , pop music critic at The New York Times and the writer of the music newsletter The Amplifier, talks about the luminaries on the list, and shares who she wishes could have been included but were left off. Photo: Taylor Swift performs onstage during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at BC Place on December 06, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Kevin Winter/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights...
May 01, 2026•17 min•Ep. 2289
The Supreme Court heard arguments on two cases where the Trump administration is attempting to end TPS, or Temporary Protected Status, for thousands of Haitians and Syrians living in the US. Ciarán Donnelly , senior vice president for International Programs at International Rescue Committee, and Daniel Berlin , policy director of Protection Pathways at the International Rescue Committee, offer their take on why the program should stay legal, as well as talk about the humanitarian crisis they say...
Apr 30, 2026•36 min•Ep. 2285
The Trump administration’s work requirement changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, officially took effect this month. Karen Yi , WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, explains what has changed for SNAP recipients in New York and New Jersey. Photo by Lance Cheung/U.S. Department of Agriculture via Wikimedia Commons: A farmer's market in Baltimore tests out wireless payment through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Hos...
Apr 30, 2026•36 min•Ep. 2283
Nicholas Enrich , former civil servant who worked at USAID under four administrations and the author of Into The Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID (Summit Books, 2026), talks about the effects of DOGE cuts on USAID, and of his efforts to publicize them and what the cuts meant for countries receiving U.S. assistance. Photo courtesy of United States Coast Guard via Wikimedia Commons: USAID packages being delivered by United States Coast Guard pe...
Apr 30, 2026•29 min•Ep. 2284
Halle Newman , writer, talks about her recent piece for Slate, "My Dad Used to Have All the Answers. Now He Asks ChatGPT," and the people who outsource their advice-giving to generative AI. Photo: close-up of a man using a laptop. Credit: SHVETS via Pexels. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Apr 30, 2026•10 min•Ep. 2286
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf , co-chief executive officer of PEN America, and Dinaw Mengestu , novelist and writer and president of PEN America, talk about free expression around the world and the World Voices Festival underway. Photo: A shelf of books. (Credit: Desnathas via Wikimedia Commons BY CC 4.0 ) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Apr 29, 2026•30 min•Ep. 2280
Listeners call in to share about an interesting or out of the box job they are hiring for, or a job they recently got that they'd like to talk about. Photo: Help wanted sign spotted at Gaudalupe in Austin, Texas, (Credit: Andreas Klinke Johannsen, Flickr/ CC BY-SA 2.0 ) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Apr 29, 2026•9 min•Ep. 2282
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 (Random House, 2019), offers legal analysis of today's arguments before the Supreme Court over Temporary Protected Status for certain refugees, plus reacts to the Louisiana redistricting decision. Photo: United States Supreme Court Building in Washington D.C., (Marielam1, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikime...
Apr 29, 2026•50 min•Ep. 2281
