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.
Episodes
Mihir Zaveri, New York Times reporter covering housing, and Brad Greenburg, executive director of the NYU Furman Center, look at Mayor Mamdani's housing policies and accomplishments during his first 100 days in office.
Photo: Mayor Mamdani delivers right to organize materials to tenants in East Harlem. Thursday, March 26, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
Jeff Coltin, editor-in-chief of City & State, and Timmy Facciola, independent journalist who runs the Substack "Judge Street Journal," recap the debate between the Democrats vying for a shot to take on current Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in NY-17, plus they discuss the biggest local issues, and how this district fits into this year's midterm election politics.
Photo: Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., greets a supporter during a "Bac...
Haidee Chu, reporter for THE CITY, and James Kaechele, certified master arborist and manager of the Parks Department’s Tree Time program, talk about the trees suddenly in bloom and where to find the best views.
"We Mapped Out Where the Best Spring Blooms Are In NYC" (The CITY)
photo: Riverside Park, April 2022 (Lisa Allison)
Ben Fritz, reporter at The Wall Street Journal, sheds light on the American entertainment industry's recent struggles as studios shoot more and more films and television productions outside the US.
Photo: Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, California. Credit: Thomas Wolf via Wikimedia Commons.
Linda Lee, NYC Council Member (District 23, Eastern Queens) and chair of the Finance Committee, talks about the City Council's budget proposals.
Photo: New York City Hall, 9 May 2007 (Momos, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
In observation of "Local News Day," Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media in the College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University, talks about the local news picture in New Jersey, and Penda Howell, co-founder, CEO and publisher of New Jersey Urban News in Newark, and Aaron Morrill, founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of the Jersey City Times, talk about their local news organizations and...
Listeners with differing relationships to religion and faith tell us why they do or do not believe in God.
Photo: Holy Cross Church in Frankfurt, Germany. Credit: A. Savin via Wikimedia Commons.
Ishaan Tharoor, foreign affairs journalist at The New Yorker, discusses Trump's approach to Iran, how the White House has 'never fully understood' the war it started, and what it could mean for the success, or failure, of the ceasefire.
Photo: Supporter of pro-Iranian Hezbollah hold pictures of assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, as they shout slogans in front of the office of the Lebanese Prime Minister in Beirut. (Pho...
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, and Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, talk about Mayor Mamdani's accomplishments and challenges as he approaches 100 days in office.
Photo: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner...
Ahead of the tax deadline next week, Kelly Phillips Erb, tax attorney, senior writer at Forbes, and author of the blog Taxgirl, discusses some of the most common IRS tax scams and offers advice on how to avoid them.
Photo: Income tax calculations. (Photo by stevepb/Pixabay).
Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham, national security law expert and former chief legal advisor for international law at U.S. Central Command, where she advised on operational and international legal issues related to the armed conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Eliav Lieblich, professor of international law at Tel-Aviv University, explain international law as it applies to the war with Iran, including the limits of conflict juri...
Margaret Sullivan, columnist at The Guardian and author of the Substack American Crisis, and Isabella Simonetti, media reporter at The Wall Street Journal, discuss the ambiguous future of AI in journalism and how publications are deciding what role the technology should play in their newsrooms.
Photo Credit: Stephan Röhlvia, CC-BY-SA 2.0
Michael Sol Warren, New Jersey reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about the proposal to hike New Jersey's sales taxes for non-residents during World Cup this summer and updates the status of the state budget.
Photo: The Panini America FIFA World Cup 2026™ Sticker Collection Album Cover for Canada and the United States, unveiled today at MetLife Stadium on December 03, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky...
Jackie Faherty, astrophysicist and science educator at the American Museum of Natural History, explains the Artemis II mission, which marks the first time since 1972 that a crewed spacecraft has traveled to the 'lunar neighborhood,' beyond Earth's gravitational sphere of influence. Plus, listeners call in with their questions about the mission, and the future of lunar exploration.
Photo: NASA astronaut and Artemis II missio...
President Trump recently said it was "not possible" for the federal government to fund Medicaid and Medicare, despite a White House budget proposal that boosts defense spending to $1.5 trillion. Maya Goldman, healthcare reporter at Axios, unpacks what that means for the millions of Americans who rely on those programs and the states who'll have to fill the gaps.
Photo: Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, D.C., Septem...
Alex Mayyasi, longtime contributor to NPR's Planet Money, and now author of the book, Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life (W. W. Norton & Company, 2026), and Mary Childs, a Planet Money co-host, share insights into making decisions on getting and spending money and why markets work the way they do.
EVENT: You can see Alex and Mary, plus their colleagues at Planet Money, Darian Woods and Amanda Aronczy...
Nick Reisman, POLITICO Albany bureau chief covering New York state government and politics and co-author of the New York Playbook, discusses the latest in state budget negotiations and the major sticking points, including early pension access for public school teachers and the buffer zones for protestors around religious institutions.
Photo: State Senators Liz Krueger, left, and Thomas O'Mara, right, debate a bill (S9631) that woul...
Listeners call in on the question, "where do you find meaning, ritual, and the sense that you are part of something larger than yourself outside of a religious context?"
Photo: a book club meeting. Credit: Alex Dos Santos via Pexels.
Sarah Fitzpatrick, staff writer at The Atlantic covering national security and the Department of Justice, discusses the latest news from the U.S. military, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recent firing of the Army’s top officer and more.
photo: The US department of Defense building is known under the metonym "The Pentagon" due to its shape. (Master Sgt. Ken Hammond, U.S. Air Force, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Two of our favorite segments for this week, in case you missed them.
How Gaza and Zionism Are Dividing Synagogues (First) | A Christian Perspective on the Politics of Immigration (Starts at :41)
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photo: Jerusalem, old city, historical religious sights (Ahed izhiman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
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