The Brian Lehrer Show

The federal government is headed for a shutdown after President-elect Trump and Elon Musk appear to have scuttled a funding deal. Kadia Goba, politics reporter for Semafor, reports on what's going on, and whether there might be a solution to prevent the shutdown.   

Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator (D NY), talks about her work in Washington, including her push for President Biden to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, President-elect Trump's nominations, drones and more.

Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society and co-founder of the Health Care for All New York Campaign, discusses the issue of health insurance claim denials and offers advice to New Yorkers for navigating today's health care system. 

The holiday season can be a hard time of year for people who are grieving over friends and family members who have died. Listeners call in to offer personal tributes to their loved ones they lost this year. 

As our centennial series continues, Philip Olson, CFP,  and Julia Lorenz-Olson, AFC, hosts of Two Cents, an educational PBS digital show about personal finance, look at this century of holiday shopping, as Christmas became more commercial.

Shop Listener is back for the 2024 holiday season. Listeners call in to shout out the "experience" gifts their businesses sell ahead of the holidays, for a Brian Lehrer Show listener-sourced gift guide.

Gilbert Cruz, editor at The New York Times Book Review, shares the five fiction and five non-fiction books from this year that made it into The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2024. 

Mayor Adams holds one off-topic press conference per week, where reporters can ask him questions on any subject. Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, recaps what he talked about at this week's event, including the Campaign Finance Board's decision to not provide his campaign matching funds, increased numbers of injuries and deaths due to police chases, and more. 

Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate in economics and New York Times columnist, reflects on his impactful career. He discusses the evolving public sentiment from hope to distrust, influenced by events like the Iraq War and the 2008 financial crisis. Krugman analyzes the rise of cacistocracy and the populist movements on both ends of the political spectrum. He also addresses misconceptions surrounding inflation and examines healthcare challenges in the U.S., offering insights and hope for the future amidst a complicated political landscape.

As 2024 comes to a close, listeners call in with tributes to their favorite musicians, writers, actors and other public figures who passed away in 2024.