The Brian Lehrer Show

Andrew Tangel, enterprise reporter covering aviation safety and regulation for The Wall Street Journal, breaks down the latest news about the unidentified drones flying over the tri-state area and what the federal response has been so far. 

Liz Krueger, New York State Senator (D, WF - 28th, Manhattan's East Side) and chair of the Finance Committee, makes the argument that fossil fuel companies, not taxpayers, should be the ones to pay to clean up the greenhouse gases they released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, plus other ways New York State legislators are battling climate change.

Brittany Kriegstein, WNYC and Gothamist reporter, shares her coverage of the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, as well as the less reported stabbing death of a migrant teenager near Wall St. earlier this month, plus her experience covering shootings across New York City, to dissect how important a victim's profile is to whether or not justice is served.

Rachel Cohrs Zhang, Chief Washington correspondent for STAT News, dives into the fallout from the tragic shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, igniting a national conversation on healthcare reform. She tackles the complexities and inequalities in the U.S. health system, highlighting life expectancy disparities and the Affordable Care Act's subsidy negotiations. The discussion also covers the blame game in healthcare, pharmacy pricing challenges, and rising concerns over Medicare Advantage plans amidst political dynamics. Cohrs sheds light on the pressing need for actionable solutions.

As our centennial series continues, Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University and former press secretary for Governor McGreevey, looks back at a century of the Star-Ledger, once the Newark Star-Ledger, which ends its print edition in February.

Listeners call in to share any news they learned at holiday parties over the weekend...and which topics in the news were the most discussed. 

After a contentious City Council hearing on a proposal to license all e-bikes and scooters, Gale Brewer,  NYC Council Member (District 6, Central Park, Lincoln Square, Upper West Side, Clinton), talks about the issue and an alternative plan that would focus on commercial e-bikes.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.The Latest From Damascus (First) | Analysis of the Daniel Penny Verdict (Starts at 27:30) | Shop Listener 2024: The Suburbs (Starts at 48:00) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Radiolab and the International Astronomical Union recently announced the seven finalist names for their Quasi-Moon Naming Contest. Latif Nasser, co-host of Radiolab from WNYC, and Kelly Blumenthal, member of the International Astronomical Union, explain the phenomenon of quasi-moons, and walk us through the possible names rooted in mythology from cultures around the globe.

As our centennial series continues, Valerie Paley, former chief historian at New York Historical, now senior vice president and director of its library, as well as the founding director of its Center for Women’s History, talks about several of NYC's Christmas traditions that date back to the early and mid-20th century, like the Macy's parade and the Rockefeller tree, as listeners share their families' favorites.