The Brian Lehrer Show

Sue Donoghue, NYC Parks Commissioner, discusses summer park priorities such as water safety and tree planting. Addressing lifeguard shortages, improving restroom facilities, and enhancing public art installations in parks are also key topics of conversation.

Matthew Continetti discusses the evolution of conservatism over 100 years, comparing historical parallels between the 1920s and today, shifts in the Republican Party's outlook on foreign intervention, and the legacy of William F. Buckley. The conversation explores themes such as labor policies, immigration, diversity, and the changing demographics within the party.

Tamara Keith, Senior NPR White House correspondent, discusses fallout from attempted assassination of Trump, Democrats' concerns over Biden, and start of Republican National Convention. Topics include political tensions, investigation into security failure, Trump's rally comparisons to Nazi events, gun control discourse, impact on Biden campaign.

In this special edition of our weekend podcast, a walk down memory lane for WNYC's 100th birthday, plus a re-imagining of the station's first broadcast.Looking Back at 100 Years of WNYC  (First) | A Re-imagining of WNYC's First Broadcast (Starts at 1:44:25) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

There's one final chance to see the sun and street grid align as "Manhattanhenge" occurs one last time until next year. Jackie Faherty, astronomer and educator at the American Museum of Natural History, explains the science behind it and invites listeners to attend the party the museum is throwing to celebrate. 

Thursday was the last day of the NATO summit in Washington, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic alliance. Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist and the author of many books, including The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War (Simon & Schuster, 2020), joins to recap the event, including a breakdown of President Joe Biden's press conference and what the 2024 election might mean for the future of the alliance.

A critical electrical system that powers Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor is failing, and passengers are paying the price. Nolan Hicks, who covers city agencies, politics and transit, and now contributes to New York Magazine, explains what's gone wrong and why these problems have persisted.→  Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Power Supply Is Ancient and Failing | Curbed

Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, reports on New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez's bribery trial, where closing arguments have wrapped up and the jury is deliberating. 

In light of this current heat wave, listeners share their favorite bodies of water for a swim or just cooling off.

Astead Herndon, national politics reporter and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up,” discusses the latest political news headlines, including how Democratic voters are thinking about voting for President Joe Biden.