

The Brian Lehrer Show
WNYC
Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 21, 2025 • 19min
Why You Were Protesting at 'No Kings'
House Speaker Mike Johnson called this weekend's "No Kings" protests "hate America" rallies. Listeners call in to share what they were rallying for and against, and respond to Johnson's characterization of the marches.

Oct 20, 2025 • 13min
10-Question Quiz: Late-Night Talk Show Hosts
Listeners try their hand at a quiz with questions about iconic late-night talk show hosts.

Oct 20, 2025 • 7min
Pets in the City: Rates & Other Small Furry Creatures
Throughout this membership drive we are talking about the animals we love and care for in our homes -- our pets. Today, Anne Levin, executive director of the Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition and co-founder of the Brooklyn Cat Cafe, talks about rats and other small furry creatures as pets.

Oct 20, 2025 • 15min
Adam Gopnik's New York Stories
Adam Gopnik, staff writer for The New Yorker, and author of The Real Work, talks about his one-man play, "Adam Gopnik's New York" in performance at Lincoln Center through Sunday.

Oct 20, 2025 • 16min
30 Issues in 30 Days: The Case for a Free CUNY
Andrew Gounardes, New York State Senator (D, District 26 - Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, the Columbia Street Waterfront District, Dumbo, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, Gowanus, Park Slope, Red Hook, South Slope, and Sunset Park), makes the case for a free CUNY system, which he has advocated for in Albany.

Oct 18, 2025 • 44min
Brian Lehrer Weekend: Sen. Kim on Gateway Defunding, Moving NYC Local Elections to Presidential Election Years, Cats
Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.Sen. Kim on Gateway Defunding (First) | 30 Issues in 30 Days: Moving Local NYC Elections to Presidential Election Years (Starts at 17:15) | Pets in the City: Cats (Starts at 35:43)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Oct 17, 2025 • 11min
10-Question Quiz: City Critters
Listeners try their hand at a quiz with questions about city critters.

Oct 17, 2025 • 18min
30 Issues in 30 Days: Are Free Buses the Best Bang for Our Transportation Buck?
Charles Komanoff, transit activist and mathematician, and Eric Goldwyn, assistant professor and program director at NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management, debate whether free buses, which are a pillar of Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani's transportation plan, are the best way to both speed up the notoriously slow bus system and best help New Yorkers struggling with the high cost of living. Plus, they discuss Andrew Cuomo's proposal to shift management of New York City Transit to the city from the state.

Oct 17, 2025 • 7min
Pets in the City: Cats
Throughout this membership drive we are talking about the animals we love and care for in our homes -- our pets. Today, Maxwell Branch, vice president of community programs at Flatbush Cats, talks about cats and the people who share their homes with them.

Oct 17, 2025 • 14min
The Supreme Court's New Term
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: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration (Random House, 2019) , previews the cases the Supreme Court will take up in its new term, including arguments on a redistricting case they are hearing arguments on this week, and offers analysis of just how much presidential power the court will afford to President Trump in upcoming decisions.


