

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

Mar 21, 2024 • 27min
Council Members on 'Community-Controlled' Affordable Housing
NYC Council Members Carmen De La Rosa (District 10, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill), chair of the council's labor committee, and Pierina Ana Sanchez (District 14, University Heights South-Morris Heights, Mount Hope, Fordham Heights, University Heights North-Fordham, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge-Marble Hill), chair of the council's housing committee, share details of their campaign for a capital investment that would direct more money toward permanently affordable housing.

Mar 21, 2024 • 16min
A Tour of New York City's Endangered Languages
Ross Perlin, co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) and the author of Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York (Grove, 2024), talks about the many languages spoken in New York that are at risk of disappearing.EVENTS:
Virtual eventThursday, Mar. 21, 6:00pmQueens Public LibraryA “Literary Thursdays” series eventVirtual Q&A and book talk
Virtual eventThursday, Mar. 28, 12:00pmLive from New AmsterdamIn conversation with Russell Shorto
In-person eventWednesday, Apr. 10, 6:30pmSouth Street Seaport Museum
In-person eventThursday, Apr. 18, 7:00pmNYPL World Literature Festival

Mar 21, 2024 • 23min
Mehdi Hasan on Gaza, US Politics & More
Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, columnist for The Guardian and former MSNBC host, talks about leaving MSNBC and starting his new network, plus the war in Gaza and long-term solutions and the U.S. presidential primary campaigns.

Mar 20, 2024 • 35min
Are Student Athletes Employees?
Two cases before The National Labor Relations Board —one from Dartmouth College and another from the University of Southern California — are questioning whether student athletes have the right to unionize. Billy Witz, reporter covering college sports for The New York Times, reports on the story and the larger implications any decision on either case could have for student athletes everywhere.
*Note: Caitlin Clark is the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer.

Mar 20, 2024 • 11min
Caitlin Clark and This Moment in Women's Sports
With the NCAA basketball tournament, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, sports writer and co-author of Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League (Hachette, 2021), talks about the effect of Caitlin Clark on basketball and women's sports.
*Note: Caitlin Clark is the current leading NCAA Division I scorer, passing Pete Maravich's record. Two other women players scored more points: Pearl Moore for a non-Division I team and Lynette Woodard who played for the University of Kansas before the NCAA included women's sports.

Mar 20, 2024 • 28min
Reporters Ask the Mayor: Subway Safety, Dissatisfaction and A New Lawsuit
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 on subway safety, a sexual assault allegation against the mayor and more news.

Mar 20, 2024 • 36min
How Anti-Semitism on the Right and Left Threatens the Golden Era of the Jewish Diaspora
Franklin Foer, staff writer at The Atlantic, discusses how rising anti-Semitism on both sides of the political spectrum threatens Jewish Americans safety and prosperity, and the consequences for our broader republic.

Mar 19, 2024 • 43min
Responding to Fear on the Subways
Harry Siegel, editor at The City, "FAQ NYC" podcast co-host, and Daily News columnist, and Dean Meminger, reporter and anchor for Spectrum News/NY1 covering criminal justice, talk about the city and state responses to crime and mental illness on the subways.

Mar 19, 2024 • 29min
Chef Andrés in the Kitchen and in Conflict Zones
José Andrés, a Michelin-starred chef, Emmy-winning television host, founder of the non-profit organization World Central Kitchen and the author of Zaytinya: Delicious Mediterranean Dishes from Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon (Ecco, 2024), talks about his work on the ground in Ukraine and Gaza with World Central Kitchen and his new cookbook.

Mar 19, 2024 • 20min
New York's (and America's) First Offshore Wind Farm
On Thursday, the South Fork Wind project was completed, comprised of 12 turbines about 30 miles off Montauk, that have the ability to power 70,000 homes. Marie French, who covers energy and the environment for POLITICO New York, talks about the impact of New York's first wind farm.


