The Brian Lehrer Show

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, plus news that the mayor is suing social media companies over declining teenage mental health, and also being sued by the Legal Aid Society for not expanding housing voucher access to more low-income New Yorkers. 

While history looks back on both Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X as revolutionary figures in their own rights, their ideological roots led them to pursue different visions for Black American liberation. Peniel Joseph, professor of history and public affairs and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. (Basic Books, 2020), peels back behind the veneer of history, provides a deeper look at the ideologies they subscribed to throughout their lives, and reflects on how integrationism and Black nationalism have worked out in modern American society.

After last week's news of comments from Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on Biden's age and mental agility hit a nerve, Damon Linker, senior lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania and writer of the Substack newsletter “Notes from the Middleground,” explains his argument expressed in a recently published piece for The Atlantic that "Democrats Should Pick a New Presidential Candidate Now." What would the process for choosing that new candidate could look like? And who might the Democrats be considering?

While science doesn't back up the existence of the five love languages, listeners share how they use this particular theory of communication to create harmony within their relationships.

Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and editor, and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, recaps her conversation with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, plus the state of the campaign to replace Senator Bob Menendez and how New Jersey is preparing to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

It's been 130 days since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, which has reignited both violence in Gaza and discourse here in the United States about the relationship between state of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Marc Tracy, New York Times culture reporter, formerly a writer for Tablet, where he covered contemporary Jewish life, and editor of the essay collection, "Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame," discusses how recent events have impacted the way Jewish Americans think about their relationships to Israel, its government, its history, its people, and its treatment of its Palestinian neighbors.

Tom Suozzi won the special election in New York's 3rd congressional district, taking back his old seat and getting the Democrats one more vote in the House. Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, and Randi Marshall, editorial board writer and columnist for Newsday, share their analysis of the result and what it might signal to other swing districts.

Students in NYC are back to remote learning on a snow day. Parents and students share their experiences. Challenges and frustrations of remote learning are discussed. A conversation about remote learning and snow day fun. Concerns about lack of freedom of speech among younger generation.

Rhaina Cohen, producer and editor of NPR's Embedded and author, explores the importance of deep friendships and challenges the expectation that spouses are our closest relationships. She shares stories of individuals who have made life partners of friends. The podcast also discusses the dynamics and challenges of deep friendships, the significance of deep friendships, and the importance of legal protections for friendships.

Elizabeth Weise, national correspondent for USA TODAY covering climate change and the energy transition, talks about her year-long investigation into why and how communities across the United States are banning wind and solar energy, despite clean energy goals and the consequences of a warming climate.