The Brian Lehrer Show

Katherine Wu, staff writer for The Atlantic, explains how the Trump administration's cuts to research grants has already — and will continue to — impact scientific progress in the United States.=>"The Breaking of American Science" (The Atlantic, Feb. 14, 2025)

European leaders have called an emergency meeting after President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine is to blame for Russia’s invasion of it. Richard Stengel, former Under Secretary of State during the Obama administration, political analyst at MSNBC and author of Information Wars: How We Lost the Battle Against Disinformation (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2019), breaks down the latest as Trump seemingly pivots away from European allies and towards President Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Stephen Nessen, transportation reporter for the WNYC Newsroom, breaks down the latest news that President Donald Trump has intervened to halt congestion pricing in Manhattan. Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University, co-host of the podcast FAQNYC and the author of How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams (Cambridge University Press, 2024), talks about the latest national and local political news.

Yoni Appelbaum, historian, a deputy executive editor of The Atlantic and the author of Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity (Random House, 2025), argues that progressive policies have unintentionally restricted mobility in America, making it harder for people to move toward opportunity and reinforcing economic inequality.→ How Progressives Froze the American Dream 

Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter covering Democratic politics and campaigns across the country, and the author of Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats' Campaigns to Defeat Trump (Viking, 2021), shares his reporting on how voters, interest groups, and unions are frustrated with Democratic politicians in the early weeks of Trump's second term, while Christopher Fasano, former attorney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and organizing committee member of the NTEU 335, discusses how federal workers are fighting back Elon Musk's gutting of federal agencies. 

Robert P. Jones, president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: And the Path to a Shared American Future (Simon & Schuster, 2023), Ryan Burge, associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, research director for Faith Counts, and the author of The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going (Fortress Press, 2021), and Konstantin Toropin, Military.com's Pentagon correspondent, discuss the overlap and contradictions in the Trump administrations policies toward identity and religious affiliation.

As Mayor Adams faces pressure to step down over allegations of a deal to have his federal corruption charges dropped, Gov. Hochul met with City leaders to discuss his future. Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, and Jimmy Vielkind, New York State Issues reporter for WNYC, talk about the latest developments.

Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist and the author of many nonfiction books and his latest, a novel, A Capital Calamity (Miniver Press, 2024), recaps the recent Trump administration officials' visits to Europe, where Vice President JD Vance said European leaders should not shun far-right political parties and more.

Benji Backer, founder and CEO of Nature Is Nonpartisan and visiting fellow at The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, offers his right of center take on how to combat climate change, and how he believes he can influence President Trump's energy secretary to be both pro-energy and pro-environment.

As our centennial series continues, Lisa Stulberg, associate professor of the Sociology of Education at NYU, and Anthony Chen, associate professor of sociology and political science at Northwestern University, look at the last century of admission preferences at colleges and universities.