The Brian Lehrer Show

The Trump administration is intent on downsizing the Education Department, leading to confusion for the millions of people who hold federal student aid. Annie Nova, who covers personal finance for CNBC, reports on the state of Trump's Department of Ed and the predicament for student borrowers.

Ishaan Tharoor, foreign affairs columnist at The Washington Post, and the author of the Today's World View newsletter and column, breaks down the latest news in global headlines and listeners with ties to countries outside the U.S. call in to talk share the news from abroad.

Brandon Mancilla, UAW Region 9A director, talks about his union's diverse local membership, which includes auto workers, as well as public defenders and workers at museums, movie theaters, higher education, and nonprofits; the effects of Trump administration cuts; and their ranked-choice-voting campaign in the mayoral primary.

Listeners call in to share their favorite hidden gems and secret spots that they frequent around New York and New Jersey, including parks, views, shops and buidlings.

Shane Goldmacher, national political correspondent for The New York Times covering the major developments, trends and forces shaping American politics, shares his reporting on how the Trump administration is attempting to sabotage Democrats' operations, and how it could affect elections and Democrats' ability to gain power in the future.

As our centennial series continues, Liza Donnelly, writer and cartoonist at The New Yorker and the author of Very Funny Ladies: The New Yorker's Women Cartoonists, 1925-2021 (Prometheus, 2022) and the Substack "Seeing Things", talks about the evolution of the "New Yorker cartoon" now on display in an exhibit at the Society of Illustrators.=>See Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration curated by Liza Donnelly at The Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, through May 3.=>To see the cartoons, check out the slideshows here: https://societyillustrators.org/event/the-history-of-the-new-yorker-a-conversation-with-liza-donnelly-and-michael-maslin/ https://societyillustrators.org/event/drawn-from-the-new-yorker-a-centennial-celebration/https://www.newyorker.com/gallery/a-centenary-cartoon-collection 

Eli Dvorkin, editorial and policy director at the Center for an Urban Future, talks about their ideas for how NYC can retain young families.→ 5 Ideas for Retaining NYC's Young Families

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 the mayoral campaign and fundraising numbers, subway safety and more.

Listeners north of the border weigh in on the impact of Donald Trump's second term on their country's politics.

Heather Cox Richardson, professor of American history at Boston College and author of "Letters from an American" on Substack and several books, including Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America (Viking, 2023), offers a historian's take on the first weeks of the second Trump presidency.