

Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast
WNYC Studios
Daily thoughtful conversation about the latest news and politics.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 27, 2025 • 22min
Trump and Rubio Halt Most Foreign Aid
Looking back at the first full week of Trump's second term, which includes moves on immigration, foreign aid, and more.On Today's Show:Jill Colvin, national political reporter for The Associated Press, talks about the latest national political news.

Jan 24, 2025 • 21min
What Biden and Bannon Are Both Warning About
With so many Silicon Valley CEOs changing their policies to align with the new Trump administration, we explore how money, power and technology have earned certain 'oligarchs' a seat at the president's table. On Today's Show:Ashley Parker, staff writer at The Atlantic, former Washington Post White House bureau chief, talks about the close relationship between the incoming Trump administration and tech billionaires.

Jan 23, 2025 • 30min
How The Feds May Come After Your Private Company’s Diversity Policy
On today's show: Russell Contreras, Justice and Race reporter at Axios, discusses President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order revoking decades of diversity and affirmative action practices in the federal government and how it might impact the private sector.

Jan 22, 2025 • 27min
Trump’s Panama Canal Issue Explained
On today's show: Jason Marczak, vice president and senior director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council, and Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst, vice president for Global Studies and Fellows at New America and host of the Audible/Fresh Produce Media podcast "In the Room with Peter Bergen," offer analysis of President Trump's statements in his inaugural address about taking back the Panama Canal.

Jan 21, 2025 • 25min
Pod Save America Hosts on Trump Pardoning Cop-Attackers
Yesterday's inauguration of President Trump began a whirlwind day of executive orders, unofficial speeches and attention grabbing gestures. On Today's Show:Jon Favreau, host of Pod Save America, Offline with Jon Favreau, and co-founder of Crooked Media, and Jon Lovett, host of Pod Save America and co-founder of Crooked Media, round up the latest news from Washington.

Jan 20, 2025 • 24min
How MLK Fought Northern Segregation, And How He Might View Today's Inauguration
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we present a live event exploring King's legacy, and what the lessons of his activism can offer us today. On Today's Show:For the centennial series "100 Years of 100 Things," Rev. Jacqueline Lewis, senior minister and public theologian at the Middle Collegiate Church, and author of Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness that Can Heal the World (Harmony, 2021), and Jeanne Theoharis, professor of political science at Brooklyn College, and the author of many books on the civil rights and Black Power movements and the contemporary politics of race, reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and legacy, on the day that honors him.

Jan 17, 2025 • 22min
Clocks Tick Closer to a TikTok Ban on Sunday
The popular social media app TikTok could be banned for U.S. users starting this Sunday, when a new law goes into effect. On Today's Show:Social media reporter for The Information, Sylvia Varnham O'Regan discusses the latest news, including how President-elect Donald Trump may react to the ban, and 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), offers legal analysis of the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ban.

Jan 16, 2025 • 24min
Alcohol's Link With Cancer, According To The US Surgeon General
The US Surgeon General has been raising the alarm about the health risks of alcohol, as well as what he calls the 'loneliness epidemic.' On Today's Show:U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy talks about the recent report highlighting the cancer risk of even moderate alcohol consumption, and other public health issues as he prepares to leave his post at the end of the Biden administration.

Jan 15, 2025 • 23min
Julian Zelizer Argues In Defense of Partisanship
Political pundits frequently express concerns about the intense partisanship in our political culture. But could our divisions be productive and useful?On Today's Show:Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, CNN political analyst, NPR contributor, and author of several books, including his latest, In Defense of Partisanship (Columbia Global Reports, 2025), shares his analysis of politics today, and shares some key presidential inauguration speeches from the last 100 years.

Jan 14, 2025 • 26min
Sens. Cotton and Gillibrand Spar at Pete Hegseth Confirmation Hearing
On Tuesday, the Republican-led Senate will hold confirmation hearings for confirmation hearings for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary. On Today's Show:Hear lines of questioning from Sen. Cotton and Sen. Gillibrand at the hearings, plus analysis afterward from Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law and the author of several books, including Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump (Princeton University Press, 2021)