Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

Over the weekend, there were several developments in the stories about military plans accidentally shared with a journalist, and on Democrats' political priorities in Congress.On Today's Show:Jim Newell, Slate's senior politics writer, breaks down the latest national politics headlines since Friday.

A doctoral student at Tufts University was detained in an arrest that was caught on video and shared widely, and accused of supporting Hamas by the Department of Homeland Security. On today's show: Lindsay Nash, associate and clinical professor of law at Cardozo Law and co-director of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic, offers legal analysis of this and other arrests of pro-Palestinian immigrants.

Columbia University agreed to the Trump administration's demands in order to restore $400 million dollars in federal funds, leading some faculty members to protest and take legal action. On today's show: David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the forthcoming book The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2025), reports on the latest in the school's relationship with the administration—and what it might mean for academic freedom at schools across the country. 

Members of President Trump's national security team accidentally texted detailed plans for a military strike to an American journalist, opening the administration up to criticisms about its handling of classified information. On Today's Show:U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill (D, NJ-11), a former active duty Navy pilot, talks about the scandal, her work in Washington, and more.

When it comes to bird flu, the nation's top public health official wants to let the infection burn through flocks to identify birds with high immunity.On Today's Show:Apoorva Mandavilli, reporter for The New York Times, focusing on science and global health, discusses the government's approach to bird flu, and why veterinary scientists say that RFK Jr.'s approach will likely cost more than it helps. 

On Friday, Columbia University's administration agreed to demands from the Trump administration over the institution's responses to pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Columbia faculty members Joseph Howley, associate professor of Classics, and Ester Fuchs, professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science, weigh in. Then Sarah Brown and Kate Bellows from The Chronicle of Higher Education bring their reporting on the situation at Columbia and at other colleges and universities around the country where Trump has attempted to exercise control over issues including campus speech, DEI and Title IX. 

President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at downsizing the Education Department, leaving many who hold federal student aid with major questions about repayment. On today's show: Annie Nova, who covers personal finance for CNBC, unpacks the latest news about the Ed Department and the predicament for student borrowers.

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.

With Trump squaring off against the federal court system, which has attempted to block some of his actions, we look at the state of the judiciary branch.On Today's Show: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.

The federal government has issued a list of demands to Columbia University that they say it must comply with in order to restore hundreds of millions of dollars of fundingOn Today's Show:Jake Offenhartz, New York City reporter for The Associated Press, talks about the nature of the ultimatum and the contentious relationship between the university and the Trump administration.