

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

Jul 2, 2025 • 21min
How the Domestic Policy Bill Will Mean Millions More Will Go Uninsured
Today, the domestic funding bill that President Trump has been pushing through Congress is undergoing a vote in the House of Representatives.On Today's Show:Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent, KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast, talks about the House and Senate budget bills and what they would mean for Americans' access to health care.

Jul 1, 2025 • 21min
When SCOTUS Rules, Look For Ketanji Brown Jackson's Dissents
It's been an impactful term at the Supreme Court this year, with cases impacting many facets of presidential power and checks-and-balances. On Today's Show:Ruth Marcus, contributor to The New Yorker, former columnist for The Washington Post and the author of Supreme Ambition: Brett Kavanaugh and the Conservative Takeover (Simon & Schuster, 2019), talks about Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and takes stock of the Supreme Court's latest blockbuster decisions.

Jun 30, 2025 • 21min
Inside Senate Republicans' Jockeying On Trump's Big Beautiful Bill
Now that President Trump's major legislative priorities are before the Senate, we hear how lawmakers are staking their claim on the Republican agenda.On Today's Show:Nicholas Wu, POLITICO congressional reporter, talks about the latest national political news, as the Senate votes on the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" which Congress is aiming to pass by July 4.

Jun 26, 2025 • 20min
Planned Parenthood and Due Process Lose At The Supreme Court
Today was another Supreme Court decision day, with tomorrow's decisions expected to drop, marking the end of the current term.On Today's Show:Kate Shaw, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, co-host of the Supreme Court podcast 'Strict Scrutiny' and a contributing opinion writer with The New York Times, talks about the Supreme Court's decision to allow the Trump administration to deport migrants to countries where they have no connections, and other opinions that were dropped today.

Jun 25, 2025 • 11min
Zohran Mamdani Talks With Me About His Historic Democratic Primary Victory
Yesterday's primary for the Democratic nomination for the NYC mayor's race yielded decisive success a young, progressive, populist candidate.On Today's Show:Zohran Mamdani, New York State assembly member (D, D-36, Queens), talks about his big win in last night's primary for New York City mayor.

Jun 23, 2025 • 20min
Cuomo vs. Mamdani Top Two In Dem Primary Join For Final Arguments
The primary for NYC's mayoral nominees wraps up tomorrow, with close polls and a broad field of Democratic candidates.On Today's Show:Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and then NY State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani make their final pitches for voters to rank them first at the ballot box.

Jun 20, 2025 • 23min
Trump’s “Strategic Ambiguity” (Or Is It?) On Iran
With the conflict continuing to develop between Israel and Iran, we consider the role of the United States and President Trump. On Today's Show: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), offers analysis of the Iran-Israel conflict and discusses his recent column appraising the odds of the United States joining the fight.

Jun 19, 2025 • 20min
Dr. Who Treats Trans Kids: What SCOTUS Ruling Means for Families
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court's decided to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for minors in the United States v. Skrmetti case. On Today's Show:Jack Turban, MD, MHS, adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist and author of Free to Be: Understanding Kids & Gender Identity (Atria Books, 2024), offers his perspective on the ruling and how it will affect transgender children and their families.

Jun 18, 2025 • 22min
Legal Analysis SCOTUS OKs States Blocking Care For Trans Kids
This morning, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for transgender children.On Today's Show:Kate Shaw, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, co-host of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny and a contributing opinion writer with the New York Times, discusses the latest news coming out of the Supreme Court, including the latest decision to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for transgender children, the legal battle over the Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard in California — currently headed to a federal appeals court — and President Donald Trump's use of "the shadow docket," which has made it so SCOTUS often votes in his favor.

Jun 17, 2025 • 21min
Stories of People Affected By Halting Historic AIDS Program
Nations that once relied on USAID funding to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS have been impacted by President Trump's cuts to the program. On Today's Show:Jon Cohen, senior correspondent with Science, reports on how countries that suffer high rates of HIV/AIDS are coping now that USAID funding has dried up, and how local governments, especially in places like Lesotho, are attempting to figure out solutions. Plus, Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, director of ICAP at Columbia University, professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, executive vice president of Columbia Global, and lead of the New York City Preparedness & Response Institute, discusses ICAP's HIV/AIDS treatment under the Trump administration.