

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

Apr 21, 2025 • 21min
Middle of the Night SCOTUS Ruling Stops Trump Policy In Its Tracks
The Trump administration's recent deportation efforts have raised questions about the law around citizenship and the removal of non-citizens from the country.On Today's Show:Quinta Jurecic, contributing writer at The Atlantic, fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, and senior editor at Lawfare, offers legal analysis of the Supreme Court's recent rulings on deportation and how the Trump administration is responding.

9 snips
Apr 18, 2025 • 22min
Trump vs. The Ivy League
President Trump has frozen some federal funds to Harvard University, and has a list of demands in order to unfreeze it.On Today's Show:Rick Seltzer, reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education, talks about the latest news in the escalating fight between the Ivy League and the Trump administration, including how Harvard would likely have used that money, and what it means for higher education in the U.S. more broadly.

Apr 17, 2025 • 22min
Trump's Deportations, Due Process, and the Federal Courts
There's an ongoing stand-off between a federal judge and the Trump administration over their deportation practices. On Today's Show: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), shares her legal and political analysis.

Apr 16, 2025 • 22min
The Personal and Political Considerations of IVF
The legal and ethical considerations behind in vitro fertilization have gotten more complicated since SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade.On Today's Show:Anna Louie Sussman, freelance journalist covering gender, economics, health, and reproduction, discusses her three-part series for The New York Times about human embryos, which explores the IVF process today, and what it means for parenthood, privacy and society.

Apr 15, 2025 • 19min
Trump, Zuckerberg And The Federal Anti-Trust Case Against Meta
The Federal Trade Commission will argue that the social media giant Meta, formerly Facebook, maintained a monopoly after it bought Instagram and WhatsApp.On Today's Show:Cristiano Lima-Strong, associate editor at Tech Policy Press, offers analysis of the FTC's antitrust case.

Apr 14, 2025 • 26min
Pressure Mounts for GOP to Deliver Trump’s Promises
As they head to recess, pressure mounts on Republican lawmakers to fulfill President Donald Trump's agenda.On Today's Show:Catie Edmondson, congressional correspondent for The New York Times, offers political analysis of the budget blueprints passed by Congress last week, including what tax and spending cuts might look like and why Republicans were far from united on this.

Apr 11, 2025 • 30min
Trump is Testing the Wall Street 'Confidence Game'
On Today's Show:William Cohan, co-founder of Puck News and author of many books, including Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon (Penguin Random House, 2022), offers analysis of the latest twists and turns of President Trump's trade war, and how Wall Street is reacting to the chaotic rollout — and rollback — of the tariffs.

Apr 10, 2025 • 23min
Sen. Gillibrand Says Dems Are Fighting Trump, But Clickbait Media Won't Cover It
Every month, listeners have the opportunity to speak directly to their lawmakers.On Today's Show:U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D NY), talks about her work in Washington, and the struggle by Democrats to hold the media's attention in their opposition to the Trump administration.

Apr 9, 2025 • 23min
SCOTUS Starts Evaluating The Constitution According to Trump
Today, we'll hear about the Supreme Court's recent decisions about certain Trump administration policies, and what it means for democracy.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, offers legal analysis of how the Supreme Court is acting as a check on the president so far (or not).

Apr 8, 2025 • 21min
Federal Cut to Rape Prevention; What Dr. Oz Said About Medicaid
Last week thousands of federal employees who work for health agencies like the CDC, NIH and FDA lost their jobs. On Today's Show:Selena Simmons-Duffin, health policy correspondent for NPR, reports on what kinds of jobs and programs were cut and where the impact will be felt.