The Brian Lehrer Show - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

The Brian Lehrer Show — News
The Brian Lehrer Show

Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.

Copyright: © WNYC

Latest Episodes:

The Nepalese Community in Queens Mourns Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

Suresh Shahi, editor for Khasokhas, talks about how the Nepalese community in Queens is coping with devastating floods in Nepal, and how they are helping friends and family members back home.

Photo: People salvage belongings from their home following flash floods at Devighat in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 31, 2026. Nepal was burying on August 31 some of the hundreds of bodies retrieved after a deadly, tsunami-like flood crashed through the Himalayan region, sweeping away villages and leaving thousands still missing. (Arun SANKAR / AFP via Getty Images)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brian Lehrer Weekend: Meta Settlement; Sports Biz; Dolly Parton Aug 29, 2026

Show notes

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.

Inside Meta's settlement over social media addiction (First) | The big business of sports grows even bigger (Starts near 49:30) | Tributes to the late Dolly Parton (Starts near 1:12:40)

If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

US-Canada Trade War Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Politico’s Ottawa bureau chief and the lead author of Canada Playbook, talks about the escalation in the trade war with Canada.

Photo: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference in Ottawa, Ontario, on August 22, 2026 after trade talks with the US collapsed. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP via Getty Images)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lawsuits Over City-Owned Grocery Stores and Paraprofessional Pay Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, talks about the lawsuits against the Mamdani administration by a group representing minority-owned grocery stores, which argue that the city's plan to open city-owned grocery stores will hurt their businesses. Then, Walter Wuthmann, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering public safety and the legal system, explains the details of the Mamdani administration's lawsuit to try to stop a law passed by the City Council that would give public school paraprofessionals $10K bonuses—and what it has to do with the way the city bargains with all of its public sector unions.

Photo: Mayor Mamdani Attends a Bangladeshi Humanitarian Aid and Leadership Outreach Back to School Event in Queens. Thursday, August 27, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Time Cost of Bureaucracy Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Annie Lowrey, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time―and How to Fix It (Ecco, 2026), looks at the data on the amount of time Americans spend filling out paperwork and following up it to access things they are entitled to—and what could lessen the burden.

Photo: Bundles of old files in an old filing cabinet in the attic of the Entiat National Fish Hatchery in Washington in the United States. (Photo by Julia Pinnix/USFWS via Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

50 Years of the 'Metropolitan Diary' Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the New York Times' "Metropolitan Diary" column. Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera and son of Metropolitan Diary founder, Arthur Gelb, and Ed Shanahan, editor of the New York Times' "Metropolitan Diary" column, talk about the history of the column and why it's become such an institution. Plus, listeners share their own "Metropolitan Diary" stories.

Photo: Times Square in 1977. (Photo by Derzsi Elekes Andor via Wikimedia Commons)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What's in the Meta Settlement Over Child Safety Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter for The Washington Post, talks about what's in the landmark settlement with Meta over child safety on its apps, like Facebook and Instagram, and what it could mean for social media in the future.

Image: Mark Zuckerberg F8 2018 Keynote (Anthony Quintano from Honolulu, HI, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mamdani's BQE Repair Plans Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Stephen Nessen, transportation reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom, talks about Mayor Mamdani's plan to repair the crumbling BQE.

Photo: View southwest along Interstate 278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade from Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, June 2024 (Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Good and Bad of Colleges Today Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Neil Gross, sociology professor at Colby College in Maine, and author of What Happened to College?: How Politics Broke Higher Education and What We Can Do to Fix It (Simon & Schuster, 2026), talks about his research into student attitudes toward politics and education and what's working to curb hyper-partisanship.

photo: At Columbia, the name "Alma Mater" refers to this statue in front of Low Library, and many legends are associated with it. The Low Library, in the dead center of the campus, is today not an academic library, but an administration building, 2011 (InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Call Your Senator: Sen. Andy Kim on MediKids, Iran and More Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

Andy Kim, U.S. Senator (D-NJ), talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey, including his plan for children's healthcare, the war in Iran, and the state of a local immigration facility.

Photo: Senator Andy Kim (credit: U.S. Senate Photographic Studio)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Related Podcasts