The Brian Lehrer Show

Latest Episodes:

Brian Lehrer Weekend: Divisions Within the DSA; Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty; The Elizabeth Street Garden Aug 22, 2026

Show notes

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

Divisions Within Political Movements: The DSA (First) | Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty (Starts at 34:26) | The Elizabeth Street Garden, and More Housing News (Starts at 1:02:02)

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

Photo: New York City Democratic Socialists (NYC-DSA) hold a rally in Union Square marking the start of a campaign to tax the rich and win universal childcare on November 16, 2025, in New York City, United States. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu 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.

Summer Friday: Elie Mystal; Kimberlé Crenshaw; Mason Williams; Rossana Rosado Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

On this Summer Friday, we've put together some of our favorite recent interviews, including:

Elie Mystal, justice correspondent and columnist for The Nation magazine and bestselling author of Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America (The New Press, 2025), looks back at the recently concluded Supreme Court term.
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, civil rights scholar, architect of Critical Race Theory and the concept of intersectionality, professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Columbia Law School, cofounder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum, and the author of Backtalker: An American Memoir (Simon & Schuster), talks about how key moment's in her life contributed to her groundbreaking legal concepts.
Mason Williams, historian and associate professor at Williams College, and the author of City of Fortune: Inequality and the Making of Contemporary New York (W.W. Norton, 2026), argues that New York's recovery from the 1970s fiscal crisis ushered in an era of deepening inequality.
Rossana Rosado, a commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), CUNY trustee, former New York Secretary of State, former editor, CEO and publisher of El Diario-La Prensa, and the author of memoir Bronx Attitude (Elite Voices/Halo, 2026), talks about her life and work.

These interviews were lightly polished up and edited for time, the original versions are available here:

Elie Mystal on the Supreme Court & the Constitution (July 7, 2026)

Kimberlé Crenshaw's Life and Work (May 11, 2026)

Today's Inequality & NYC's Post-1970s Recovery (July 7, 2026)

Rossana Rosado's Bronx Attitude (July 15, 2026)

Photo: People resting on grass at Sheep Meadow: Central Park, N.Y.C., 1997 (LBM1948, 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.

China's 'Soft Power' Strategy and AI Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

For the first time, China was viewed more positively than the U.S. globally in a recent Pew report. Adam Segal, Ira A. Lipman Chair in Emerging Technologies and National Security and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council of Foreign Relations, talks about China's foreign policy and their use of "soft power," with AI tech, and more.

Photo: Tourists visit the Qiansimen Jialing River Bridge at night to view and photograph the illuminated night scenery along the Yangtze River waterfront, August 4, 2026 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Li Wenming/VCG 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.

Students Weigh in on School Issues Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

New York Daily News education and youth issues reporter Cayla Bamberger talks about the results of the DOE's recent survey of NYC public school students and what over 357,000 students think about issues ranging from boredom to safety to vaping.

Photo: Choir students from New York City public school 22 attend the ceremonial swearing in of Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s 112th mayor at City Hall on Thursday January 1, 2026. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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

New York City Feels the Immigration Crackdown Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Rommel H. Ojeda, senior community correspondent and engagement reporter for Documented, and Ralph Thomassaint Joseph, Caribbean communities correspondent for Documented, talk about how people, communities, and businesses across New York City are feeling the federal immigration crackdown.

Photo: Haitians living in Brooklyn join local politicians and others at an Immigrant Resource Fair and Know Your Rights Event in an area of Brooklyn known as 'Little Haiti' on July 28, 2026, in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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

Bike Thefts and How to Prevent Them Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Bike thefts spike in summer. WNYC and Gothamist reporter Brittany Kriegstein, talks about the stats and the challenges in preventing having a bike stolen, as listeners share their suggestions.

Photo: A woman rides her bike on a Manhattan street. (Photo by FaceMePLS/Flickr 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.

Speak with the Speaker: E-Bike Regulation, the City Budget and More Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Julie Menin, City Council Speaker (D-5, Upper East Side) talks about the latest developments in the City Council and takes calls from listeners, in this debut installment of a new monthly series.

Photo: Speaker Julie Menin and City Council Announce Park-Webster Neighborhood Plan (Photo by Alex Krales/NYC Council Media Unit)

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

Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Samantha Max, reporter covering public safety for WNYC/Gothamist, breaks down the latest in the Luigi Mangione case, including his guilty plea in federal court on Friday, his push to dismiss the state murder charges on double jeopardy grounds, and the postponement of his state trial.

Photo: Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Supreme Court on June 17, 2026 in New York City. Mangione is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024. (Steven Hirsch - Pool/Getty Images)

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

Divisions Within Political Movements: The Heritage Foundation Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

As part of a three-part series on the divisions within political movements, Andrew Hale, fellow for international relations, economics, and trade at Advancing American Freedom, talks about the ideological and generational fight inside the think tank behind Project 2025, and what the battle over its direction says about where the Republican Party is headed after Trump.

Photo: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks with President of The Heritage Foundation Kevin D. Roberts at The Heritage Foundation on February 09, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

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

The Elizabeth Street Garden, and More Housing News Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

The dispute over the Elizabeth Street Garden, the site of proposed low-income senior housing, appears to be at an end as developers have dropped their lawsuit against the city, which blocked the plan from moving forward under Eric Adams' administration. David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, shares his reporting and analysis, and explains the story in a broader housing context.

Photo: Views of the Elizabeth Street Garden on a crowded Sunday afternoon on September 9, 2024 in the Soho neighborhood of New York City, New York. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis 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.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected