The Brian Lehrer Show

Latest Episodes:

Transit News: LIRR Strike Update May 18, 2026

Show notes

Clayton Guse, WNYC and Gothamist editor of the transit and infrastructure desk, and Stephen Nessen, WNYC and Gothamist transportation reporter, talk about the latest on the strike by Long Island Railroad workers.

Photo: A Long Island Railroad train departs from Woodside, Queens en route to Penn Station in Manhattan. (Credit: Mtattrain/Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Monday Morning Politics: Trump's Gaffes; Kash Patel May 18, 2026

Show notes

David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic daily newsletter, plus author of The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2025), offers analysis of FBI director Kash Patel's performance during Congressional testimony, plus how he says President Trump's recent gaffes may hurt the GOP.

Photo: FBI Director Kash Patel attends the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nov. 22, 2025. (Credit: Tia Dufour/U.S. Department of Homeland Security 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.

10-Question Quiz: American History May 18, 2026

Show notes

Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Mythology, quizzes listeners on how well they know their American history.

Photo: The White House pictured in June 2025. (Credit: Jack Walker/WNYC)

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

Spring Cleaning: Strategies for Neurodivergent People May 18, 2026

Show notes

As part of a series on spring cleaning, KC Davis, author of How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing, offers realistic strategies for how neurodivergent people can build healthy habits around cleaning.

Photo: Cover art for "How to Keep House."

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: Economic News from Marketplace; Our Bodies & Our Tech; Wild NYC - Air Migrations May 16, 2026

Show notes

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

Economic News from Marketplace (First) | Our Bodies & Our Tech (Starts at 14:32) | Wild NYC - Air Migrations (Starts at 33:54)

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

Photo: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 11: Gas prices over 6 dollars a gallon are seen on a sign at a Shell station on May 11, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

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

What Péter Magyar's Election in Hungary Says About 'Strongmen' Today May 15, 2026

Show notes

Andrew Marantz, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation (Viking Press, 2019), talks about his recent reporting on Péter Magyar, the new prime minister of Hungary who recently toppled Viktor Orbán, and on OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman.

Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar speaks at the first press conference of the new Hungarian government in Opusztaszer, Hungary, May 13, 2026. (Photo by Peter Zsolnai/Xinhua 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.

On the Media on the 'Movement to Kill FEMA' May 15, 2026

Show notes

On The Media's Micah Loewinger talks about his reporting in the series "The Movement to Kill FEMA," and co-host Brooke Gladstone previews her conversation for OTM about the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act decision from last week.

Image: Courtesy of On the Media

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

10-Question Quiz: News With Mo Rocca May 15, 2026

Show notes

Listeners try their hand at a news quiz, with questions and commentary by Mo Rocca, host of the podcast Mobituaries, a CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, a frequent panelist on NPR’s hit weekly quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! and co-author of Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs.

Photo: Mo Rocca, host of "My Grandmother's Ravioli."; Courtesy of The Cooking Channel

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

Featuring 'Open to Debate' May 15, 2026

Show notes

John Donvan, moderator-in-chief of the radio show Open to Debate, discusses what the show Open to Debate, which airs on WNYC (and many other NPR stations) aims to do, and spotlights some of the recent issues they've taken on.

Image: Podcast logo, courtesy of Open to Debate

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

Spotlight on WNYC's Terrestrials May 15, 2026

Show notes

Lulu Miller, host of Terrestrials and co-host of WNYC's Radiolab, shares some recent standout moments from Radiolab's kids podcast, Terrestrials.

Image courtesy of Terrestrials/Radiolab

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