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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:

White House Correspondents' Dinner Chaos Apr 27, 2026

Show notes

Brian Stelter, chief media analyst for CNN Worldwide, lead author of the Reliable Sources newsletter and the author of several books, including Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for America (Atria/One Signal Publishers, 2024), offers his perspective of the shooting at this weekend's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, including how commonplace it is becoming for Americans to experience this kind of trauma.

photo: Guests take cover after a unknown safety event took place as President Donald Trump was to speak to attendees of the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. According to reports, President Donald Trump, along with other government officials, were evacuated from the Washington Hilton after what sounded like gun fire. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

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Why RFK Jr. is Projecting a More 'Moderate' MAHA Stance Apr 27, 2026

Show notes

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has testified before Congress several times over the past month. Chelsea Cirruzzo, Washington Correspondent for STAT News, offers analysis as to why he seemed to move away from some of the more radical MAHA messaging he has promoted in the past.

Photo: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers remarks at a White House event announcing the Make America Healthy Again Commission on May 22, 2025. (Credit: Joyce N. Boghosian/White House via Wikimedia Commons)

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Brian Lehrer Weekend: What La Guardia Taught Mamdani; The Defeat of Desegregation in Detroit; 'How to Start' Apr 25, 2026

Show notes

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

Mayor Fiorello La Guardia's lessons for Mayor Zohran Mamdani (First) | Journalism in the common good: Michelle Adams on her Hillman Prize-winning book 'The Containment,' which charts the fight over school integration in the suburbs of Detroit (Starts at 53:15) | Jodi Kantor's advice for young people at the start of their careers (Starts at 1:15:50)

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Buffer Zone Bills on the Table Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

Two so-called "buffer zone" bills passed the New York City council last month, and lawmakers in Albany have similar proposals on the table, too. Jimmy Vielkind, New York State Issues reporter for WNYC, talks about whether the bills, which would require a buffer zone for protesters outside houses of worship and health care facilities, will make it into the state budget, and Sahalie Donaldson, City Hall reporter at City & State New York reports on the bills' status in New York City, plus they both discuss the disagreements between Democrats over the issue.

Photo: New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin delivers remarks on Jan. 21, 2026. (Credit: Gerardo Romo/NYC Council Media Unit)

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Global Energy on the "Verge of Disaster" Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

With over fifty days into the U.S.-Iran war, the world has lost 550 million barrels of Gulf crude oil. Matthieu Favas, commodities editor at The Economist, explains how this is impacting global energy markets in European and Asian countries that rely on that supply.
Photo: Coryton Oil Refinery by Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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Tree City Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

Dan Lambe, CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation, and Ben Osborne, assistant commissioner of forestry and horticulture at NYC Parks, talk about Arbor Day and NYC's new Urban Forest Plan for expanding the tree canopy.

Photo: Blossoming trees by the road in Prospect Park (Taty Sena, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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Moral Injuries on the Battlefield and Beyond Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

Michael Valdovinos, a clinical psychologist, veteran, trauma expert and the author of Moral Injuries: When Good Conscience Suffers in a World of Hurt (Harper, 2026), talks about recognizing and healing "moral injuries" that occur not from physical trauma, but from acts that violate the conscience.

Photo: A United States Marine Corps rifleman completes a field exercise in Finland. (Credit: Sgt. Mason Roy/U.S. Marine Corps via Wikimedia Commons)

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How to Stop the People Who Are Leaving NYC Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

A new report finds that New York City is losing population across income levels, and subsequently schools are losing students. Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, shares his group's recommendations for how to stem the tide of people leaving.
Photo: ThibautRe, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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250 Books for the Country's 250th Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

In honor of World Book Day, National Library Week and the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary, librarians from Brooklyn Public Library have put together a list of 250 books that have been important to the United States. Linda Johnson, CEO and president of Brooklyn Public Library, talks about some of the books on the list and why librarians chose them.

Photo: Rare books at the Brooklyn Library Central Branch. Credit: MMHAD via Wikimedia Commons.

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Journalism for the Common Good Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

Jamelle Bouie, opinion columnist for The New York Times and guest judge for the Hillman Prize, talks about the Hillman Prize, plus some of his recent columns, which are about national politics with an eye toward history and Michelle Adams, professor of law at the University of Michigan, former member of the Biden administration’s Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court, Hillman Prize winner and the author of The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North (Macmillan, 2025), talks about her Hillman Prize-winning book and work.

photo: Photograph of Downtown Detroit taken from over the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit's riverfront, November 2021(Lrgjr72, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

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