The Brian Lehrer Show

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Brian Lehrer Weekend: Nikole Hannah Jones on Hard School Choices, Ask Mayor Mamdani, Millennial Optimism

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Nikole Hannah-Jones on Hard School Choices (First) | Ask Mayor Mamdani (Starts at 24:59) | Millen

Oct 3
1 h 14 min

Gov. Hochul Appoints NYS Attorney General Tish James to Cornell Case

Gov. Hochul announced that she is appointing New York's Attorney General Letitia James to oversee the Cornell sexual assault case that's been headline news. Jon Campbell,

Oct 2
22 min

30 Issues in 30 Days: Pres. Trump in the New York Governor's Race

Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist talks about the relationships that Gov. Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman have with President Trump.

Oct 2
27 min

Meet the Parks Commissioner

New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Tricia Shimamura reflects on her first summer as Parks commissioner and talks about her priorities for the dep

Oct 2
22 min

Exposing Hidden Sources of Higher Prices

Lindsay Owens, the executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative and the author of Gouged: The End of a Fair Price–and What That Means for Your Wallet (Viking, 2026)

Oct 2
21 min

Longing for Millennial Optimism

Casey Michael Henry, writer, talks about his recent New York Times Magazine essay on nostalgia for the optimism of millennial culture. => "Things Are So Bad, People Are

Oct 2
15 min

Who's Running This Place: Agita over AI in NY

Every Thursday from 1 to 2 PM on WNYC, through Election Day, WNYC senior political reporter Brigid Bergin hosts a pop-up local politics call-in show called Who's Running

Oct 1
51 min

30 Issues in 30 Days: NYS Utility Costs

Jack Arpey, New York State politics reporter for Spectrum News 1 New York, talks about the issue of utility rates in New York State and what Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Rep

Oct 1
48 min

On AI, Trump Calls for 'Self-Regulation'

At a White House lunch this week, tech executives signed a voluntary safety pact on AI. Gabby Miller, AI and tech congressional reporter at Politico, discusses the detail

Oct 1
21 min

Title IX Discrimination and Women's Sports

Maggie Mertens, journalist, author of Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women (Algonquin, 2024) and host of "The Forecast: Seattle’s Wee

Oct 1
28 min

Talking to Kids About the Cornell Case

Listeners call in to share how they're talking to their high school and college-aged kids about the alleged gang rape at Cornell University, and all the issues it's bring

Oct 1
10 min

30 Issues in 30 Days: ICE & Detention Centers

Mike Hayes, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering New Jersey and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform (Kingston I

Sep 30
45 min

City Hall News

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, recaps Mayor Mamdani's appearance on the show, plus discusses her story on the revamp of the Hunts Point market that fell apar

Sep 30
31 min

Campus Sexual Assault and The Lawsuit Against Cornell

Alexandra Brodsky, civil rights lawyer and author of Sexual Justice: Supporting Victims, Ensuring Due Process, and Resisting the Conservative Backlash (Henry Holt 2021),

Sep 30
18 min

Wild NYC: The Shoreline

As part of the yearlong series "Wild NYC," Marielle Anzelone, urban botanist and ecologist and the founder of NYC Wildflower Week, and Rob Pirani, senior director for Eng

Sep 30
13 min

Ask Mayor Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayor, takes questions from listeners and talks about this week's news in the city. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ads

Sep 29
33 min

30 Issues in 30 Days: Mideast & Israel

Mike Hayes, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering New Jersey and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform (Kingston I

Sep 29
32 min

António Guterres' UN Work on Climate Change

David Gelles, reporter on the New York Times climate team who leads The Times’s Climate Forward newsletter and events series, talks about outgoing UN Sec. Gen. António Gu

Sep 29
28 min

Literature and Life

Elizabeth Alexander, president of The Mellon Foundation, poet, educator, memoirist and scholar and the author of Signals Across Vast Distances: Essays and Tales (WW Norto

Sep 29
14 min

30 Issues in 30 Days: New Jersey's 7th

Mike Hayes, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering the New Jersey governor's race and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Polic

Sep 28
42 min

Chart trend

Position in the Politics chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#52#103JulAugSepOct

#47

all-time peak

days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where The Brian Lehrer Show ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 5, 2026).

#73 ▼ 2 Politics US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Brian is a brilliant interviewer and public intellectual. I no longer live in NYC yet I listen to his show weekly. It allows me to stay informed about the most important policy conversations and ideas. My favorite guest is Elie Mystal. Thank you for exposing me to his incisive and entertaining legal analysis.

nmd2000 · Mar 2025

I’ve been listening to The Brian Lehrer Show for decades, but now it’s even more important to me. It’s a one place that I am sure that what I am hearing is clear, unambiguous, and free of personal prejudice. Brian is infinitely.upbeat, understanding and very, very good at managing calls, particularly those that need stopping or redirecting Brian Lehr is a gem

Lcilight · May 2024

Great show. Brian Lehrer is a top talent. He does a compelling, insightful, and informative show. But the podcast’s release schedule is extremely unreliable. You never know when or if the segments will be available, and they never come out in the order they were aired. Doesn’t the podcast audience deserve the same respect as the on-air and streaming audience?

aceisen · Dec 2023

The latest episode that Brian led so eloquently on migrants in NYC schools is cathartic and marvelously presented — a discussion of the history, energy and process of integrating new immigrants into the city school system. Without diminishing the difficulties, he emphasizes the assets they do bring and our capacity to welcome them. Additionally he played an excerpt from a recent speech by Mayor Adams that is much more welcoming of migrants to NY and more compassionate- a side of him that the local news media does not capture, while also acknowledging the crisis at a national level.

wldavidvreader · Sep 2023

I remember listening to The Brian Lehrer show during the march for Black Lives in 2020 and being impressed at what seemed to be fairly even-handed discussions. I tuned in today (2023-10-26) to listen to a segment with Robin Wright on Israel’s war against the Palestinians and was appalled. At a time when the UN and many international organizations are describing what’s occurring in Gaza as war crimes and likely genocide, Brian and Robin blithely repeated Israel’s proven false talking points, which the Biden administration has also been parroting. For example, Biden stated yesterday that he doesn’t trust the death counts coming out of Gaza. What they didn’t mention is that the US State Dept routinely cites the Palestinian Health Ministry and hasn’t once cast doubt on it. Israel has killed over 7,000 people, including 3,000 children and over 25 journalists. Over 731 entire families have been killed, and 1,700 are currently trapped underneath rubble. Robin would have us think that they’re all human shields. It’s despicable, and our news media is complicit in spreading these lies. For real news, I recommend Democracy Now. I’m done listening Brian.

RA in LA · Oct 2023

I have always been a supporter of government fairness. However, here is a Medicaid practice that is clearly unfair. I don’t believe the general public is aware that home owners who are facing large expenses (like a retirement home) can recover such an expense for their children. Medicaid rules allow the owner to turn over ownership of that home to their children. If the owner of that home passes away within 5years the new ownership is their children’s. As far as I can tell there is no upper level income limitation. This is unfair to those who are in true need.

Don from Morris County · Mar 2025

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