Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

WNYC

4.4 (659)
DAILY NEWS
UPDATED DAILY

Daily thoughtful conversation about the latest news and politics.

1D AGO

Former Columbia President On Universities In A Time Of Authoritarianism

Campus politics have been an important part of our modern political discourse. On Today's Show: Lee Bollinger, First Amendment scholar, law professor, former president of Columbia University and the author of University: A Reckoning (WW Norton, 2026), argues that universities are essential to preserving democracy.

21 min
2D AGO

Can Trump Rx Actually Save You Money on Meds?

Prescription drug costs are a key health policy issue for both parties. President Trump has recently implimented his approach, which he's billed as "Trump Rx" On Today's Show: Chelsea Cirruzzo Washington Correspondent for STAT News explains what the Trump administration's new prescription drug marketplace aims to do, and who might save money by using it.

22 min
3D AGO

How Tisch, Lutnik and Others Appear in the Epstein Files

The latest Epstein files to be released exposed more embarrassing revelations for more powerful men, including the president of Bard College, the (former) chairman of the law firm Paul Weiss, and one of the owners of the Giants. On Today's Show: Vicky Ward, investigative journalist and author of Kushner, Inc. (St. Martin's Press, 2019) and, with James Patterson, The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy (Little, Brown and Company, 2025), and Steve Eder, investigative reporter for The New York Times, talk about what the new emails reveal about how wealthy and powerful people operate.

21 min
6D AGO

How Serious Is Trump's Threat To 'Nationalize' Elections

President Trump has recently made comments about the integrity of the election system, and floated the idea to 'nationalize' the process. On Today's Show: 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), talks about actions and statements by the president that are raising alarms over election integrity with midterms months away.

21 min
FEB 5

Paul Krugman on the “Sell America” Trend

How have President Trump's policies shaped the nation's economic outlook after the first year of his second term? On Today's Show: Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate in economics, former New York Times columnist now on Substack, distinguished professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center, and the author of Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future (W. W. Norton & Company, 2020), talks about how President Trump's economic policies are affecting investors, and what that could mean for the overall economy.

22 min
FEB 4

The Case Against Masking ICE Agents

One of the Senate Democrats' demands for resuming DHS funding is a ban on the use of masks by ICE agents. On Today's Show: Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer talks about his essay, "The Real Reason ICE Agents Wear Masks" in which he argues that masking is dangerous "because people who are assured that they won’t face consequences for abusing power almost inevitably do so."

23 min
FEB 3

It's Not Just Liam Ramos: The Hundreds of Children in Immigrant Detention

According to government data, at least 3,800 children were detained by U.S. federal immigration forces in 2025 alone, including 20 infants. On today's show: Elora Mukherjee, professor at Columbia Law School and director of its Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, talks about what these children and families are experiencing right now.

26 min
FEB 2

The 'Rule Of Law' In Minneapolis

Across a number of ongoing stories, the Trump administration has taken actions in the name of enforcing certain laws, while seemingly skirting around others. On Today's Show: Andrew Weissmann, professor of practice at NYU School of Law, co-host of the podcast Main Justice and and the co-author of The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024), offers legal analysis of the news of the day, including the DOJ's release of the rest of the Epstein files, the DOJ's civil rights investigation into the Pretti killing and more.

24 min

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Brian Lehrer

Host
David Graham

Guest
Paul Krugman

Guest
Adam Serwer

Guest
Elora Mukherjee

Guest
Andrew Weissmann

Guest

4.4

out of 5

659 Ratings

Outstanding

08/14/2023

fdrtub

Now that I’ve discovered the Brian Lehrer Show, I wouldn’t dream of missing an episode—he’s a sane, questioning, honest voice in a not always sane or questioning or honest world.
Brian Lehrer

06/17/2025

janetfo

…but is he a Zionist? Because the way he handled the students’ protests and how obnoxious he was when he interviewed those brave and upstanding pro-palestinian students makes me think he is.
Disappointing

04/03/2024

NYTimes commenter

So disappointed in todays show about the targeted attack on World Central Kitchen. Seldom heard such nonsense as the Ha-Aretz journalist saying: oh no, IDF didn’t kill them on purpose - why would they, they will just have to feed the Palestinians themselves now. OBVIOUSLY keeping Palestinian civilians safe and fed has not been a concern of the Israeli government at all - in fact they have been starving them purposefully! And this complete hair brain statement was left standing without a response. Then followed by a call from a rabid rabbi, insisting that all other countries would and are doing much worse than Israel. Again, no meaningful response to that insane take. Deleting the Brian Lehrer show from my subscriptions.
Excellence. Delivery, reliable, topics, it’s really an a+ show and podcast.

03/29/2023

worthyette

Excellent. I listen to every episode.