Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast WNYC Studios

Today an official from the US Armed Forces discussed the state of the country's military readiness, and its role in the conflict in Ukraine, and tensions with China. On today's show, Christine Wormuth, secretary of the U.S. Army, talks about recruiting and readiness challenges within the army, her professional role in the Defense Department, and the military's role in conflicts around the globe.

In order to reach an agreement to avoid a US government default, negotiations included some measures that could have an impact on the federal government's climate policy. On today's show, Mark Hertsgaard, executive director of the global media collaboration Covering Climate Now and environment correspondent for The Nation magazine, offers a look at what the debt ceiling agreement means for key climate measures and how climate-related policy is shaping up as an election issue.

The number of Americans who are part of any organized religion has been dropping for decades, and over the past ten years, dropped by about 11 points. On today's show: Ryan Burge, associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, research director for Faith Counts, and the author of The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going (Fortress Press, 2021), digs into the patterns around the country and explains how the trend might affect presidential politics in 2024 and beyond.

It's been one month since the Writers' Guild Of America's strike began. On today's show, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, vice president of film/television/streaming for Writers Guild of America East, talks about the strike, how it's affecting productions and more related news.

Happy Pride Month! We kick off our conversations about LGBTQIA+ lives by exploring how to think about how masculinity and femininity can instill a feeling of "gender euphoria." On today's show, Tuck Woodstock, journalist, educator and host of the Gender Reveal podcast, and Imara Jones, journalist, and founder and creator of Translash Media, and callers that identify as transgender shed light on what it's like to live as a trans person, what gives them gender euphoria, and answer most commonly asked questions about being trans.

Last May, a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in Uvalde, TX. A year later, we look at how the community has changed, and how the nation's thinking on gun control has evolved. On today's show, Maria Hinojosa, founder of Futuro Media and president of Futuro Investigates, anchor and executive producer of Latino USA, and the author of the Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America (Simon and Schuster, 2020), examines the tragedy at Robb Elementary School and where we go from here.