The Brian Lehrer Show

4.6 (1.5K)
Politics
Updated Daily

Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.

15h ago

Wildfires Are Burning Through Europe

Chico Harlan, global climate correspondent at The New York Times, discusses the wildfires in Europe and the ways climate change is impacting the continent right now. Photo: VIOTIA, GREECE - AUGUST 2: Volunteers battle a wildfire burning near Porto Germeno, 70 kilometres northwest of Athens in the region of Viotia, Greece, on August 2, 2026 (Photo by Costas Baltas/Anadolu 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.
15h ago

Dr. Fauci Testifies in Congress

Dr. Anthony Fauci returned to Congress to testify on his role in the COVID-19 pandemic after Republican Senator Rand Paul released some of Fauci's diary entries from 2020. Chelsea Cirruzzo, Washington correspondent at STAT News, discusses Fauci's testimony and related news. Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: Former NIH Director Anthony Fauci is sworn in before testifying to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Fauci was expected to be questioned about his diary entries during his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
15h ago

Social Media's Influence on Our Lives

Kathryn Jezer-Morton, writer of The Cut's Brooding newsletter and the author of The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything (Viking, 2026), talks about her reporting on and experience with the way social media is changing our lives. Photo: BATH, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 29: In this photo illustration a 14-year-old boy holds an iPhone screen displaying various social media and messaging apps on March 29, 2026 in Bath, England. On top row left to right, the logo of social media platform Instagram is seen beside that of Meta’s Threads and Facebook. On the middle row from left is the logo of Donald Trump's Truth Social app, next to the logo of social media app TikTok and the logo of Elon Musk’s US online social media and social networking site 'X' (formerly known as Twitter). Along the bottom row, left to right is the messaging service WhatsApp, the logo for online video sharing and social media platform YouTube and the logo for the Bluesky app. In the UK, a ban on social media for under-16s has been backed by the House of Lords following the Australian law which aims to stop children under 16 from having social media accounts and social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram potentially being be fined for preventing children younger than 16 from having social media accounts. (Photo by Anna Barclay/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
15h ago

The Private Club Opening at Jacob Riis, "The People's Beach"

A new private club is slated to open this month at Jacob Riis Park on the Rockaway Peninsula. Dubbed "The Peoples Beach," the park has a long history as an informal gathering place for the LGBTQ community. Liam Quigley, parks and sanitation reporter for Gothamist/WNYC, unpacks the status of the project, whose opening has been delayed several times this summer, including why some beachgoers are unhappy with the plan; plus listeners weigh in with their thoughts on the club and the beach's storied history. Photo: Jacob Riis Park is a seaside park in the New York City borough of Queens Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1d ago

Monday Morning Politics: War With Iran Continues

Despite no real progress, the U.S. war with Iran continues, and according to F. Gregory Gause, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University, author of The International Relations of the Persian Gulf (Cambridge University Press, 2014), it has all been meaningless. Photo: DOVER, DELAWARE - JULY 22: A U.S. Army carry team transports the flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base for military casualties of the war with Iran on July 22, 2026 in Dover, Delaware. U.S. President Donald Trump attend the dignified transfer of Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Staff Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, Army Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad and Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1d ago

The Newest New Yorkers

Sideya Sherman, director of the Department of City Planning and chair of the City Planning Commission, talks about the department's new report on the demographic makeup of New York City's immigrants, which found that China has caught up to the Dominican Republic as the two leading places where immigrants to the city come from. Photo: NEW YORK, NY - JULY 23: Tom Ellis films on set for the TV show "CIA" in the Chinatown neighborhood of Queens on July 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1d ago

Father Martin's Road to the Priesthood

James Martin, SJ, a Jesuit priest, founder of Outreach, an LGBTQ Catholic resource, editor at large for America Media, and the author of the memoir Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest (HarperOne, 2026) talks about his path to the priesthood, as well as the first American pope. Photo: US priest Father James Martin speaking at the world meeting of families in Dublin, on how the Catholic Church can welcome members of the LGBT community. (Photo by Niall Carson/PA Images 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.
1d ago

Is ICE Activity Picking Up Steam in NYC?

Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), and NYC Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, NYC Council Member (District 10, Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill), talk about reports of ICE activity picking up in NYC, as well as a specific incident in Inwood where an observer recording ICE agents was pepper sprayed in the face. Photo: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol the halls as they detain an individual after exiting his immigration court hearing at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on July 16, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Brian Lehrer

Host
Sideya Sherman

Guest
Brendan Bordelon

Guest
Julie Beck

Guest

4.6

out of 5

1,545 Ratings

Best show! But please no more Elie Mystal

Jul 13

cet blaine

Fantastic show, listen daily and Brian’s journalistic prowess is always on display, thorough respectful but tough. Please also consider removing Elie Mystal as a guest. I agree with everything he says but his delivery is atrocious listening for radio. He’s constantly screaming and behaves as if he’s a toddler, enacting in childish imitations and literally yelling into the mic. Maybe maya wiley or Emily bazelon instead?
Balanced, Rational, Humble, Human!

Mar 10

swerz

Brian Lehrer is a TREASURE!!! He covers the issues of the day with smarts and humility, helping people with different viewpoints find common ground. Listen every day and you’ll be a better informed New Yorker!
Unrelated content

Apr 13

Maajic

Why are there associated programs in the feed? Brian Lehrer’s show is great, but hard to find among so much other stuff.
A New York Institution

12/05/2025

Shani from St. Albans

I have long since left nyc, my hometown, but I could never quit the Brian Lehrer show. A well produced thoughtful gem of News Radio. Even the callers bring such insight, which goes to show, when you establish a standard people rise to meet it.