The Brian Lehrer Show WNYC

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with installing accessible walkways and extending the Rockaway Beach boardwalk from where it ends now, at 126th Street, through 149th Street. Julianne Cuba, reporter for Streetsblog, talks about why some locals are vehemently opposing the project and trying to stop construction. 

Leana Wen, MD, emergency physician, professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, CNN medical analyst, former Baltimore Health Commissioner and the author of Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health (Metropolitan Books, 2021), talks about her new book, in which she explains how public health initiatives — which are sometimes invisible — save individual lives, and talks about what the rise of the delta variant might mean for those who are, and aren't, vaccinated against COVID-19.

→EVENTS: Dr. Wen will speak about her book at these upcoming virtual events:Monday, August 2, 6pm ET via The Strand bookstore

Thursday, August 5, 6:30 ET via Baltimore's Enoch Free Library

Thursday, August 12, 6:30 PT via Los Angeles' Vroman's bookstore

New Jersey's maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the country, and Black women in particular are many times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. M. Teresa Ruiz, New Jersey State Senator (D, District 29-Newark), and Nastassia Davis, assistant professor of nursing at Montclair State University, nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and founder and executive director of the Perinatal Health Equity Foundation, talk about the state's new law that will provide at-home visits from nurses to new parents, and how they hope it will lower the risk of health issues and deaths for new moms and new babies.

Gregory Meeks, U.S. Representative (D, NY-5), talks about the latest news, including the House committee hearing on January 6th, infrastructure, the political chaos in Haiti and more.

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

The Future of COVID Variants (First); The $2.1 Billion LaGuardia AirTrain Won't Save You Any Time (Starts at 30:02); Iconic at 50: Alice Coltrane's 'Journey in Satchidananda' (Starts at 47:41)

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On this Summer Friday, we've put together some of our favorite recent interviews, including:


Jamelle Bouie, New York Times opinion columnist and CBS News analyst, talks about the many other moments in United States history, besides the massacre in a Black neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921, where White Americans committed organized acts of terror seeking the destruction of Black communities and neighborhoods.
Elie Honig, CNN senior legal analyst and author of Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department (HarperCollins, 2021) talks about his new book examining the Bill Barr era at the DOJ, plus offers analysis of current legal issues.
People behind bars are six times more likely to experience food poisoning than those on the outside. Bianca Tylek, Worth Rises’s executive director, and Leslie Soble, a research fellow at Impact Justice, non-profit innovation and research center working towards a more restorative and humane justice system, talk about how companies that provide food to jails and prisons stay profitable by cutting corners.
In a heat wave, shade from trees can be life saving. Alejandra Borunda, former climate scientist and a National Geographic writer on climate change, adaptation, and the environment, explains how redlining and other racist practices mean in many American cities, communities of color often have less access to shade, and what can be done to fix that as the planet continues to warm.
Jessica Hopper, music critic, producer and author of several books, including an expanded second edition of The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic (MCD × FSGO, 2021), discusses how Joni Mitchell's 1971 album "Blue" was shaped by its time and has influenced music for generations to come.

 

These interviews were edited slightly for time, the original versions are available here:

The 'Other' Tulsas (June 7, 2021)

Bill Barr and the Law (July 20, 2021)

The Injustice of Prison Food (April 5, 2021)

Why Shade is an Equity Issue (June 29, 2021)

Iconic at 50: Joni Mitchell's 'Blue' (July 2, 2021)