The Brian Lehrer Show

WNYC

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.

6H AGO

How 1963 Defined the Civil Rights Movement

Peniel Joseph, professor of history and public affairs and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Freedom Season: How 1963 Transformed America’s Civil Rights Revolution (Basic Books, 2025), talks about his new book, an examination of the impact of events in 1963 on the struggle for civil rights -- from MLK's “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to the assassination of JFK.

20 min
6H AGO

Making Cents of Class-Action Lawsuits

Andy Vasoyan, freelance reporter examining the intersection of technology and culture and former Weekend Edition host at KCLU, talks about his latest writing in WIRED sharing his experiences in joining as many class-action lawsuits as possible, and how you can get involved too.

15 min
7H AGO

City Politics: Previewing the Second Debate and Other Races

Gothamist/WNYC reporter Elizabeth Kim previews the second Democratic primary debate and Rachel Holliday Smith, managing editor for The City, talks about the other competitive races in this month's primary, including city council and some of the borough president races. Plus, WNYC All Things Considered host Sean Carlson previews the next installments of "Word from the Curb."

52 min
7H AGO

The View From LA

Gustavo Arellano, columnist for The Los Angeles Times, offers his take on the protests in Los Angeles, the Trump administration's response and how local communities are showing up for their immigrant neighbors.

22 min
1D AGO

The Gay Restaurants That Nurtured LGBTQ Americans

As Pride month is now in full swing, Erik Piepenburg, journalist and contributor to The New York Times, and author of the new book Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call Disco Fries at America's Gay Restaurants (Grand Central Publishing, 2025), talks about how LGBTQ-friendly restaurants have nurtured queer Americans and their fight for civil rights.

14 min
1D AGO

Recapping the Comptroller Debate

Alyssa Katz, executive editor of THE CITY, talks about Tuesday's debate among the Democrats running for NYC Comptroller.

25 min
1D AGO

New Jersey’s Gubernatorial Primary Results

Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, offers analysis of the Democratic and Republican winners of the NJ gubernatorial primary election, and talks about her new podcast, "Dead End: The Rise & Fall of Gold Bar Bob Menendez," on former Sen. Bob Menendez, who is scheduled to go to prison next week after he was found guilty of corruption.

45 min
1D AGO

RFK Jr. Fires Vaccine Advisory Committee

The U.S. Health Secretary, RFK Jr., announced he was dismissing all the members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee. Katelyn Jetelina, founder and author of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist, talks about what RFK Jr. says are his goals, and what the consequences might be.

26 min

See All (181)

4.6

out of 5

1,459 Ratings

We Know The King

3d ago

Cesare Beccaria

Brian is always a funny guy and knowledgeable about our city. He seems wimpy, but asks tough questions at exactly the right moment. Always on our side! He is one of a kind.
The best social policy analysis

Mar 26

nmd2000

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.
Come on Brian

Mar 28

JS from NYC

.Even your coverage of the PBS NPR hearing is very slanted. I love you guys but you really do focus pretty much all coverage on pro left issues. Thats OK, just don't take govt funding.
I always listen at work

Feb 1

Bob Garfield

Brian is a national treasure. I can’t even put into words how much I respect and love this show. Hats off to the entire staff for such soulful, incredible programming. This is ideal radio. 🤍