150 episodes

Newsmakers meet New Yorkers as host Brian Lehrer and his guests take on the issues dominating conversation in New York and around the world. This daily program from WNYC Studios cuts through the usual talk radio punditry and brings a smart, humane approach to the day's events and what matters most in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, On the Media, Death, Sex & Money, Nancy, and many others.

The Brian Lehrer Show WNYC

    • News
    • 4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

Newsmakers meet New Yorkers as host Brian Lehrer and his guests take on the issues dominating conversation in New York and around the world. This daily program from WNYC Studios cuts through the usual talk radio punditry and brings a smart, humane approach to the day's events and what matters most in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, On the Media, Death, Sex & Money, Nancy, and many others.

    How the FAFSA Debacle is Affecting Students' College Plans

    How the FAFSA Debacle is Affecting Students' College Plans

    The Federal Education Department rolled out a new FAFSA form that was supposed to make things easier for students, but instead it has been plagued with problems. Erica Meltzer, national editor at Chalkbeat, talks about how the "bungled" rollout of the form has derailed some students' college plans. 

     

    • 40 min
    How Climate Change Drives Deer Populations

    How Climate Change Drives Deer Populations

    Toni Lyn Morelli, research ecologist at the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and adjunct associate professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, explains how milder winters in the Northeast are contributing to an explosion of deer populations, which can cause car accidents and increase Lyme disease.

    • 13 min
    Call Your Senator: Sen Gillibrand on Child Care for Police, Israel's Response to Iran and More

    Call Your Senator: Sen Gillibrand on Child Care for Police, Israel's Response to Iran and More

    U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) talks about her work in Washington, including what may happen next after Iran's strike on Israel, her bill for child care for police officers and more.

    • 31 min
    George Takei on 'My Lost Freedom'

    George Takei on 'My Lost Freedom'

    George Takei, actor, activist and writer, discusses his debut picture book, My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story (Crown Books for Young Readers, 2024).



    My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story
    (Crown Books for Young Readers, 2024)


    EVENT: George Takei and BD Wong will be in conversation at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th St. in Manhattan) TONIGHT (April 16, 2024) at 8 p.m. Details and ticketing information here.

    • 24 min
    Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani on the State Budget

    Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani on the State Budget

    Zohran K. Mamdani, New York State assemblymember (D, D-36, Queens), comments on the sticking points preventing New York State from passing its annual budget as well as his initiative to expand the fare-free bus proposal in light of congestion pricing.

    • 18 min
    Doris Kearns Goodwin's Personal Take on History

    Doris Kearns Goodwin's Personal Take on History

    Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian, author of many books, including Team of Rivals and her latest, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (Simon & Schuster, 2024), writes about the life and times she shared with her late husband, Dick Goodwin, a speechwriter and advisor to JFK, RFK and LBJ.

    • 41 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
1.4K Ratings

1.4K Ratings

anyaspector ,

Love my Lehrer

Many thanks for your show. Please focus less on the so called genocide and focus more on the bravery and courage of Israel for living next to terror and facing hate from the entire world that no other nation would be subjected to. Please share stories of the hostages living and dead. The only people hurting the Gazan people are their own government.

wldavidvreader ,

Thank you Brian!

The latest episode that Brian led so eloquently on migrants in NYC schools is cathartic and marvelously presented — a discussion of the history, energy and process of integrating new immigrants into the city school system. Without diminishing the difficulties, he emphasizes the assets they do bring and our capacity to welcome them. Additionally he played an excerpt from a recent speech by Mayor Adams that is much more welcoming of migrants to NY and more compassionate- a side of him that the local news media does not capture, while also acknowledging the crisis at a national level.

spasrky ,

Gaza obsession

Used to be a fair look at policy alternatives
Now a one sided Gaza obsession
Anti semitic racist perspective
No solutions
No alternative
or creative ideas for resolution of conflict

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