The Brian Lehrer Show

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, talks about proposed e-bike regulations by City Council and the Mamdani administration, as well as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's potential run for higher office in 2028. Photo: U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks to reporters near the House steps after a series of votes at the U.S. Capitol on July 22, 2026 in Washington, DC. (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.

Jasmine Green, editorial & audience associate at The Bulwark, offers her take on the word "woke," the evolution of wokeness, and how Democrats might re-claim it from its current status as a mostly pejorative term. Photo: Some protesters hold signs reading ''Stay Woke'' and ''F*** a fascist every day'' during the International Women's Day demonstration in Paris, France, on March 8. (Stefano Lorusso/NurPhoto 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.

Nicholas Freudenberg, professor emeritus of public health at the City University of New York School of Public Health and the author of Fighting for New York: Activism for Health and Social Justice Since the 1960s (Columbia University Press, 2026), talks about his long career advocating for solutions to public health crises in NYC and analyzes the successes of the activists working to improve the health of New Yorkers. Photo: People wait to recieve the Monkeypox vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Manhattan on July 26, 2022 in New York City. (Liao Pan/China News Service 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.

Emily Keegin, photo editor, creative consultant, and author of The New York Times Opinion piece "The Museum of America," walks through her collection of 25 objects that define American life, from Crest Whitestrips to the T-shirt cannon, as listeners add their own to the exhibit. Photo: Director Jorma Taccone of his film “Over Your Dead Body” shoots a t-shirt cannon on stage during the 2026 Beyond Chicago at the Music Box Theatre on April 05, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jon Allsop, contributing writer at The New Yorker, discusses the latest national political headlines and his recent story, "What Does It Even Mean to Be a Moderate?" Photo: DETROIT, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 04: U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), candidate for the state's open U.S. Senate seat, speaks during a primary night watch party at the Hotel Saint Regis Detroit on August 04, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens is facing Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary to determine who will run against former Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in the general election. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

David Leven, executive director emeritus and senior consultant to End of Life Choices New York, and Amy Paulin, New York State Assembly member (D-88, Westchester, including Scarsdale, Edgemont, Eastchester, Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Pelham, Pelham Manor, and parts of New Rochelle and White Plains) and chair of the Assembly health committee, talk about the new law, now in effect, that allows terminally ill New Yorkers with six months or less left to live to end their lives. Photo: ALBANY, NY - JUNE 9: People opposing the Medical Aid in Dying Bill hold signs and line the corridor between the concourse and the Capitol on Monday, June 9, 2025, in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union 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.

Stephania Taladrid, contributing writer at The New Yorker, offers analysis of all the ways the US, especially Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is involved in running Venezuela as the popular opposition leader María Corina Machado is living in exile, and discusses Rubio's ambitions with regards to Cuba. Photo: U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) walks out of the El Arepzo 2 restaurant on February 28, 2014 in Doral, Florida. Rubio and Florida Governor Rick Scott held a meet and greet with the Venezuelan community to discuss the ongoing crisis in Venezuela. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Faith Hill, staff writer at The Atlantic, unpacks why so few young people are finding love.  Stock photo by We Are/Getty Creative Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. NYS Sues Kalshi (First) | Wildfires Are Burning Through Europe (Starts at 28:30) | Social Media's Influence on Our Lives (Starts at 1:12:00) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here. 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.

On this Summer Friday, we've put together some of our favorite recent interviews, including: Each year WNYC hosts a "health convening," with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, as an opportunity for healthcare experts and practitioners to inform WNYC's health reporting. This year, the topic is ultra-processed foods and how they affect our health.  First, Kevin Hall, Ph.D., former senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , discusses his groundbreaking, tightly controlled metabolic ward trials and mathematical models tracking how human bodies respond to ultra-processed foods. Then, Fang Fang Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., cancer epidemiologist and chair of the Division of Nutrition Epidemiology and Data Science at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, discusses her population‑based research on how ultra-processed foods influence cancer prevention, cancer survivorship and long‑term health outcomes. Then, David Kessler, MD, former FDA Commissioner, breaks down a citizen petition he filed with the Food and Drug Administration last summer which would, among other things, declare that some of the core ingredients in ultra-processed foods were no longer “generally recognized as safe (GRAS)” -- a classification  that means ingredients are exempt from strict premarket approval process. Plus, Ilan Stavans, publisher of Restless Books, professor of humanities and Latin American and Latino culture at Amherst College and the author of A Nation Wrestles with God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands (Restless Books, 2026), talks about the broad spectrum of American religious thought, from Cotton Mather to Lana Del Rey.   These interviews were lightly polished up and edited for time, the original versions are available here: What Are Ultra-Processed Foods and What Are They Doing to Us? (June 16, 2026) Ultra-Processed Foods and Colon Cancer (June 16, 2026) Ultra-Processed Foods Policy Proposals (June 16, 2026) American Believers (July 9, 2026) photo: Potato chips and other junk food in Walmart, Wenatchee Washington (Thayne Tuason, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's been more than 50 years since President Richard Nixon resigned on August 9th over the Watergate scandal. Jill Wine-Banks, legal analyst, former Watergate special prosecutor, co-host of the podcasts "#Sistersinlaw" and "Just the Facts" and the author of The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President (Henry Holt and Co., 2020), reflects on that time versus today and efforts to downplay the crimes of Watergate. Photo: View of US President Richard Nixon (1913 - 1994) talks on the telephone at his desk in the White House's Oval Office, Washington DC, June 23, 1972. Visible behind him are family photos and a bust of Abraham Lincoln. (Photo by the White House Photo Office/PhotoQuest/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ciarán Donnelly, senior vice president for International Programs at International Rescue Committee talks about the ongoing war and displacement crisis in Sudan, plus Mark Townsend, senior global development reporter at the Guardian and the author of No Return: The True Story of How Martyrs Are Made (Guardian Faber Publishing, 2020), explains the role of the UK and the United Arab Emirates in the conflict. Photo: KHAZAN TUNJUR, JEBEL MARRA, NORTH DARFUR, SUDAN — FEBRUARY 26, 2026: A Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) soldier walks past dead donkeys on the outskirts of a remote village. Residents say a livestock disease has killed animals relied on to transport food, water and firewood. In this isolated, SLA-held area, where many displaced civilians have sought refuge from surrounding violence and remain largely cut off from markets and aid routes, the loss has compounded already severe hardship. (Photo by Giles Clarke/Avaaz 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.

Joshua Mitts, Columbia Law School professor specializing in corporate, business, and transactional law, talks about New York State's suit against the prediction market platform Kalshi for allegedly "running an illegal gambling operation.” ==> "From Iran to Taylor Swift:  Informed Trading in Prediction Markets" (April 6, 2026) Photo: Kalshi's logo is displayed on a smartphone placed on a reflective surface onto which a betting curve is projected in Creteil, France, on March 9, 2026, during a major scandal and a $54 million lawsuit concerning bets related to recent strikes in Iran. (Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto 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.

As summer begins its slow wind down, listeners call in to share what's still on their summer bucket lists. Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 15: A beachgoer sits in the shade under an umbrella at the beach at Coney Island in Brooklyn on July 15, 2026 in New York City. New York City is under an Air Quality Health Advisory as the Canadian and Great Lakes wildfire smoke gradually moves through the area, creating a thick haze in the heat. New York City and much of the East Coast are experiencing temperatures with the heat index over 100 degrees as the region confronts another heat wave. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week marks the 81st anniversary of the US dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist, contributor to The iPaper and the author of many nonfiction books and his latest, a novel, A Capital Calamity (Miniver Press, 2024), recalls the history and discusses the current state of nuclear weapons, especially as it relates to the war with Iran. Photo: People stand along the Motoyasu river as Kagaribi, ceremonial bonfires, are lit in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome to remember the victims on the eve of the 81st anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack, in Hiroshima on August 5, 2026. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP via Getty Images) / Japan OUT   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

New York City's Department of Finance sent letters to thousands of high-value homeowners regarding a so-called pied-à-terre tax, but many of the people who received those letters say these are their primary residences. Kathryn Brenzel, senior political reporter at Crain's New York Business, explains the roll-out, the extended appeal deadline, and the rules for who qualifies. Photo: BROOKLYN, NY - APRIL 15: Brooklyn Brownstones in a Brooklyn Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York on April 15, 2016. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Amanda Ripley, journalist, conflict mediator and co-founder of Good Conflict and author of several books, including High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out (Simon & Schuster, 2021) talks about her method of conflict mediation, and moderates a conversation among listeners who have different views on whether they are proud or ashamed of the United States. Photo: HOBOKEN, NJ - JULY 3: A thunderstorm moves across the Hudson River into lower Manhattan in New York City as a man holds an American flag in the wind on a pier in the Hudson River on July 03, 2026, in Hoboken, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On this Summer Friday, we've put together some of our favorite recent interviews, including: Ben Rhodes, contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, co-host of "Pod Save the World," an advisor to former president Barack Obama and the author of All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches (Random House, 2026), talks about his new book that tells the history of the United States and its central conflicts  through public speeches, from Benjamin Franklin to Donald Trump. Robinson Meyer, founding executive editor of Heatmap, talks about the DSA's evolving relationship to the Green New Deal and climate policy in general, as its members keep winning elections in big cities. WNYC has been targeted by scammers who posed as hosts, and offered authors interviews -- for a fee (which WNYC would never do). Rachel Tobac, co-founder and CEO of Social Proof Security, and Kenneth Atkins, assistant director of IT and data security at WNYC, talk about how to spot sneaky online phishing scams, and how to deal if you fall for it. Jeffrey Winters, professor of political science at Northwestern University and the director of the Equality Development and Globalization Studies Program at Northwestern's Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and the author of The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies (Scribner, 2026), talks about the history of oligarchy, how to fight it, and why it maintains power in a democracy. Meghan Sullivan, professor of philosophy at Notre Dame and founder of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, offers her take on the contemporary context for belief, or doubt, in God as religious affiliation largely declines in the U.S.   These interviews were lightly polished up and edited for time, the original versions are available here: Speeches as a Key to American Identity (June 8, 2026) What the DSA's Popularity Means for Climate Policy (July 7, 2026) How to Avoid Sneaky Phishing Scams (May 5, 2026) When Voters Support Oligarchs (May 26, 2026) How Belief in God Has Changed (May 20, 2026)   Photo: Whimbrel on the beach at Fort Tilden beach, Queens. Rare shorebird for this location, 24 September 2021 (Remydee1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Following a recent cybersecurity breech by OpenAI, in which two of their in-progress models autonomously hacked into the AI company Hugging Face, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are pushing for an "AI Kill Switch" bill in Congress. Brendan Bordelon, AI and tech influence reporter at Politico, discusses Washington's changing approach to AI regulation amid growing concerns over cybersecurity in every sector, and unpacks how tech giants are hoping to guide the shift.  Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, leaves a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Altman is meeting with lawmakers to discuss artificial intelligence policy ahead of the August 1 deadline for AI leaders to develop a framework to limit AI security threats. (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.

After Stuyvesant high school admitted only 3 Black students for next year, Errol Louis, political anchor of Spectrum NY1 News, host of Inside City Hall and The Big Deal with Errol Louis, New York Magazine columnist and host of the podcast "You Decide," argues it's time to end the use of a single test for admission to NYC's specialized high schools. Photo: New York, NY, USA - March 21, 2021: Main entrance to Stuyvesant High School in lower Manhattan Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sophia Smith Galer, UK-based journalist and the author of How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words (Crown, 2026), talks about what's lost when a language dies. Photo: A person leads a finger on the lines in the book, but instead of letters only question marks on the page in the textbook.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Julie Beck, a staff writer at The Atlantic and host of their podcast "'How to Touch Grass", talks about the difficulty of determining when being "middle aged" actually starts. Photo: Portrait of smiling multi-generation family sitting in living room   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jessica Taylor, senate and governors editor for The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, offers analysis of the competitive Senate races ahead of this November's midterm elections, and discusses how likely it may be for Democrats to take control of Congress. Photo: U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. on a Sunny, Partly Cloudy Summer Day in August     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, talks about the mayor's announcement that the five city-run grocery stores will offer 30% discounts on key products, plus updates the effects of SNAP changes. Photo: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announce that a core basket of everyday groceries will be 30 percent cheaper at the five new municipal grocery stores. The basket will include all fresh produce, meat and seafood, along with roughly 20 additional categories of pantry staples, dairy and refrigerated goods, Brooklyn on Monday, July 27 2026. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lucy Schiller, a nonfiction writer and the author of Aging Out: An Exploration of Caregiving, Community, and How Americans Grow Old (Flatiron Books, 2026), shares what she learned when she investigated aging and eldercare, following her personal experience with her grandmother during the pandemic. Photo: Male healthcare worker helping senior woman sit in chair - stock photo   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Allie Volpe, correspondent covering mental health, relationships, wellness, money, home life, and work at Vox, offers advice for sharing living space with friends, family or strangers, as listeners share their own tips. Photo: Two young woman hold bags and walk beside each other, in a European apartment complex. 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.

Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNOW; writer for MSNOW and contributing writer to The Atlantic, talks about the latest national political news. Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 24: U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement on American nuclear innovation in the Oval Office at the White House on July 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump is signing multiple executive orders targeting the nuclear energy sector and easing rules for new reactors and nuclear fuel supply chains. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stephen Nessen, transportation reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom, talks about some recent proposals for faster buses and an alternate-side-of-the-street pilot program that could mean cleaner streets with with less car-moving hassles. Photo: Street in Park Slope Brooklyn residential area on a sunny day, New York City, USA - stock photo   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Francesca Paris, reporter for The Upshot section of The New York Times, talks about why some states have rolled back incentives that unlock savings for residential solar customers and how batteries may be the solution. Photo: Modern house with solar panels for energy storage. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jo Piazza, writer, podcast host and the author of many novels, including her latest, The Parisian Heist: A Novel (Dutton, 2026) and Anthony Amore, art theft expert and the author of The Rembrandt Heist (Pegasus Crime, 2025), talk about our collective fascination with heists and how the value of art is determined.   Photo: The Louvre Museum was evacuated and the main entrance in front of the pyramid was immediately closed following a burglary in Paris on Sunday, October 19, 2025. The burglars operated in a spectacular manner during the museum s opening, using a truck equipped with a ladder in the Apollo Gallery to steal several priceless jewels, according to initial statements from the French Ministry of Culture. (Photo by Laurent Caron / Hans Lucas / AFP 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.

The United States and Saudi Arabia reached a landmark 30-year civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, but within a day, President Donald Trump threw it into limbo by conditioning its approval on Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel. Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist, contributor to The iPaper and the author of many nonfiction books and his latest, a novel, A Capital Calamity (Miniver Press, 2024), breaks down the latest news on this, and the war with Iran, and what comes next. Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 18: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) responds to a question where Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia was asked about the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is hosting the crown prince for meetings aimed at strengthening economic and defense ties, including the U.S. sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

NYS Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D Brooklyn 44th) talks about his appointment by Gov. Hochul to the exploratory committee for a joint upstate/downstate bid for the Winter Olympics and why he thinks it would be good for the state. Photo: Lake Placid is in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York of USA. It covers an area of approximately 8.8 km2, with an average depth of 15 m. Whiteface Mountain can be seen to the north. It is the fifth highest mountain in New York State. The mountain's east slope has been developed into a ski resort that hosted the alpine skiing competitions of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. Picture was taken in winter showing the frozen lake with the snow covered mountain in the background. 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.

Greg Jackson, creator, host, and head writer of the popular US history podcast "History That Doesn't Suck," associate professor and senior fellow at Utah Valley University's Center for National Security Studies and the author of Been There, Done That: How Our History Shows What We Can Overcome (Simon & Schuster, 2026), looks at eight moments in America's 250 years when our politics were more divisive and how we moved past them. Photo: Walter Lynwood Fleming Photograph by J. W. Black and Co., Boston., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Erin Mulvaney, national legal affairs reporter with The Wall Street Journal, shares her reporting on couples who add specific clauses to prenuptial agreements to protect the stay-at-home parent and establish equity in marriage. Photo: Man carrying baby boy talking with woman leaving for work at home - stock photo     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Liza Weisberg, supervising attorney at the ACLU of New Jersey where she focuses on democracy and voting rights, and Mike Hayes, WNYC and Gothamist New Jersey politics reporter and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform (Kingston Imperial, 2023), talk about the error in New Jersey that led to registering about 6,600 noncitizens to vote (only about 400 did so), and what it tells us about election security more broadly. Photo: Governor Mikie Sherrill, Lt. Governor Dale Caldwell and MVC Acting Chair & Chief Administrator Rosalie Johnson hold a press conference announcing that New Jersey's Motor Vehicle System led to voter registration of roughly 6,600 people, who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens, between June 2023 and June 2024, while in the media room of the statehouse in Trenton, N.J. on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (Office of Governor / Tim Larsen) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jeffery Mays, New York Times metro politics reporter, talks about how Black and Latino political leaders, and some of their constituents, are feeling as members of the Democratic Socialists of America have gained power throughout the city. Photo: NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 16: New York City Democratic Socialists (NYC-DSA) hold a rally in Union Square marking the start of a campaign to tax the rich and win universal childcare on November 16, 2025, in New York City, United States. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/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.