The Brian Lehrer Show

Michael Tannousis, assemblymember representing District 64, including southern Brooklyn and the east shore of Staten Island" and Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice and the director of Vera Action, cover what each New York City mayoral hopeful is proposing when it comes to criminal justice reform, including the 2019 bail reform law signed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, plus Zohran Mamdani's and Curtis Sliwa's policy proposals.

Ryan Kailath, WNYC/Gothamist arts and culture reporter, talks about his reporting on the AI company called Friend, and their ads, which have been defaced throughout the subway system.

Jonathan Lemire, co-host of "Morning Joe" on MSNBC, contributing writer at The Atlantic and author of the book, The Big Lie: Election Chaos, Political Opportunism, and the State of American Politics After 2020 (Flatiron Books, 2022) talks about what he calls the "project 2025 shutdown" and more national political news.

Nancy Solomon, host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, recaps the final governor's debate between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. 

After yesterday's conversation on the show about rail trails, listeners call in to share their favorite places to bike outside the city, whether a rail or other kind of trail, parks, roads, or neighborhoods that are friendly to bikers.

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D, NJ), talks about the ongoing shutdown, the Trump administration sending the National Guard to Oregon, Attorney General Pam Bondi's contentious Senate hearing and the funding cuts to the Gateway Tunnel.

Nicole Gelinas, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, a columnist at the New York Post and the author of the book, Movement: New York's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car (Fordham Univ Press, 2024), and Ligia Guallpa, executive director of Worker's Justice Project and co-founder of Los Deliveristas Unidos, cover what each New York City mayoral hopeful is proposing to regulate delivery apps and e-bike/scooter/moped licensing.

WNYC and Gothamist reporter Elizabeth Kim and Brigid Bergin, WNYC and Gothamist senior political correspondent, talk about the latest news in the mayoral campaign, plus, Brigid shares her reporting on the many new voters who went to the polls in the June primary.

Alex Zimmerman, reporter at Chalkbeat New York, talks about his breadth of reporting on the New York City mayoral candidates' proposals regarding the New York City public school system, including Zohran Mamdani's proposal to end mayoral control of the city's schools and Andrew Cuomo's proposal to replace the city's lowest-performing schools with charters or other models.  

Peter Harnik, co-founder of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the Center for City Park Excellence at the Trust for Public Land and executive producer of the documentary From Rails to Trails, talks about his work spearheading the movement to convert abandoned railbeds into multi-use trails, 26,000 miles so far, and the new documentary about it. 

The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to three scientists for their work in immunology.  Daniel Griffin, MD, PhD, Chief of Infectious Disease for Island Infectious Diseases, the largest physician-owned Infectious Disease Specialist Group on Long Island, an infectious disease specialist and clinical instructor of medicine at Columbia University and president of Parasites Without Borders and co-host of the podcast "This Week in Virology", explains their breakthrough and what it means for future treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and more. 

In this installment of our election year series, a look into what the candidates -- especially former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani -- might do as mayor to influence the Israeli-Palestinian conflict one way or another. Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor who ran as an independent in the NYC mayor's race, first explains his support for Cuomo, who signed an executive order as governor barring the state from doing business with any organization that participated in the BDS movement. Then, Jeremy Cohan, sociologist and NYC-DSA leader and spokesperson, breaks down Mamdani's Not On Our Dime Act, intended to punish organizations that aid Israeli West Bank settlers.

Meg Kelly, senior reporter for The Washington Post's Visual Forensics team, discusses her team's reporting on the Trump administration's USAID funding pause, which resulted in the deaths of children from curable diseases around the world.

A Washington Post article explained how most families have a secret language that only they understand, or a "familect" as some linguists call it.  Listeners call in to share the words in their family that only they use, which are often conjured in the minds of small children and then used for years down the road.

Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, talks about President Trump's attempts to send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon and his plans to send troops to Chicago, how states are reacting and why a federal judge keeps blocking the plan for Portland.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton University, talks about issues of free speech (First) | A 30 Issues in 30 Days debate about involuntary hospitalization of New Yorkers with severe and untreated mental illnesses (Starts at 29:48) | Your favored (and least favored) seasons (Starts at 1:17:46)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Sophia Wohl , deputy director of stewardship, environment and planning at NYC Parks Department, talks about Saturday's celebrations of City of Forest Day with events around town, plus offers guidance for caring for the trees and forests near you.=> City of Forest Day events

Giulia Heyward, WNYC and Gothamist reporter, talks about how New York officials are dealing with the Trump administration's attempts to roll back legal protections for the LGBTQ community.

Larry Higgs, commuting and transport reporter at NJ Advance Media, talks about the state of NJ Transit and where the candidates stand on tolls, construction of new transit projects, congestion pricing and more.

Russell Berman, a staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about the New Jersey governor's race and its national bellwether status, plus the latest shutdown news."The Blue State That's Now a Bellwether" (The Atlantic, Sept 29, 2025)

More young people under the age of 50 are getting diagnosed with early-onset cancers and researchers are trying to figure out why. Nina Agrawal, health reporter for The New York Times, explains what they have found so far, and what is still unknown.

Politico congressional reporter Nicholas Wu talks about the latest on the federal shutdown and other national political news.

Inspired by an article in The Atlantic that shares recommendations for a "happy start to the day," listeners call in to share their morning routines, and explain why it helps them get going; plus Michael Hill, WNYC's Morning Edition host, shares his ultra-early routine.

John Reitmeyer, budget and finance writer at NJ Spotlight News, talks about taxation in New Jersey and where the candidates stand on property taxes, the mansion tax, taxing millionaires, and more.

U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D NJ) talks about the government shutdown, U.S. military leadership, and more.

Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights leader, host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation, founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN) and the author of Righteous Troublemakers (Hanover Square Press, 2022), discusses the remaining mayoral candidates after Mayor Adams' withdrawal from the race and the issues of racial justice and inequality. Then, Gothamist and WNYC reporter Elizabeth Kim and Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University, co-host of the podcast FAQNYC and the author of How to Build a Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2024), talk about the latest news in the mayoral campaign after Mayor Adams's big announcement that he'd be dropping out, plus they discuss what the remaining candidates might do for racial justice.

Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton University and the author of Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right (Hachette, 2025), talks about issues of free speech and campus politics at Princeton, and the university's relationship with the Trump administration.

Vanessa Hauc, anchor and director of Noticias Telemundo's environmental investigative unit, Planeta Tierra, and one of three winners of the Covering Climate Now Journalist of the Year award, talks about her award and her reporting on the climate crisis, focused on solutions that are already happening around the world, plus how the Latino community is one of the most vulnerable to the crisis here and abroad.

Vilas Dhar, president of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and member of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Body on AI, talks about the two new institutions created by the United Nations to study and discuss the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence, and his goals for governing this emerging technology so that it serves the public good. 

Nick Garber, politics reporter at Crain's New York Business, shares the latest on the competing downstate casino proposals, just after Steve Cohen's Willets Point casino proposal wins approval from its community advisory committee, leaving four proposed casinos to vie for up to three state licenses to be awarded by the state by December 1.

Brian Stettin, senior advisor on severe mental illness for the Office of the New York City Mayor, and Michael F. Hogan,  PhD, consultant at Hogan Health Solutions and New York State Commissioner of Mental Health from 2007-2012, debate whether the city and state's policy of involuntarily hospitalizing New Yorkers displaying signs of severe mental illness is humane and effective ahead of the November mayoral election.

As fall has begun (not that you'd know it from the weather around here), listeners call in to share what their most and least favorite seasons are, and why.

Jorge Loweree, managing director of programs and strategy at the American Immigration Council, talks about the changes the Trump Administration has instituted for the H-1B visa program, and what it might mean for foreign workers and the companies that hire them. 

Katie Honan, senior reporter at The City and co-host of the podcast FAQ NYC, talks about Mayor Adams' withdrawal from the mayor's race and how that affects the contest.

New York State Senator Jabari Brisport (D, WF, 25th Senate District), chair of Committee on Children And Families, and New York State Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny (R, C, Coney Island, Bay Ridge), talk about Zohran Mamdani's proposal to tax corporations and the 1% in New York State to pay for programs to support working class New Yorkers and the feasibility of passing tax reforms in Albany. 

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.One perspective on free speech in our politics, from Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression CEO Greg Lukianoff (First) | Environmental activist and journalist Bill McKibben reflects on his life's work (Starts at 25:25) | Listeners on their religious conversions (Starts at 1:03:15)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

On Monday, President Donald Trump warned pregnant women not to take Tylenol, claiming without evidence that it was a cause of autism. Veronica Gillispie-Bell, MD, board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and vice chair of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee of Obstetrics, breaks down what the science says about painkiller use during pregnancy and listeners call in to share how they've been navigating new Trump administration guidelines for pregnant women.

Greg David, contributor covering fiscal and economic issues for THE CITY and director of the business and economics reporting program and Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, and Patrick Spauster, City Limits housing and homelessness reporter, talk about Mamdani's proposed rent freeze and Andrew Cuomo's call for means testing for rent-regulated tenants, and the larger question of rent regulation to make housing in NYC more affordable.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the author of Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy (Thesis, 2025), talks about her new book and explains why she says education protects democracy.

The prospect of a government shutdown is growing as Democrats are threatening to not help Republicans on the Hill pass a spending bill by the September 30 deadline. Deirdre Walsh, congressional correspondent for NPR's Washington Desk, talks about the politics of the potential shutdown and related news from Congress.

Bill McKibben, environmental activist, founder of Third Act and author of many books, most recently: Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025), discusses his new book, and reflects on his life's work, both as a climate activist and journalist. 

As part of the election series "30 Issues in 30 Days," Mike Hayes, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering the New Jersey governor's race and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform (Kingston Imperial, 2023), talks about the issue of too little affordable housing in New Jersey, including court-required efforts to build more, and how the gubernatorial candidates' plan to comply.

Ry Rivard, reporter covering regional infrastructure for Politico, looks at the gubernatorial candidates' positions on climate change and energy policies in New Jersey.

In a new memoir, Yusuf Islam, also known as the singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, writes about how he converted his faith and changed his name after a near-death experience. Listeners call in to share stories of why they changed their name, other than marriage.