The Brian Lehrer Show show image

The Brian Lehrer Show

What's On The Show

Friday:

  • Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, co-directors (with David Schmidt) of "The American Revolution," talk about their 12-part docuseries for PBS on the nation's founding.
  • Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian and the author of American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (Random House, 2026), puts today's political conflicts in the historical context of tensions going back to the country's founding.
  • Edward Larson, chaired professor of history and law at Pepperdine University and the author of Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025), talks about the change in thinking 250 years ago in the American colonies from British subjects protesting the crown to revolution.
  • A. J. Jacobs, NPR contributor, essayist, and the author of The Year of Living Biblically, The Know-It-All, It's All Relative and The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning (Crown, 2024), offers his take on "originalism" by living like a "founding father" - tricorn hat and all.

Recent Segments

250 Years: Ken Burns; Jon Meacham; Edward Larson; AJ Jacobs

For the 250th Independence Day, some favorite conversations about America's founding.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Trump's Crypto Windfall

David Uberti discusses Trump's 2025 financial disclosures, focusing on the more than $1 billion he made from crypto.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

New Jersey News

Michael Sol Warren talks about the new state budget and Rep. Kean Jr's return to the public stage.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

1776 and the Worldwide Drive for Freedom

Sarah Pearsall draws on the ideals in the Declaration of Independence to examine the revolutionary spirit of 1776.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Health & Climate Tuesdays

Can New York State Get 'Beyond Plastic?'

Former EPA admin Judith Enck discusses her support for a new law on recycling and packaging.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Hantavirus Fact and Fiction

Katelyn Jetelina talks about hantavirus, what the risks are and how prepared the US is for a pandemic
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Gov. Hochul's Climate Law Rollback

Jon Campbell reports that the state may loosen the emissions goals in the landmark 2019 climate law.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

The Abortion Pill Lands in the Courts

On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily reinstated a Food and Drug Administration rule allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be prescribed via telemedicine. Amy Littlefield, abortion access correspondent at The Nation and author of Killers of Roe: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights (Hachette, 2026), explains the legal battle over the abortion pill playing out in courts and how abortion access in the United States could be upended if reproductive care becomes inaccessible through the mail. Plus, Kristyn Brandi, MD, abortion provider in New Jersey and previous board chair with Physicians for Reproductive Health, explains how abortion access has expanded via telemedicine post-Roe and how abortion care providers are navigating shifting policies.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Why Hospital Admission Is Getting Harder

Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal discusses how patients in emergency department are getting stuck waiting for days to be transferred into an inpatient ward.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Fast-Tracking Psychedelics Research

Frederick S. Barrett talks about the use of psychedelics for mental illness and the effects of President Trump's executive order speeding up research.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

The Push for Junk Food Warning Labels in New York State

As federal food safety oversight weakens, Mary Basset discusses her push to get Albany to pass three bills that would expand nutrition warning labels at chain restaurants statewide and crack down on junk food ads targeting kids.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Medicaid and Medicare in Peril?

President Trump recently said it was "not possible" for the federal government to fund Medicaid and Medicare. Maya Goldman unpacks what that means for the millions of Americans who rely on those programs and the states who'll have to fill the gaps.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Meet the New NYC Health Commissioner

Alister Martin, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, talks about his background and what he plans to prioritize in his new job.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Global Warming Arrives "Faster and Stronger" Than Expected

David Gelles of the New York Times discusses changes to the Earth that are coming faster than anticipated due to rising global temperatures.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Gov. Hochul Hopes to Delay Implementing Climate Law

Gov. Hochul has recently made it clear that she intends to try to postpone the implementation of New York's 2019 climate law due to affordability issues.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Fixing the Hated Cross Bronx Expressway

Siddhartha Sánchez, and CP, talk about why they are against state-led plans to repair and widen the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Robert Moses-designed highway that has harmed residents' health for decades, and what they propose the state does instead.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Vaccine Hesitation & Misinformation

Dr. Paul Offit talks about the changes to vaccine recommendations and conceptions of public health in the current HHS.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

The Consequences of EPA’s Endangerment Finding Repeal

In early February, the EPA repealed the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, a landmark regulatory move reversing the determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health. Pat Parenteau explains what happens next.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

What GLP-1s Know About Addiction

Dr. Dhruv Khullar talks about the effect GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, are having on curbing addictions and what researchers are studying about that phenomenon.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

What to Know About TrumpRx

Chelsea Cirruzzo, Washington Correspondent for STAT news, explains what the Trump administration's new prescription drug marketplace aims to do, and who might save money by using it.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

(Solar) Power to the People

Elizabeth Yeampierre, attorney and executive director of UPROSE, talks about Sunset Park Solar, a grassroots project seeking to bring green power to Sunset Park residents.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Getting Unhoused New Yorkers Inside in Bad Weather

Dave Giffen, executive director of Coalition for the Homeless, explains what the city can do to get the homeless population indoors and save lives.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

The Worst Measles Outbreak in 20 Years

Apoorva Mandavilli discusses how 2025 became the worst year for measles in the United States in more than two decades and how the country might lose its "elimination status."
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Changes to the Way the EPA Regulates Deadly Air Pollutants

NYT reporter Maxine Joselow shares her reporting that found the EPA will no longer measure the lives saved by regulating two air pollutants.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Making Sense of the New Nutrition Guidelines

Epidemiologist and nutrition professor Deirdre Tobias talks about the new nutrition guidelines released last week and how they could impact what American health and diets.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things

100 Years of 100 Things: You!

Our final installment in the centennial series: your stories.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things: The Fight for Gay Rights

Marc Stein walks us through the history of LGBTQ rights in the US, from the founding of the first, though short-lived, gay rights organization in 1924 in Chicago to today.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things: Cancer Research

Paul Goldberg discusses the century of cancer treatment advancements and how the U.S. government played a major part in funding the science for treatment, early detection and prevention.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things: Shortwave Radio

Katie Thornton, host of The Divided Dial, a series on WNYC's On the Media, talks about the new season of her 4-part series, about the history of shortwave radio.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things: Best Sellers

Tina Jordan, deputy editor of The New York Times Book Review, looks at the history of best-selling books and what that says out the past century of American culture.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things: New York Films

A look at the last 100 years of movies depicting New York City.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things: The NYC Skyline

As our centennial series continues, Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic for The New York Times, talks about the major changes to the NYC skyline across the past century.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

300 Years of Critiquing Capitalism

The New Yorker's John Cassidy, talks about his new book that traces the roots of criticism of today's global capitalism to its beginnings.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things: Yogi Berra

Celebrating Yogi Berra on what would be his 100th birthday.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

100 Years of 100 Things: The Legacy of Celia Cruz

As our centennial series continues, Felix Contreras, host and co-creator of NPR's Alt.Latino, talks about the life and legacy of music icon Celia Cruz, born 100 years ago.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Support our Show

cta_block-7e4c8ea5-54a5-4513-a362-1fe7f0da6e66-image
The Brian Lehrer Show show image

The Brian Lehrer Show

Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.

To comment on a particular conversation:

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Support for The Brian Lehrer Show is provided in part by The Endeavor Foundation.

Transcripts are posted to individual segment pages as they become available.

YOU ARE ONLINE