U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is seen at the U.S. Capitol at night after negotiators sealed a deal for COVID relief Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in Washington.

Omicron Surge in the City; National Politics With Rep. Jamaal Bowman; Pandemic Anxiety and Depression Ahead of the Holidays; What New Yorkers Were Reading

The Brian Lehrer Show | Dec 21, 2021

Coming up on today's show:

  • Jay Varma, MD, epidemiologist, professor of health sciences and director of the Weill Cornell Medicine's Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response, and former senior advisor on public health to Mayor de Blasio, talks about best practices for individuals and officials in facing the surge and Mark Levine, Manhattan Borough President-Elect and current New York City Council Member (District 7 - Washington Heights, West Harlem, Upper West Side) where he chairs the Council Health Committee, talks about services available to New Yorkers as they deal with exposures and positive test results.
  • U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16) talks about the torpedoed Build Back Better bill, the Biden Administration's shifting focus to voting rights, and where the progressive agenda goes from here.
  •  Amid the new omicron variant, many are making tough decisions on whether or not to see family this holiday season.  Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD, epidemiologist and professor at Columbia and C.E.O. of Fountain House, a community-based mental and public health organization, joins to discuss the mental health toll on yet another winter in a pandemic, and talks about the path forward to fixing our mental healthcare system.
  • Lynn Lobash, associate director of reader services at the New York Public Library, shares the most-checked-out books in 2021 in all the boroughs.

Transcripts are posted to the individual segment pages as soon as they are available.

Listeners, the year is wrapping up, which means it's time again for our annual "Best Photo Sitting On Your Phone 2021 Edition." Submit the best photo from your camera roll by January 3rd. And remember, no kids, no pets. That'd be too easy.

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