Trump and the Rule of Law; NIH Grants in the Crosshairs; Building Solutions

The Brian Lehrer Show | Mar 18, 2025

On today's show:

Andrew Weissmann, professor of practice at NYU School of Law, MSNBC legal analyst, and the co-author of The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024), offers legal analysis of the ways the Trump administration has challenged the rule of law in the first few months, including on deportations, fired inspectors general and more.
The Trump administration is rapidly canceling grants at the National Institutes of Health. Katherine Wu, staff writer for The Atlantic, explains how the agency is being to terminate active research grants—seemingly on political grounds.
Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, author of the "Work in Progress" newsletter and host of the podcast "Plain English," and co-author, with Ezra Klein, of Abundance (Simon & Schuster, 2025), and Ezra Klein, New York Times opinion columnist and host of their podcast, the "Ezra Klein Show" and co-author, with Derek Thompson, of Abundance (Simon & Schuster, 2025), discuss their new book that argues limits placed by past generations to protect jobs and the environment are preventing solving shortages today.

Transcripts are posted to each segment as they become available.

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

WNYC Homepage - Top Stories

Why single domestic violence survivors can't get shelter in NYC despite empty beds

More than half the callers to the city’s domestic violence hotline are single people, but few are getting shelter.

Gothamist |

The History Wars and America at 250, with the Historian Jill Lepore

Three prominent historians discuss a national milestone arriving in the midst of a politically charged conflict over how Americans see the past. It’s a “goat rodeo,” Lepore says.

The New Yorker Radio Hour |

What Péter Magyar's Election in Hungary Says About 'Strongmen' Today

Andrew Marantz talks about the new prime minister of Hungary, and OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman.

The Brian Lehrer Show |

Mayor Mamdani says he's balanced NYC's budget

WNYC News |

How they handle crises in Brownsville, often without police

At least twice a year, nonprofit workers from the neighborhood spend a week calming disputes and responding to most 311 and 911 calls on certain blocks in the neighborhood.