Podcast
The Brian Lehrer Show
Hosted by WNYC · EN
Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.
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Episodes
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Primary Day Results
Today00:54:59Tap to summarizeBrigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent and Michael Lange, New York City based writer, researcher, strategist, and political organizer, and Debralee Santos, editor-in-chief of The Manhattan Times and The Bronx Free Press, talk about the results from New York's primary election, especially the hotly-contested Congressional races. Plus, Congressional primary winners Claire Valdez and Brad Lander each call in for a few minutes to talk about why they think they won. Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 23: One of the many signs throughout the polling sites informing voters where to go as New Yorkers head to the polls on Primary Day June 23, 2026 in New York City. New Yorkers are voting in a Democratic state primary, which many see as a test for recently elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is seeking to use his popularity to influence the city's congressional delegation by endorsing challengers to two Democratic incumbents. (Photo by Laura Brett/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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CUNY's President on the Job Market and More
Today00:11:30Tap to summarizeAs graduation season wraps up, Félix Matos Rodríguez, CUNY chancellor, talks about the tough job market new grads are entering and what CUNY is doing to help, funding for the system and more news related to New York City's public system of colleges and universities. Photo: Group of Graduates during commencement. Concept education congratulation in University. Graduation Ceremony, Congratulated the graduates in University during commencement. Credit: Rattankun Thongbun Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Inside the Trump White House
Today00:30:54Tap to summarizeMaggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, White House correspondents for The New York Times and the co-authors of Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump (Simon & Schuster, 2026) talk about their new book and the inner workings of the Trump White House. Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 22: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on June 22, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump signed two orders on quantum computing. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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American Culture Shock
Today00:13:02Tap to summarizeInternational fans traveling to North America for the World Cup are experiencing wholesome "culture shock" by discovering everyday American staples like ranch dressing and large supermarket aisles. Listeners call in to share when they've experienced culture shocks, whether as immigrants or moving to another city or region. Photo: Scotland fans walk on board a boat cruise in Miami ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 group match against Brazil on Wednesday. Picture date: Tuesday June 23, 2026. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/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.
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New York Primary Day Informal, Unofficial, Thoroughly Unscientific Exit Polls
Yesterday00:57:16Tap to summarizeBrigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, talks about the competitive congressional races in New York's primary, and what voter turnout is signaling so far. Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about the Democratic primary in NY-17, where the candidate that wins will take on Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in the general election in November. Photo: Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani votes at Frank Sinatra School of Arts in the Queens borough of New York City on November 4, 2025. New Yorkers will pick a new mayor on November 4 after an unpredictable race that has drawn attention from far beyond the largest city in the United States, with President Donald Trump branding frontrunner Zohran Mamdani "a communist." Breakout Democratic Party candidate Mamdani, a naturalized Muslim American who represents Queens in the state legislature, leads former governor and sex assault-accused Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent after losing his party's primary contest to Mamdani. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz / AFP) (Photo by LEONARDO MUNOZ/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.
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The Future of FEMA
Yesterday00:17:27Tap to summarizeMicah Loewinger, co-host of WNYC's On the Media, draws on his reporting from On the Media's series on FEMA to talk about the future of the agency, the Trump administration's new nominee to run it and how a weakened FEMA will affect New Yorkers just as the Atlantic hurricane season is beginning. Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sign is displayed at their headquarters on May 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Where the Culture Wars Began
Yesterday00:24:52Tap to summarizeIsaac Butler, culture historian, critic, podcaster and the author of The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars (Bloomsbury, 2026) revisits the late 1980s start of the culture wars as the religious right took on the contemporary art world. Photo: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - August 21: Banned books are chained to a table in "JD Vances Livingroom" at the Hotties For Harris party during the DNC in Chicago, Illinois on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Nick Oxford for The Washington Post 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.
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News From Your World Cup Country
Yesterday00:10:39Tap to summarizeListeners call in to share a news story from the country they’re cheering on at the 2026 World Cup. Photo: An Indian (R) and Nepalese football player (L) vie for the ball during a qualifier match for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 at Dasrath Stadium in Kathmandu on March 17, 2015. The teams drew 0-0. AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH MATHEMA (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / 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.
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Monday Morning Politics: Status of the Iran Deal
2d ago00:48:43Tap to summarizeFred 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) offers analysis of what's in the Iran deal, and whether it will even hold up amid on-and-off violence. Photo: TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 18: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY â" MANDATORY CREDIT - 'IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT' - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signs a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war between Iran and the United States, brokered by Pakistan, at his office in Tehran, Iran, on June 18, 2026. (Photo by Iranian Presidency/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.
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How an Alleged Real Estate Scammer Operated
2d ago00:19:40Tap to summarizeCatalina Gonella, WNYC and Gothamist reporter, talks about her investigation into an alleged real estate scammer, who allegedly took money from dozens of apartment hunters, and never refunded the deposits even when they didn't get the apartment. Plus, she offers tips on how to avoid real estate scams, and what to do if you think you've been swindled out of cash. Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 11: An apartment building stands in the East Village neighborhood on May 11, 2026, in New York City. A New York City board that sets the rent for city-subsidized apartments voted last Thursday night to set a preliminary rent adjustment of 0% to 2% for one-year leases and 0% to 4% for two-year leases, angering many of the city's landlords. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, made reducing New York City's high housing costs a key campaign pledge. (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.
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