The Brian Lehrer Show

Christiane Amanpour, renowned international anchor with decades covering conflicts, offers a wide-ranging look at Iran. She traces historical turning points like the 1953 coup and 1979 revolution. She examines regional rivalries, Iran’s military posture and strikes, wartime claims and civilian risks. She also discusses protests, diaspora reactions, and the uncertain aftermath of military action.

David Brand, WNYC and Gothamist housing reporter who covers local development, breaks down the revived Sunnyside Yard platform plan. He outlines the scale, costs, and transit challenges. He walks through political dynamics, community reactions, and how the project connects to neighborhood growth and open space debates.

Callers debate whether to keep changing clocks or pick permanent daylight or standard time. Listeners share how shifts affect safety, kids’ routines, and runners’ schedules. The show revisits the 1970s experiment with year-round daylight time and suggestions to shorten the DST extension.

Craig Welch, New York Times Magazine writer who investigated teen ACL injuries and drew on his daughter's experience. He explores why girls tear ACLs more often, the emotional and long-term fallout, biological and social risk factors, effective 20-minute prevention programs, barriers to adopting them, and how equipment and surfaces contribute to rising injury rates.

Sabrina Siddiqui, national politics reporter at The Wall Street Journal, breaks down U.S. aims in the war with Iran and the question of regime change. She discusses political pressure on Trump, shifting alliances with Russia and Gulf states, regional infrastructure attacks, and the implications of Mojtaba Khamenei's succession.

Teresa Crimmins, phenology expert tracking seasonal life-cycle changes. Dr. Paul Offit, vaccine scientist and educator. Stephen Levy, technology journalist covering AI safety. They dive into the Anthropic-Pentagon standoff and its civil liberties risks. They tackle rising measles, vaccine policy shifts, and mRNA prospects. They celebrate urban nature, signs of spring, and citizen science opportunities.

During Ramadan, Sohaira Siddiqui, executive director at the Al-Mujadilah Center and the host of the podcast "More Muslim", talks about the diversity of the Muslim community in New York and around the world. Photo: Mayor Mamdani attends Taraweeh prayers in Staten Island. Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

Data centers are booming and taking the blame for spiking power costs because of how energy intensive they are. Rosemary Misdary, WNYC and Gothamist science reporter, talks about what Gov. Hochul says she plans to do to reign in the costs to consumers.   Image: Data center infrastructure in the United States, November 2025 (DOE — NREL, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Caitlin Dickerson, staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about her reporting on a mixed immigration status family who felt the risks of staying in the U.S. were too great, and moved to Mexico. Plus Rachel Cruz and Irvi Cruz talk about why their family made the decision to move to Mexico, where Irvi is originally from. => Correction: At 24:45, the guest said that people who traveled back and forth to the U.S. without status could be subject to 2, 5, or 10 year bars, or a permanent bar, but on re-checking, notes that the bars are for either 3 or 10 years, or permanent.   Photo credit: Ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., references a DHS advertising campaign while questioning DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security," in Rayburn building on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Lydia DePillis, New York Times reporter covering the American economy, talks about how the war with Iran could affect the economy at home, as issues with oil prices, supply chains and the massive cost of the war begin to pile up. Photo credit: Natasha Chebanoo on Pexels.