The Brian Lehrer Show

Every day during this pledge drive, listeners can try their hands at a quiz. Today's topic is local geography. 

Jessica Malaty Rivera, infectious disease epidemiologist, science communicator and PhD student at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, talks about the government's response to the ongoing measles outbreaks, why an FDA vaccine advisory committee meeting on planning next year's flu shot was cancelled and what it could mean for next year's flu season. 

Throughout this pledge drive, Brian Kelly, founder of the travel site The Points Guy and the author of How to Win at Travel (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, 2025), shares advice on how to optimize your travel plans. Today, he explains his tips for booking travel, including the best site to search for flights and how to maximize credit card points.

Dana Stevens, film critic at Slate.com, co-host of the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast and the author of Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century (Atria Books, 2022), recaps the highs and lows of Sunday's Academy Awards presentation.

Every day during this pledge drive, listeners can try their hands at a quiz. Today's topic is this year's Academy Awards.

Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of several books, including The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters (Simon & Schuster, 2024), talks about the latest national political news, including how the president is choosing which reporters cover him as part of the White House press pool, tense negotiations with Ukrainian President Zelensky and more. 

The city has implemented a new math curriculum called "Illustrative Math" and not all teachers are fans. Jessica Gould, WNYC/Gothamist reporter, talks about how the roll out is going, and how officials hope it will improve dismal math scores.

Charlotte Coles, a financial advice columnist for New York Magazine's The Cut, dives deep into the chaotic world of student loans under the Trump administration, revealing the complexities borrowers face with evolving policies and service issues. Meanwhile, Michael Schulman, a staff writer for The New Yorker and author of Oscar Wars, takes listeners through a century of Oscar history, discussing the evolution of the Best Picture award and its relevance in today’s streaming landscape. Their insights offer both practical advice and cultural reflections.

John Nichols, national-affairs correspondent for The Nation magazine and the author of, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, It’s OK to be Angry About Capitalism (Crown, 2023), talks about today's planned protest boycotts and other responses by those opposed to the early Trump administration actions.

As our centennial series continues and with Sunday's Oscar ceremony, Michael Schulman, New Yorker staff writer and the author of Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears (Harper Collins, 2023), takes us through the decades of Best Picture winners and what they tell us about their time.