The Brian Lehrer Show

Antonio Pagliarulo, writer and author of The Evil Eye: The History, Mystery & Magic of the Quiet Curse (Weiser Books, 2023) and the forthcoming The Queer Saints: A Radical Guide to Magic, Miracles and Modern Intercession, tells us about the saint for whom  Valentine's Day is named, and listeners tell us about their secret loves. 

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Julian Brave NoiseCat, writer and filmmaker, and Emily Kassie, filmmaker and investigative journalist, discuss their film "Sugarcane" that documents the long history of abuse at one Indian residential school in Canada and the damage to individuals, families and communities from the century-long practice across the U.S. and Canada.Sugarcane is streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

Samantha Max, reporter covering public safety for WNYC/Gothamist, talks about the news that the acting Manhattan U.S. attorney quit rather than comply with the DOJ's request that her office drop the charges against Mayor Adams, and explains the prosecutor's reasoning.

As our centennial series continues, Jefferson Cowie, historian at Vanderbilt University and the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power (Basic Books, 2022), reviews the history of white Americans fighting the federal government over civil rights legislation and more.

Kate Shaw, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, co-host of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny, and a contributing opinion Writer with the New York Times, talks about the constitutional issues at stake with some of the actions taken by the White House.

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Johan Grimonprez, director of "Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat", discusses his film's "fusion of jazz and geopolitics" that touches on colonialism, racism, the 1961 assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, and a State Department-backed goodwill tour by jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone.

Scott Stringer, former NYC Comptroller, talks about his campaign for the Democratic nomination for NYC Mayor in the June primary.

With the news that President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics, professor at Bennington College and former EPA Region 2 administrator, provides the broader state of plastic pollution in the United States, which efforts from former President Joe Biden actually worked and what the current president could rollback.

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Shiori Itō, director of "Black Box Diaries," talks about her film that tells the story of her investigation of her own sexual assault case, credited with starting Japan's #metoo movement. 

The DOJ directed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the corruption charges against Mayor Adams. Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, reports on how the mayor is reacting, whether it will affect how City Hall cooperates with the Trump administration, and how the news may shake up the mayoral campaign.