

The Brian Lehrer Show
WNYC
Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 26, 2026 • 14min
Why Some Immigrant New Yorkers Can't Get Commercial Driver Licenses Now
Jessica Gould, education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about why a funding threat from the Trump administration means some immigrants won't be able to get commercial driver licenses, and how this will affect school bus drivers in New York City.
(Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Feb 26, 2026 • 21min
Thursday Morning Politics: SCOTUS Tariff's Decision and The Washington Post
Ruth Marcus, contributor to The New Yorker, former columnist for the Washington Post and the author of Supreme Ambition: Brett Kavanaugh and the Conservative Takeover (Simon & Schuster, 2019), comments on the Supreme Court's tariff's decision and other political news—and the state of journalism in the aftermath of mass layoffs at Jeff Bezos' Washington Post.

Feb 25, 2026 • 16min
Expanding NYC's Child Care
Emmy Liss, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Child Care, talks about the deadline for families to apply for 3K/Pre-K and the mayor's plans for expanding child care options, generally.
(Photo by: Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Feb 25, 2026 • 11min
10-Question Quiz: February Holidays
For this pledge drive, listeners try their hand at a quiz. Today's theme is media history.
Photo: Valentine's Day Cupcakes / Stephanie Clifford, Wikimedia Commons

Feb 25, 2026 • 9min
Finding Your Style: A Hard-Soled Kind of Guy
Why WNYC and Gothamist digital producer James Ramsay aspires to be the kind of person who wears hard-soled shoes. This the first segment in a short series about finding your personal style.
→ NYC used to be a hard-soled shoe town. Could I be part of a revival?
Photo: Well-dressed in burgundy corduroy trousers and black leather loafers with silver metal bit hardware. Milan Fashion Week - Menswear Fall/Winter 2026-2027, on January 17, 2026 in Milan, Italy (Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)

Feb 25, 2026 • 19min
Unpacking Trump's Voting Proposals from the State of the Union
Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones, offers analysis of President Trump's State of the Union address, especially his talk of voter fraud and push to pass the SAVE act.
Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber at the Capitol on February 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images).

Feb 25, 2026 • 17min
Preserving Black History
Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, concludes our three-part Black History Month series with a look at current efforts to end DEI initiatives and rewrite museum exhibit information.
photo: Smithsonian National African American Museum by John Brighenti from Rockville, MD, United States, CC BY 2.0 , via / Wikimedia Commons )

Feb 24, 2026 • 29min
The Consequences of EPA’s Endangerment Finding Repeal
In early February, the EPA repealed the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, a landmark regulatory move reversing the determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health. Pat Parenteau, emeritus professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School and former EPA regional counsel under President Ronald Reagan, explains what happens next, including the many challenges the Trump administration is facing from environmental groups, and how the repeal could impact both health and climate change.Photo: [Smog obscures view of Chrysler Building from Empire State Building, New York City] / World-Telegram photo by Walter Albertin.

Feb 24, 2026 • 15min
How to be a Good Neighbor During and After a Blizzard
Taylor Jung, digital producer and reporter for Epicenter NYC, offers tips on how to stay safe and be a good neighbor during the aftermath of the blizzard.
Photo: Snow, Touro College (320 West 31st Street), 31st Street and 8th Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, 27 February 2010. credit: Jazz Guy from New Jersey, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Feb 24, 2026 • 31min
The Day After the 2026 Blizzard
Brittany Kriegstein and David Brand, reporters for WNYC and Gothamist, discuss the aftermath of the blizzard, including what's up and running and what is not, plus how the city managed to get vulnerable people to safety so far.
photo: Cars are seen buried under snow on Lincoln Avenue on February 24, 2026 in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)


