The Brian Lehrer Show

Listeners call in to share what their book clubs are reading this month, and Jordan Lauf, producer for All Of It talks about Get Lit's latest pick and upcoming event.

Mayor Adams holds one off-topic press conference per week, where reporters can ask him questions on any subject. Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, recaps what he talked about at this week's event, including which presidential candidate the Mayor is getting behind and why.

Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist and the author of many nonfiction books and his latest, a novel, A Capital Calamity (Miniver Press, 2024), talks about the latest news on global conflicts, plus his new novel. 

New Yorkers are voting on Proposition 1, which would add some new protections to the state constitution. Liz Krueger, New York State senator (D, WF - 28th, Manhattan's East Side ), chair of the finance committee (and one of the key legislators behind Prop 1), explains the thinking behind the measure, then, Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, talks about what it would do, and how the arguments for and against it have broken down along partisan lines.

Twelve years later, and as massive storms remain a threat to coastal communities and beyond, listeners reflect on the experience of Superstorm Sandy, what they learned and what has changed.

More than one-third of all tree species are at risk of extinction, and many wild animal species are, too. With the world's biodiversity in stark decline, delegates from nearly every country in the world are in Cali, Colombia for COP16, the UN biodiversity summit. Benji Jones, environmental correspondent at Vox, discusses the key takeaways from the conference.

As part of our centennial series "100 Years of 100 Things," Michael Kazin, professor of history at Georgetown University, editor emeritus of Dissent and the author of several books, including What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party (FSG, 2022) and American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation (Knopf, 2011), traces the history of socialism in America.

Amy Freitag, president of the New York Community Trust, talks about the work of the trust, its centennial, the changing needs of New Yorkers, and how to participate in its future.

Lucia Starbuck, political reporter and host of Purple Politics Nevada at KUNR Public Radio, talks about the issues animating voters in the swing state of Nevada, what the polls show about Trump and Harris's chances of winning the state, and the unique political dynamics at play.

Former president Donald Trump challenged the 2020 election results in court, and lost. Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket and partner at Elias Law Group, talks about his experience in overturning Trump's challenge in court, and what he anticipates may be the battle ahead for the 2024 election should Trump deny a potential loss.