The Brian Lehrer Show

McKay Coppins, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Romney: A Reckoning (Simon & Schuster, 2023), recaps the happenings at the Republican National Convention, including JD Vance's speech, plus offers analysis on Nikki Haley's apparent evolution into a Trump believer. 

Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent at Vox and the author of The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World  (PublicAffairs, 2024), explores the resistance to democratic ideals that has always accompanied progress toward greater freedom and how that reactionary movement is active here and around the world.

Classical pianist Lara Downes previews a free outdoor concert in which she'll perform a new arrangement of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," which turns 100 this year.On Saturday, July 27 at 6 p.m., WNYC and St. Ann’s Warehouse will present Rhapsody for This Land: The American Odyssey in Music, a free concert in Brooklyn Bridge Park that celebrates a century of hope, protest and change as expressed through American music.RSVP for free here.WNYC is celebrating its centennial with live events, audio programming, public art, a city-wide storytelling initiative and partnerships with other New York institutions. Visit wnyc.org/100to learn more about how you can join the celebration of WNYC’s first — and next — 100 years.

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. This weeks topics include: the resignation of the FDNY commissioner, Laura Kavanagh; the mayor pointing fingers at the press in response to the assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump; a first look at how much Democratic mayoral primary candidates are fundraising for the upcoming 2025 primaries; plus a question from a Politico reporter that sent Adams over the edge.  

Halfway through summer, listeners share their favorite finds:  Cultural, Culinary, Air-Conditioned.

U.S. Representative Anthony D'Esposito (R, NY-4) talks about the Republican convention and the campaigns.

Continuing our centennial series "100 Years of 100 Things," Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, CNN political analyst, NPR contributor, and author of several books and co-author with Kevin Kruse of Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past (Basic Books, 2023), walks us through pivotal RNC speeches from the last 100 years.

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted on bribery and other corruption charges. Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and editor, and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, reports on what comes next for him and for his re-election campaign.

William Barber, a Protestant minister, social activist, professor, and founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, president of Repairers of the Breach and the author of White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy  (Liveright, 2024), argues against seeing poverty as primarily a Black issue and seeks to create common ground across racial lines to address the problem.

The year 2024 is the hottest year on record in New York City, and the current heat wave is expected to bring real-feel temperatures into the triple digits today. In this oppressive heat and humidity, we ask our listeners simply, "how hot is it?"