The Brian Lehrer Show

James Solomon, mayor of Jersey City, talks about the major budget deficit of about $250 million dollars he is facing, which he blames the former mayor, Steve Fulop for, and other Jersey City news.new)

It's been more than two weeks since the big snowstorm hit, and hardened piles of dirty snow are still everywhere. Javier Lojan, acting commissioner of the New York City Sanitation Department, talks about the challenges the Sanitation Department has faced as the extreme cold settled in after the storm.

Chelsea Cirruzzo, Washington Correspondent for STAT news, explains what the Trump administration's new prescription drug marketplace aims to do, and who might save money by using it.

Annie McDonough, senior City Hall reporter at City & State New York, talks about Mayor Mamdani's plans for a Department of Community Safety to send social workers instead of police officers to respond to mental health crises.

Nadira Goffe, staff writer of culture at Slate, recaps Bad Bunny's joyful halftime show at the Super Bowl and talks about the political divide over the performance, the commercials and general vibes of the big game.→ Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Performance Was Pure Joy 

The latest Epstein files to be released exposed more embarrassing revelations for more powerful men, including the president of Bard College, the (former) chairman of the law firm Paul Weiss, and one of the owners of the Giants. Vicky Ward, investigative journalist and author of Kushner, Inc. (St. Martin's Press, 2019) and, with James Patterson, The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy (Little, Brown and Company, 2025), and Steve Eder, investigative reporter for The New York Times, talk about what the new emails reveal about how wealthy and powerful people operate. 

Steve Fulop, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, talks about what they want from the new mayoral administration, and the group's critiques of Mayor Mamdani so far. 

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.Mayor Mamdani on the Cold, Budget and More (First) | Tracing the Path from Bernie Goetz and Reagan to Today (Starts at 16:00) | What Makes Your Dog the Best? (Starts at 41 :00)If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

President Trump has been knocking down data sharing protections between federal agencies to empower ICE's growing surveillance apparatus. Jason Koebler, cofounder of 404 Media, a digital media company focused on technology, discusses his recent investigations into how big tech is helping ICE to gather data on civilians and ultimately identify, track, and detain undocumented immigrants. 

Ahead of the Super Bowl, Louisa Thomas, staff writer at The New Yorker, who writes the weekly column The Sporting Scene,  talks about the shifting expectations of the public on how famous athletes should respond to politics.