The Brian Lehrer Show

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin (D-5, Upper East Side) talks about the council's priorities, working with Mayor Mamdani, and new proposals—including year-round outdoor dining.

David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic daily newsletter, plus author of The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2025), talks about actions and statements by the president that are raising alarms over election integrity with midterms months away.

Alana Casanova-Burgess, host of the podcast La Brega, talks about the new season of La Brega, which spotlights Puerto Rico's champions, and what they teach us about Puerto Ricans and the diaspora.

Heather Ann Thompson, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy and her latest, Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage (Pantheon, 2026) argues that the roots of white rage and violence can be traced back to the Reagan Era and, specifically, the Bernie Goetz shootings of four Black teenagers on a NYC subway in 1984.

Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayor, talks about the latest news, including how the administration is protecting vulnerable New Yorkers from the cold, the budget gap and more city issues. Then, Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, offers context and analysis of the mayor's interview.

Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate in economics, former New York Times columnist now on Substack, distinguished professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center, and the author of Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future (W. W. Norton & Company, 2020), talks about how President Trump's economic policies are affecting investors, and what that could mean for the overall economy.

Chi Ossé, NYC Councilmember from Bed-Stuy and housing justice advocate, discusses the fight against deed theft targeting Black homeowners. He recounts how schemes work, why seniors and neighborhoods are targeted, and urgent calls for eviction pauses, legal enforcement, and lawyer funding. Short-term protections and long-term reforms are debated.

Jason Zengerle, New Yorker staff writer and author of Hated by All the Right People, traces Tucker Carlson's rise and ideological shift. He maps how market forces, audience demand, and platform changes pushed Carlson right. He explores Carlson's nationalist ideas, the Nick Fuentes interview and the mainstreaming of extreme voices. He also examines Carlson's influence on young conservatives and his role in broader conservative radicalism.

Listeners share what they are watching, reading and listening to during a cold snap. Conversations highlight spikes in library downloads and HBO adaptations, renewed interest in Infinite Jest and Schitt's Creek, and Oscar- and Grammy-driven viewing. Callers describe outdoor work, bat rehabbing, language practice, and fandom for a new Star Trek series.

Adam Serwer, staff writer at The Atlantic and author on politics, race, and civil liberties, argues that masked ICE agents erode accountability. He discusses how anonymity enables abuse and impersonation, why doxing is not a valid defense, and how masked deployments affect communities, democratic norms, and racialized state power.