The Brian Lehrer Show

WNYC
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Jan 29, 2026 • 30min

How AI is Changing Medicine

Lloyd Minor, M.D., dean of Stanford Medicine and leader in medical AI education. He discusses AI in diagnostics and pathology. He covers AI helping tumor boards and clinical trial matching. He talks about wearables for chronic disease monitoring. He warns about bias and skill loss and describes Stanford’s mandatory AI training for clinicians.
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Jan 29, 2026 • 12min

Nostalgia for 2016?

Nostalgia for 2016 is a trend on social media this month, so we ask our listeners to reflect on the recent past. Are you nostalgic for 2016?
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Jan 29, 2026 • 27min

In Charge of Rikers Island

Reuven Blau, reporter for The City who covers criminal justice and the city’s prison system, talks about the man appointed by a federal judge as "remediation manager" and what that means for the jail's future.
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Jan 28, 2026 • 24min

Keeping Warm at Home

As the cold weather continues, Patrick Spauster, City Limits housing and homelessness reporter, talks about the obligations landlords have to keep apartments heated, and what tenants should do if their heat or hot water isn't working. 
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Jan 28, 2026 • 43min

Kash Patel's FBI One Year In

Emily Bazelon, staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, co-host of Slate's "Political Gabfest" podcast and Truman Capote fellow for creative writing and law at Yale Law School, and Rachel Poser, features editor at The New York Times Magazine, discuss their reporting on the The Federal Bureau of Investigation under the leadership of Kash Patel, after speaking to forty-five current and former employees on the changes they say are undermining the agency and making America less safe.  
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Jan 28, 2026 • 8min

Was the Storm Good or Bad For Your Business?

Snow clearers, liquor store owners, restaurant and bar proprietors...or anyone: call in to share whether this week's storm was good or bad for your business, financially speaking.
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Jan 28, 2026 • 35min

TikTok's New Trump-Approved US Owners

The United States version of TikTok has new owners, and among them are several corporations and investment firms with ties to President Trump. Vittoria Elliott, senior writer for Wired covering platforms and power, talks about the new era of TikTok in America, including a controversial new terms of service, concerns about surveillance and data privacy, and claims of censorship
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Jan 27, 2026 • 35min

A 'Skeptic' on Finding the Truth

Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of Truth, is a longtime promoter of science and critical thinking. He discusses how to evaluate information, defends scientific methods against 'post-truth' claims, explores pluralistic ignorance and free speech, weighs evidence around UAPs and AI deepfakes, and distinguishes subjective versus objective claims about gender.
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Jan 27, 2026 • 19min

Getting Unhoused New Yorkers Inside in Bad Weather

Over the weekend, seven New Yorkers perished in the cold and snow despite the city's outreach attempts to get unhoused people in shelter. Dave Giffen, executive director of Coalition for the Homeless, explains why these efforts fell short, and what the city can do to get the homeless population indoors and save lives. 
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Jan 27, 2026 • 31min

Rep. Espaillat Calls For an End to ICE

U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat (D, NY-13) shares why he says ICE should be "dismantled," his vote against its funding and his resolution to impeach Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem.

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