Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian activist detained by ICE after protesting, shares her year in a Texas facility and her aims for freeing detained women. Sarah Sherman-Stokes, a Boston University law professor and attorney for immigrant detainees, provides legal context on transfers, targeting of activists, and ongoing removal proceedings. They discuss detention conditions, allegations against Leqaa, and post-release activism.

Andy Kim, U.S. Senator from New Jersey and former Pentagon, State Department, and NSC staffer, reacts to Trump’s Iran speech. He critiques the speech’s purpose and credibility. He weighs military strikes versus diplomacy, discusses limits of force against missile and proxy threats, and contrasts war spending with domestic priorities.

On Today's Show:Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNOW, writer for MSNOW and contributing writer to The Atlantic, talks about the latest developments in national politics, including President Donald Trump's executive order attempting to change rules for mail-in voting.

As Passover begins, a look at the divergent views on Israel from within Jewish American communities and families. On Today's Show:Eyal Press, contributing writer to The New Yorker, shares his reporting on how disagreements over Israel, Gaza and Zionism itself are dividing synagogues, Jewish families and communities across America.

With all the national and international politics at play, an influential local senator shares his thoughts and takes calls from constituents on the issues. On Today's Show: U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, author of Stand (St. Martin’s Press, 2026) weaves history, personal stories and current politics into a defense of principles as a way of facing crises.

The Senate voted overnight to fund key parts of the Department of Homeland Security, including TSA.  On Today's Show:Evan McMorris-Santoro, national politics reporter at NOTUS and co-author of the NOTUS daily newsletter, and Mary Clare Jalonick, congressional reporter for The Associated Press and the author of Storm at the Capitol: An Oral History of January 6th (PublicAffairs, 2026), talk about what has to happen next to end the crisis at airports, the status of the SAVE Act and more.

Ceasefire negotiations over the war in Iran continue, and so do reports of possible escalation. On Today's Show:Kian Tajbakhsh, Iranian-American scholar, visiting professor of international relations at New York University, fellow of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University and former political prisoner, and William Christou, Middle East reporter for The Guardian, break down the latest on U.S.-Iran negotiation efforts, and offers analysis and insight into the state of the war.

After Tuesday's oral arguments in Watson v. Republican National Committee on Tuesday, the Supreme Court appears likely to overhaul the way many states count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day but are postmarked before the deadline. On Today's Show:Carrie Levine, editor-in-chief of Votebeat, talks about the impact of that change.

Donald Trump's relationship with the rule of law, and with various investigative bodies has always been tense, at best. On Today's Show:Andrew Weissmann, professor of practice at NYU School of Law, co-host of the podcast Main Justice and and the co-author of The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024), draws on his experience working with Robert Mueller to reflect on his legacy after his death this past weekend at age 81, and discusses President Trump's recent actions through a legal lens.

John Heilemann, political journalist and Puck columnist with a knack for national affairs analysis. He unpacks Trump's surprising social media reaction to attacks on Persian Gulf energy sites. He explores whether Israel coordinated strikes with the U.S. and why Netanyahu might benefit from escalating conflict. He contrasts shifting U.S. public support with enduring Israeli security concerns.