Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

This Earth Day, we wanted to bring together a group of science communicators to unpack the current moment in the 'climate emergency.' On Today's Show:Laura Helmuth, editor-in-chief of Scientific American, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, professor and chair in Earth Sciences, Life & Environmental Sciences Department at the University of California-Merced, and Sir David King, founder and chair of the Centre for Climate Repair, talk about the climate emergency we're living in, and where we go from here.

The jury in Derek Chauvin's case has convicted him of murdering George Floyd. And while they did deliver some individual accountability, delivering justice is a matter for policymakers. On Today's Show:Jamil Smith, senior correspondent for Vox, reacts to the guilty verdict of Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin, and talks about how it fits into the movement for racial justice.

The jury in the Derek Chauvin trial is in deliberations, and a verdict is expected soon. So what issues are they considering, and how strong is each sides' case? On Today's Show:Jami Floyd, senior editor for race and justice at WNYC, offers legal analysis of the Chauvin trial, as the jurors deliberate, plus talks about the makeup of the jury, and the instructions they were given from the judge on how to apply the law to the facts of the case. NOTE: This interview was recorded at 10 AM, April 20, and does not reflect developments, including the jury's verdict, that have occurred after the discussion.

In some ways, Biden is confounding the expectations of those to his ideological left. But recent blowback from many he considers allies on refugee issues led to a sudden policy reversal. On Today's Show:Philip Bump, national correspondent for The Washington Post, talks about the latest national political news, including the news that President Biden will raise the refugee cap, police gun violence and more national political news.

Comedy clubs, sports arenas and music venues are starting to open back up. So how are they balancing the safety of their customers and the capacity they need to stay afloat? On Today's Show:Julie Kim, co-owner of Littlefield, a performance and arts space in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and Michael Dorf, founder and CEO of City Winery, and John Abbamondi, CEO of BSE Global, the parent company of the National Basketball Association’s Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center, talk about how reopening their venues has been going, what COVID safety precautions they are taking and more on what it's like reopening amidst the ongoing pandemic.

Some corporations are threatening to pull business out of states that make it harder to vote, and even working behind the scenes to soften efforts at what some call "voter suppression." On Today's Show:Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, talks about how corporate America is reacting to legislation that generally restricts voting rights — and what more he thinks they could be doing.

Biden announced that he wants to have U.S. troops withdrawn from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, two decades since the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. What are the geopolitical ramifications of pulling out, and what do veterans who served there have to say about it? On Today's Show: David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times, talks about how world leaders and national security experts are reacting to the news. 

As Minneapolis reels from another police killing of a young Black man, the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd last summer, continues. On Today's Show:Paul Butler, professor at Georgetown Law and the author of Chokehold: Policing Black Men (The New Press, 2017), joins to talk about what's happening in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer on trial for the murder of George Floyd, while nearby, people are protesting after a Black man named Daunte Wright was shot and killed by the police during a traffic stop.

A year after returning home from prison, formerly incarcerated people have a mortality rate nearly four times the national average. Incarcerated people who are sick or injured are often treated by for-profit healthcare companies that frequently fail patients by tending to their profits instead. On Today's Show: Dr. Homer Venters, clinical associate professor at NYU College of Global Public Health and also newly appointed member of the Biden/Harris COVID 19 Health Equity Task Force, and Bianca Tylek, Worth Rises’s executive director, describe how the for profit healthcare system within jails and prisons often fail patients by ignoring preventative care and neglecting to offer treatments that might hurt their bottom line.

Today, we talk about several key policy issues on the table for the Biden administration, particularly those with ramifications for the working class. On Today's Show:Jason Johnson, MSNBC contributor, author, professor of Politics and Journalism at Morgan State University and host of the new Slate political podcast A Word … with Jason Johnson, talks about the latest news coming out of Washington, including Biden's commission to study the Supreme Court, relief for Black farmers and Amazon's union fight.