Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan goes well beyond bridges, roads and tunnels. His emphasis on 'human infrastructure' includes supporting elder care workers and family caregivers. On Today's Show: Clarence Anthony, CEO and executive director of the National League of Cities (NLC), digs in on the infrastructure needs of cities. Then, Jess Morales Rocketto, the civic engagement director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the executive director of Care in Action, talks about the "care infrastructure" components of the plan.

What are we really talking about when we talk about "vaccine passports," and is that label even accurate to describe a public health measure that could help to re-open safely? On Today's Show:Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician, professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, CNN medical analyst, and former Baltimore Health Commissioner and the author of the forthcoming book Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health (Metropolitan Books, 2021), shares her thoughts on how to re-frame vaccine passports so they are less divisive, and explains how she believes proof of vaccination can give people more freedom, not less. Plus, she discusses the latest on the race between the variants causing new case spikes and vaccine distribution.

While some say COVID vaccine passports are key to safely getting back to everyday activities, others are concerned about the access and equity issues at play. On Today's Show:Dan Diamond, national health reporter at The Washington Post, talks about how they'd work, the politics of the system and more.

There's a proposal in Congress to put questions of statehood and representation to the people of Puerto Rico. But in thinking about its future, we must reckon with its colonial present. On Today's Show:Alana Casanova-Burgess, host of La Brega, and reporter and producer for WNYC's On the Media, and Yarimar Bonilla, professor of Puerto Rican Studies and Anthropology at the City University of New York, monthly columnist at El Nuevo Día, and incoming director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, talk about how Puerto Ricans are weighing the many options for a new political future of the island.

Paying for a $2 trillion infrastructure bill won't be easy, and Democrats don't all agree on what the taxes that pay for it should look like. On Today's Show:Rep. Tom Suozzi, (D-NY3, parts of Long Island and Queens), explains his stance on not voting for the infrastructure bill unless the SALT deduction is restored, and talks about the politics behind some current tax policy questions.

Polls suggest that the public supports many of the progressive policies being pushed by the Biden administration. But how to pay for it is a more complicated question. On Today's Show:Catherine Rampell, syndicated opinion columnist at The Washington Post, political/economic commentator at CNN and special correspondent at PBS NewsHour, runs through the latest in national politics and news.

While the mainstream press is focusing on the Democrat versus Republican parties debate over President Biden's multi-trillion dollar infrastructure plan, there's another debate that's also emerging. This one between moderate Democrats, who think the plan is the right size, and more progressive Democrats, who think the plan is too small, in terms of the number of dollars. On Today's Show: Nelini Stamp, Working Families Party managing director, shares the WFP's critique of President Biden's infrastructure and jobs plan — which is, essentially, that it's not large enough to meet the moment.

President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan unveiled yesterday isn't just about infrastructure. It's also about unions, climate and restoring economic balance after decades of the concentration of wealth in this country. On Today's Show: Megan Cassella, Politico reporter covering Biden administration economic policy, talks about the big infrastructure proposal from President Biden.

As scientists continue to monitor the impact of the available COVID vaccines, how do our personal equations around risk and safety change? On Today's Show:Celine Gounder, professor of medicine & infectious diseases at the NYU School of Medicine; Bellevue Hospital doctor, medical analyst for CNN and the host/producer of American Diagnosis and Epidemic podcasts, explains what a CDC study of essential workers found, including confirmation that the vaccines prevent illness from COVID-19 in real-world conditions and that they appear to prevent even asymptomatic infections.

The safest way to return to full-capacity mass gatherings is to make sure attendees have been vaccinated. The right software could help, but there are some privacy and equity concerns. On Today's Show:New York recently launched a vaccine passport called the "Excelsior Pass." Brian Behlendorf, general manager of Blockchain Healthcare and Identity at the Linux Foundation of Public Health, talks about what it is, and how people in the open source community are advocating for systems like these to be linked, so people don't need multiple apps. Then, Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) at the Urban Justice Center, a New York–based civil rights and privacy group, and a fellow at the Engelberg Center for Innovation Law & Policy at NYU School of Law shares concerns about privacy and the digital divide.