Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

The geopolitical situation facing President Biden is largely a situation created by his predecessor, who re-shuffled old alliances and worked to dismantle the US foreign policy apparatus. On Today's Show:Gabriel Debenedetti, national correspondent at New York Magazine, talks about the latest news from Washington, D.C., including the uphill battle the Biden administration faces as it confronts the previous administration's legacy on foreign policy, and the challenges of diplomacy facing the new president.

Why did the NCAA give their female athletes a rack of dumbells while male players got a full fitness facility? That, and more on gender disparities in sports. On Today's Show:Sally Jenkins, sports columnist for the Washington Post, and formerly a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, talks about the recent outrage over the NCAA's unequal treatment between men and women athletes competing in March Madness, and her own experiences covering women’s sports over her career.

Filibuster reform is a key topic on the agenda for the Senate. What could it mean for the rest of the Democratic majority's agenda? Plus, reflections on calling out sexual misconduct. On Today's Show:U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D NY) answers questions about the issues facing the senate and the state, including regulating firearms meant for military use, sexual harassment and due process, and the toxic 'burn pits' the Army uses to dispose of chemicals and electronics.

The debate over the filibuster could have implications that reach deep into the Biden administration's ability to get things done, on issues like voting rights and gun safety. On Today's Show:Tyler Pager, Washington Post White House reporter, and Marianna Sotomayor, Washington Post Congressional reporter covering the House of Representatives, talk about the prospects of any gun control legislation making it through Congress, where filibuster reform stands and more national political news.

Because of the way Congress has changed the rules governing student loans, 6 million people didn't get the relief most got in the first COVID package that passed last year. On Today's Show:Molly Webster, RadioLab senior correspondent, talks about her recent NYT op-ed explaining how she borrowed $78,000, has paid $60,000, and still owes $100,000 -- with no relief in sight.

President Biden's challenge at the border is to craft a policy that's humane without encouraging unauthorized entries. So where do unaccompanied minors fit into the policy? On Today's Show:Bitta Mostofi, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and Maria Odom, vice president for Legal Programs at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), talk about the situation at the southern border and the implications of Pres. Biden's immigration policies for children who cross the border alone.

For the past year, we've heard some politicians use racist rhetoric around COVID-19. On Today's Show:Rep. Grace Meng talks about the link between speech, bias and violence. Plus, Biden's immigration record, and what's next on Congress's agenda.

We all have that person we've been meaning to call and check in on. Those calls can be hard to make, but our WNYC colleague wants to make it a little easier, by doing it together. Text "Call Day" to 70101 to sign up for "Pick Up The Phone And Call Day." On Today's Show:The team at WNYC's Death, Sex & Money is instituting a new holiday called "Pick Up the Phone and Call" day, to help people who have become disconnected throughout the pandemic get back in touch. Anna Sale, host of the WNYC Studios podcast Death, Sex & Money, explains how to go about it, and why it's important.

We asked immigrants to call in and recommend some policy positions they hope Biden takes with respect to their countries of origin. On Today's Show:Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post columnist, host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, and the author of Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World (W. W. Norton & Company, 2020). Then, Susan Glasser, staff writer for The New Yorker, CNN global affairs analyst and the co-author, with Peter Baker, of The Man Who Ran Washington: the Life and Times of Jim Baker III (Doubleday, 2020)

The COVID vaccine is intended to make it harder for the virus to make you dangerously sick. But it also might help folks who got sick before and still have long-lingering symptoms. On Today's Show:Daniel Griffin, MD, PhD, infectious disease clinician and researcher at Columbia, chief of the division of Infectious Disease for ProHEALTH Care medical group, talks about what we know about vaccines and treatment, in and out of the hospital and the anecdotal evidence that vaccines help some of those suffering from "long COVID."  Dr. Griffin offers a weekly clinical update on the podcast This Week in Virology.