Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

She pioneered the way we think about disaster economics. Today, the author of Shock Doctrine explains who's profiting from the new telecommuting surge. On Today's Show:Naomi Klein, senior correspondent for The Intercept, the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University, co-founder of The Leap, a climate justice organization, and the author of many books, including On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal (Simon & Schuster, 2019), argues that the pandemic has been a major opportunity for Big Tech to integrate more completely into Americans' lives, and that politicians have given Silicon Valley more power than ever before.

Germany, Finland, Taiwan and New Zealand have at least two things in common: women heads of state, and relative success battling the coronavirus pandemic. On Today's Show:Amanda Taub, writer for The New York Times Interpreter column, looks at what we can — and cannot — learn from that information.

From Madison to Atlanta to California, cities and states are starting to re-open, and we asked callers from around the US to report on how their areas are handling slackening anti-COVID measures. On Today's Show:Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief, discusses the latest COVID-19 news, the political nature of the debate over masks and shelter-in-place measures, and the latest developments in national politics.

A new documentary is spreading dangerous misinformation about COVID-19. In the age of Trumpian untruth, we explore why, how and with whom these conspiracy theories have taken root. On Today's Show:Adrienne LaFrance, executive editor of The Atlantic, talks about how conspiracy theories are appealing to a growing number of Americans, how the president often amplifies them and why that is a threat to all of us.

Amid the COVID crisis, don't forget that it's census year! Today, a history of censuses, all the way back to the Bible, plus listeners' questions. On Today's Show:Andrew Whitby, data scientist and author of The Sum of the People: How the Census Has Shaped Nations, from the Ancient World to the Modern Age (Basic Books, 2020), breaks down the three-thousand-year history of the census and traces the making of the modern survey and how it impacts political power in the digital age.

What role does testing play in fighting this pandemic? Trump's mixed messages on testing, plus, should people, or their police officers be responsible for enforcing social distancing? On Today's Show:Dr. Mary Bassett, Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, as well as professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, talks about the longstanding health and socio-economic disparities that have made minorities more vulnerable to Covid-19.

Joe Biden isn't staying as quiet as you might think. Still, many Dems want to see more of their presumptive candidate. Plus, how good are the alternatives to in-person voting? On Today's Show:Gabriel Debenedetti, national correspondent at New York Magazine, and Emily Bazelon, staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, co-host of Slate's "Political Gabfest" podcast, Truman Capote fellow for creative writing and law at Yale Law School and author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration (Random House, 2019), talk about the latest on the Biden campaign and look ahead to November.

Congress is slowly inching toward another COVID relief package, and several White House staffers have tested positive for the virus. What's going on in the nation's capitol? On Today's Show:U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (D, NY-4, Nassau County) on Congress, the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic, and on the DOJ's decision to drop the charges against Gen. Mike Flynn.

Sweden's herd immunity approach to the pandemic sets a seductive example. But other countries should approach with caution. Plus your calls from around the world.  On Today's Show:  Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and Gzero Media, host of the new public television weekly show, Gzero World, and the author of Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism (Portfolio, 2018).

She's the most powerful woman in Washington. On this episode, a look at the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the federal relief bills she's negotiating, how she got where she is, and what's next for her? On Today's Show:Molly Ball, Time magazine's national political correspondent and the author of Pelosi (Henry Holt and Co., 2020), talks about Nancy Pelosi's life and her leadership during the pandemic.