Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

On Today's Show:Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News and host of KHN's What the Health podcast, discusses the politics of health care costs and the competing approaches by Democrats and Republicans this midterms season.

How different are the two major political parties policy approaches to combatting inflation, one of the key issues in this midterm season? On Today's Show:Jim Tankersley, New York Times White House correspondent with a focus on economic policy, talks about how Democrats and Republicans say they will fight it, and historically, what has worked and what hasn't.

What does each of the major political parties think is the right approach to combating poverty? On Today's Show:Chris Howard, Pamela C. Harriman Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William & Mary and the author of Who Cares: The Social Safety Net in America (Oxford University Press, 2022), discusses how Republicans and Democrats approach the issue of poverty and which party, if either, can eradicate it.

In New York, where the real estate industry represents a powerful interest group, how are the candidates for governor thinking about affordable housing, and addressing homelessness? On Today's Show:Kathryn Brenzel, senior reporter at The Real Deal, joins to discuss where Kathy Hochul and Lee Zeldin stand on the issue of affordable housing as Election Day looms.

As details have surfaced around the invasion of Nancy Pelosi's home by a violent intruder, we ask whether voters will be considering the risk of political violence at the ballot box. On Today's Show:Lisa Lerer, national political correspondent for The New York Times, and Philip Bump, national columnist for The Washington Post, talk about what the polls and reporting are saying as voting for the midterm elections has begun in most of the United States.

What might updating the United States' Constitution do to our democracy? On Today's Show:Russ Feingold, former U.S. senator, president of the American Constitution Society, and co-author of The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It (Public Affairs, 2022), discusses the calls — coming from both the right and the left — to update the U.S. Constitution.

Over a decade since the Supreme Court ruled that corporate political contributions constitute free speech, what has it meant for democracy? On Today's Show:Adam Winkler, UCLA professor of law and author of We the Corporations (Liveright, 2018) and Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011), delves into the impact of so-called "dark money" on our democracy.

Today, we look at the structure and practices of the Supreme Court, and discuss whether reforms could reshape it in defense of democracy. On Today's Show: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), joins the show to discuss the history of the Supreme Court, its role in American democracy, and proposals to change it.

Election officials around the country have been resigning amid threats and intimidation. What does that mean for democracy? On Today's Show:Dana Milbank, columnist for The Washington Post, discusses the uptick in threats of violence against election official workers, intimidation of voters, and the potential for chaos at the polls on Election Day.

With the midterms fast approaching, we explore some of the ballot measures that voters around the country are being asked to decide on. On Today's Show:Zach Montellaro, state politics reporter at Politico, covering gubernatorial, legislative and other state-based elections, joins to discuss how Democrats and Republicans are using ballot initiatives and referendums to push policy proposals.