Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

We check in on the information landscape surrounding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the role of social media platforms in the spread (or not) of misinformation. On Today's Show:Sinan Aral, MIT professor of management, marketing, IT and data science, director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy and the author of The Hype Machine (Currency, 2020), offers his perspective on why it appears that Ukraine is winning the information war through traditional and social media, despite Russia's historical success in controlling the narrative.

Is the Bill of Rights strong enough to serve as the basis for reversing centuries of systemic racism? On Today's Show:Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation and the author of Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution (The New Press, 2022), talks about his new book, plus offers analysis of legal news.

What does the chess Grandmaster-turned-human rights activist and Russia-critic have to say about Putin's geopolitical strategy as the invasion of Ukraine continues? On Today's Show:Garry Kasparov, chairman of the Human Rights Foundation and Renew Democracy Initiative and author of Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped (PublicAffairs, 2015), joins with the latest analysis on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

What does the invasion of Ukraine tell us about autocratic leaders like Putin, and about the broader trend toward autocracy around the globe? On Today's Show:Moisés Naím, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former editor of Foreign Policy magazine and the author of The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century (St. Martin's Press, 2022), talks about three tools autocrats use to strengthen their power, populism, polarization and post-truths.

NOTE: This segment was recorded on Thursday morning. President Biden is scheduled to make an announcement this afternoon in response to the situation in Eastern Europe. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine early this morning, what can the rest of the world, and particularly President Biden do? On Today's Show:Philip Bump, national correspondent for The Washington Post, talks about the invasion of Ukraine, next week's State of the Union, and other pressing matters facing the White House.

With Russia continuing its provocative actions on its border with Ukraine, we look to some of the history that Putin cited as a pretext for a possible invasion. On Today's Show:Julia Ioffe, founding partner and Washington correspondent of Puck, a new media company, joins to provide a historical context and breaks down the latest developments.

Could adding insects to our diets help slow climate change?  On Today's Show:Listeners called in to discuss ways they've changed their diet, with or without insect consumption, to help combat climate change.

With Russian troops amassing at Ukraine's border over the past few weeks, a look at the domestic consequences of the conflict in Eastern Europe. On Today's Show:Susan Glasser, staff writer for The New Yorker, CNN global affairs analyst and co-author, with Peter Baker, of The Man Who Ran Washington: the Life and Times of Jim Baker III (Doubleday, 2020) and Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution (Simon & Schuster, 2005) talks about the latest developments between Putin, Ukraine, and the West.

In our 24-hour news-cycle world, it can be a challenge to cover crucial issues like climate change, that occur over long periods of time. On Today's Show:We launch a series of weekly climate coverage, with Mark Hertsgaard, executive director of Covering Climate Now and enviro correspondent of The Nation. He discussed how certain aggressive public policies, if enacted right away, could help mitigate some of the most extreme climate disasters.

What can NYC's efforts to address the mental health of homeless people tell us about this nationwide issue? On Today's Show:Andy Newman, reporter for the New York Times who writes about social services and poverty in New York City, and Dr. Anthony Carino, director of psychiatry at CUCS/Janian Medical Care, a healthcare program for people impacted by homelessness talk about the patchwork of psychiatric services available to homeless New Yorkers and why, in some cases, high-need individuals with documented violent histories fall through the cracks leading to dire outcomes, as was the case with Martial Simon who pushed Michelle Alyssa Go onto the subway tracks.