The Brian Lehrer Show

Samantha Max, reporter covering public safety for WNYC/Gothamist, talks about the news that the acting Manhattan U.S. attorney quit rather than comply with the DOJ's request that her office drop the charges against Mayor Adams, and explains the prosecutor's reasoning.

As our centennial series continues, Jefferson Cowie, historian at Vanderbilt University and the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Freedom’s Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power (Basic Books, 2022), reviews the history of white Americans fighting the federal government over civil rights legislation and more.

Kate Shaw, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, co-host of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny, and a contributing opinion Writer with the New York Times, talks about the constitutional issues at stake with some of the actions taken by the White House.

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Johan Grimonprez, director of "Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat", discusses his film's "fusion of jazz and geopolitics" that touches on colonialism, racism, the 1961 assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, and a State Department-backed goodwill tour by jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone.

Scott Stringer, former NYC Comptroller, talks about his campaign for the Democratic nomination for NYC Mayor in the June primary.

With the news that President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics, professor at Bennington College and former EPA Region 2 administrator, provides the broader state of plastic pollution in the United States, which efforts from former President Joe Biden actually worked and what the current president could rollback.

This month we hear from the makers of the five films nominated for the Academy Award for best feature documentary. Today, Shiori Itō, director of "Black Box Diaries," talks about her film that tells the story of her investigation of her own sexual assault case, credited with starting Japan's #metoo movement. 

The DOJ directed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the corruption charges against Mayor Adams. Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, reports on how the mayor is reacting, whether it will affect how City Hall cooperates with the Trump administration, and how the news may shake up the mayoral campaign.

President Trump has been clear he'd like to dismantle the Education Department. Dana Goldstein, education reporter at The New York Times and the author of The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession (Anchor, 2015), reports on how Elon Musk and DOGE have started to do that, and how their plans will affect schools and education.

At the end of January, the New York State Public Service Commission approved the creation of a new New York City area code. Listeners call in to share what their area codes mean to them as a personal point of pride.

Bahar Ostadan, Nassau County politics reporter at Newsday Media Group, reports on the news that Nassau County has authorized its police detectives to work with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants accused of committing crimes.

Monica Gorman, managing director at Crowell Global Advisors who served as special assistant to the president for manufacturing & industrial policy under former President Joe Biden, talks about the new 25% tariffs announced by President Trump on steel and aluminum imports, plus the broader trade policy.

Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, talks about the DOJ memo instructing prosecutors to drop the charges against Mayor Adams.

Since 2012, a total of 23 states have legalized cannabis. Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, author of Addiction: A Very Short Introduction, and a member of the Stanford Network on Addiction Policy, discusses why he thinks legalization has led to more frequent consumption and increased potency, arguing that those factors raise a range of concerns, for both mental and physical health.

Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of several books, including The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters (Simon & Schuster, 2024), talks about the latest national political news, as President Trump enters week four of his second administration.