The Brian Lehrer Show

Alex Zimmerman, reporter at Chalkbeat New York, talks about his breadth of reporting on the New York City mayoral candidates' proposals regarding the New York City public school system, including Zohran Mamdani's proposal to end mayoral control of the city’s schools and Andrew Cuomo's proposal to replace the city’s lowest-performing schools with charters or other models.

Peter Harnik, co-founder of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the Center for City Park Excellence at the Trust for Public Land and executive producer of the documentary From Rails to Trails, talks about his work spearheading the movement to convert abandoned railbeds into multi-use trails, 26,000 miles so far, and the new documentary about it.

The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to three scientists for their work in immunology. Daniel Griffin, MD, PhD, Chief of Infectious Disease for Island Infectious Diseases, the largest physician-owned Infectious Disease Specialist Group on Long Island, an infectious disease specialist and clinical instructor of medicine at Columbia University and president of Parasites Without Borders and co-host of the podcast "This Week in Virology", explains their breakthrough and what it means for future treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and more.

In this installment of our election year series, a look into what the candidates -- especially former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani -- might do as mayor to influence the Israeli-Palestinian conflict one way or another. Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor who ran as an independent in the NYC mayor's race, first explains his support for Cuomo, who signed an executive order as governor barring the state from doing business with any organization that participated in the BDS movement. Then, Jeremy Cohan, sociologist and NYC-DSA leader and spokesperson, breaks down Mamdani's Not On Our Dime Act, intended to punish organizations that aid Israeli West Bank settlers.

Meg Kelly, senior reporter for The Washington Post's Visual Forensics team, discusses her team's reporting on the Trump administration's USAID funding pause, which resulted in the deaths of children from curable diseases around the world.

A Washington Post article explained how most families have a secret language that only they understand, or a "familect" as some linguists call it. Listeners call in to share the words in their family that only they use, which are often conjured in the minds of small children and then used for years down the road.

Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, talks about President Trump's attempts to send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon and his plans to send troops to Chicago, how states are reacting and why a federal judge keeps blocking the plan for Portland.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton University, talks about issues of free speech (First) | A 30 Issues in 30 Days debate about involuntary hospitalization of New Yorkers with severe and untreated mental illnesses (Starts at 29:48) | Your favored (and least favored) seasons (Starts at 1:17:46) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Sophia Wohl , deputy director of stewardship, environment and planning at NYC Parks Department, talks about Saturday's celebrations of City of Forest Day with events around town, plus offers guidance for caring for the trees and forests near you. => City of Forest Day events

Giulia Heyward, WNYC and Gothamist reporter, talks about how New York officials are dealing with the Trump administration's attempts to roll back legal protections for the LGBTQ community.

Larry Higgs, commuting and transport reporter at NJ Advance Media, talks about the state of NJ Transit and where the candidates stand on tolls, construction of new transit projects, congestion pricing and more.

Russell Berman, a staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about the New Jersey governor's race and its national bellwether status, plus the latest shutdown news. "The Blue State That’s Now a Bellwether" (The Atlantic, Sept 29, 2025)

More young people under the age of 50 are getting diagnosed with early-onset cancers and researchers are trying to figure out why. Nina Agrawal, health reporter for The New York Times, explains what they have found so far, and what is still unknown.

Politico congressional reporter Nicholas Wu talks about the latest on the federal shutdown and other national political news.

Inspired by an article in The Atlantic that shares recommendations for a "happy start to the day," listeners call in to share their morning routines, and explain why it helps them get going; plus Michael Hill, WNYC's Morning Edition host, shares his ultra-early routine.

John Reitmeyer, budget and finance writer at NJ Spotlight News, talks about taxation in New Jersey and where the candidates stand on property taxes, the mansion tax, taxing millionaires, and more.

U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D NJ) talks about the government shutdown, U.S. military leadership, and more.

Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights leader, host of MSNBC’s PoliticsNation, founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN) and the author of Righteous Troublemakers (Hanover Square Press, 2022), discusses the remaining mayoral candidates after Mayor Adams' withdrawal from the race and the issues of racial justice and inequality. Then, Gothamist and WNYC reporter Elizabeth Kim and Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University, co-host of the podcast FAQNYC and the author of How to Build a Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2024), talk about the latest news in the mayoral campaign after Mayor Adams's big announcement that he'd be dropping out, plus they discuss what the remaining candidates might do for racial justice.

Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton University and the author of Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right (Hachette, 2025), talks about issues of free speech and campus politics at Princeton, and the university's relationship with the Trump administration.

Vanessa Hauc, anchor and director of Noticias Telemundo’s environmental investigative unit, Planeta Tierra, and one of three winners of the Covering Climate Now Journalist of the Year award, talks about her award and her reporting on the climate crisis, focused on solutions that are already happening around the world, plus how the Latino community is one of the most vulnerable to the crisis here and abroad.