The Brian Lehrer Show

Arlan Fuller, Project HOPE’s director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, talks about the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and other countries, as listeners report what they're hearing from friends and family in the area.

Calder McHugh, reporter at POLITICO Magazine, talks about the scandal surrounding leaked messages from the Young Republicans' group chat, and why he thinks they might be a "sign of where we could be headed."

Ethan Geringer-Sameth, discusses the mayoral candidates' stances on overdose prevention centers in New York City, including Zohran Mamdani's reversal of his longstanding stance to increase the centers, Andrew Cuomo's stance to keep existing centers but not expand them and Curtis Sliwa's stance against the existing centers. Plus, Sam Rivera, executive director of OnPoint NYC, talks about the two overdose prevention centers that OnPoint runs, in East Harlem and Washington Heights.

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, and Brigid Bergin, Gothamist and WNYC senior political correspondent, talk about the early voting numbers—which are way up from both the primary and the last mayoral election, so far—and other news from the campaign trail in the last week before Election Day.

Seth Berkley, MD, an infectious disease epidemiologist currently advising vaccine, biotechnology, and technology companies; an adjunct professor and senior adviser to the Pandemic Center at Brown University; former CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; cofounded COVAX; founded and served as CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; and the author of Fair Doses: An Insider’s Story of the Pandemic and the Global Fight for Vaccine Equity (University of California Press, 2025), talks about the need for vaccine equity and lessons learned (and ignored) from the COVID pandemic.

Nick Garber, politics reporter at Crain's New York Business, talks about where the NYC mayoral candidates stand on jobs and the minimum wage, and discusses their relationships with the broader business community.

Listeners still making up their minds on whether and how to vote share their dilemmas on candidates for any office and ballot questions.

Due to the government shutdown, millions of Americans are likely to miss their Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) paychecks starting this Saturday. Grace Yarrow, food and agriculture policy reporter for POLITICO and author of POLITICO Pro's daily Morning Agriculture newsletter, reports on which states will be most impacted and how recipients are preparing. Plus, Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, breaks down the latest news of how New York State will provide an additional $11 million to fund SNAP benefits for some 2.8 million New Yorkers.

Joyce Vance, a legal analyst for MSNBC and former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, University of Alabama School of Law professor, and author of the Civil Discourse Substack, and of the new book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy (Dutton, 2025) talks about the rule of law and offers legal and historical context for the current moment in American history as she calls for citizens to uphold the Constitution.

Nick Corasaniti, New York Times reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections, talks about how both Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill say they would deal with President Trump if they are elected governor, and other ways the president's influence is being felt in the tight race.

Rosemary Misdary, WNYC and Gothamist health & science reporter, explains the statewide ballot question about preservation in the Adirondacks and expanding skiing facilities.

New York City voters will see several questions on their ballots that aim to make it easier to build housing. Alec Schierenbeck, executive director of the Charter Revision Commission argues in favor of the measures, and Lincoln Restler, New York City Council member (District 33, Greenpoint, Northside Williamsburg, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Boerum Hill, Vinegar Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Navy Yard), explains why much of the City Council is opposed to the changes. Then, Andrew Berman, executive director of Village Preservation, shares why his group is opposed to ballot questions 2 through 4.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. 30 Issues in 30 Days: ICE in the City (First) | 30 Issues in 30 Days: The Case for a Free CUNY (Starts at 17:50) | 30 Issues in 30 Days: Climate and Energy Policy (Starts at 33:13) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Julia Ioffe, founding partner and Washington correspondent of Puck and the author of Motherland: A History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy (Ecco, 2025), talks about her new book that delves into the feminist history of Russia and why it offers context for the war in Ukraine.

Samantha Maldonado, senior reporter for THE CITY, offers her takeaways on the mayoral debate and talks about other races on the ballot in NYC.

To wrap up a series on pets, listeners call in to shout out why their dog, cat, rabbit, bearded dragon, fish or any other type of pet is so special.

New York City would not be the first city in America to open a publicly-owned grocery store. Yasmin Tayag, staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about how other municipalities have fared in this experiment, Zohran Mamdani's grocery store proposal and the skepticism around it.

Throughout this membership drive we are talking about the animals we love and care for in our homes -- our pets. Today, Lyle Cleary, DVM, associate veterinarian at the Center for Avian & Exotic Medicine, @dr.lyle.dvm on Instagram, talks about the challenges of keeping birds as pets and what they need to thrive.

Listeners try their hand at a quiz identifying a person through a clue about their famous parents.

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, recaps the last mayoral debate between the three remaining candidates, Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, as early voting is set to begin this weekend.