The Brian Lehrer Show

John "Janno" Lieber, chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), talks about the latest news from the MTA and working with the incoming mayoral administration.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently approved a gas pipeline and delayed the implementation of the All-Electric Buildings Law. Liz Moran, policy advocate for Earthjustice's Northeast office, explains why climate advocates are angry with the governor over these recent moves that they see as giveaways to fossil fuel companies.

Jasmine Gripper and Ana María Archila, New York Working Families Party co-directors, reflect on Mayor-elect Mamdani's win and the WFP role in the election, their policy priorities and next year's primaries.

Eleanor Mueller, congress reporter at Semafor, talks about the latest national political news from Congress, including the shutdown winners and losers, the upcoming vote in the House on the Epstein files and more.

Ilya Marritz, journalist working with The Boston Globe, talks about his new series, The Harvard Plan, in conjunction with The Boston Globe and On the Media, that looks at how the Trump administration has interfered with Harvard, and how it will affect academia and scientific research going forward.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. COP30 Without the U.S. (First) | SNAP and the High Cost of Food (Starts at 23:41) | Tributes to the Penny (Starts at 43:57) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

As Congress debates whether to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage, Hayden Rooke-Ley, lawyer and senior fellow at the Brown University School of Public Health, explains how the infighting is already driving up costs and narrowing networks.

New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani defines himself as a democratic socialist, yet his critics have seized on his leftist identity to paint him as an extremist. Carlo Invernizzi-Accetti, professor of political science and executive director of the Moynihan Center at The City College of New York, and author of 20 Years of Rage: How Resentment Took the Place of Politics (Mondadori, 2024) explains the core principles of the various strains of thought on the left to paint a clearer picture of what Mamdani believes in and how he'll govern as mayor.

The U.S. Mint announced it made its last penny this week, in order to save money. Listeners call in to talk about how they use pennies these days, if at all, plus share their favorite penny-related sayings.

Eli Valentin, assistant dean of graduate studies at Virginia Union University’s Graduate Center in Harlem, contributing writer for City Limits and guest political analyst at Univision, talks about the meaning of the shift many Latino voters made, from voting for Trump in 2024 to voting for Zohran Mamdani and Mikie Sherrill just a year later.

Drawing on his deep city and state government experience, Dean Fuleihan, future first deputy mayor in the Mamdani administration and former budget director in the de Blasio administration talks about how he intends to help Mayor-elect Mamdani achieve his policy goals. Then, Laura Nahmias, senior reporter covering New York City and state politics at Bloomberg News, offers political analysis of the role Dean Fuleihan will play in Mayor-elect Mamdani's City Hall.

Jelani Cobb, dean of the Journalism School at Columbia University, a staff writer at The New Yorker, and the author of Three or More Is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here: 2012-2025 (One World, 2025), looks back at recent history and find the threads that connect the era of protests and backlash.

Nancy Solomon, host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, recaps her conversation with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

As SNAP recipients and many others struggle to afford the cost of food, Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, and Joe Hong, investigative data reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, discuss their reporting on how grocery prices can vary between stores and neighborhoods and how grocery stores fared during the interruption of SNAP benefits. Plus, listeners share their observations of how food prices vary, and tips on how to save money on groceries.

Greg David, contributor covering fiscal and economic issues for THE CITY and director of the business and economics reporting program and Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, talks about the challenge Mayor-elect Mamdani will face as he tries to fulfill his campaign promises while balancing the city's budget.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives is set to return to work after a 54-day hiatus. Nicholas Wu, congressional reporter at POLITICO, talks about the upcoming vote in the House on the funding bill that would end the government shutdown, why some Democrats are furious at their Senate colleagues who broke ranks to cut a deal and more.

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has pointed to "sewer socialism"—the early Milwaukee model where socialist mayors treated basic public infrastructure as central to serving working people—as part of the vision that guides him. Listeners call in to tell us which small public-works improvement, in that spirit, would make life better on their block.

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, talks about the new hires Mayor-elect Mamdani has announced will be part of his administration, plus the news from Mayor Adams's final days in office.

Paula DiPerna, policy consultant, author of Pricing the Priceless (Wiley, 2023) and co-author of Carbon Hunters: Reflections And Forecasts Of Climate Markets In The 21st Century (WSPC,2025), talks about the history of international cooperation on climate change, and Mark Hertsgaard, journalist and co-founder and executive director of Covering Climate Now, and the author of Big Red’s Mercy: The Shooting of Deborah Cotton and A Story of Race in America (Pegasus, 2024), discuss what to expect from the global climate summit underway in Brazil now that the Trump administration is boycotting.

For Veterans Day, Paul Rieckhoff, independent national security, veterans affairs and political analyst, host of the Independent Americans podcast, founder & CEO of Independent Veterans of America, co-founder of American Veterans for Ukraine, and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), discusses how vets are viewing the changes Pete Hegseth is making to the armed forces, and how well they feel they are being taken care of under Hegseth and the Trump administration.