The Brian Lehrer Show

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.

NYC School Integration  (First) | Disability Rights (Starts at 31:02) | Your Favorite TV Shows This Century (Starts at 56:00)

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Yesterday, an ICE Agent fired 7 rounds at a man identified by NYPD as Oscar Belgal. Arya Sundaram, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering race and justice, shares the latest updates on the situation. 

Photo: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images

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Layla Law-Gisiko, president of the City Club of New York, talks about transit-related issues in the New York governor's race.

Photo: Governor of New York Kathy Hochul is seen on March 21, 2025 in New York City. (NDZ/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images)

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Jon Henley, the Guardian's Europe correspondent, based in Paris, talks about the student protests in France.

Photo: Students block the road outside Sciences Po during a protest on October 7, 2026 in Paris, France. (Tom Nicholson via Getty Images)

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Walter Isaacson, professor of history at Tulane, host of the new podcast "The Builders" and the author of several books, including The Innovators: How A Group Of Hackers, Geniuses, And Geeks Created The Digital Revolution (Simon & Schuster, 2014, new preface 2026) talks about his recent New York Times op-ed on Ada Lovelace and the need for human control of AI, and more.

=> EVENT: On Monday, Oct 12th, Walter Isaacson will be in conversation at 92NY with Mustafa Suleyman for a live recording of The Builders, with Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI. Tickets or streaming access.  

Photo: W...

Have you ever been bothered by a subway stop that seems just a little too close to the last? Joshua Wolk, software engineer and straphanger, joins to discuss his list of the MTA's least efficient subway stops and his petition to shut down the L Train's Third Ave station.

Photo: Tdorante10, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International via Wikimedia Commons. 

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Every Thursday from 1 to 2 PM on WNYC, through Election Day, WNYC senior political reporter Brigid Bergin hosts a pop-up local politics call-in show called Who's Running This Place. You can find out more on WNYC.org, and stay tuned to this podcast feed. We'll be sharing Brigid's conversations here every Thursday evening. 

Transit workers union president John Samuelsen explains why he believes New York's top Democrat, Gov. Kathy Hochul, is no friend of the working class. WNYC senior politics reporter Brigid Bergin examines what the clash says about the Democratic Party's relationship with organized labor, along with W...

Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, and Emily Eisner, Fiscal Policy Institute's chief economist, debate the issue of the fairness and New York state taxes.

Photo: People attend a press conference and rally in support of fair taxation near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on April 10, 2025. (Photo by BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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The political Right has made significant gains in Brazil and across Latin America, and President Donald Trump's influence has grown. Ana Ionova, New York Times correspondent based in Rio de Janeiro, discusses her reporting on the recent elections in Brazil and the broader rightward shift in the region.

Photo: Demonstration calls for the impeachment of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) and the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, in front of the Sao Paulo Museum of Art (Masp), on Avenida Paulista, in Sao Paulo. (Photo by: Cris Faga Almeida/UCG/Universal...

Roger Berkowitz, founder and academic director of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities and professor of Politics, Philosophy, and Human Rights at Bard College and the author of A World We Share: Hannah Arendt and the Power of Friendship in a Broken World (Yale University Press, 2026) draws on the work of Hannah Arendt to argue that the ability to be friends and disagree is the key to healing divisions. 

=> EVENT: On October 19th at 7pm Roger Berkowitz will be in conversation with Roosevelt Montás for a discussion about his new book, A World We Sh...

Maitreyi Anantharaman, cofounder and staff writer at Defector, discusses the New York Liberty, in the midst of their playoff run and semifinal series against the Atlanta Dream. She talks about their chances of winning this series and more analysis of the WNBA season.

Photo: New York players Breanna Stewart (30), Han Xu (21), and Sabrina Ionescu (20) react during a timeout during the WNBA second round playoff game between the New York Liberty and the Atlanta Dream. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Jonathan Dekel-Chen, visiting professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and Jaser AbuMousa, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and senior policy advisor at the International Peace Institute, both suffered major traumas on October 7th, 2023 and its aftermath. They discuss their personal devastation, as well as why they are engaging in dialogue and what they hope for in Palestinian and Israeli politics.

Photo: An Israeli flag flies at a rally organized by the German-Israeli Society Bremen/Lower Weser to mark the Independence Day of the State of Israel on the market square in...

Sam Levine, Commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), touts the city's settlement with DoorDash over worker pay, plus recounts his testimony before the City Council on artificial intelligence.

Photo: A Doordash delivery person rides their bike on Church Avenue in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn on December 04, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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Timmy Facciola, founder of the local news outlet Judge Street Journal, which focuses on New York politics, unpacks Mike Lawler and Cait Conley's positions on AI and data centers.

Photo: People protest artificial intelligence and data centers ahead of a New York City Council Committee hearing on the risks and regulation of artificial intelligence. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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The New York Times recently released a list of the top 100 television series of the 21st century as compiled by many influential TV figures. Listeners call in to share their own favorites.

Photo: (L-R) Actors Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Dean Norris accept the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series award for 'Breaking Bad' onstage during the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 18, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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Timmy Facciola, founder of the local news outlet Judge Street Journal, which focuses on New York politics, talks about the how Mike Lawler is positioning himself in relation to President Trump on issues like immigration and antisemitism, and how Cait Conley is framing her policy positions in relation to the left wing of the Democratic Party.

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-OH) after Trump delivered remarks during an Independence Day military family picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 04, 2025...

Rose Broderick, disability in health care reporting fellow at STAT News, shares her reporting on major federal rollbacks of landmark disability protections such as Section 504, as well as broader trends in federal disability rights.

Photo: Disability rights activists and caregiving advocates hold a vigil in front of the US Capitol to urge Congress to include full federal funding for home and community based care services in President Biden’s Build Back Better budget package on October 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Larry French/Getty Images for The Arc of the United States)

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Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation, founding editor of Jacobin, publisher of Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, former vice-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America and the author of The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality (Basic Books, updated 2026) and co-author of The Blueprint: How Socialism Can Work in the Real World (Verso, 2026) talks about today's socialism and its response to today's issues.

Photo: Bhaskar Sunkara poses ahead of delivering the inaugural Eric Aarons Memorial Lecture: Socialist Horizons for Our Times at the NSW Teachers Federation Auditorium on...

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly, an assistant editor at The Atlantic, talks about her recent article in The Atlantic on "upgrade holdouts" as listeners share the old tech they hold onto, and why.

Photo by AIDEPCUL, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International via Wikimedia Commons. 

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Timmy Facciola, founder of the local politics news outlet Judge Street Journal, talks about several key affordability issues that came up in the debate between U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler and his Democratic challenger Cait Conley, including energy, tariffs, and housing.

Photo: Cait Conley, who is challenging U.S. Representative Mike Lawler to represent New York’s 17th Congressional District, speaks to supporters on September 16, 2026 in Tarrytown, New York.  (Spencer Platt via Getty Images)

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New York Times Magazine writer Nikole Hannah Jones's article about her family's experience with New York City public schools has brought the system's persistent segregation and inequality back into the forefront of education conversations. Alex Zimmerman, reporter at Chalkbeat, New York talks about the issues her article brought forth, her challenge to the mayor to do something and what the city does say it's doing to address the longstanding issue.

Photo: A row of students ages 5-7 raising their hands while standing along a chain-link fence on a playground during recess at P.S. 111, a public school...

New York laws present unique challenges for the prosecution of sex crimes. Santul Nerkar, courts reporter for The New York Times, discusses how these laws exacerbate the already complicated legal case for Cornell's Jane Doe.

Photo: A student walks past Cornell Police headquarters on the Cornell University campus on September 30, 2026, in Ithaca, New York.. (Photo by Spencer Platt via Getty Images)

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Moira Donegan, columnist at Guardian US and co-host of the podcast In Bed With The Right, talks about the Cornell fraternity rape lawsuit, the cycle of outrage and inaction she says follows cases like it, and why they keep happening.

Photo: Photo: Students walk on the campus of Cornell University on September 29, 2026, in Ithaca, New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt via Getty Images)

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Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.

Nikole Hannah-Jones on Hard School Choices  (First) | Ask Mayor Mamdani (Starts at 24:59) | Millennial Optimism (Starts at 58:23)

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Gov. Hochul announced that she is appointing New York's Attorney General Letitia James to oversee the Cornell sexual assault case that's been headline news. Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist talks about why the governor made this move and what comes next.

Photo: Cornell University from atop McGraw Tower looking southeast, 2006. (sach1tb, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons) 

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Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist talks about the relationships that Gov. Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman have with President Trump.

Photo: US President Donald Trump greets New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman on stage as he delivers remarks at the Nassau County Police Academy Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City, New York, on August 14, 2026. (Kent Nishimura via Getty Images)

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New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Tricia Shimamura reflects on her first summer as Parks commissioner and talks about her priorities for the department.

Photo: Washington Square Park sidewalk surrounded with park benches and green landscaping in Washington Square Park in New York City on a rainy spring day. (Boogich via Getty Images) 

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Lindsay Owens, the executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative and the author of Gouged: The End of a Fair Price–and What That Means for Your Wallet (Viking, 2026) talks about the proliferation of "junk fees" and the hidden risks of loyalty programs, plus the use of data and algorithms to hike prices.

Photo: A shopper opens an empty wallet inside a shopping mall, visually representing the financial strain and reduced spending power caused by inflation and rising living costs. (shih-wei via Getty Images) 

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Casey Michael Henry, writer, talks about his recent New York Times Magazine essay on nostalgia for the optimism of millennial culture.

=> "Things Are So Bad, People Are Longing for Cringey Millennial Culture" (New York Times Magazine, Sept. 22, 2026)

Photo: Hipster girl blows big bubble from bubble gum in 2016. (nemke via Getty Photos) 

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Every Thursday from 1 to 2 PM on WNYC, through Election Day, WNYC senior political reporter Brigid Bergin hosts a pop-up local politics call-in show called Who's Running This Place. You can find out more on WNYC.org, and stay tuned to this podcast feed. We'll be sharing Brigid's conversations here every Thursday evening. 

New York Assemblymember Alex Bores discusses his efforts to sound the alarm about the risks that come with the rapid advance of AI technology. Plus, WNYC/Gothamist reporters Jon Campbell, Elizabeth Kim and Jessica Gould share the latest local headlines and analysis, and take your c...

Jack Arpey, New York State politics reporter for Spectrum News 1 New York, talks about the issue of utility rates in New York State and what Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman are promising to do to lower costs.

"As politicians squabble over utility rates, how much power does a governor have?" (Spectrum News 1 New York, Sept 17)

Photo: Person adjusting a wall thermostat with dollar sign symbol on the display (Stock image by Zimmytws via iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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At a White House lunch this week, tech executives signed a voluntary safety pact on AI. Gabby Miller, AI and tech congressional reporter at Politico, discusses the details of the agreement.

Photo: US President Donald Trump, seated next to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (2L) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L), speaks during a meeting with technology executives about artificial intelligence, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2026. (Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

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Maggie Mertens, journalist, author of Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women (Algonquin, 2024) and host of "The Forecast: Seattle’s Weekly Women’s Sports Show" on KVRU 105.7FM, talks about her Slate article on the Trump administration's stated goal of "protecting" women's sports, while cutting the staff at the Department of Education that would investigate violations.

Photo: Female football players huddling together (Stock image by Rawpixel via iStock / Getty Images Plus)

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Listeners call in to share how they're talking to their high school and college-aged kids about the alleged gang rape at Cornell University, and all the issues it's bringing up about consent, bystanders and the role of colleges in keeping students safe.

Photo: Students walk on the campus of Cornell University a day after on September 30, 2026, in Ithaca, New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Mike Hayes, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering New Jersey and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform (Kingston Imperial, 2023), talks about another key issue from Sunday's debate between U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, Jr and his Democratic challenger Rebecca Bennett -- deportations, ICE and the proposed detention center in Roxbury.

Image: Debate screenshot via C-SPAN

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Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, recaps Mayor Mamdani's appearance on the show, plus discusses her story on the revamp of the Hunts Point market that fell apart in the South Bronx, and the mayor's new plan on how to combat antisemitism.

Photo: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference to announce a lawsuit challenging the federal government's new public charge rule, which could make it harder for immigrants to obtain green cards if they rely on public benefits, at City Hall in New York City on September 14, 2026. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty...

Alexandra Brodsky, civil rights lawyer and author of Sexual Justice: Supporting Victims, Ensuring Due Process, and Resisting the Conservative Backlash (Henry Holt 2021), unpacks a recent lawsuit against Cornell University alleging the administration of negligence in their investigation and handling of a reported gang rape, and what the Cornell case tells us about the state of Title IX and sexual assault on college campuses.

Photo: A student walks on the campus of Cornell University on September 29, 2026, in Ithaca, New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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As part of the yearlong series "Wild NYC," Marielle Anzelone, urban botanist and ecologist and the founder of NYC Wildflower Week, and Rob Pirani, senior director for Engagement and Policy/Program and director of the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program at the Hudson River Foundation, discuss the wildlife all around the waterfront.

Photo: A great egret takes flight during the World Series of Birding, 12 May 2007, in an estuary in Cape May, New Jersey (STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayor, takes questions from listeners and talks about this week's news in the city. 

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Mike Hayes, WNYC/Gothamist reporter covering New Jersey and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform (Kingston Imperial, 2023) talks about another key issue from Sunday's debate between U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, Jr and his Democratic challenger Rebecca Bennett -- Congress and the U.S. role in the Middle East and with Israel.

Photo: Protesters against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war in Gaza block a street next to the United Nations (U.N.) on September 24, 2026, in New York City (Spencer Platt via Getty...