The Brian Lehrer Show

Ahead of Halloween weekend, listeners call in to share their costumes based on news and current events.

Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker and co-director of "The American Revolution," and Sarah Botstein, co-director of "The American Revolution," talk about their new, 12-hour docuseries premiering on PBS on November 16th, which is being released ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, in July 2026.

Eric Blanc, assistant professor of Labor Studies at Rutgers University, author of several books including We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big (University of California Press, 2025), and writer of the Substack newsletter Labor Politics, and Michael Aronson, Daily News editorial page editor, debate the mayoral candidates' ability to fulfill their...

John Heinis, reporter for the Hudson County View talks about the Jersey City mayoral race, where seven candidates are running in the nonpartisan election and if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, the top two vote-getters will move on to a run-off election in early December.

Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society and co-founder of the Health Care for All New York Campaign, talks about what people can expect with next year's health insurance costs and how the government shutdown over ACA subsidies will affect open enrollment.The live-answer helpline to reach a Navigator at CSS is: 1-888-614-5400The New York State of...

Nikita Biryukov, reporter who covers state government and politics for the New Jersey Monitor, talks about the latest in New Jersey elections news, including early voting turnout, how Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump are weighing in on the gubernatorial race and Justice Department election monitoring for Passaic County.

Jessie Gómez, reporter at Chalkbeat Newark covering Newark Public Schools, discusses the New Jersey gubernatorial candidates' visions for public education in the state—and how they intend to fund the schools.

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...