The Brian Lehrer Show

Daniel Rober, associate professor and department chair of the Catholic Studies department at Sacred Heart University, talks about the leading contenders to be the next pope, the fraught process in the Vatican and the different directions the next leader of the world's Catholics might take the church.

Betsy Smith, president and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy, talks about Saturday's opening of the revamped Harlem Meer area of the park, plus other news.

Layla O'Kane, a senior director at Opportunity@Work, and Cole Napper, vice president of People Analytics at Lightcast, a labor market analytics company, talk about the latest data on career and career advancement opportunities for skilled workers without a college degree. → State of the Paper Ceiling | Opportunity@Work

John "Janno" Lieber, chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), talks about the MTA's fight with the federal government over congestion pricing, how the tolling program is going, the Trump administration's takeover of the Penn Station revamp and more transit news.

Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic, historian and author of Autocracy Inc. (Penguin, 2024), argues the checks on presidential power, put in place by the founders, have so far failed in the second Trump administration, and talks about what causes authoritarian governments to fail.

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, talks about how both state assembly member Zohran Mamdani and Comptroller Brad Lander are vying to be the top progressive candidate in the Democratic mayoral primary, and more news from City Hall and the campaign trail.

Lauren Weber, reporter at The Wall Street Journal, talks about why certain high-demand, upwardly mobile jobs remain hard to fill as we continue our series about workers skilled through alternative routes. → They Are Hot, Upwardly Mobile Jobs. Here’s Why They Are So Hard to Fill. | Wall Street Journal

As our centennial series continues, Sam Barzilay, creative director & co-founder of Photoville, looks at the history of street photography, from the invention of the Leica hand-held 35mm camera which made capturing "the decisive moment" possible, to the challenges presented by AI and smartphone technology of today. =>"Women Street Photographers" exhibit through April 28 => Photoville Festival coming in June.

As the National Institute of Health is set to cut funding for climate research, Maggie Astor, New York Times reporter covering the intersection between health and politics, explains the broader impact these cuts may have on our public health.

Coral Davenport, New York Times reporter covering the de-regulation of the federal government, talks about the hundreds of rules and regulations the Trump administration plans to do away with.

New York State will award three coveted casino licenses by the end of this year. Nick Garber, politics reporter at Crain's New York Business, reports on where the process stands, including news on environmental reviews, a big player dropping out and where the Mets owner Steve Cohen's bid stands.

James Martin, SJ, a Jesuit priest, founder of Outreach, an LGBTQ Catholic resource, editor at large for America Media, consultor to the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication, and author of Come Forth (HarperOne, 2023) and Learning to Pray (HarperOne, 2021), reflects on the life and leadership of Pope Francis, who died earlier today at 88, as listeners share their thoughts.

Harold Hongju Koh, professor of international law and former dean at Yale Law School and former legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State, talks about President Trump's actions against big law firms that were involved in cases against the president or his businesses.

The Trump administration has seized control over the Penn Station reconstruction project and kicked the MTA out of the process. Stephen Nessen, transportation reporter for the WNYC Newsroom, explains why Trump is so interested in Penn Station and more details about this major building project transfer.

Quinta Jurecic, contributing writer at The Atlantic, fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and senior editor at Lawfare, offers legal analysis of the Supreme Court's rulings on deportation and the Trump administration's response so far.

Rick Seltzer, reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education, talks about the latest news in the escalating fight between Harvard University and the Trump administration, including what the frozen government funds pay for at the wealthy institution, why it matters that Harvard is standing up to the government's demands and more.

Ethan Crenson, president of the New York Mycological Society, talks about the many underappreciated mushrooms dotted on the sticks and branches of New York City.

The New York State budget is now almost three weeks late. Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, reports on the disagreements that are holding it up, including changes to the state's criminal discovery laws.

As our centennial series continues, Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of history of education at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of several books, including a new edition of Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools (University of Chicago Press, 2022), looks at the past 100 years of American publicly financed education.

Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, explains his work preserving digital history in the face of fewer companies preserving their web content and the White House directives to take down government web pages. Plus, Annie Rauwerda, who runs the Depths of Wikipedia social media accounts, weighs in.