The Brian Lehrer Show

In order to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, applicants must pass an oral civics exam. Listeners call in to try their hand at some of the questions on the test, related to American history and geography and symbols.

The Mets and the Yankees -- who both sit at the top of their respective divisions -- will meet for a subway series this week. Gary Cohen, Mets announcer, previews the games, and talks about what it's like calling games for the Mets, currently one of the best teams in baseball.

Catch up with the summer cultural calendar with this pledge-drive miniseries. Today, Ryan Kailath, WNYC/Gothamist arts and culture reporter, talks about some of the art on view this summer in local museums, galleries and public spaces.

Jonathan Capehart, associate editor at The Washington Post, co-host of the morning edition of The Weekend on MSNBC, contributor, PBS NewsHour and author of Yet Here I Am: Lessons from a Black Man's Search for Home (Grand Central Publishing, 2025), talks about his personal new book, which includes stories from his upbringing and his early career at WNYC, plus the latest national political news.

Brian Boucher, contributor for Artnet News and journalist covering the New York art world, talks about how arts organizations are reacting to the Trump administration starting to cut their grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Nancy Solomon, WNYC reporter and host of the “Ask Governor Murphy” monthly call-in show, recaps her conversation with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, including the recent setbacks at Newark Airport, a potential NJ Transit engineers strike and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka's ICE arrest.

Errol Louis, political anchor of Spectrum NY1 News, host of Inside City Hall and The Big Deal with Errol Louis, New York Magazine columnist and host of the podcast You Decide, talks about the latest news from the campaign trails of candidates in the city's June primary election, and previews the debates he'll be co-moderating with Brian.

In order to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, applicants must pass an oral civics exam. Listeners call in to try their hand at some of the questions on the test, related to what US Citizenship and Immigration Services calls "principles of American democracy" and "systems of government."

Catch up with the summer cultural calendar with this pledge-drive miniseries. Today, Rossilynne Culgan, Things to Do editor at Time Out New York, tour guide, and the author of Secret New York City: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure (Reedy Press, 2024), talks about some of the fun things to do this summer after dark -- night markets, outdoor movies, and fireworks on the beach, including: Movie Nights in Bryant Park Films on the Green Brooklyn Bridge Park's "Movies with a View" Riverside Park's Pier I Picture Show Rooftop Films Rooftop CInema Club Intrepid Free Friday Movie Nights TimeOut NY's list of Night Markets

LaFontaine Oliver, president and CEO of New York Public Radio, talks about the executive order President Trump signed regarding federal funding for public media and what comes next for the NYPR and the broader system.

Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator (D CT), author of The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy (Random House, 2020) talks about his critique of the Trump administration and what he calls a "relentless, coordinated assault" on democracy and the effect of the administration's policies in Connecticut.

In order to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, applicants must pass an oral civics exam. Listeners call in to try their hand at some of the questions on the test, related to what US Citizenship and Immigration Services calls "principles of American democracy" and "systems of government."

Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter and Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, talk about the latest news from the campaign trail, including former Gov. Cuomo's campaign finance troubles, the candidates on antisemitism and more.

Catch up with the summer cultural calendar with this pledge-drive miniseries. Today, Ryan Kailath, WNYC/Gothamist arts and culture reporter, runs through the highlights from the annual SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn! concert lineups.

As our centennial series continues, Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic for The New York Times and the author of The Intimate City: Walking New York (Penguin Press, 2022), talks about the major changes to the NYC skyline across the past century.

Last week, President Trump declared on Truth Social that he would place a 100% tariff on movies made outside the United States. Listeners who work in the film and TV industry call in to share what they think of the president's idea, and report on how much work has returned (or not) since the twin shocks of the pandemic and the 2023 strikes.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation nationwide. Jessica Steier, DRPH, PMP, CEO of Unbiased Science and host of the Unbiased Science Podcast and Linda Birnbaum, scientist emeritus and former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, as well as the National Toxicology Program and scholar in residence at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, parse fact from myth and what the science says about water fluoridation.

Michael Hill, WNYC Morning Edition host and Briana Vannozzi, anchor for NJ Spotlight News, recap and offer analysis of a conversation between New Jersey's Democratic candidates for governor.

Civil rights groups in New York City have filed a lawsuit challenging the NYPD's gang database, which these groups call discriminatory. Meanwhile, City Council and the Adams administration have clashed over the issue. Babe Howell, professor at CUNY School of Law, and Peter Moskos, professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, former Baltimore City police officer and author of Back from the Brink: Inside the NYPD and New York City's Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop (Oxford University Press, 2025), debate the efficacy of the gang database

John Cassidy, staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI (Macmillan, 2025), talks about his new book that traces the roots of criticism of today's global capitalism to its beginnings.