The Brian Lehrer Show

As the House starts its August recess, Jerrold Nadler, U.S. Representative (NY-10), answers listeners' questions and reflects on this term, so far, and what's next. According to Congressman Nadler, "it's too early to know about impeachment. The risks of impeachment are too high. A failure would look partisan and play into President Trump's hand."

April Ryan, the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks and author of The Presidency in Black and White: My Up-Close View of Four Presidents and Race in America (now out in paperback), discusses the latest national political news from the Trump White House. "To understand Trump we go back to his base," says Ryan, "but he represents all of America now. Pitting groups against each other is not good."  

Taffy Brodesser-Akner, New York Times Magazine contributing writer, talks about struggling with weight and diet in a culture that likes to pretend it only cares about health, not size.

President Trump has proclaimed this week is "American Dream" week. So, we're wondering, do politics ever invade your actual dreams? Listeners share how the drama unfolding in Washington has entered their subconscious.

National Security Correspondent for The New York Times, David Sanger, talks about Russia and North Korea.

Partnerships Editor and Senior correspondent at Kaiser Health News, Mary Agnes Carey explores whether the bipartisan proposal from members of the House and Senate to stabilize the individual health insurance markets stands a chance.  Carey says the big question is, "where are we, as a nation, on single-payer health insurance? If nothing comes forth from these bipartisan efforts, will that build steam for an alternative option?"

NPR media correspondent, David Folkenflik talks about a lawsuit filed against Fox News that alleges the Fox News Channel and a wealthy Trump supporter concocted a story about a deceased Democratic National Committee aide, with the endorsement of the White House, to distract from Russian hacking news. Plus, NPR’s White House Correspondent, Tamara Keith, talks about other news coming out of the White House.

Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, and Daniel Garodnick, New York City Council Member representing the 4th District, talk about the East Midtown rezoning plan.  In regards to environmental concerns, Deputy Mayor Glen says "Midtown was designed to be a skyscraper district...buildings built under this plan will be built to the highest standards." 

Elisabeth Benjamin, Vice President of Health Initiatives at Community Service Society and co-founder of Healthcare for All New York, talks about the effect of Washington's disorder on New York's Obamacare exchanges. Prior to kicking off enrollment in the exchange, is there reason enough to worry about changes coming to people's plans regarding care, doctors, rates, and providers? Benjamin assures, "Don't start worrying until October." 

Lawrence Wright, New Yorker staff writer and the author of The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State(Vintage, 2017), now in paperback, talks about his book, the current state of ISIS, and his recent New Yorker article on the state of Texas. As a Texas resident, Wright says that Texas holds the key to understanding where our country is headed. "It's a very red state with a lot of blue patches in it... and the tide coming out of Texas is going to roll out over America," says Wright.   EVENTS: Wright will be playing with his band WhoDo at Joe's Pub on August 1st at 7:30 P.M. More information here. And at Hill Country in Brooklyn on August 2nd at 8:00 P.M., more information here.  

For August, Glamour and L'Oreal Paris teamed up to conduct a Harris Poll of 2,000 American women to find out the state of women today. Cindi Leive, Glamour Editor-in-Chief, and John Gerzema, the CEO of Harris Poll, social strategist, and author of The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future (Jossey-Bass, 2013), discuss the surprising results of the poll, like the finding that 70% of women say their top priority in life is to become financially secure, but 56% believe they are underpaid. In terms of the poll, Gerzema explains that this is a story about optimism and obstacle.  "Most of women feel really great abt certain parts of their lives & feel really crummy abt others" says @cindi_leive re @HarrisPoll findings pic.twitter.com/hYRgrGLdAe — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) August 1, 2017 "Transparency is here" says @cindi_leive & finding out abt your coworkers' salaries will help the #GenderPayGap — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) August 1, 2017

The Problem Solvers caucus, made up of 43 House Democrats and Republicans, have a proposal to stabilize the individual health insurance markets. U.S. Representative (D NY-3), Thomas Suozzi, and U.S. Representative (R NJ-7) Leonard Lance, both members of the coalition, unpack the proposals in the plan. "This is a way we could move forward together... This was well thought out by Republicans and Democrats in the House, who want to move forward so we can address other issues like tax reform," says Congressman Lance of the proposal. There is a lot of work to be done to fix the health care system and the only way it will get done is to build upon the plan we have in place and to come together, explains Congressman Suozzi. 

In the past few years, biking has become a main way to commute in New York City. Citi Bikes has expanded, and there's over 450,000 bike trips a day. Polly Trottenberg, Commissioner of the New York Department of Transportation, discusses how bikers, drivers, and pedestrians can stay safe on the roads. Plus, she explains how the roads have become and will continue to be safe for bicyclists, and where the city plans to expand to accommodate the influx of bikers. 

As the popularity of genetic tests like 23 and Me grows, so does the possibility of learning something completely foreign about yourself and your ancestry. But not all news is good news. Journalist Libby Copeland talks about how some of these discoveries in genetic makeup are unveiling complicated family secrets and changing some people's sense of self. She talks about one family's story she writes about for The Washington Post. Copeland explains that there are two common findings for people using these tests. One is that you might find out that you have a sibling or half-sibling that you didn't know, or the other is that may find out you were raised by someone who is not your biological family. Plus, listeners call in with their personal stories about using a home DNA test and uncovering surprising information. 

Jonathan Blitzer, a contributing writer to the New Yorker's website, relates what he learned from a veteran immigration agent dismayed by the changes at I.C.E. since the election of President Trump, particularly the attitude of contempt toward undocumented immigrants, which is now given free rein. I.C.E. has always been an agency that has been hamstrung by the government. But "there's a no holds barred attitude at I.C.E... and this is significantly different than years past," says Blitzer. And while the numbers of illegal crossings at the border are way way down, and so therefore Trump has kept his campaign promise, but Blitzer asks, "At what cost?"