The Brian Lehrer Show

Spencer Ackerman, The Daily Beast's senior national security correspondent, discusses the latest news from the Trump-Russia investigations, including how the President is consumed with investigation news instead of potential further military action in Syria. On Monday, the White House issued a warning that Syria "would pay a heavy price," if they launched a new chemical attack. And Ackerman reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gave a similar warning to Russia through Bashar al-Assad's patron there. Meanwhile, Trump was tweeting about fake news in the wake of the CNN snafu. 

Mandy Len Catron, the author of the acclaimed and viral New York Times essay, "To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This," discusses her take on love now and her new book, How to Fall in Love with Anyone: A Memoir in Essays(Simon & Schuster, 2017). Her 36-question progressive intimacy map went viral and she's learned a lot since then. Like for example, Catron explains what's wrong with the notion of "falling" in love with someone. Plus, she helps facilitate the questioning of two random strangers on air.  EVENT: Mandy Len Catron will be doing a reading Tuesday, June 27 at 7:30 PM  at GREENLIGHT BOOKSTORE, 686 Fulton Street in Fort Greene Brooklyn. 

Maggie Haberman, New York Times White House correspondent, and Julia Ioffe, The Atlantic national security and foreign policy staff writer, on Donald Trump's refusal to say anything definitive about Russia's involvement in the U.S. elections, a tactic which is beginning to frustrate the president's supporters. Haberman explains that President Trump is a real estate guy and he treats everything as if it is an open ended negotiation. "And that's very very dangerous when you're dealing with matters of national security," she says. 

Ken Lovett, Albany bureau chief for The Daily News, and Brigid Bergin, WNYC's City Hall and politics reporter, talk about the Albany/NYC relationship when it comes to the issues plaguing the MTA and mayoral control of the schools, and the increased presence of state troopers in the city. 

Will the Senate health care plan pass? The two parties are predicting very different outcomes. But even more so, will there even be a debate to begin with? And who will be hit with the highest premiums? And why will the bill cut Planned Parenthood funding for just one year? Jennifer Haberkorn, senior health care reporter for POLITICO Pro, and Susan Page, USA TODAY's Washington bureau chief, give updates on where things are with Senate health care bill, the plan's newly released C.B.O. score, and what's at stake if the bill is passed.    

Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman and Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Dem. (CT) and the author of The Least Among Us: Waging the Battle for the Vulnerable (The New Press, 2017) talks about what Republicans get wrong about a social safety net and how the GOP healthcare bill just provides a massive tax break for the wealthy and will wreak havoc for working America.

Al Franken, U.S. Senator (D MN) former comedy writer and actor, and the author of Al Franken, Giant of the Senate talks about his improbable path from Saturday Night Live to the U.S. Senate. Plus the latest on the news on the health care bill and where things are with Trump world and the Russia investigation.  On his childhood Franken says, "I felt like the luckiest kid in the world," growing up in suburban Minnesota, part of the middle class. It's what helped him decide to be a Democrat. But people don't feel that way anymore. "In America, they tell you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. But first you have to have the boots." And when it came to his political career, Franken has made a point of not being funny. How did he make the switch? With the help of "the de-humanizer, an Israeli-made machine that de-contextualized and took out the irony of every thing I did." 

New York City is arguably the epicenter of gay culture, but there's been a rise in discrimination claims of sexual orientation and gender identity. Carmelyn Malalis, chair and commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, talks about how the office is responding to this uptick and how they promote equal rights in the wake of harassment. For example, the office launched a campaign in 2016 to expand bathroom access after controversial issues of a "Bathroom Bill" arose last year in North Carolina. "We in New York City are going to resist that," and promote inclusiveness, says Malalis.  

Beth Fertig, WNYC Senior Reporter covering courts and legal affairs, and Tina Luongo, attorney-in-charge of criminal practice at the Legal Aid Society talk about the fact that since President Donald Trump took office, immigration advocates across the country have claimed that there is a rise of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showing up in courthouses trying to detain people. Fertig details how ICE agents have even showed up at the Human Trafficking Intervention Court in Queens to arrest human trafficking victims, which was the focus of her latest feature for WNYC.     

Over-65's are the fastest growing segment of NYC's population and the number of "silver alerts" issued when a senior suffering from dementia goes missing are on the rise. Jim O’Grady, WNYC features reporter, reports on one case and at the systems in place to help them find home in his new story.

In case you missed them, hear three of our favorite segments from the week: Senator Elizabeth Warren (First) | Author Arundhati Roy (Starts 20:32) | Amtrak's CEO on 'Summer of Hell' (Starts 48:30)

 David Von Drehle, Time editor-at-large, discusses the latest news from the Trump-Russia investigations and his latest profile on the investigation’s special prosecutor, Robert Mueller. Plus WNYC’s business and culture editor Charlie Hermanlooks at how Watergate history can inform today’s investigations into President Trump and his campaign.  

President Trump's trip abroad began with an embrace of Saudi Arabia and ended with some spectacular disagreements with European democracies. Washington Post's National correspondent Philip Bump, Washington Post reporter Max Ehrenfreund, and Politico's senior investigative reporter Josh Meyer discuss the aftermath of Trump's first foreign trip plus the latest from the Russia investigations, which have turned to focus on the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner. 

On the 100th anniversary of the United States' entry in World War One, Margaret Wagner, Senior Writer in the Library of Congress Publishing Office and author of  America and the Great War: A Library of Congress Illustrated History, chronicles the events that brought the US reluctantly into the first modern war.