The Brian Lehrer Show

Today we wrap up our annual series on Oscar nominated documentaries. We spoke with the filmmakers behind all five films over the past week: The Square (Wednesday); 20 Feet from Stardom (Thursday); An Act of Killing (Friday); Dirty Wars (Monday). Jeremy Scahill and Richard Rowley talk about their new documentary Dirty Wars. Scahill, who is an investigative journalist (and editor with the new project The Intercept), is a writer for the documentary, based on his book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield. Rowley is director, cinematographer, and editor for the film. Scahill and Rowley discuss their expose of the War on Terror.

Douglass Rushkoff is an author and media thinker, and host of the new "Frontline" piece "Generation Like." In this new documentary, Rushkoff explores how young Americans use the social web, and how corporations and marketers are trying to reach them.

Liz Benjamin, host of Capital Tonight on Time Warner Cable News and Capital New York columnist, discusses the latest about Governor Cuomo, upstate lawmakers, and Mayor de Blasio and their fight over funding pre-K and other budget matters.

Ken Ward Jr., writer for the Charleston Gazette on environmental issues, discusses another spill that is contaminating water in West Virginia. He explains how little we know about the chemicals and how a lack of oversight is complicating the problems.  

The Obama administration has granted an $8 billion waiver to New York State allowing it adjust spending and possibly preserve some hospitals in New York City and beyond. Governor Andrew Cuomo discusses the new spending flexibility, saying that it will help "transform" hospitals that "have beds that are un-needed," while acknowledging that some hospitals will be scaled back. When asked about his plans to fund universal pre-K statewide, and reject Mayor de Blasio's proposal for a New York City tax to do so, Cuomo told guest-host Jami Floyd that "we [already] have a millionaires' surcharge, which is one of the reasons why we have the resources to pay for pre-K statewide." He argued that an NYC-only tax would create "a tale of two states." And when asked about the response to this week's snow storms, Cuomo confirmed that he did not consult with Mayor de Blasio about declaring a state-wide state of emergency, but defended the mayor's decision to close schools, saying "second-guessing is very easy."

Ty Tashiro, psychologist and relationship expert for the Discovery Network’s Fit and Health Channel and the author of The Science of Happily Ever After: What Really Matters in the Quest for Enduring Love (Harlequin, 2014), offers practical advice for the lovelorn.  

This week we kicked off our annual series on Oscar nominated documentaries. We'll speak with the filmmakers behind all five films over the coming days: Cutie and the Boxer (Tuesday); The Square (Wednesday); 20 Feet from Stardom (Thursday); The Act of Killing (Friday); Dirty Wars (Monday). Joshua Oppenheimer, director of the Oscar-nominated feature documentary "The Act of Killing", talks about his film about coming to terms with human rights abuses -- by the perpetrators. The film looks at the repercussions of death squads mobilized against "communists" in northern Indonesia in the 1960's.

Angelo Falcón, president and founder of the National Institute for Latino Policy, talks about the Attorney General's investigation into the Puerto Rican Day Parade, and what it could mean for the celebration in June.

Josh Levin, executive editor at Slate and the host of Slate's sports podcast, "Hang Up and Listen", discusses the latest news out of Sochi, from the warm weather to NBC's coverage of the Games, to the political climate in Russia. At 10am, a mid-Olympics check-in with @josh_levin @slate. In one tweet, can you sum up #SochiSoFar? — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 14, 2014

With college application deadlines behind us, families now need to turn to the financial aid process. Jacques Steinberg, senior vice president of Say Yes to Education, a national non-profit organization, and author of The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College (Penguin, 2003). Steinberg explains what you need to know about FAFSA and takes your questions.  

This week we kicked off our annual series on Oscar nominated documentaries. We'll speak with the filmmakers behind all five films over the coming days: Cutie and the Boxer (Tuesday); The Square (Wednesday); 20 Feet from Stardom (Thursday); The Act of Killing (Friday); Dirty Wars (Monday) Morgan Neville, director of the Oscar nominated feature documentary "20 Feet from Stardom," talks about his film bringing a bit of the spotlight to the back-up singers on so many classic tunes.

Yankee legend Derek Jeter announced yesterday that this will be his last season. George Vecsey of The New York Times discusses his career and what's to come for the post-Jeter Yankees. We take your calls and tributes to the shortstop and captain. Call 212-433-9692 or post your comment below.

The Port Authority board’s chairman David Samson is well connected to Chris Christie, and the head of a powerful law firm. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein discusses her reporting on how Samson uses all three positions to his benefit.

WNYC Data Reporter Coulter Jones and New York Daily News reporter Ben Chapman look at what the data tells us about too-early school lunch times and how they can affect students' performances.

Declaring that some issue or value "is what America is all about" is one of America's favorite rhetorical flourishes. Bob Garfield, co-host of On The Media, talks about recent examples and takes your calls.  →Bob Garfield's New York Times Op-Ed