The Brian Lehrer Show

Mayor Bill de Blasio released his preliminary budget yesterday. Kate Taylor, New York Times City Hall reporter, explains what's in the $73.7 billion spending plan - including a tax to fund pre-k, an inspector general for the NYPD, and more.  

The era of the picture-of-the-woman-juggling-a-briefcase-and-a-baby is over. Jessica Bennett, journalist and contributing editor at LeanIn.org, talks about the organization's partnership with Getty Images to curate a collection of stock photo images that show realistic, empowered women. And we launch a related photo project, gathering photos of #NotYourStockWoman (details below). Photo Project! → Update: We've started collecting some of our favorites here. Here's how WNYC is getting in on the project: We’re inviting you to send in your own personal photo that you think represents updated, modern, real working womanhood. Take the photo, and then tag it #NotYourStockWoman on Instagram or Twitter. We'll feature our favorites on the website, and maybe we can even convince Getty and Lean In to feature some of them as well. Just use the tag #NotYourStockWoman. Check out the results on Twitter and Instagram. We'll feature our favorites on the WNYC website soon. Classic "frustrated working woman" stock photo. At 11:40 talking w/ @jess7bennett about efforts to find better pics. pic.twitter.com/a5dWl51djr — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 12, 2014 Images from the Lean In Collection on Getty

Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Center for Digital Business and author of The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies discusses the changes that emerging technologies will bring to America's economy in the future.

The House voted yesterday to pass a "clean" debt ceiling bill. Elizabeth Williamson, national reporter for The Wall Street Journal,  talks about the unusual vote and what it says about Washington politics. Plus: the latest ACA delays, and Janet Yellen's first testimony as Fed chair yesterday.

Our annual series on Oscar nominated documentaries kicked off yesterday. 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) Director and cinematographer, Jehane Noujaim of the Oscar-nominated feature documentary "The Square" talks about her film documenting the events in Cairo's Tahrir Square and the ongoing struggle in Egypt.

Gladys Carrión, the commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services, talks about her new role in the de Blasio administration.

John Kuo Wei Tchen, professor at New York University, co-founder of the Museum of Chinese in America, author of New York Before Chinatown, and co-author of Yellow Peril!: An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear (Verso, 2014) with Dylan Yeats, looks at the portrayal of Asians in Western pop culture. Top, 1936, bottom, 2010. Talking with NYU's Jack Tchen about persistent anti-Asian fear in popular culture, at 10:50. pic.twitter.com/lCooxllaDm — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 11, 2014

Despite "deep reservations," The Star-Ledger endorsed Chris Christie for governor last Fall. Now, they say they "blew it." Tom Moran, columnist for The Star-Ledger, talks about the newspaper rescinding their endorsement, and looks back at how they made their choice between two "flawed human beings." "We already went to the altar with this man. We're really asking for a divorce." @tomamoran on Star-Ledger re-thinking Christie endorsement. — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 11, 2014

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama called for a hike in the minimum wage. Now the lobbying efforts - for and against - are underway. Eric Lipton, Washington correspondent for The New York Times, discusses his reporting on a few key groups trying to win the public relations battle.  

Our annual series on Oscar nominated documentaries kicks off today. We'll speak with the filmmakers behind all five films over the coming days: The Square (Wednesday); 20 Feet from Stardom (Thursday); An Act of Killing (Friday); Dirty Wars (Monday) Zachary Heinzerling, director of the Oscar nominated feature documentary, "Cutie and the Boxer", talks about his film featuring DUMBO artists Noriko and Ushio Shinohara. He discusses their story, how the film came together, and what the impact has been on the protagonists.

In his first State of the City speech yesterday, Bill de Blasio reprised his "Tale of Two Cities" theme, while pushing for new plans to raise the minimum wage, issue new ID cards (including to undocumented immigrants), and more. WNYC's Brigid Bergin and Capital New York reporter Sally Goldenberg break down the politics and policy of the speech, and then Juan Manuel Benitez, NY1 Noticias reporter and host of Pura Politica, discusses Mayor de Blasio's new ID program.

A rebroadcast of our two-hour "family meeting" on mixed families. From race to income to religion and more, we discuss the challenges and advantages of having a diverse family. Featuring NPR's Michelle Norris discussing her "Race Card Project"; Naomi Schaefer Riley, author of 'Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage is Transforming America; Janna Malamud Smith, author of An Absorbing Errand on "mixed-income" families; and lots of calls on all sorts of mixed families.

As the Olympics kick off, it's impossible to ignore the socio-political context. But in addition to the athletes, and the questions about Russian policy, there are also the people of Sochi. In 2007, after hearing that "the Florida of Russia" had been awarded the winter games, Dutch photographer Rob Hornstra and writer/videographer Arnold van Bruggen traveled to Sochi to begin documenting life in the resort town as it prepared for the 2014 games. The result is the multimedia reporting site "The Sochi Project" and the new book An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus (Aperture, 2013). They discuss their years of reporting, the history of the region, and the effect the Olympic games will have on the everyday lives of Sochi residents. The railway line from Sochi to Sukhum in Abkhazia hugs the coast. Behind it rise the hotel-style sanatoriums of Adler. Ordinary hotel rooms are marginally cheaper, which is immediately apparent on Adler's seafront. The beach is full of overweight bodies sweating beer and spirits, bare torsos, noisy eaters surrounded by drunken bluster and tacky music. The locals have little choice but to put up with the visitors. Well heeled Russians take refuge in Sochi's fancier hotels or opt for Italy, Turkey or Thailand. The Games may bring a level of quality that will discourage cheap tourism, but more likely the city will just become more expensive, chaotic and crowded. Hamzad Ivloev, 44, was a policeman in Karabulak. One night he discovered a booby trap: a grenade had been lodged in a glass in such a way that the slightest movement would have set it off. At that moment reinforcements arrived. Hamzad started screaming and telling them to run away. But no one responded. He decided to throw himself on the grenade. ‚ÄúIn retrospect, it was all for nothing. I sacrificed myself for a bunch of cowards', he says bitterly. Every year, Mikhail Pavelivich Karabelnikov, 77, travels three thousand kilometers from Novokuznetsk to take his vacation in Sochi. He was a miner for thirty-seven years and gradually worked his way up to foreman, in charge of some 150 miners. His promising career came to an abrupt end when he refused to become a member of the Communist party, he says proudly. Cover of the book The Sochi Project: An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus (Aperture, 2013)

Bill de Blasio (First) | Supporting Those Struggling with Addiction (Starts at 35:00) | Cultural History of Noise (Starts at 59:45) We're trying something new on the Brian Lehrer Show -- three of our favorite segments from the week, edited together to listen to on the weekend, in case you missed them. If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

From feeling like you've already invested too much to being surrounded by phisical reminders of your efforts, it can seem really tough to move on from something that's not working. But Alan Bernstein, co-author of  Mastering the Art of Quitting:Why It Matters in Life, Love, and Work (Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2013) thinks you can master the art of quitting, and save yourself lots of heartache. He shares his advice. Knowing When to Quit: Some Useful Tips Alan Bernstein believes that quitting can be a “tool” to get the most out of life -- if you master it. Here are some things to keep in mind. Good luck giving it up! Don't Get Caught Up in American Exceptionalism. Especially in the US, says Bernstein, "persistence is a national myth" ingrained in many of us. So the things that keep us back are not necessarily conscious. Try to make a clear-eyed evaluation of the pros and cons of the decision. Beware the Sunk-cost Fallacy. It feels bad to leave something behind that you’ve already invested a bunch in, but remember that quitting presents an "equal and opposite opportunity as persistence." Gain Perspective, Write a List. If you can gain perspective and visualize the impact of giving something up, it really helps. Turn to others for perspective, and try to write down a list of all the pros and cons of quitting something. Change “I Will” Consequences to “Will I” Questions. When visualizing what could happen after giving something up, it's easy to think about all the consequences ("I will not be doing this..."). In addition, try to think about the opportunities of your decision ("Will I have more time for..."). Do You Have an Optimism Bias? In the business world, says Bernstein, “you want a pessimist to make the tough decisions.” Are you over-estimating your ability to see something through, and, as a result, under-selling the advantage of taking a different course? Get Rid of Reminders. It can be easy to get overwhelmed by nostalgia before and after you’ve made a change. Advising a painter who is considering giving up his art, Bernstein suggested he move away from the physical space and de-clutter, so that he's not surrounded by reminders of past efforts, like old pictures and frames.