The Brian Lehrer Show

Margaret MacMillan, professor of international history at Oxford and the author of The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 (Random House, 2013), looks at the avoidable run-up to World War I and the misjudgments of European leaders who thought the war could be resolved quickly. The "Great War" lasted over four years and killed 16 million combatants and civilians.

Talking about marijuana, President Obama recently said “I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.” Denver-based journalist David Sirota talks about the connection between alcohol and marijuana and how alcohol played a role in the campaign to legalize marijuana .  

Larry Schwartz, secretary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), goes through the details of Governor Cuomo's budget proposal, including statewide pre-K and campaign finance reform.

Tim Harford, Financial Times columnist and the author of The Undercover Economist Strikes Back:  How to Run - or Ruin - an Economy (Riverhead Hardcover, 2014) explains macroeconomics to the layman, including how to deal with recessions, inflation and unemployment.  He says the book doesn't put political spins on economics. “The idea of the new book was to make it less political, less polemical and kind of fun.” Caller Walter in Monmouth asked about the changing nature of jobs in today’s economy, and Harford partially agreed with him. “Manufacturing employment in China is falling, it’s been falling for years,” he said. “So if it’s falling in China, how on earth do we think we can keep it up in the Europe or America?”   But he also gave a sunny view of our economic future. He said people often mistake short-term problems for long-term problems. "We've had five years, six years of bad news, and I think a lot of people now think, ‘well, things will never be better. The economy is structurally damaged, and it’s game over,'” he said. “I don’t believe that. I think there are long-term issues to solve but ultimately I’m an optimist. I think technological progress and human ingenuity is going to put the economy back on track and we will get there in the end.” He closed the interview by reminding us that “all crises come to an end.”

A conversation has broken out online about how much information is too much information when it comes to blogging and tweeting about illness. It started when op-ed writers at The New York Times and The Guardian criticized Lisa Bonchek Adams, who writes about her battle with breast cancer.  We take calls from listeners who chose to share their story online. Amy said she initially started her blog "Boo Cancer You Suck" to easily update friends and family about her progress. But quickly, she found that "it was a really wonderful way to go through something so difficult" with a larger community. Other callers reiterated the role of using humor around such a difficult subject, though another caller said that her main goal was to use blogging as a way to release tension, anxiety, and PTSD. Boyfriend of a woman who blogs about her POTS (heart condition) -- "I feel immensely proud of what she's doing." — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) January 22, 2014 A caller who blogs about his PTSD/return from war says he's taken down some of his posts because he's worried future employers may see them. — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) January 22, 2014 Yes! RT @UntamedEyebrows: @BrianLehrer comedian Tig Notaro made an improvised show she did after being diagnosed w cancer, it is incredible — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) January 22, 2014 "Boo Cancer You Suck" Our caller Amy right now writes this tumblr: http://t.co/ScNAGWMBff — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) January 22, 2014 A few of the other illness bloggers we've heard from on air: http://t.co/EVYkeV7eKL | http://t.co/IAE5kCWEYZ | http://t.co/QPlwxKkXvh — Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) January 22, 2014

Listeners offer their cold weather "hacks" as Scott Omelianuk, editor of This Old House magazine, shares tips for homeowners and Joshua Lockwood, CEO of the American Red Cross Greater New York Region, offers advice for staying safe in the extreme winter weather. // Post by Brian Lehrer.

Our list of technologies the NSA can employ is getting a lot of buzz - we go through the list and provide context with Shane Harris, Senior Writer at Foreign Policy and author of The Watchers. → See The Full List and Add Comments Here

With emergency room care expected to increase under the Affordable Care Act, how are New York's emergency care units performing? E.R. doctor Joshua Moskovitz, who teaches emergency medicine and public health at Hofstra Northshore LIJ School of Medicine, discusses a new report card that grades the quality of emergency room services around the country. He explains how he helped develop the report card as a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians Task Force, how the group evaluates emergency care, and why they gave New York a C.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer says the Christie administration made Sandy aid contingent upon a development project. Sarah Gonzalez, WNYC's northern New Jersey enterprise reporter, talks about the history of the Rockefeller project, and we take calls from Hoboken residents about the role of development in their town.

Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and A Religion of One's Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World, encourages people to craft their own religious practice, as he did, drawing on the traditions of many cultures, including Greek mythology, Sufi Islam, Catholicism or Kabbalah.

Bertha Lewis, president of The Black Institute, discusses tomorrow night's town hall forum to launch "The G Project" which seeks to engage black Americans on the issue of immigration reform. NYC's new First Lady Chirlane McCray is expected to participate at the forum and share her own family's immigration story. What about you? The Black Institute estimates there are 60 million black Americans who themselves or whose parents or grandparents immigrated to the U.S.  Find out more and take the survey for "The G Project." →EVENT: All Races All Faces Immigration Forum, January 22, 6:00 p.m., Christian Cultural Center, 12020 Flatlands Ave., Brooklyn (pdf)  

Jonathan Chait, daily columnist at New York Magazine, rounds up the current national political news, including Chris Christie's growing problems and the current state of Obamacare.  

Brian shares excerpts from Sunday's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event at the Apollo Theater, "Dreams for NYC Inspired by MLK" reflecting on the immediate future of New York City through the lens of Dr. King’s moral compass. The event was co-hosted by multimedia journalist and author Farai Chideya, in front of an audience of 1500. Panelists Include: Gadadhara Pandit Dasa, monk, lecturer and the first-ever Hindu chaplain for Columbia University, New York University, and Union Theological Seminary, and theauthor of Urban Monk: Exploring Karma, Consciousness, and the Divine Nelson George, filmmaker, essayist and the author of The Plot Against Hip Hop: A Novel Rev. Peter Heltzel, associate professor of theology and director of the Micah Institute at New York Theological Seminary and the author of Resurrection City: A Theology of Improvisation U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-8th, Brooklyn) Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the author of The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America Dr. Pedro Noguera, education professor at NYU and the author of The Trouble With Black Boys: ...And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, founder and senior religion editor for the Huffington Post Rev. Donna Schaper, senior minister of Judson Memorial Church and the author of Grace at Table: Small Spiritual Solutions to Large Material Problems, Solving Everything Dr. Jan Willis, professor of religion at Wesleyan University and the author of Dreaming Me: An African-American Woman's Buddhist Journey    Melinda Weekes-Laidlow, managing director of Race Forward Brett Ian Wright, founder and CEO of the NuAmerica Agency Cristina Greer, Professor of Political Science at Fordham University and author of Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream Peniel Joseph, Professor of History at Tufts University and author of Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama, and the forthcoming Stokely: A Life .@brianlehrer argues history "sped up" around 1963. Tons of social change. Begs question: is history speeding up again now? #mlknycdreams — Alex Goldmark (@alexgoldmark) January 19, 2014 'A Change is Gonna Come' thanks, congrats @WNYC family @farai @BrianLehrer for the great conversation! #mlknycdreams pic.twitter.com/EBTWt9ziVU — Jenny Ye (@thepapaya) January 19, 2014 Religion is "dry as dust" when it focuses on the souls and ignores the slums - MLK #MLKNYCDreams pic.twitter.com/ffEougrEJL — Sarah Heltzel (@SarahHeltzel) January 19, 2014 Engaging discussion w/ @BrianLehrer & @farai @ApolloTheater discussing #MLKNYCdreams. What are your #dreams for #NYC? pic.twitter.com/a9LBEAeuHf — Julien Touafek (@JulienTouafek) January 20, 2014

Azi Paybarah, political reporter for Capital New York, discusses headlines in the local news and checks in on two major campaign promises made by Mayor Bill de Blasio: paid sick leave, and keeping the doors of Brooklyn hospitals open.  

Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent for The Washington Post, rounds up the latest political news, from the federal budget to Obama's NSA speech, to the national impact of Chris Christie's growing scandals. "I deny wholeheartedly those allegations." - Lt. Gov. Guadagno on charges from @dawnzimmernj No "condition on the release of Sandy funds" — Matt Katz (@mattkatz00) January 20, 2014