The Brian Lehrer Show

Catherine Porter, international correspondent for the New York Times, and Selam Gebrekidan, investigative reporter for The New York Times based in London, discuss what happened when France demanded reparations from formerly enslaved Haitians to their French slaveholders and how it has impacted Haiti's economy to this day.

The majority of the New York City Council members are new and are part of a class that is the most diverse and progressive in city history. Over the next year Brian Lehrer will get to know all 51 members. This week, Councilmember Tiffany Cabán talks about her priorities for District 22, which includes Astoria, Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Woodside and Rikers Island. Catch up with all the interviews here.

Henry Olsen, Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, previews today's key races and discusses results in Pennsylvania and other states, so far.

What does the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial tell us about the state of #MeToo? New York Times Op-Ed columnist Michelle Goldberg joins us to discuss her recent opinion piece, "Amber Heard and the Death of #MeToo."

Bridget Read, senior writer at New York Magazine, joins to discuss her recent feature in Curbed about New York City's rental market and how bidding wars have driven up the price of apartments.

Jake Offenhartz, reporter at Gothamist, and Janet Fash, Rockaway Beach lifeguard, talk about the potential dangers in the upcoming temporary closure of Rockaway beach this summer for construction. "Rockaway lifeguards sound alarm on deadly potential of city's beach closure plan" (Gothamist, 5/19/22)

Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, and Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, talk about the new court-imposed congressional district maps and how they are affecting who is running in which districts.

Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power (Twelve, 2021), now in paperback, talks about the latest in national politics, including recent polling on midterm issues and President Biden's statement on Taiwan.

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of sociology and international affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, discusses the American conservative movement's obsession with Viktor Orbán and Hungary’s authoritarian nationalism.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. What Social Media Did to the World (First) | What I Want My Kids to Learn About American Racism (Starts at 23:15) | The iPod Days Are Over (Starts at 53:00) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

For over a month, India has been experiencing record-shattering high temperatures. Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, India, joins to discuss how these temperatures are tied to climate change, and how residents are coping.

Katelyn Jetelina, author of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist and director of Population Health Analytics at Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, shares an update on BA.2, the threat of additional omicron sublineages, and more, as the public health emergency endures.

Earlier this week, Grubhub announced New Yorkers could order a free lunch -- but they apparently didn't tell restaurants in the city the plan, and chaos ensued. So for people who own or work in restaurants, call in and tell us how things are going — from the Grubhub debacle to dealing with the latest COVID upswing and more.

Mara Liasson, NPR national political correspondent, talks about why CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, is taking place in Hungary this week, and what that says about the movement. Plus, she shares her analysis of this week's primary elections.   →"Here's why American conservatives are heading to Hungary for a big conference" (Morning Edition, updated 5/19/22)

Anthonine Pierre, executive director of The Brooklyn Movement Center and fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, talks about what she sees as the root causes of gun violence, and shares some ideas on how to combat it.