The Brian Lehrer Show

With delta infections on the rise, employers and local governments are deploying both carrot and stick approaches to incentivize people to get the shot. S. Mitra Kalita, co-founder of URL Media and CEO and publisher of Epicenter-NYC, takes calls from listeners if this was the week they finally got shot, and what made the difference.

Josefa Velásquez, senior reporter for the news organization THE CITY, recaps Gov. Hochul's first day on the job, including the priorities she outlined in her first address to New Yorkers.

While Henri wound up not being as bad as it could have been in this area, hurricane season is only just beginning. John Scrivani, New York City Emergency Management Department commissioner, talks about how to prepare, and how to decipher warnings ahead of future storms.

Unvaccinated children are about to start school in what Leana Wen, MD, emergency physician, professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, CNN medical analyst, and former Baltimore Health Commissioner and the author of Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health (Metropolitan Books, 2021), calls maybe the most "dangerous moment" in the pandemic for them. She shares how to help keep young kids safe right now.

Liz Benjamin, managing director for Albany at Marathon Strategies, a communications and strategic consulting firm and a former reporter who covered New York politics and government for two decades, and WNYC and Gothamist reporter Gwynne Hogan talk about now-Governor Kathy Hochul, the first woman to hold the job in New York, and the challenges she faces as she takes office.

The Biden Administration has said Americans can begin to get a third COVID-19 vaccine booster shot in the coming months. Brianne Barker, virologist and immunologist, associate professor of biology at Drew University, and co-host of the podcast This Week in Virology, talks about the science behind the decision, whether vaccinated people should be worried about waning immunity against the delta variant and more, including the news that the FDA has fully approved the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. →Prof. Barker will be one of the leaders of the virtual town halls put together by the American Society for Virology on Thursday, August 26 at 7pm ET.

Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power (Twelve, April 2021), talks about the latest in national politics, including the Afghanistan withdrawal and the infrastructure and budget bills in the House.

Dianna Houenou, chair of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, talks about the rules and timeline for when (adult) New Jerseyans will be able to buy cannabis legally at dispensaries in the state.

Deciding what to have for dinner can sometimes be as exhausting as making it. Virginia Sole-Smith, a journalist who covers weight stigma and diet culture, the author of the book The Eating Instinct (Henry Holt and Co., 2018) and the newsletter Burnt Toast, talks about why meal planning often falls to women, and offers tips on how to make the process less agonizing and more equal.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. New York State Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn on the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Haiti (First); Jelani Cobb on The Essential Kerner Commission Report  (Starts at 31:15); Iconic at 50:  Miles Davis' 'Bitches Brew' (Starts at 53:15) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.     

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio takes calls from listeners and discusses this week in NYC, including his policy on vaccinating teachers ahead of the start of the school year, and on using indoor dining as a vaccine incentive.

David Cruz, WNYC/Gothamist news editor, talks about what the new Census numbers show about how NYC is changing and the new NY redistricting process.

Our listeners tell us about their COVID-era businesses. Despite the pandemic, the number of applications to start new businesses last year reached an all-time high. Did you set up shop? New entrepreneurs, give us a call to tell us about your COVD-era start-ups. 646-435-7280. — The Brian Lehrer Show and A Daily Politics Podcast (@BrianLehrer) August 20, 2021

Annie Pforzheimer, non-resident associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Afghanistan until March 2019, and deputy chief of mission in Kabul from 2017-2018, talks about the sudden fall of the Afghan government and the continued efforts to evacuate Americans and those who worked with them.

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, discusses the latest COVID news, from the rise in delta variant cases to the distribution of booster shots.