The Brian Lehrer Show

Emily Spivack, artist, author of Worn Stories and Worn in New York: 68 Sartorial Memoirs of the City (Harry N. Abrams, 2017) and now creator of the Netflix docu-series "Worn Stories", joins to talk about how people will transition the way they dress as they re-enter a post-pandemic world.

U.S. Representative (D NY-8th, Brooklyn and Queens) and House Democratic chairman, Hakeem Jeffries, talks about GOP opposition to a commission to study the Capitol riot on January 6, the status of the American Jobs Plan, and more national political news. 

As parents and kids emerge from the pandemic, the climate crisis has come into focus for many, causing anxiety especially among kids. Mary DeMocker, author of The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids, and Still Get a Good Night’s Sleep (New World Library, 2018), talks about how to help kids deal with their climate anxiety and empower them along the way.

David Schleifer, director of research at Public Agenda, a nonpartisan public opinion research organization, and Gerard Robinson, USA Today opinion contributor, AEI scholar and a former secretary of education in Virginia and former Florida education commissioner, talk about the latest report on America's "Hidden Common Ground" and what issues research shows run counter to narratives of "bubbles" and separate realities.

Dianne Morales, former nonprofit executive and 2021 mayoral hopeful, talks about her plans for the City's economy, both in recovering from the pandemic losses and in addressing pre-existing inequality.

Carol Goodman, partner at Herrick, Feinstein LLP and chair of the firm’s employment practice, talks about how workplaces need to adapt to keep employees safe as mask mandates are lifted in New York and once the HERO Act takes effect and Daniel Munoz, politics, government and economic development reporter for NJBIZ, talks about why Gov. Murphy says lifting the mask mandate now would be unfair to NJ businesses.

Everybody agrees it's only a matter of time before lower Manhattan floods from rising sea levels or another superstorm, but when it comes to figuring out how to protect the area, there is much less consensus. Keith Gessen, professor at Columbia School of Journalism, founding editor of n+1 and a contributor to New York Magazine, talks about the fight over the future of East River Park, and why it's a predictor for climate adaptation battles to come. 

Recently, Food and Wine magazine ranked the ten best pizza states in America and NJ, CT and NY took the first three spots (in that order). Listeners weigh in on what makes for a superior slice and where to find them.

Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post columnist, host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, and the author of Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World (W. W. Norton & Company, 2020), talks about the state of the Republican party, plus COVID news from around the world. "A Radical Rebellion: The Transformation of the GOP" is available for streaming through May 29 and re-airs Friday, May 21 at 11:00pm, and Saturday, May 22 at 9:00pm.   

During Thursday's mayoral debate, when asked which regulation she’d modify to help small businesses recover from the pandemic, former sanitation commissioner Katheryn Garcia said she’d like to see the city’s health inspectors schedule their annual inspections of restaurants — instead of showing up unannounced like they normally do. Charles Platkin, PhD, JD, MPH, director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center and health columnist at Diet Detective, joins to talk about how the system works and whether the surprise visits from health inspectors actually make restaurants safer. @BrianLehrer People don’t realize how many common practices in restaurants are actually violations. Fruit behind the bar must be covered for instance and bartenders are supposed to wear gloves when cutting fruit. It’s even worse in the kitchen! — Kamali Malcolm (@kamalimalcolm) May 18, 2021 @BrianLehrer Scheduled or surprise, the issue is that every inspector finds 'new' things. It's extremely idiosyncratic. Some are nice, some are sticklers looking for things that no owner or staff even knows to look out for. Many will ignore things that others will cite 3x over. — Tiffany Em (@TiffanyEm) May 18, 2021 @BrianLehrer, further to your questions about letter grades, treat 'em like Michelin stars. A 'B' is fine, and not getting an 'A' is no disgrace for a deli or bodega... — Geoff Wheeler (@geoffwhe) May 18, 2021

WNYC education reporter Jessica Gould and Allison Hoffman, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law specializing in health care law and policy, follow up on last week's Democratic mayoral candidates' debate and the questions of whether a remote option or a vaccine mandate should be part of the fall school reopening plan.

Raymond McGuire, former Citigroup executive and mayoral hopeful, talks about his plans for the City's economy, both in recovering from the pandemic losses and in addressing pre-existing inequality.

Robert Squillace Ph.D., professor in the School of Liberal Studies at New York University, teaches us about the data sale business model of companies like Facebook and Amazon and how Apple's new update threatens their infrastructure.

Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, and Annie Linskey, Washington Post national reporter covering the White House, talk about the CDC's change to its indoor mask guidance, including the political forces at play, and what it means for people's health. Correction to some numbers, from the desk of Nsikan Akpan: There have been about 1,300 severe COVID cases (hospitalizations/deaths) out of 115 million fully vaccinated, which works out to about 1 hospitalization/death for every 100,000 people fully vaccinated. The number of breakthrough infections is 9,245 infections out of 95 million fully vaccinated. That would work out to about 1 in 10,000 breakthrough infections. 

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Cicadas Are Having Their Own 'Hot Vax Summer' (First) | April's Unexpected Jobs Report (Starts at 15:27) | Summer with Your (Unvaccinated) Kids (Starts at 49:02)   If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.