The Brian Lehrer Show

Inspired by a recent article in Gothamist, listeners call in to share the last fun thing they did before the pandemic began, and what they're looking forward to doing once it's over.

Every Tuesday evening through May 4th, The Greene Space and the non-profit advocacy organization Worth Rises are holding virtual panel discussions about the business side of the prison industry, asking: who profits when people get put away? We're previewing those discussions with a weekly segment here on The Brian Lehrer Show. This week, incarcerated people, their families and other allies have been fighting for what they call “phone justice” for years. Calls can cost $1 a minute in some facilities, and the phone companies that contract with prisons and jails make big profits.  Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, and Ulandis Forte, an activist and grandson of Mrs. Martha Wright-Reed, the namesake of the prison phone justice legislation, talk about why the phone companies can charge so much and what activists are doing to try to make a change. EVENT, 7pm: Sign up for Tuesday's live virtual panel discussion on phone justice HERE.

U.S Representative Grace Meng (D NY 6) talks about the recent hearing on bias and violence toward Asian Americans, Biden's immigration challenges, and other issues facing Congress.

Caroline Lewis, freelance journalist, frequent contributor to Gothamist/WNYC and lead reporter on the PriceCheckNYC project, shares her reporting on how New York State tries to shrink or close "safety-net" hospitals -- which serve low-income New Yorkers -- and how it affects people's health.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. Making Sense of the Guidelines for Vaccinated People (First) | A Mass Shooting in Georgia Leaves the Asian American Community "Gutted" (Starts at 39:30) | Saving the YMCA's New York Summer Camps (Starts at 01:01:20) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

Frank Wu, president of Queens College, talks about how he is confronting the rising reports of violence against Asian Americans, and how he is leading Queens College through this and the pandemic.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio takes calls from listeners and discusses this week in NYC, including the effort to get people to trust the vaccines, Cuomo's influence over city policy, and whether parents will have another chance to opt-in to in-person schools.

Daniel Griffin, MD, PhD, infectious disease clinician and researcher at Columbia, chief of the division of Infectious Disease for ProHEALTH Care medical group, talks about what we know about vaccines and treatment, in and out of the hospital and the anecdotal evidence that vaccines help some of those suffering from "long COVID."  Dr. Griffin offers a weekly clinical update on the podcast This Week in Virology.

The Death, Sex & Money team is instituting a new holiday called "Pick Up the Phone and Call" day, to help people who have become disconnected throughout the pandemic get back in touch. Anna Sale, host of the WNYC Studios podcast Death, Sex & Money, explains how to go about it, and why it's important. Is there someone in your life you've been meaning to call? We're celebrating a new holiday called "Pick up the Phone and Call Day," which falls on Friday March 26th. Now @deathsexmoney's @annasale tells us all about it. Text "call day" to 70101 to sign up. — The Brian Lehrer Show and A Daily Politics Podcast (@BrianLehrer) March 19, 2021

The CDC's guidelines for vaccinated people are still confusing to some people. Stephen Morse, virologist and epidemiologist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health,  clarifies the risks associated with different kinds of social gatherings and activities.

John Sanchez, district manager for Bronx Community Board 6, discusses his candidacy for City Council in District 15, which includes the Bronx neighborhood of West Farms.

High school buildings are set to re-open in New York City on Monday and the city schools could see an infusion of funding from the latest COVID relief bill. Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, talks about all of that, and more.

The killings of women of Asian descent in Georgia earlier this week have shaken and angered the Asian-American community. Joo Han, deputy director of the Asian American Federation, reflects on what happened and talks about how her group is organizing to #StopAsianHate amidst a surge in violence.

Recently, the YMCA of Greater New York announced it was putting three of its summer camps up for sale, citing budget cuts because of the pandemic. Amina Kennedy, former camper and counselor with the YMCA of Greater New York, and now a member of the board of managers for all of its camps as well as a full-time teacher, talks about how meaningful the camps were in her life, and what this could mean for the city's low-income families. Interested in helping out? Check out #SaveNYYCamp's website here.

Shauna Quill, executive director of the New York Youth Symphony, talks about the difficulties of bringing musicians together to rehearse and perform while COVID still lurks, and how they've managed over the past year.