Brian Lehrer has hosted WNYC's flagship morning show since 1989, and has interviewed every New York mayor since David Dinkins. In this rare in-depth conversation, the notoriously private broadcaster opens up about his life, his craft, and the state of journalism and democracy in 2025. Plus, will he vote in this mayoral election?

Brian's picks:

Book: "The Bee Sting" by Paul Murray 

Park: Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan 

Podcasts:

Regular listening:

• WNYC's own podcasts (The New Yorker Radio Hour, On the Media, Radiolab)
• Slate Political Gabfest
• Various New York Times podcasts

For professional monitoring:

• Charlie Kirk 
• Hasan Piker

In this episode:

Guest: Brian Lehrer, journalist and host, WNYC Radio

On the 2025 NYC Mayoral Race:

• Why voters respond more to emotion than policy — and what that means for democracy
• His impressions of Curtis Sliwa, Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo as people, not just politicians
• Whether New Yorkers should fear socialism, and how to cover this topic responsibly
• What New York voters are really yearning for

On Journalism in Crisis:

• Why he tells young journalists to "fall in love with local news"
• How WNYC is weathering the loss of 100% of federal funding
• The existential crisis facing small public radio stations nationwide
• Navigating the tension between "multiple-sides-ism" and calling out misinformation

Personal Journey:

• Growing up in Queens with parents who rose from poverty in the South Bronx
• His first political memory: watching the Kennedy-Nixon debate at age 8
• Why he chose to live in Inwood and finds sanctuary in Inwood Hill Park
• How the show has helped him cope during difficult personal times

The Art of Live Radio:

• The "artful improv" of juggling guests, callers, texts, and breaking news simultaneously
• Why he moved audience engagement from comment sections to Twitter to text messages
• What he hopes listeners will discover when they revisit his archives in 50 years