The Brian Lehrer Show

U.S. Representative James Clyburn (D, SC 6), recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and author of The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation  (Hachette, 2025), tells the story of the first eight Black members of Congress during Reconstruction, and the gap that followed up until his election in 1992.

 Event: On Leadership, Legacy, and Democracy: Jim Clyburn in Conversation with Sharon McMahon at The 92nd Street Y on November 11th.

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Catherine Rampell, anchor at MSNBC and economics editor at The Bulwark, talks about the latest economic news, including on President Trump's tariffs and China, inflation numbers, SNAP benefits and more.

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Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and the author of the memoir, The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports (Random House, 2025), talks about why he runs and joins listeners in sharing stories from Sunday's NYC Marathon. 

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A. J. Jacobs, host of the "Hello Puzzlers" podcast, essayist, and the author of The Year of Living Biblically, The Know-It-All, It's All Relative and his latest, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning (Crown, 2024), reports back on how AI is already woven into daily life with another take on being a "human guinea pig," going 48 hours without using AI.

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Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.

ACA Open Enrollment Starting  (First) | 30 Issues in 30 Days: NYC's Overdose Prevention Centers (Starts at 34:26) | Your Newsy Halloween Costumes (Starts at 1:07:42 )

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Ahead of Halloween weekend, listeners call in to share their costumes based on news and current events.

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Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker and co-director of "The American Revolution," and Sarah Botstein, co-director of "The American Revolution," talk about their new, 12-hour docuseries premiering on PBS on November 16th, which is being released ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, in July 2026. 

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Eric Blanc, assistant professor of Labor Studies at Rutgers University, author of several books including We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big (University of California Press, 2025), and writer of the Substack newsletter Labor Politics, and Michael Aronson, Daily News editorial page editor, debate the mayoral candidates' ability to fulfill their campaign promises, given that many will require action at the state level.

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John Heinis, reporter for the Hudson County View talks about the Jersey City mayoral race, where seven candidates are running in the nonpartisan election and if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, the top two vote-getters will move on to a run-off election in early December.

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Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society and co-founder of the Health Care for All New York Campaign, talks about what people can expect with next year's health insurance costs and how the government shutdown over ACA subsidies will affect open enrollment.

The live-answer helpline to reach a Navigator at CSS is:  1-888-614-5400

The New York State of Health Marketplace phone number is:  1-855-355-5777

The Get Covered New Jersey (Official state health market place) phone number is: 1-833-677-1010

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