The Brian Lehrer Show

Melissa Aviles-Ramos, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, looks ahead to the first day of school.

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U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D NJ) talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey as congress returns to work, including his recent trip to Asia, deportations and immigrant detention, further rescission demands, and why he's supporting Zohran Mamdani.

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Amy Maxmen, PhD, public health correspondent and editor at KFF Health News, discusses her reporting on the Trump administration’s interference with the CDC, which slowed its response to a measles outbreak in Texas that has since become the largest in the U.S. in 30 years.

→ As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.

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For this Labor Day holiday, highlights from our series for and about non-college careers:

• From our centennial series, Annelies Goger, an economic geographer and a fellow with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, and Justin Heck, research director at Opportunity@Work, look at the history of non-college employment and where it stands today.
• Audrey Mickahail, senior vice president at Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit working to expand access to career opportunities, and Aaliyah Siddiqi, marketing operations specialist for a Philadelphia pharmaceutical company, talk about alternative routes to professional careers.
• Blair Corcoran de Castillo, vice president of public sector and policy at Opportunity@Work, and Tony Gherardini, executive director at the Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, talk about how state governments and public agencies are rethinking hiring, training, and credential requirements to open up opportunity for STARs—workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes.
• Louisa Tatum, Career Services Manager at the New York Public Library, talks about the job and career landscape for people without college degrees—and we'll take calls from listeners who are looking for career advice.

Support of WNYC’s coverage of economic mobility and opportunity is provided in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information about how the Gates Foundation supports economic mobility and opportunity, visit usprogram.gatesfoundation.org.

These interviews were lightly edited for time and clarity and the original web versions are available here:

100 Years of 100 Things: Non-College Employment (Oct 9, 2024)

Another Way Into the Workforce (Apr 9, 2025)

The Politics and Policy of Empowering Skilled Workers (Apr 30, 2025)

Career Counseling Courtesy of the New York Public Library (May 2, 2025)

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

The New ICE  (First) | Driverless Cars in NYC (Starts at 43:03) | Why Have Youth Sports Gotten So Intense? (Starts at 1:09:41)

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For this "Summer Friday" we've put together some of our favorite conversations this year:

• Hua Hsu, New Yorker staff writer, professor of English at Bard College and author of the memoir Stay True (September 2022), discusses what college students lose when ChatGPT writes their essays for them and what that says about our evolving understanding of the purpose of higher education.
• Jessica Gould, education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, shares her reporting on the deal struck between Big Tech and The American Federation of Teachers which offers artificial intelligence training and software to teachers in New York City public schools.
• Peniel Joseph, professor of history and public affairs and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Freedom Season: How 1963 Transformed America’s Civil Rights Revolution (Basic Books, 2025), talks about his new book, an examination of the impact of events in 1963 on the struggle for civil rights -- from MLK's “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to the assassination of JFK.
• From our centennial series, Bob van der Linden, commercial aviation curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, looks at the past 100 years of civilian air travel.
• Listeners share the best, maybe even most surprising, times they've been helped or helped others, inspired by an article for The Atlantic titled "A Wedding Reveals How Much Help Is Really Available to You," by Julie Beck.

These interviews were lightly edited for time and clarity and the original web versions are available here:

What Students Lose When ChatGPT Writes Their Essays (July 8, 2025)

NYC Teachers' Union Embraces AI (July 28, 2025)

How 1963 Defined the Civil Rights Movement (June 12, 2025)

100 Years of 100 Things: Commercial Aviation (May 6, 2025)

How Helping Can Feel Good (July 9, 2025)

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With Labor Day around the corner, the end of summer is near. Listeners share what they've checked off their summer bucket list and the last few activities they'll take part in this weekend.

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Nick Miroff, staff writer for The Atlantic who covers immigration and the Department of Homeland Security, talks about the changes at the immigration enforcement agency and how the $75 billion budget bump will be spent.

=> "Fast Times at Immigration and Customs Enforcement" (The Atlantic, August 26, 2025)

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Allie Volpe, correspondent at Vox, talks about her attempt to discover if we really are getting ruder to each other or if something else is going on.

→ Are we in a crisis of rudeness?

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The Hoboken PATH station shut-down this weekend is just the latest challenge for PATH riders in what's been called its "Summer of Hell."  Larry Higgs, the transportation and commuting reporter at NJ.com and the Star-Ledger, shares options for the weekend and talks about the larger transit issues facing New Jersey commuters.

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