The Brian Lehrer Show

Dan Kaufman, journalist and author of The Fall of Wisconsin: The Conservative Conquest of a Progressive Bastion and the Future of American Politics (W. W. Norton & Company, 2018), reports on the movement against data centers in Wisconsin, a major hub for the centers, and how it's turning into a major issue there and elsewhere ahead of the midterms.

Photo: Protesters gather for a statewide data center day of action at the Wisconsin State Capitol on February 12, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Joe Timmerman/Catchlight/Wisconsin Watch via Getty Images)

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The Brooklyn Democratic Party passed a series of rule changes last week which reformers are calling a 'power grab' by the old guard, aimed at keeping the party's existing leaders in power, despite the protest of several prominent democrats. Gwynne Hogan, senior reporter at The City Reporter, and Jeff Coltin, editor-in-chief of City & State NY, unpack the saga, and what it tells us about the role of local party chapters in the city's changing political landscape.

Photo: Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn delivers remarks. (Ben Fractenberg at The City Reporter)

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Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, talks about how the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have re-shaped the First Amendment and press freedom in the United States, and how this is still affecting speech today.

Photo: A salesman in an electronics store in Mexico City watches the World Trade Center in New York City collapse September 11, 2001. (Susana Gonzalez/Getty Images)

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Suresh Shahi, editor for Khasokhas, talks about how the Nepalese community in Queens is coping with devastating floods in Nepal, and how they are helping friends and family members back home.

Photo: People salvage belongings from their home following flash floods at Devighat in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 31, 2026. Nepal was burying on August 31 some of the hundreds of bodies retrieved after a deadly, tsunami-like flood crashed through the Himalayan region, sweeping away villages and leaving thousands still missing. (Arun SANKAR / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Inside Meta's settlement over social media addiction (First) | The big business of sports grows even bigger (Starts near 49:30) | Tributes to the late Dolly Parton (Starts near 1:12:40)

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Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Politico’s Ottawa bureau chief and the lead author of Canada Playbook, talks about the escalation in the trade war with Canada.

Photo: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference in Ottawa, Ontario, on August 22, 2026 after trade talks with the US collapsed. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP via Getty Images)

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Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, talks about the lawsuits against the Mamdani administration by a group representing minority-owned grocery stores, which argue that the city's plan to open city-owned grocery stores will hurt their businesses. Then, Walter Wuthmann, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering public safety and the legal system, explains the details of the Mamdani administration's lawsuit to try to stop a law passed by the City Council that would give public school paraprofessionals $10K bonuses—and what it has to do with the way the city bargains with all of its public sector unions.

Photo: Mayor Mamdani Attends a Bangladeshi Humanitarian Aid and Leadership Outreach Back to School Event in Queens. Thursday, August 27, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

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Annie Lowrey, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time―and How to Fix It (Ecco, 2026), looks at the data on the amount of time Americans spend filling out paperwork and following up it to access things they are entitled to—and what could lessen the burden.

Photo: Bundles of old files in an old filing cabinet in the attic of the Entiat National Fish Hatchery in Washington in the United States. (Photo by Julia Pinnix/USFWS via Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)

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This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the New York Times' "Metropolitan Diary" column. Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera and son of Metropolitan Diary founder, Arthur Gelb, and Ed Shanahan, editor of the New York Times' "Metropolitan Diary" column, talk about the history of the column and why it's become such an institution. Plus, listeners share their own "Metropolitan Diary" stories. 

Photo: Times Square in 1977. (Photo by Derzsi Elekes Andor via Wikimedia Commons)

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Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter for The Washington Post, talks about what's in the landmark settlement with Meta over child safety on its apps, like Facebook and Instagram, and what it could mean for social media in the future.

Image:  Mark Zuckerberg F8 2018 Keynote (Anthony Quintano from Honolulu, HI, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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