The Brian Lehrer Show

Julie Beck, a staff writer at The Atlantic and host of their podcast "'How to Touch Grass", talks about the difficulty of determining when being "middle aged" actually starts.

Photo: Portrait of smiling multi-generation family sitting in living room

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Jessica Taylor, senate and governors editor for The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, offers analysis of the competitive Senate races ahead of this November's midterm elections, and discusses how likely it may be for Democrats to take control of Congress.

Photo: U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. on a Sunny, Partly Cloudy Summer Day in August

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Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, talks about the mayor's announcement that the five city-run grocery stores will offer 30% discounts on key products, plus updates the effects of SNAP changes.

Photo: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announce that a core basket of everyday groceries will be 30 percent cheaper at the five new municipal grocery stores. The basket will include all fresh produce, meat and seafood, along with roughly 20 additional categories of pantry staples, dairy and refrigerated goods, Brooklyn on Monday, July 27 2026. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

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Lucy Schiller, a nonfiction writer and the author of Aging Out: An Exploration of Caregiving, Community, and How Americans Grow Old (Flatiron Books, 2026), shares what she learned when she investigated aging and eldercare, following her personal experience with her grandmother during the pandemic.

Photo: Male healthcare worker helping senior woman sit in chair - stock photo

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Allie Volpe, correspondent covering mental health, relationships, wellness, money, home life, and work at Vox, offers advice for sharing living space with friends, family or strangers, as listeners share their own tips.

Photo: Two young woman hold bags and walk beside each other, in a European apartment complex. Via Getty Images.

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Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNOW; writer for MSNOW and contributing writer to The Atlantic, talks about the latest national political news.

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 24: U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement on American nuclear innovation in the Oval Office at the White House on July 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump is signing multiple executive orders targeting the nuclear energy sector and easing rules for new reactors and nuclear fuel supply chains. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)

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Stephen Nessen, transportation reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom, talks about some recent proposals for faster buses and an alternate-side-of-the-street pilot program that could mean cleaner streets with with less car-moving hassles.

Photo: Street in Park Slope Brooklyn residential area on a sunny day, New York City, USA - stock photo

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Francesca Paris, reporter for The Upshot section of The New York Times, talks about why some states have rolled back incentives that unlock savings for residential solar customers and how batteries may be the solution.

Photo: Modern house with solar panels for energy storage.

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Jo Piazza, writer, podcast host and the author of many novels, including her latest, The Parisian Heist: A Novel (Dutton, 2026) and Anthony Amore, art theft expert and the author of The Rembrandt Heist (Pegasus Crime, 2025), talk about our collective fascination with heists and how the value of art is determined.  

Photo: The Louvre Museum was evacuated and the main entrance in front of the pyramid was immediately closed following a burglary in Paris on Sunday, October 19, 2025. The burglars operated in a spectacular manner during the museum s opening, using a truck equipped with a ladder in the Apollo Gallery to steal several priceless jewels, according to initial statements from the French Ministry of Culture. (Photo by Laurent Caron / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)

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The United States and Saudi Arabia reached a landmark 30-year civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, but within a day, President Donald Trump threw it into limbo by conditioning its approval on Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel. Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist, contributor to The iPaper and the author of many nonfiction books and his latest, a novel, A Capital Calamity (Miniver Press, 2024), breaks down the latest news on this, and the war with Iran, and what comes next.

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 18: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) responds to a question where Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia was asked about the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is hosting the crown prince for meetings aimed at strengthening economic and defense ties, including the U.S. sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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