The Brian Lehrer Show

Jeremy Faust, emergency medicine physician, public health researcher and author of the Inside Medicine Substack, talks about the confirmation hearing for the potential new CDC director, and why some senators were surprised by her answers, plus why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is requiring servicemembers to have their testosterone tested.

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: Erica Schwartz attends her confirmation hearing to become director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Schwartz, President Trump's pick to lead the CDC, would fill the position left vacant since August 2025 when Trump ousted former CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

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Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, and Leila Bozorg, deputy mayor for housing and planning, talk about the so-called "rental ripoff" report the administration put together and the policy recommendations that came out of it. 

Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 11: An apartment building stands in the East Village neighborhood on May 11, 2026, in New York City. A New York City board that sets the rent for city-subsidized apartments voted last Thursday night to set a preliminary rent adjustment of 0% to 2% for one-year leases and 0% to 4% for two-year leases, angering many of the city's landlords. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, made reducing New York City's high housing costs a key campaign pledge. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Augustin Guibaud, PhD, fire expert in the NYU Tandon School of Engineering Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, explains why Canada's forest fires present a unique challenge for experts and first responders—and how forest management can help prevent them in a world marked by climate change. Then, Rebecca Florsheim, MD, MPH, environmental health physician at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, discusses the health impacts of wildfire smoke and poor air pollution.

Photo: NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES - JULY 16: Smoke from massive wildfires in Canada engulfed the New York City skyline, reducing visibility and casting an orange haze over the New York City, United States on July 16, 2026. The smoky conditions reduced visibility across the skyline, while authorities continued monitoring air quality as the wildfire smoke spread across the northeastern United States. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Katie Gaddini, sociologist, a visiting scholar at Stanford University, an associate professor of sociology at the Social Research Institute, University College London (UCL) and a research associate at the University of Johannesburg department of sociology, and the author of Esther's Army: The Christian Women Who Power the American Right (WW Norton, 2026), talks about her research into the activism of right-wing Christian women and their leadership of the political evangelical movement.

Photo: PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 17: Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk speaks during a Turning Point USA event at the Dream City Church on April 17, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. Trump is scheduled to speak at a Turning Point USA event titled “Build the Red Wall”, intended to turn out young voters for the midterm elections. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Even though midterm elections are still underway, the 2028 conversation has already started. Inspired by a new piece from New York Magazine that points to Kamala Harris as the early frontrunner, thanks to her consistent lead in the polls, listeners call in to share who they'd support as the Democratic nominee in 2028.

Photo: TOPSHOT - People vote at a polling station in Lancaster, New Hampshire, on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

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Andy Kim, U.S. Senator (D NJ) talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 17: Representative Andy Kim, (D-NJ), speaks during a House Small Business Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, July 17, 2020. The hearing is titled "Oversight of the Small Business Administration and Department of Treasury Pandemic Programs." Photographer: Erin Scott/Bloomberg

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Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Manhattan borough president, talks about his priorities since he took office earlier this year, including on the Penn Station re-design, his choice to direct $50 million to arts and culture organizations and more news.

Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 28: Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal during the 2026 New York City Pride March on June 28, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

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Marcia Brown, food and agriculture reporter for POLITICO, breaks down the latest news regarding the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak, including why The Food and Drug Administration walked back cyclosporiasis test tied to Taylor Farms, a major lettuce distributor to Taco Bell and Walmart.

Photo: SALINAS, CALIFORNIA - JULY 17: A Taylor Farms sign is displayed at one of their facilities on July 17, 2026 in Salinas, California. Taylor Farms, a global fresh produce supplier, is allegedly connected to the recent cyclosporiasis outbreak. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)

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The House recently passed a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent -- though it's unclear if it'll pass the Senate. Listeners call in to share whether they are in favor of the change, which would mean no more changing clocks.

Photo: This illustration photo shows a clock in the background of a smartphone showing the time after daylight saving time was implemented in Los Angeles, California, on March 15, 2022. The US Senate advanced a bill on March 15 that would bring an end to the twice-yearly changing of clocks, in favor of a "new, permanent standard time" that would mean brighter winter evenings. (Photo by Chris DELMAS / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)

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House Republicans have resurrected President Trump's SAVE Act by shoehorning it into a military and agricultural budget framework. Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones, discusses the renewed push for this legislation, which voting rights advocates say undermine Americans' access to the ballot, plus reacts to President Trump's Thursday night speech on voting.

Photo: UNITED STATES - JUNE 25: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during the House Freedom Caucus news conference in the U.S. Capitol urging Senate action on the Save America Act on Thursday, June 25, 2026.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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