The Brian Lehrer Show

Elie Mystal, justice correspondent and columnist for The Nation magazine and bestselling author of Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America (The New Press, 2025), looks back at the recently concluded Supreme Court term.

Photo: This photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order denying birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants or temporary residents, upholding birthright citizenship. (Photo by Li Rui/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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Robinson Meyer, founding executive editor of Heatmap, talks about the DSA's evolving relationship to the Green New Deal and climate policy in general, as its members keep winning elections in big cities.

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 21: U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks to members of the media as she arrives for the last votes of the week at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives has concluded its final votes before the Memorial Day recess. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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Mason Williams, historian and associate professor at Williams College, and the author of City of Fortune: Inequality and the Making of Contemporary New York (W.W. Norton, 2026), argues that New York's recovery from the 1970s fiscal crisis ushered in an era of deepening inequality.

Photo: Pedestrians on the sidewalk pass jewelry stores (Midtown Jewelers and Diamond Center) on West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, March 1979. (Photo by Peter Keegan/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Inspired by Matthew Vines' op-ed in The New York Times titled "I'm Gay, Not Queer. It Matters," LGBTQ listeners share why they identify with the label "queer" and talk about their relationship to the term.

Photo: TOPSHOT - Parade-goers make their way down 5th Avenue during the NYC Pride March on June 25, 2017. The NYC Pride March celebrates its 48th annual parade . / AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

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Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History (HarperCollins, 2026) talks about the latest national political news, including how the America 250 celebrations went down in Washington, DC, as listeners share how they are feeling about the country today.

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 1: People ride the Freedom 250 Ferris at The Great American State Fair on the National Mall with the Washington Monument in background as the sun sets during a record-setting heat wave in the region on July 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. Temperatures are expected to touch 100 degrees Fahrenheit over the next few days as celebrations for America's 250th birthday continue. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

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Jessica Gould, education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about the trade-offs facing one school as it seeks to comply with the lower class-size mandates, and how that will play out across the city.

Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 02: Principal Alice Hom surveys one of the classrooms at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 in preparation for the upcoming start of school on September 02, 2021 in New York City. All NYC public school students will return to in-person classes this month for the 2021-2022 school year, except for when COVID-positive kids must quarantine at home. Surveillance testing will be conducted every other week in each school building and will randomly test 10 percent of all students whose parents have consented. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

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Dave Isay, founder and president of StoryCorps, talks about the new StoryCorps and NPR Morning Edition project called Connect250, where Americans from different parts of the country will speak to each other for a time capsule of this moment in time.

Photo: A young and elderly farmer chatting on the field at sunset - stock photo

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After US striker Folarin Balogun was set to miss tonight's game against Belgium because of a red card in last week's game, President Trump called the head of FIFA to intervene and the suspension was suspended. Listeners call in to talk about the play, whether the initial red card was just and what they think of the president's move.

Photo: SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 1:Folarin Balogun #20 of the United States celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match between USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1, 2026 in Santa Clara, United States. (Photo by John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)

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For the nation's 250th birthday, some 'Independence-minded' favorites:

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

Ken Burns on The American Revolution (October 31, 2025)

American Conflicts: As It Ever Was (February 16, 2026)

1776's No Kings (November 24, 2025)

A.J. Jacobs Lives Originalism (May 8, 2024)

image: This is a high-resolution image of the United States Declaration of Independence . This image is a version of the 1823 William Stone facsimile — Stone may well have used a wet pressing process (that removed ink from the original document onto a contact sheet for the purpose of making the engraving). (original: w:Second Continental Congress; reproduction: William Stone, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

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David Uberti, a reporter covering the intersection of financial markets and the economy for The Wall Street Journal, discusses Trump's 2025 financial disclosures, focusing on the more than $1 billion he made from his crypto businesses.

Photo: Representation of cryptocracy coins with the $Trump meme coin and bitcoin falls roughly 33% since the start of 2026 after months of gains following the 2024 U.S. election. Seen in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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