The Brian Lehrer Show

Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Mythology (Harper Paperbacks 2020), quizzes listeners on how well they know their American history. 

Photo: The White House pictured in June 2025. (Credit: Jack Walker/WNYC)

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Melissa Kirsch, writer of the New York Times newsletter "The Good List," which gives recommendations and inspirations for living a more joyful and meaningful life, and writer of "The Morning" newsletter on Saturday, discusses her work and listeners call in about the new things they've tried that are bringing more joy and meaning to their lives.

Photo: Stock image of joyful child running through a field.  (Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Creative)

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As part of a series on "spring cleaning," Laura Kinsella, founder of Urban OrgaNYze, offers advice on how to stay organized despite the chaos of a kid-filled household.

Photo: Stock image of identical twin boys in a very untidy bedroom covered in toys. (LPETTET/E+ via Getty Creative)

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Clayton Guse, WNYC and Gothamist editor of the transit and infrastructure desk, and Stephen Nessen, WNYC and Gothamist transportation reporter,  talk about the latest on the strike by Long Island Railroad workers.

Photo: A Long Island Railroad train departs from Woodside, Queens en route to Penn Station in Manhattan. (Credit: Mtattrain/Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0)

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David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic daily newsletter, plus author of The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2025), offers analysis of FBI director Kash Patel's performance during Congressional testimony, plus how he says President Trump's recent gaffes may hurt the GOP.

Photo: FBI Director Kash Patel attends the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nov. 22, 2025. (Credit: Tia Dufour/U.S. Department of Homeland Security via Wikimedia Commons)

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Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Mythology, quizzes listeners on how well they know their American history.

Photo: The White House pictured in June 2025. (Credit: Jack Walker/WNYC)

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As part of a series on spring cleaning, KC Davis, author of How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing, offers realistic strategies for how neurodivergent people can build healthy habits around cleaning.

Photo: Cover art for "How to Keep House."

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

Economic News from Marketplace (First) | Our Bodies & Our Tech (Starts at 14:32) | Wild NYC - Air Migrations (Starts at 33:54)

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Photo: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 11: Gas prices over 6 dollars a gallon are seen on a sign at a Shell station on May 11, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

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Andrew Marantz, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation (Viking Press, 2019), talks about his recent reporting on Péter Magyar, the new prime minister of Hungary who recently toppled Viktor Orbán, and on OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman.

Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar speaks at the first press conference of the new Hungarian government in Opusztaszer, Hungary, May 13, 2026. (Photo by Peter Zsolnai/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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On The Media's Micah Loewinger talks about his reporting in the series "The Movement to Kill FEMA," and co-host Brooke Gladstone previews her conversation for OTM about the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act decision from last week.

Image: Courtesy of On the Media

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