The Brian Lehrer Show

Derrick Palmer, cofounder of the Amazon Labor Union and the author of Handbook for the Revolution: Building a More Perfect Union for the Twenty-First Century (Auwa Books, 2026), tells the story of organizing the first successful labor union for Amazon workers at the JFK8 Warehouse on Staten Island and offers advice for other workers seeking to organize.

Photo: Cover art for Handbook for the Revolution: Building a More Perfect Union for the Twenty-First Century by Derrick Palmer. (Credit: Macmillan Publishers)

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Last Friday was "decision day" for high school seniors who are making plans to go to college in the fall. Listeners call in to share how much politics - or the job market - played into their decision (or their child's decision) on where to go.

Photo: Stock image via fotosipsak/Getty Creative

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Join WNYC and Theater Of War for a series of programs hosted by Kai Wright and TOW artistic director Bryan Doerries that re-imagine works of journalism in innovative and engaging ways, including performances by acclaimed actors. 

Actors Adepero Oduye (12 Years a Slave, Pariah, The Big Short) and Jumaane Williams (NYC Public Advocate) performed “Our Longing for Inconvenience,” a recent essay written by Hanif Abdurraqib for The New Yorker. The essay helped kick off a conversation with WNYC listeners about “falling in love the old fashioned way” in a world mediated by phones and apps. We explored the tension between our desire for convenience and the friction of older technologies — like Walkmans, disposable cameras, and VCRs — that transport us back to less distracted, seemingly more authentic, times. And we talked about strategies for staying present and resisting the allure of instant gratification to feel more alive.

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

AI Creeps Into the Classroom (First) | PEN World Voices & Global Free Expression (Starts at 35:49) | Why Hospital Admission Is Getting Harder (Starts at 1:05:28)

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Farnaz Fassihi, United Nations Bureau Chief for The New York Times, reports on the latest in the negotiations around the Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Photo: A pro-Iran demonstration in Iran on March 31, 2026. (Credit: 110 and 135/Wikimedia Commons BY CC 1.0)

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Lawmakers in Albany are going back and forth over a bill that would require so-called "super speeders" — drivers who get caught speeding more than 16 times per year — to install speed governors in their car. J.K. Trotter, associate editor for Streetsblog NYC, explains the problem, the legislation, and his reporting on one NYPD cop who has racked up more than 500 speeding tickets.

Photo: A speeding camera sign in Huntsville, Ala. pictured May 7, 2015. (Credit: formulanone/Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0)

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The Department of Health and Human Services recently released new guidance that prioritizes childbirth over contraception. Mary Ziegler, UC Davis law professor and the author of Roe: The History of a National Obsession (Yale University Press, 2023) and Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction (Yale University Press, 2025), explains what's in the guidance and why she believes that the Trump administration is launching the most serious effort in decades to curb contraception.

Photo: Birth control pills and pregnancy tests sit on a pharmacy shelf. (Credit: Sarahmirk/Wikimedia Commons BY CC 4.0)

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The New York Times released a list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters. Lindsay Zoladz, pop music critic at The New York Times and the writer of the music newsletter The Amplifier, talks about the luminaries on the list, and shares who she wishes could have been included but were left off.

Photo: Taylor Swift performs onstage during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at BC Place on December 06, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Kevin Winter/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

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The Supreme Court heard arguments on two cases where the Trump administration is attempting to end TPS, or Temporary Protected Status, for thousands of Haitians and Syrians living in the US. Ciarán Donnelly, senior vice president for International Programs at International Rescue Committee, and Daniel Berlin, policy director of Protection Pathways at the International Rescue Committee, offer their take on why the program should stay legal, as well as talk about the humanitarian crisis they say is ongoing in Haiti.

Photo by Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons): Panorama of the west facade of United States Supreme Court Building at dusk in Washington, D.C., United States of America 

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The Trump administration’s work requirement changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, officially took effect this month. Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, explains what has changed for SNAP recipients in New York and New Jersey.

Photo by Lance Cheung/U.S. Department of Agriculture via Wikimedia Commons:  A farmer's market in Baltimore tests out wireless payment through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

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