The Brian Lehrer Show

Dan Vicuña, senior director of voting rights and redistricting at Center for Inclusive Democracy, discusses how this year's redistricting efforts may make the midterms elections less representative, and what each party is arguing with respect to redistricting.

Photo: Oliver Larkin, Democratic candidate for Congress in Florida’s 23rd district, speaks during an emergency town hall that he held to address Florida Republicans’ newly approved congressional redistricting map (seen on wall) on May 04, 2026 in Coral Springs, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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David Corn, Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones, and author of many books, including his latest, How Russia Won: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Fight for America (HarperCollins, 2026), offers analysis of the day's news, including the conspicuous absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin at UNGA, who hasn't attended in over a decade, and his new book that looks at connections between Presidents Trump and Putin.

Photo: The Headquarters of the United Nations' United Nations Secretariat Building in Manhattan, New York (Steve Cadman, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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Tim Scheld, retired WCBS news director; adjunct professor Montclair State University and the author of My Front Row Seat (Sunbury Press, 2026), recounts his work leading the WCBS 880 newsroom through major news events, like the Columbine shooting and TWA Flight 800, and offers his take on why responsible reporting remains essential.

Book cover art courtesy of Sunbury Press

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Listeners, especially graphic designers and lawyers, call in to share their stories of being hired to clean up AI slop that clients have made, how they have been treated in the process and how they think AI will affect the future of their professions.

Stock Photo by: elenabs via iStock / Getty Images Plus

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Zachary Roth, managing editor at Democracy Docket, talks about the rules that govern elections: the state of mail-in ballots, laws around voter intimidation, and other issues that are becoming more prominent in election governance across the country.

Photo: A polling station in Des Moines, IA on November 8, 2022. (Phil Roeder [Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic] via Wikimedia Commons)

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Amanda Jack, director of policy with criminal law reform at The Legal Aid Society, talks about the rise in low-level NYPD summonses in the latest Mayor's Management Report and what it says about Mayor Mamdani's promise to move away from broken windows policing.

Photo: Close up of the NYPD logo on a police car. (Tim Drivas Photography via Getty Images) 

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Sarah Longwell, political strategist, CEO and Publisher of The Bulwark, host of The Focus Group podcast and the author of How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time (St. Martin’s Press, 2026), talks about what she's learned from focus groups on building an opposition to MAGA Republicans. 

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 29: President Donald Trump and MAGA merchandise is displayed for sale from a vendor near the White House on May 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

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Anna Sale, creator and host of the podcast Death, Sex & Money and the new video series People Trying, made in partnership with The National Geographic Society, talks about her new series, about how people who work directly with land and water approach climate-related dilemmas, and Shelly Kelly, rancher who runs the Sandhills Task Force in rural Nebraska, discusses her work to manage wildfire risk in a changing landscape in Nebraska.

Photo credit: KyLee Kime, STF

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

Photo: Representative Andy Kim, (D-NJ), speaks during a House Small Business Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, (Erin Scott/Bloomberg)
 

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Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent, KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast, talks about how health care policy is playing out in the midterm elections, including which Senate candidates are running on "Medicare for all," and which candidates have different approaches. 

Stock photo by FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images. 

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