The Brian Lehrer Show

The Army Corps of Engineers released a $52 billion dollar proposal to protect New York's coastlines through sea walls and storm surge gates. Samantha Maldonado, reporter at The City covering climate and resiliency, and Thaddeus Pawlowski, co-director of the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, explain how it would work, and why environmental groups are not all on board with the plan.

Body modification has been a human practice around the world for thousands of years, with varying levels of acceptance depending on the place and time. As we continue our exploration of this cultural moment, listeners call in to talk about their tattoos, piercings and other body modifications -- what inspired them, what meaning they hold, and whether they are displayed or hidden with co-workers and family.

Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, discusses Kathy Hochul's and Lee Zeldin's positions on immigration and asylum as the governor's race enters its homestretch.

Pardis Mahdavi, provost of the University of Montana and the author of Passionate Uprisings: Iran’s Sexual Revolution (Stanford University Press, 2008), who had her own run in with the morality police in Iran, shares her analysis of the protests happening now and what may come of them.

Our last style-focused call-in revealed that for some listeners, the pandemic was the catalyst for shedding gender expectations when it comes to personal presentation. This time, we’re opening up the phones for anyone who recently decided to ditch the gender binary when it comes to personal style and fashion choices.

Katie Benner, Justice Department reporter at the New York Times, previews the next Jan. 6th committee hearing.

Maya Kaufman, business of health care reporter at Crain's New York, joins to discuss her recent story which shows why unhoused New Yorkers with mental illnesses fall through the cracks...

Leigh Ann Caldwell, Early 202 newsletter co-author and Washington Post Live anchor, joins to break down how candidates for Congress are talking about abortion on the campaign trail.

Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky and publisher of The Rural Blog and Kentucky Health News, and Caroline Kitchener, national political reporter covering abortion at The Washington Post, discuss how "trigger abortion bans" are playing out across conservative states and how the issue might impact the midterm elections in those states.

Karen DeWitt, Capitol bureau correspondent for New York State Public Radio, discusses the current state of abortion in the New York gubernatorial race.