The Brian Lehrer Show

Joseph Pfeifer, retired FDNY assistant chief, founding director of the FDNY’s Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness, and the author of Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11 (Portfolio, HC 2021, PB 2026), reflects on his experiences as the first FDNY chief to respond to the World Trade Center 25 years ago, and how the attacks led to changes in crisis response, and the lingering health effects of the aftermath of the attacks.
photo: May We Never Forget, 2011 (Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last week, Mayor Mamdani announced the creation of a new "Office of Worker Power." Julie Su, deputy mayor for economic justice, explains what that office will do, and unpacks some other organized labor initiatives her office has been working on.
Photo: Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 09, 2024 in Washington, DC. Su testified before the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee about the Biden Administration's proposed FY2025 budget for the Labor Department. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters (Riverhead Books, 2018) and her latest, The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict (Riverhead Books, 2026), talks about the importance of conflict and offers a framework for resolving it constructively.
Book cover art courtesy of Riverhead Books

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this first day of school for NYC public school students, composer, pianist, and bandleader Arturo O'Farrill, also the founder of Belongó, talks about his work to bring music education to New York City schools, and for youth on Rikers Island.
Photo: Arturo O'Farrill (Photo by Shervin Lainez)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jimmy Vielkind, New York State Issues reporter for WNYC, discusses the latest news as Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman attempts to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul to be the next governor of New York.
Photo: US President Donald Trump greets New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman on stage as he delivers remarks at the Nassau County Police Academy Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City, New York, on August 14, 2026. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images)




Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.