The Brian Lehrer Show

Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent, previews the state of the competitive midterm elections in our area as early voting is set to begin in a few days.

Photo: A sign directs voters to a polling station on the first day of early voting for the midterm elections. (Photo by Tim Evans / AFP via Getty Images)

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Theodore Schleifer, covers billionaires and their impact for the New York Times, talks about the massive amounts of money currently at play in the midterm elections, the billionaires who donate it and how it affects what happens.

Photo: Demonstrators protest against the Trump administration and billionaire class outside the New York Public Library. (Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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For this pledge drive, listeners try their hand at a quiz. Today, name five things in a category.

Photo: Stock illustration by MaxMariz via iStock / Getty Images Plus

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Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton, Foreign Policy columnist, NPR contributor, scholar in residence at the Brennan Center for Justice, author of The Long View on Substack and author of many books, including Rumble on the Promenade: The Clash of Justice and Power at the 1964 Democratic Convention (W.W. Norton, 2027), talks about today's political news through his lens as a presidential historian.

Photo: Julian Zelizer attends Authors Night 2025 With East Hampton Library. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for East Hampton Library)

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Each day during this pledge drive, we're talking fall food. Today, Carla Lalli, video host and author of several cookbooks, including her latest, Food is a Feeling (Clarkson Potter, 2026), talks about her favorite warming spices and how to use them in creative ways.

Photo: Hot mulled wine in ceramic pot with spices, orange and autumn leaves over black wooden background. (Photo by: Natasha Breen/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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