The Brian Lehrer Show

Nicholas Wu, Congressional reporter at Semafor, talks about the latest from Capitol Hill, including the president's push for the SAVE Act and more.

Photo: UNITED STATES - JUNE 25: Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., speaks during the House Freedom Caucus news conference in the U.S. Capitol urging Senate action on the Save America Act on Thursday, June 25, 2026.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc 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.

Following up on the rent freeze vote, David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, shares his reporting on the recent tally of rent-stabilized units sitting empty in New York City. 

 

Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 11: A 'for rent' sign hangs from an apartment building in the East Village neighborhood on May 11, 2026 in New York City. A New York City board that sets the rent for city-subsidized apartments voted last Thursday night to set a preliminary rent adjustment of 0% to 2% for one-year leases and 0% to 4% for two-year leases, angering many of the city's landlords. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, made reducing New York City's high housing costs a key campaign pledge. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

 

 

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

Data centers have become the thing Americans on both sides of the aisle love to hate. But Eric Levitz, senior correspondent at Vox, argues that some of the environmental affects are overstated, and that in some areas they may be a net positive for the community. 

Photo: MOUNT CARMEL, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES - 2026/06/23: A yard sign opposing a planned data center is displayed along Route 54 in Mount Carmel Township Northumberland County. In Mount Carmel Township, grassroots opposition has surged as residents display yard signs and demand a multi-year moratorium to protect their community from a massive proposed AI data center campus. The local resistance is driven by severe concerns over potential noise pollution, the industrialization of local land, and a massive strain on the power grid and water supply that could trigger utility rate hikes and local rationing. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket 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.

Emily Bazelon, staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, co-host of Slate's "Political Gabfest" podcast, senior research scholar in law and author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution  and End Mass Incarceration (Random House, 2019)  offers legal analysis of today's Supreme Court opinions, including on mail-in ballots, the ability of President Trump to fire an employee at the Federal Reserve and more.

Photo: The U.S. Supreme Court is seen at dusk on June 6, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

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

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

10 Years Post-Brexit (First) | How an Alleged Real Estate Scammer Operated (Starts at :21) | Where the Culture Wars Began (Starts at :41)

If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here.

 

Photo: Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA., Daderot, CC0, 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.