Annie Lowrey, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time―and How to Fix It (Ecco, 2026), looks at the data on the amount of time Americans spend filling out paperwork and following up it to access things they are entitled to—and what could lessen the burden.

Photo: Bundles of old files in an old filing cabinet in the attic of the Entiat National Fish Hatchery in Washington in the United States. (Photo by Julia Pinnix/USFWS via Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)

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This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the New York Times' "Metropolitan Diary" column. Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera and son of Metropolitan Diary founder, Arthur Gelb, and Ed Shanahan, editor of the New York Times' "Metropolitan Diary" column, talk about the history of the column and why it's become such an institution. Plus, listeners share their own "Metropolitan Diary" stories. 

Photo: Times Square in 1977. (Photo by Derzsi Elekes Andor via Wikimedia Commons)

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Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter for The Washington Post, talks about what's in the landmark settlement with Meta over child safety on its apps, like Facebook and Instagram, and what it could mean for social media in the future.

 

Image:  Mark Zuckerberg F8 2018 Keynote (Anthony Quintano from Honolulu, HI, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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Stephen Nessen, transportation reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom, talks about Mayor Mamdani's plan to repair the crumbling BQE.

Photo: View southwest along Interstate 278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade from Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, June 2024 (Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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Neil Gross, sociology professor at Colby College in Maine, and author of What Happened to College?: How Politics Broke Higher Education and What We Can Do to Fix It (Simon & Schuster, 2026), talks about his research into student attitudes toward politics and education and what's working to curb hyper-partisanship.

photo: At Columbia, the name "Alma Mater" refers to this statue in front of Low Library, and many legends are associated with it. The Low Library, in the dead center of the campus, is today not an academic library, but an administration building, 2011 (InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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Andy Kim, U.S. Senator (D-NJ), talks about his work in the Senate and the issues in New Jersey, including his plan for children's healthcare, the war in Iran, and the state of a local immigration facility. 

Photo: Senator Andy Kim (credit: U.S. Senate Photographic Studio)

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Three e-bikers died in hit-and-runs last week in New York City, marking the worst week so far this year for deadly bike accidents. Ben Furnas, executive director of the street safety advocacy group, Transportation Alternatives, discusses their campaign to protect riders and pedestrians from deadly accidents through a range of street safety initiatives. 

Photo: Delivery person scooter accident aftermath with Police and Ambulance on Yellowstone Boulevard, Queens, New York. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Roni Caryn Rabin, health reporter at The New York Times, talks about a new study showing greater numbers of Americans suffering from the effects of cannabis use, as access to, and dosages of, the drug grow.

Photo: Marijuana flowers bloom at a cannabis dispensary in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 18, 2026. (Matt Hunt/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Ann Powers, NPR Music critic and correspondent, talks about the legacy of the country music artist Dolly Parton, and listeners call in to share their tiny eulogies, memories and favorite songs and facts about the late icon, who died this week.

Photo: Dolly Parton attends the opening of Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum's new exhibit 'Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker' at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on May 19, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

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Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent, KFF Health News and host of the What the Health? podcast, talks about new CDC data showing kindergartner vaccine exemptions at a record high, and the bipartisan doubts about Dr. Heidi Overton, Trump's nominee to lead the FDA.

Photo: As eight-year-old girl receives a polio vaccine, she watches a closed circuit television broadcast (showing Dr Jonas Salk as he inoculates a boy) of a training telecast for physicians and scientists, New York, New York, April 12, 1955. (PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

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Chronic flooding in Northeast Queens has prompted many residents to leave their neighborhoods altogether. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards discusses what the city is doing to bolster the sewage system and institute safety measures during floods, and unpacks the city's new potential plan to offer buyouts to homeowners in the hardest-hit neighborhoods.

Photo: A flooded intersection in Queens (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency)

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Jill Lepore, professor of American History at Harvard University, staff writer at The New Yorker, and the author of several books, including The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State (Liveright, 2026), talks about our reliance on data and algorithms and what it means for society and government.

Image: Composite image of Capital Building with binary numbers (TGI/Tetra Images via Getty Creative)

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Yeganeh Torbati, the Iran correspondent for The New York Times based in Istanbul and co-author (with Bozorgmehr Sharafedin) of Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran (Doubleday, 2026), reports on the latest developments in the Iran war as the cease-fire expires ...

Greg David, contributor covering fiscal and economic issues for THE CITY and director of the business and economics reporting program and Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, and Nancy Jiang, journalism student and summer intern for The City Reporter, talk about the effects of NYC's "K-shaped" economy, with growing numbers of the very wealthy and the people qualifying for SNAP benefits. Plus, Greg explains the current turmoil in the bond market.

Photo: An EBT sign is displayed on the window of a grocery store on October 30, 2025 in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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John Ourand, sports correspondent at Puck, talks about skyrocketing sports team valuations, a new private equity investment in the Yankees, and the potential 2027 MLB lockout.

Photo: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Yankee Stadium on August 9, 2026 in New York, New York. (New York Yankees/Getty Images)

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As part of the yearlong series "Wild NYC," Marielle Anzelone, urban botanist and ecologist and the founder of NYC Wildflower Week, and Kelly Vilar, CEO of the Staten Island Urban Center, discuss efforts to add more green spaces to underserved neighborhoods.

Photo: Marielle Anzelone and Kelly Vilar from the Pop UP Forest project they did together at Tompkinsville Park in Staten Island (by Marielle Anzelone)

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

Divisions Within Political Movements: The DSA (First) | Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty (Starts at 34:26) | The Elizabeth Street Garden, and More Housing News (Starts at 1:02:02)

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

Photo: New York City Democratic Socialists (NYC-DSA) hold a rally in Union Square marking the start of a campaign to tax the rich and win universal childcare on November 16, 2025, in New York City, United States. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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On this Summer Friday, we've put together some of our favorite recent interviews, including: Elie Mystal, justice correspondent and columnist for The Nation magazine and bestselling author of Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America (The New Press, 2025), looks ...

For the first time, China was viewed more positively than the U.S. globally in a recent Pew report. Adam Segal, Ira A. Lipman Chair in Emerging Technologies and National Security and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council of Foreign Relations, talks about China's foreign policy and their use of "soft power," with AI tech, and more.

Photo: Tourists visit the Qiansimen Jialing River Bridge at night to view and photograph the illuminated night scenery along the Yangtze River waterfront, August 4, 2026 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Li Wenming/VCG via Getty Images)

 

 

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New York Daily News education and youth issues reporter Cayla Bamberger talks about the results of the DOE's recent survey of NYC public school students and what over 357,000 students think about issues ranging from boredom to safety to vaping. 

Photo: Choir students from New York City public school 22 attend the ceremonial swearing in of Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s 112th mayor at City Hall on Thursday January 1, 2026. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

 

 

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Rommel H. Ojeda, senior community correspondent and engagement reporter for Documented, and Ralph Thomassaint Joseph, Caribbean communities correspondent for Documented, talk about how people, communities, and businesses across New York City are feeling the federal immigration crackdown.

Photo: Haitians living in Brooklyn join local politicians and others at an Immigrant Resource Fair and Know Your Rights Event in an area of Brooklyn known as 'Little Haiti' on July 28, 2026, in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

 

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Bike thefts spike in summer. WNYC and Gothamist reporter Brittany Kriegstein, talks about the stats and the challenges in preventing having a bike stolen, as listeners share their suggestions.

Photo: A woman rides her bike on a Manhattan street. (Photo by FaceMePLS/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.)

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Julie Menin, City Council Speaker (D-5, Upper East Side) talks about the latest developments in the City Council and takes calls from listeners, in this debut installment of a new monthly series.

Photo: Speaker Julie Menin and City Council Announce Park-Webster Neighborhood Plan (Photo by Alex Krales/NYC Council Media Unit)

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Samantha Max, reporter covering public safety for WNYC/Gothamist, breaks down the latest in the Luigi Mangione case, including his guilty plea in federal court on Friday, his push to dismiss the state murder charges on double jeopardy grounds, and the postponement of his state trial.

Photo: Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Supreme Court on June 17, 2026 in New York City. Mangione is charged with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024. (Steven Hirsch - Pool/Getty Images)

 

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As part of a three-part series on the divisions within political movements, Andrew Hale, fellow for international relations, economics, and trade at Advancing American Freedom, talks about the ideological and generational fight inside the think tank behind Project 2025, and what the battle over its direction says about where the Republican Party is headed after Trump.

Photo: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks with President of The Heritage Foundation Kevin D. Roberts at The Heritage Foundation on February 09, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

 

 

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The dispute over the Elizabeth Street Garden, the site of proposed low-income senior housing, appears to be at an end as developers have dropped their lawsuit against the city, which blocked the plan from moving forward under Eric Adams' administration. David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, shares his reporting and analysis, and explains the story in a broader housing context.

Photo: Views of the Elizabeth Street Garden on a crowded Sunday afternoon on September 9, 2024 in the Soho neighborhood of New York City, New York. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

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European cities are scrambling to reinvent urban life as summers get hotter and deadlier. Eric Klinenberg, professor of sociology at New York University and the author of Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 2015) and 2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed (Knopf, 2024), shares his reporting on what cities are doing to adapt to climate change during Western Europe's hottest summer on record--and maybe the coolest yet to come.

Photo: A man walks past a thermometer reading 40 degrees Celsius on June 21, 2026 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Marcelo del Pozo/Getty Images).

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As part of a 3-part series on the divisions within political movements, David Hogg, founder and president of Leaders We Deserve, co-founder and board member of March for Our Lives, and former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, talks about what's dividing the Democratic Party, from the fallout over the DNC's 2024 autopsy to the primary challenges his group is backing heading into the midterms.

Photo: David Hogg, co-founder of Leaders We Deserve, and Patrick Roath, candidate for Congress (MA-08), walk to join attendees on the Freedom Trail during a "Democracy Walk" at the Boston Common on April 8, 2026. (Photo by Finn Gomez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
 

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Matteo Wong, staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about his latest reporting on artificial intelligence, including the potentially dangerous mistakes some of the biggest companies have made.

=> "It May Be Time to Panic About AI" (The Atlantic, August 12, 2026)

Illustration by wildpixel via iStock/Getty Creative

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Now that budget season is over, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine offers his view on the health of the city's finances, plus talks about his view on the housing affordability crisis, the city's pension fund and more.

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine speaks during the annual New York State Financial Control Board meeting on August 12, 2026 in New York City. Levine was joined by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, State Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli and other board members as they discussed the state's budget. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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