After US striker Folarin Balogun was set to miss tonight's game against Belgium because of a red card in last week's game, President Trump called the head of FIFA to intervene and the suspension was suspended. Listeners call in to talk about the play, whether the initial red card was just and what they think of the president's move.

Photo: SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 1:Folarin Balogun #20 of the United States celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match between USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1, 2026 in Santa Clara, United States. (Photo by John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)

 

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For the nation's 250th birthday, some 'Independence-minded' favorites: Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, co-directors (with David Schmidt) of "The American Revolution," talk about their 12-part docuseries for PBS on the nation's founding. Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning...

David Uberti, a reporter covering the intersection of financial markets and the economy for The Wall Street Journal, discusses Trump's 2025 financial disclosures, focusing on the more than $1 billion he made from his crypto businesses.

Photo: Representation of cryptocracy coins with the $Trump meme coin and bitcoin falls roughly 33% since the start of 2026 after months of gains following the 2024 U.S. election. Seen in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on February 8, 2026. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

 

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Michael Sol Warren, New Jersey reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about the latest from New Jersey, including the new state budget and Rep. Kean Jr's return to the public stage.

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 30: U.S. Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ) (C) arrives at the U.S. Capitol with his wife Rhonda Kean (R) on June 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

 

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Sarah Pearsall, professor in the Department of History at Johns Hopkins University and the author of Freedom Round the Globe: A World History of the American Revolution (Doubleday, 2026), draws on the ideals in the Declaration of Independence to examine the global revolutionary spirit of 1776.

Photo: 1776, Bonne Map of Louisiana and the British Colonies in North America, Rigobert Bonne 1727 – 1794, one of the most important cartographers of the late 18th century. (Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

 

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Hannah Frishberg, WNYC and Gothamist arts and culture reporter, rounds up a slate of festive events to celebrate America's 250th Anniversary this July 4 weekend.

Photo: People watch as fireworks light up the Manhattan skyline during the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks celebration on the East River at Brooklyn Bridge Park on July 4, 2025 in New York. (Photo by Angelina Katsanis / AFP) (Photo by ANGELINA KATSANIS/AFP via Getty Images)

 

 

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Andy Byford, special advisor to the Amtrak Board of Directors for the Penn Station Transformation and former New York City Transit president, talks about the latest effort to renovate Penn Station.

Photo: Exterior view of the renovated Amtrak 7th Avenue and 32nd Street Penn Station ADA Entrance in New York on November 19, 2023. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR / AFP) (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

 

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Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, reports on the budget deal reached by the mayor and city council.

Photo: Handshake agreement on a balanced $125.8 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget. Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Council Finance Chair Linda Lee, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget Sherif Soliman and members of the City Council today announce a handshake agreement on a balanced $125.8 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget. City Hall. Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

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Thomas Wermuth, co-founder and director of the Hudson River Valley Institute, chair of Hudson River Valley History at Marist University and Iris De Rode , a Dutch historian specializing in the American Revolution, share some of the untold stories of New York's role in the American Revolution and discuss their book Fire & Freedom: American Revolution in New York (Cornell University Press, 2026).

Photo: An officer oversees the U.S. Army military retreat to New York after the Battle of Long Island in 1776, during the American Revolution (1775-1783). This painting dates to 1899. (Photo by: Ivy Close Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

 

 

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Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of The New York Historical, and Nina Nazionale, director of library curatorial affairs and research at The New York Historical, talk about new information researchers discovered about a rare printing of the Declaration of Independence that is now on display at the museum.

Photo: In Congress, July 4, 1776. : A declaration by the representatives of the United States of America, in general Congress assembled, United States. Continental Congress, 1776. (Photo by Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, The New York Historical)

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The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Trump administration could end Temporary Protective Status for Haitians and Syrians. Jessica Bansal, TPS counsel for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and the National TPS Alliance talks about what lies ahead f...

Christina Farrell, commissioner of New York City Emergency Management, runs through what the city is doing to prep for the heat wave, especially how they plan to help the most vulnerable New Yorkers stay safe in the heat, and Samantha Maldonado, senior reporter for The City ...

Asma Khalid, co-host of the BBC's The Global Story, former NPR White House correspondent, talks about their new series looking at the way the US has shaped the world over its 250 years, plus being Muslim in America and the state of the American Dream.

Photo: JERSEY CITY, NJ - JUNE 28: The Strawberry Moon rises behind the Statue of Liberty as the sun sets in New York City on June 28, 2026, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

 

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Emily Bazelon, staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, co-host of Slate's "Political Gabfest" podcast, senior research scholar in law at Yale Law School and author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution  and End Mass Incarceration (Random H...

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)

 

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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 apar...

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:...

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)

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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

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Lisa Kashinsky, a national political reporter at POLITICO covering the 2026 midterms and the run-up to the 2028 presidential race, talks about the national implications of New York's Democratic primary results, and whether the wins by candidates endorsed by Mayor Mamdani wil...

Liam Quigley, reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC, talks about the latest efforts to ban carriage horses in Central Park.

Photo: Horse and Carriages in Central Park, Manhattan, as cyclist ride around the parks driveway. New York, USA. 26th March 2013. Photo Tim Clayton (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

 

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David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about the outcome of a vote by the Rent Guidelines Board on whether or not to freeze the rent on one million rent-regulated apartments, which was one of Mayor Mamdani's key campaign promises.

Photo: Supporters hold signs reading Freeze The Rent and Childcare For All during a rally in support of Zohran Mamdani at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn New York on May 4 2025. (Photo by Madison Swart / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by MADISON SWART/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

 

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Ellen Cushing, staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about her reporting on how the American produce aisle is increasingly offering fruits that are sweeter than ever, including Sumo citrus and Cotton Candy grapes.

Photo: 11 March 2026, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: A clementine lies on a table. Photo: Michael Brandt/dpa (Photo by Michael Brandt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

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Kate Lisa, state politics reporter at City & State New York talks about the New York primary results in districts north of NYC and what they could mean for November, and Larry Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, talks a...

Tom Carter, Britain economics correspondent at The Economist, talks about the economic and political picture in the United Kingdom, a decade after the country voted to leave the European Union.

Photo: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2026/06/20: A protester holds a Union Jack and an EU flag in Parliament Square during the National Rejoin March, calling on the UK government to rejoin the European Union on the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Sharon Kleinbaum, founder and director of Beacon for Democracy at Union Theological Seminary in NYC, former senior rabbi at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah and the author of With All My Heart: Torah for Our Times (CBST Press, 2026), talks about her work and the change from l...

As the Supreme Court term winds down they are releasing opinions on the hottest button issues. Leah Litman, professor of law at the University of Michigan and a former Supreme Court clerk, co-host of the podcast "Strict Scrutiny" and the author of Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes (Atria/One Signal Publishers, 2025), offers analysis of today's opinions, including on gun rights, TPS, asylum and the weedkiller Roundup. 

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

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Brigid Bergin, WNYC's senior political correspondent and Michael Lange, New York City based writer, researcher, strategist, and political organizer, and Debralee Santos, editor-in-chief of The Manhattan Times and The Bronx Free Press, talk about the results from New York's p...

As graduation season wraps up, Félix Matos Rodríguez, CUNY chancellor, talks about the tough job market new grads are entering and what CUNY is doing to help, funding for the system and more news related to New York City's public system of colleges and universities.

Photo: Group of Graduates during commencement. Concept education congratulation in University. Graduation Ceremony, Congratulated the graduates in University during commencement. Credit: Rattankun Thongbun

 

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Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, White House correspondents for The New York Times and the co-authors of Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump (Simon & Schuster, 2026) talk about their new book and the inner workings of the Trump White House.

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 22: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on June 22, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump signed two orders on quantum computing. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

 

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