Tweens, teenagers and their parents call to share a language lesson on some of the popular slang of 2026.

 

Image: TikTok app icon on a mobile phone (Solen Feyissa, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

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David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker and the host of The New Yorker Radio Hour, talks about the latest national political news, including the latest regarding the midterm elections, the Democratic Party's identity crisis and more.

Photo: U.S. Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks during a campaign event at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6859 on May 17, 2026, in Portland, Maine. Platner is expected to be the presumptive Democratic nominee and would face off against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) for the Senate seat in the general election. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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Elizabeth Kim, Gothamist and WNYC reporter, discusses the issues Mayor Mamdani talked about in his first "ask the mayor" segment, including his defense of hiring more NYPD officers.

Photo: Mayor Mamdani briefs the media regarding security for the Israel Day Parade with NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. 1 Police Plaza, Manhattan. Thursday, May 28, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

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Reilly Steel, associate professor of law at Columbia Law School, talks about the ways that businesses interact with politics, especially as it relates to their public support (or lack thereof) of LGBTQ issues during Pride month.

Photo: DimiTalen, LGBT pride flags, Zeedijk, Amsterdam, 2022, Date 2 August 2022, 11:13:15, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons 

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Where do you draw the line? World Cup tickets at MetLife Stadium and Knicks home tickets for the NBA Finals are going for thousands of dollars. Listeners tell us what sporting events they're attending at affordable costs? 

Photo: Fans wait for tickets prior to the start of the game between the Florida Marlins and the New York Mets during their Opening Day game at Citi Field on April 5, 2010. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

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State lawmakers have finally approved a budget; now what? Jimmy Vielkind, New York State issues reporter for WNYC, talks about the work left to do as the Albany session comes to a close, and lawmakers mull over the redistricting process, pricing rules and other big legislative priorities.

Photo: New York State Capitol viewed from the south, located on the north end of the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York (Photo by Matt H. Wade via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA-3.0)

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Nancy Redd, a writer covering health and personal care at Wirecutter,  the product recommendation service from The New York Times, talks about what to look for in choosing the best sunscreen.

Photo: Stock image by fcafotodigital/iStock via Getty Creative

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Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayor, takes questions from listeners and talks about the big news in the city, and other issues important to New Yorkers, including trans healthcare, pedestrian safety and childcare.

Graphic by WNYC

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Charles Stile, political columnist at The Record / northjersey.com, offers a preview of the competitive congressional primaries in New Jersey. And Dustin Gardiner, co-author of Politico's California Playbook, previews of the big races in California that voters are deciding on Tuesday, including for governor and mayor of Los Angeles.

Photo: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass greets customers at Pann's Restaurant on June 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Susan Glasser, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of a weekly column on life in Washington and co-host of The Political Scene podcast and the author (with Peter Baker) of The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 (Doubleday, 2022), as well as Evan Osnos, staff ...

Arya Sundaram, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering race and immigration, breaks down the latest in New Jersey, including why the mayor of Newark on Sunday announced a partial curfew following repeated clashes near a federal immigration detention center, and Charles Stile, political columnist at The Record / northjersey.com, offers a preview of Tuesday's NJ congressional primaries.

Photo: Police clash with protesters outside the federal immigration center at Delaney Hall, where ICE is housing detained immigrants, on May 30, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Antonio Pagliarulo, writer and author of Queer Saints: A Radical Guide to Magic, Miracles, and Modern Intercession (Weiser Books), talks about the role of saints in people's lives, within the Catholic Church and beyond, and offers his list of saints specifically for the LGBTQ+ community.

Photo: Cover art for Queer Saints. (Credit: Red Wheel/Weiser Books)

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani will be joining the show tomorrow for his inaugural "Ask the Mayor" segment. Listeners call in to share questions they'd like to ask the new mayor.

Photo: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers remarks about the fiscal year 2027 budget in New York City Hall, New York, U.S., May 12, 2026. (Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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

The States and Redistricting (First) | Marriage in Context (Starts at 31:00) | All of It Summer Reading Challenge (Starts at 57:15)

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

Photo: Oliver Larkin, Democratic candidate for Congress in Florida’s 23rd district, speaks during an emergency town hall that he held to address Florida Republicans’ newly approved congressional redistricting map (seen on wall) on May 04, 2026 in Coral Springs, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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Rockland County legislator Beth Davidson, Tarrytown Village trustee Effie Phillips-Staley, lawyer, former television reporter and democracy advocate Mike Sacks and Cait Conley, army veteran, former director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council and senior executive at cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, discuss key issues as they campaign in the June primary election to be the Democratic nominee for Congress for New York's 17th congressional district.

Photo: Views of West Haverstraw and Haverstraw in Rockland County, New York (Photo by Alexisrael via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

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The Trump administration announced that those seeking green cards would need to apply from their home countries, not within the U.S. as many had been able to do. Allan Wernick, legal advisor to CUNY Citizenship Now! — CUNY's free immigration law service program, offers the latest guidance on who will be affected by the change.

Photo: Close-up of a United States Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) placed among various official documents (Stock image by PS Photography/Moment via Getty Creative)

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Julie Su, deputy mayor for economic justice, talks about the administration's priorities when it comes to economic development, jobs and economic justice.

Photo: Then-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. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Wedding season is upon us! Listeners who are planning a wedding call in to share the stickiest decision or detail they had to deal with.

Photo: A jogger approaches newlyweds getting ready to pose for wedding photos on the Bow Bridge in Central Park as New Yorkers and tourists take advantage of the unusually warm weather for winter in the city on January 8, 2013. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

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After the Supreme Court decision that weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, Daniel Squadron, co-founder of The States Project, former New York State senator and author of the forthcoming book The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union (Zando, 2026), talks about the interplay between state legislatures and the redistricting fights happening now.

Photo: Oliver Larkin, Democratic candidate for Congress in Florida’s 23rd district, speaks during an emergency town hall that he held to address Florida Republicans’ newly approved congressional redistricting map (seen on wall) on May 04, 2026 in Coral Springs, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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Albany lawmakers finally passed the state budget, eight weeks late. Jon Campbell, Albany reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, reports on the key provisions in the deal.

Photo: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani testifies at the 2026 Joint Legislative Budget Hearing in Albany on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (Photo by Michael Appleton courtesy of the Mayoral Photo Office)

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An investigation by The CITY, built from a database of more than 1,200 lawsuits filed against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, found that of the 430 street arrests it documented across the New York City area, more than 93% targeted Latinos -- far out of proportion to the...

Stephanie Coontz, director of research and public education at the Council on Contemporary Families and the author of The Way We Never Were; Marriage, a History; and now, For Better and Worse: The Complicated Past and Challenging Future of Marriage (Viking; May 26, 2026), offers historical context for the institution of marriage and examines the attitudes and policies that can strengthen it.

Photo: Stock image by Christoph Wagner/Moment via Getty Creative

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Dan Goldman, US Representative (D, NY-10), and Brad Lander, former NYC comptroller and former mayoral candidate, discuss key issues as they campaign in the June primary election to be the Democratic nominee for Congress for New York's 10th congressional district.

Photo: On August 7, 2025, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) speak outside the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on August 07, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled his plan to build 200,000 affordable units and preserve another 200,000 over the next decade. David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, relays the standout details of the Mamdani administration's "Block by Block: The Housing Plan for a New Era."

Photo: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to the media as he stands with some of the people he has appointed to help with his transition to City Hall on November 24, 2025 in New York City (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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David B. Oppenheimer, clinical professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, co-director of the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law and the author of The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea (Yale University Press), argues that the idea that there is value in diversity in education and politics has a long history, and that attacks on the concept today are misguided.

Cover art courtesy of Yale University Press

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Jordan Lauf, producer for All Of It and its book club, Get Lit with All Of It, introduces this summer reading contest from All Of It and Get Lit, six books across six categories.

Photo by Luke Green/WNYC

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U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., talks about his new book, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2026). In it, Murphy identifies the underlying crises that have resulted in our current politics and offers solutions that could reinvigorate Americans' sense of the common good.

Photo: Cover art for Crisis of the Common Good. (Credit: Macmillan Publishers)

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New York State lawmakers are considering the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics, professor at Bennington College, former EPA Region 2 administrator and author of The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late (The New Press, 2025), talks about why she is advocating for its passage and what the bill would do if it becomes law.

Photo: A recycling bin in New York City. (Credit: RockyJennifer/Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Jeffrey Winters, professor of political science at Northwestern University and the director of the Equality Development and Globalization Studies Program at Northwestern’s Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and the author of The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies (Scribner, 2026), talks about the history of oligarchy, how to fight it, and why it maintains power in a democracy.

Photo: Cover art for The Blind Spot. (Credit: Simon & Schuster)

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After the Knicks dominant performance in the Eastern Conference Finals, New York fans are feeling an overwhelming sense of exuberance. Listeners call in to share other sporting moments in their lives that brought this feeling—whether with a professional team or at a lower level.

Photo: Knicks fans celebrate winning the eastern conference championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 25, 2026 in New York City. Credit: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images.

 

 

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