This past Saturday, Sen. Lindsey Graham died suddenly of an aortic dissection. Dr. Adham Elmously, an attending surgeon in the Section of Adult Cardiac Surgery at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, explains who is at risk, how to monitor fo...

Brock Colyar, a features writer at New York Magazine, talks about their cover story this week on NYC's "line culture" and how it's evolved.

Photo: People wait in line to purchase the new Apple iPhone 3G outside of the Apple Store, Soho on July 11, 2008 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic)

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City Council Speaker Julie Menin (D-5, Upper East Side) talks about the latest news from City Council and takes calls from listeners.

Photo:  Speaker Julie Menin speaking at a rally for Hands Off NYC (Photo courtesy of New York City Council)

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Elana Schor, senior Washington editor at Semafor, talks about the latest national political news, including the U.S. strikes on Iran which hit more than 170 Iranian military targets on Tuesday and Wednesday and what comes next.

Photo: U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to members of the media as the Trump Cabinet briefs members of Congress on Iran at the U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Ann Larson, a fellow with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and the author of Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register (One Signal/Atria, 2026), talks about what she learned about the economy and workers when she went from reporting on low-wage work to taking a job during the pandemic at a local supermarket.

Photo: People shop near 'Sale' signs in the meats section of a grocery store on July 7, 2026 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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Listeners talk about their teens' summer jobs, the value of those jobs, and the current state of the summer youth employment market.

Photo: Teenage workers man the cash register at Apponaug Village Creamery in Warwick, RI, on May 28, 2025. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

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

Elie Mystal, justice correspondent at the Nation, assesses the Supreme Court's term (First) | Atlantic staff writer Rose Horowitch considers the question: are we in a 'postliterate' age? (Starts at 49:05) | The many insects of NYC (Starts at 1:17:25)

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

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U.S Representative (D NY 6) Grace Meng talks about her primary victory, the state of the Democratic party and where birthright citizenship stands after the Supreme Court ruled to preserve it last month.

Photo: UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 3: Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., attends a "Women For Suozzi Rally," for former Rep. Tom Suozzi, Democratic candidate for New York's 3rd Congressional District, in Port Washington, N.Y., on Saturday, February 3, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

 

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NYC-DSA co-chairs Grace Mausser and Gustavo Gordillo discuss the chapter's sweeping victories in last month's primary elections, their implications for the future, and their reflections on Mayor Zohran Mamdani's tenure so far.

Photo: Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier speaks during the "Our Team, Our Year" Get Out The Vote (GOTV) rally at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18, 2026. (Photo by kena betancur / AFP via Getty Images)

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Noah Shachtman, contributing editor at WIRED and contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, discusses his investigation into how Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan has surveilled his arenas and compiled databases of high-profile guests, allegedly tracking a trans woman, lawyers and protesters.

Photo: NEW YORK, NY - June 30: General views around Madison Square Garden on June 30, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Andrea Renault/Star Max/GC 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 Jessica Ware, entomologist and division chair of Invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History and co-founder of Entomologists of Color, talk about the moths, beetles, flies, and butterflies living around us and their role in making the ecosystem work.

Photo: Ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata), a striking damselfly species native to New York City. (Photo by Marielle Anzelone)

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Ilan Stavans, publisher of Restless Books, professor of humanities and Latin American and Latino culture at Amherst College and the author of A Nation Wrestles with God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands (Restless Books, 2026), talks about the broad spectrum of American religious thought, from Cotton Mather to Lana Del Rey.

Photo: KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA - JULY 03: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on July 03, 2026 in Keystone, South Dakota. Trump is holding a rally and fireworks show at Mount Rushmore, kicking off a weekend of 250th Independence Day celebrations across the country. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

 

 

 

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Post-COVID, New York state and city officials have enacted a range of measures and tax breaks to speed up the conversion of old office buildings into new apartment complexes. David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist discusses the latest, including an extreme stru...

As the NATO summit is underway, Drew Hinshaw, senior reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and Joe Parkinson, chief, world enterprise team at The Wall Street Journal, share their reporting on the changing relationship between Europe and the USA under President Trump, especial...

NPR recently reported on a University of Michigan study that found that more than half of parents track their young adult children's locations. Listeners call in to share whether they do this or not, and if they do, if they think the benefits outweigh the potential costs.

Photo: Australia, Queensland, Brisbane Central Business District, Ann Street Asian girl daughter man father woman mother family smartphone ignoring each other absorbed in. (Photo by: Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

 

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Astead Herndon, host and editorial director at Vox, talks about the state of the midterm elections, including the fallout in Maine after an ex-girlfriend accused Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner of rape, a tight senate race in Michigan and more.

Photo: BLUE HILL, MAINE - JUNE 9: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at his Primary Election event on June 9, 2026 in Blue Hill, Maine. Platner is the presumptive Democratic nominee and will face incumbent Sen. Collins (R-ME) for Maine's U.S. Senate seat in the general election. (Photo by CJ Gunther/Getty Images)

 

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Michael Lange, New York City based writer, researcher, strategist, and political organizer, digs into the demographics of who voted for the DSA candidates in New York City's June primary, both for Congress and for state legislative offices, and what it tells us about politic...

As the number of adults who report reading books has declined, Rose Horowitch, staff writer for The Atlantic, argues that we're living in a "post-literate world" and talks about what that means for society.

Photo: 28 April 2023, Saxony, Leipzig: Visitors to the Leipzig Book Fair get an overview of the book offerings at the Penguin Random House publishing group's booth. At the spring meeting of the book industry, some 2,000 exhibitors from 40 countries present their new book products. Austria will be the book fair's guest country. Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa (Photo by Hendrik Schmidt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

 

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Julia Moskin, food correspondent for The New York Times, breaks down her deep dive into how global production of berries has tripled since 2000, becoming the fastest-growing category in American produce, and how that consumer demand is being met by farmers and distributors.

Photo: 06 July 2026, Brandenburg, Beelitz: Blueberries are available for pick-your-own at the Jakobs-Hof in Beelitz during an event announcing the start of the 2026 blueberry season in Brandenburg. Photo: Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa (Photo by Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images)

 

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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 back at the recently concluded Supreme Court term.

Photo: This photo taken on June 30, 2026 shows the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order denying birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants or temporary residents, upholding birthright citizenship. (Photo by Li Rui/Xinhua via Getty Images)

 

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Robinson Meyer, founding executive editor of Heatmap, talks about the DSA's evolving relationship to the Green New Deal and climate policy in general, as its members keep winning elections in big cities.

Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 21: U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks to members of the media as she arrives for the last votes of the week at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives has concluded its final votes before the Memorial Day recess. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

 

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Mason Williams, historian and associate professor at Williams College, and the author of City of Fortune: Inequality and the Making of Contemporary New York (W.W. Norton, 2026), argues that New York's recovery from the 1970s fiscal crisis ushered in an era of deepening inequality.

Photo: Pedestrians on the sidewalk pass jewelry stores (Midtown Jewelers and Diamond Center) on West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, March 1979. (Photo by Peter Keegan/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

 

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Inspired by Matthew Vines' op-ed in The New York Times titled "I'm Gay, Not Queer. It Matters," LGBTQ listeners share why they identify with the label "queer" and talk about their relationship to the term.

Photo: TOPSHOT - Parade-goers make their way down 5th Avenue during the NYC Pride March on June 25, 2017. The NYC Pride March celebrates its 48th annual parade . / AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

 

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Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief and the author of The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History (HarperCollins, 2026) talks about the latest national political news, including how the America 250 celebrations went down in Washington, DC, as ...

Jessica Gould, education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, talks about the trade-offs facing one school as it seeks to comply with the lower class-size mandates, and how that will play out across the city. Photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 02: Principal Alice Hom surveys ...

Dave Isay, founder and president of StoryCorps, talks about the new StoryCorps and NPR Morning Edition project called Connect250, where Americans from different parts of the country will speak to each other for a time capsule of this moment in time.

Photo: A young and elderly farmer chatting on the field at sunset - stock photo

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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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