For Memorial Day, a new interview on its history, and some recent favorites: Kenneth C. Davis, author of the "Don't Know Much About History" series and most recently, The World in Books: 52 Works of Great Short Nonfiction (Scribner, 2024), shares the history of how Americ...

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

National News With Kai and Carter (First) | Hantavirus Fact and Fiction (Starts at 29:48) | How Belief in God Has Changed (Starts at 44:40)

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David Brand, housing reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, discusses Mayor Zohran Mamdani's “South of Prospect Plan," which aims to rezone the commercial corridors of McDonald and Coney Island avenues south of Brooklyn's Prospect Park, as well as surrounding blocks, for taller buildings and more housing development.

Photo: Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. (Credit: Jim.henderson/Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0)

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Nahal Toosi, Politico’s senior foreign affairs correspondent and columnist, discusses her latest reporting on how President Donald Trump and his aides have grown frustrated that the U.S. pressure campaign against Cuba, which includes depriving the island of fuel, doesn't seem to be working and what sort of military action might be on the table.

Photo: A person waves US and Cuban flags during a "Free Cuba" rally in Miami, Florida, on April 26, 2026, to call for the departure of the Castros and the Communist Party from power in Cuba. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images)

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Everlane, the brand built on "radical transparency" and sustainable basics, is reportedly selling to ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein for $100 million. Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion (Penguin, 2012) and The Conscious Closet (Plume, 2019), talks about her piece in The Atlantic, "Everlane, Shein, and the Limits of the Ethical Consumer," on what the sale reveals about so-called sustainable fashion and the limits of ethical consumerism.

Photo: A customer checks a tag at the new Shein fast fashion retail at its opening day in the BHV department store in Angers, western France, on February 25, 2026. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP via Getty Images)

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Julia Moskin, food reporter for the New York Times, talks about New York's proposed ban on potassium bromate, a flour additive that gives New York pizza and bagels their distinct textures—and a possible carcinogen in humans.

Photo: ESPN invites fans to get a bite of the NBA action at PopUp Bagels ahead of season tip-off on October 22, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for ESPN)

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Renita Francois, deputy mayor for community safety, talks about her job leading the newly established Mayor’s Office of Community Safety, focused on violence prevention.

Photo: Members of a violence prevention team gather near a hookah lounge where three people were shot dead and 10 others wounded following a shooting at the Taste of the City lounge in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, early Sunday on August 19, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Jonathan Lemire, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNOW; writer for MSNOW and staff writer for The Atlantic, talks about the late Barney Frank's advice for Democrats and other national political news of the day, including his analysis of how President Trump is changing as his second term continues, and why he thinks the president's age is less scrutinized than his predecessor's.

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump departs from Air Force One on May 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Kai Wright, host of the podcast Big Lives, and Carter Sherman, co-hosts of the new Guardian US video podcast Stateside With Kai and Carter, talk about recent stories in the news, including their take on the Supreme Court's voting rights decision, an ICE arrest that turned violent and more.

Photo: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport on March 24, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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Reshma Ketkar, co-founder of the group We Start Here and the lead organizer for Stories without Borders, talks about the work the group We Start Here does to help people organize fundraising events for organizations that are important to them. Plus, listeners call in to talk about local fundraisers they've worked on, who they are supporting and why.

Photo: A donation box at the entrance to the library. At the Fleetwood Area Public Library in Fleetwood, PA Thursday morning January 27, 2022. (Photo by Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

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Andrew Weissmann, professor of practice at NYU School of Law, co-host of the podcast Main Justice and and the author of Liar’s Kingdom: How to Stop Trump’s Deceit and Save America (Little, Brown, 2026), talks about the changes to the legal system needed to preserve US democracy.

Photo: Sunira Moses, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Gregory Anderson, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation, talks about his new role, and his department's work in enforcing the composting laws that are on the books.

Photo: NYC Compost Project, collection bin, Queens, New York. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Mythology (Harper Paperbacks 2020), quizzes listeners on how well they know their American history.

Photo: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Meghan Sullivan, professor of philosophy at Notre Dame and founder of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, offers her take on the contemporary context for belief, or doubt, in God as religious affiliation largely declines in the U.S.

Photo: Worshippers walk to a station during the Way of the Cross procession over the Brooklyn Bridge on April 03, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Dr. Regina Lark, organizer and founder of A Clear Path, offers advice for how to clean out a parent's home, especially when grief is also a part of the picture.

Photo: A woman creates piles of cookbooks she planned to purchase during the estate sale at the home of celebrity chef Barbara Lynch. (Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

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CBS has canceled "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." As the show airs its final episodes, Bill Carter, editor at large for LateNighter.com, discusses what its loss says about today's media landscape.

Photo: US comedian Stephen Colbert speaks onstage during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre at LA Live in Los Angeles on September 14, 2025. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images) 

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Katelyn Jetelina, founder and author of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist, talks about what public health authorities do and don't know about the strain of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship, what the risks are and what the reaction of US-based health officials has signaled about pandemic preparedness here.

Photo: Specialist workers in full PPE carry boxes containing hazardous waste as they begin the process of disinfecting the cruise ship MV Hondius after it docked in the Port of Rotterdam following the recent hantavirus outbreak, on May 18, 2026 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)

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Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Mythology (Harper Paperbacks 2020), quizzes listeners on how well they know their American history. 

Photo: The White House pictured in June 2025. (Credit: Jack Walker/WNYC)

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Melissa Kirsch, writer of the New York Times newsletter "The Good List," which gives recommendations and inspirations for living a more joyful and meaningful life, and writer of "The Morning" newsletter on Saturday, discusses her work and listeners call in about the new things they've tried that are bringing more joy and meaning to their lives.

Photo: Stock image of joyful child running through a field.  (Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Creative)

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As part of a series on "spring cleaning," Laura Kinsella, founder of Urban OrgaNYze, offers advice on how to stay organized despite the chaos of a kid-filled household.

Photo: Stock image of identical twin boys in a very untidy bedroom covered in toys. (LPETTET/E+ via Getty Creative)

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Clayton Guse, WNYC and Gothamist editor of the transit and infrastructure desk, and Stephen Nessen, WNYC and Gothamist transportation reporter,  talk about the latest on the strike by Long Island Railroad workers.

Photo: A Long Island Railroad train departs from Woodside, Queens en route to Penn Station in Manhattan. (Credit: Mtattrain/Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0)

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David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic daily newsletter, plus author of The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2025), offers analysis of FBI director Kash Patel's performance during Congressional testimony, plus how he says President Trump's recent gaffes may hurt the GOP.

Photo: FBI Director Kash Patel attends the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nov. 22, 2025. (Credit: Tia Dufour/U.S. Department of Homeland Security via Wikimedia Commons)

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Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Mythology, quizzes listeners on how well they know their American history.

Photo: The White House pictured in June 2025. (Credit: Jack Walker/WNYC)

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As part of a series on spring cleaning, KC Davis, author of How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing, offers realistic strategies for how neurodivergent people can build healthy habits around cleaning.

Photo: Cover art for "How to Keep House."

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

Economic News from Marketplace (First) | Our Bodies & Our Tech (Starts at 14:32) | Wild NYC - Air Migrations (Starts at 33:54)

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

Photo: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 11: Gas prices over 6 dollars a gallon are seen on a sign at a Shell station on May 11, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

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Andrew Marantz, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation (Viking Press, 2019), talks about his recent reporting on Péter Magyar, the new prime minister of Hungary who recently toppled Viktor Orbán, and on OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman.

Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar speaks at the first press conference of the new Hungarian government in Opusztaszer, Hungary, May 13, 2026. (Photo by Peter Zsolnai/Xinhua via Getty Images)

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On The Media's Micah Loewinger talks about his reporting in the series "The Movement to Kill FEMA," and co-host Brooke Gladstone previews her conversation for OTM about the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act decision from last week.

Image: Courtesy of On the Media

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Listeners try their hand at a news quiz, with questions and commentary by Mo Rocca, host of the podcast Mobituaries, a CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, a frequent panelist on NPR’s hit weekly quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! and co-author of Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs.

Photo: Mo Rocca, host of "My Grandmother's Ravioli."; Courtesy of The Cooking Channel

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John Donvan, moderator-in-chief of the radio show Open to Debate, discusses what the show Open to Debate, which airs on WNYC (and many other NPR stations) aims to do, and spotlights some of the recent issues they've taken on.

Image: Podcast logo, courtesy of Open to Debate

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Lulu Miller, host of Terrestrials and co-host of WNYC's Radiolab, shares some recent standout moments from Radiolab's kids podcast, Terrestrials.

Image courtesy of Terrestrials/Radiolab

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