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Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, talks about the ballot initiatives that good-government groups disagree on, plus other information on voting.Photo: Voters fill out their ballots at a polling station in New York City on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (Photo by LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mike Hayes, WNYC/Gothamist New Jersey politics reporter and the author of The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform (Kingston Imperial, 2023), recaps Michael Hill's conversation with New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill.Photo: New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), casts her vote on November 4, 2025 in Montclair, New Jersey. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dahlia Scheindlin, Haaretz senior analyst and columnist, political scientist and the author of The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel: Promise Unfulfilled (De Gruyter, 2023), talks about the results so far in Israel's election, the first since the October 7, 2023 attacks and the years of war that followed.Photo: A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, during the general elections on October 27, 2026. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Caroline Haskins, staff writer for the business desk at WIRED, where she covers Silicon Valley, surveillance, and labor, reports on a new Airbnb rule change that bars hosts from requiring certain household chores at checkout, and listeners weigh in.Photo: Linda Merlo, an airbnb host from the Bronx, speaks at a rally on the steps of New York City Hall. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Larry Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, talks about the issues at play in the race between incumbent Democrat Tom Suozzi and his Republican challenger, Mike LiPetri, in New York's 3rd Congressional district, plus Levy and Chris Niedt, professor of applied social research in the department of sociology, criminology, and anthropology at Hofstra University and academic director of the National Center for Suburban Studies, explain what their new poll found on suburban voters' political values and enthusiasm levels.Photo: Voting signs are seen outside city hall for New York's 3rd Congressional District special election in Glen Cove, N.Y. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alice Miranda Ollstein, senior healthcare reporter at Politico, author of the forthcoming book, Side Effects: How Abortion Bans Impact Everyone’s Health, talks about her reporting on the impact of abortion bans, and how physicians have had to enter the political arena in order to do their jobs.Photo: A group of doctors join abortion rights supporters at a rally outside the Supreme Court on April 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Christopher Marquis, professor of Management at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and the author The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profits and Socializes Costs (PublicAffairs, 2024) talks about the issues he raised in a recent New York Times opinion piece, arguing that the training that business schools offer future leaders has had negative impacts on society and they should be "abolished."Photo: Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, New York City, New York, USA. (GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Inspired by a Curbed article about a couple who live in separate apartments in the same building, listeners call in to share their own unconventional living arrangements with long-term partners and why they work.Photo: Young couple moving into new apartment unpacking boxes. (Credit: Milan Markovic/E+ via Getty Creative) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lisa Mascaro, chief congressional correspondent for Associated Press, talks about what might happen with investigations and even impeachment proceedings against President Trump or his appointees, should Democrats control congress after the midterms. Photo: A protester holds an Impeach Trump placard during a Trump pro-impeachment rally in Dayton. (Megan Jelinger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

David Brand, housing reporter for Gothamist and WNYC, and David Lebenstein, co-chair of the Not-for-Profit Advisory Group at Cushman and Wakefield, talk about the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, known as COPA, which the City Council passed and the mayor has said he will sign, that will give nonprofits and tenants groups the first shot at buying distressed buildings. Photo: A rusty metal fire escape hangs on the facade of a white residential building in Manhattan, New York City. Classic urban architectural details highlight the historic character of the neighborhood. (Denisfilm via Getty Images)  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian born in a refugee camp in Syria, former Columbia SIPA student fighting deportation and the author of No Land to Stand On: Notes from Detention (Metropolitan Books, 2026) shares details from his time in a Louisiana detention camp fighting deportation for leading protests at Columbia and more. Photo: Mahmoud Khalil, former Columbia University graduate student known for his role in the 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian protests, speaks at a Pro-Palestinian "March for Humanity" rally against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on August 16, 2025 in New York City.(Stephanie Keith via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tiffany Cabán, NYC Council Member (District 22, Astoria, Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Woodside and Rikers Island talks about The Delivery Protection Act, which would require large companies like Amazon to hire so-called "last-mile" delivery workers, who are currently independent contractors, as well as other labor-friendly reforms. Photo: Amazon Delivery person on sidewalk with loaded hand truck, Queens, New York. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Three of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them. AI "Consciousness"  (First) | Professor Julian Zelizer (Starts at 17:56) | Watching the Elizabeth Holmes Documentary (Starts at 29:02) If you don't subscribe to the Brian Lehrer Show on iTunes, you can do that here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Noah Robertson, national security reporter for The Washington Post, shares his reporting on the group of current and former national security officials quietly advising states and members of Congress on how to prepare for possible federal interference in the November midterms. Photo: People take part in a "No Kings: Vote Early" demonstration in Wilton Manors, Florida, on October 17, 2026. (Giorgio VIERA / AFP via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

California voters will have to decide on Prop 40, which is a one-time tax on billionaires in order to fund healthcare and education. Marisa Lagos, correspondent for KQED’s California politics and government desk and co-host of the show and podcast, "Political Breakdown," talks about the proposal, who is for and against it and the lengths California billionaires have gone to try to sink the tax.   Photo: Ultrasound Technologist Mayra Castaneda speaks in front of healthcare workers holding placards in support of the Billionaire Tax during a media briefing in Los Angeles on April 27, 2026. (Frederic J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.