Brian Lehrer (born October 5, 1952) is an American

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talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

host on

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public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

. His daily two-hour 2007

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

-winning program,Official Peabody Award Site Listing
'' The Brian Lehrer Show'', features interviews with newsmakers and experts about current events and social issues. Lehrer was formerly an anchor and reporter for NBC Radio Networks and has been in broadcast journalism for over 30 years.

Early life and education

Lehrer was born in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

and grew up in the neighborhood of Bayside. He went to Bayside High School. His parents, both children of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrants from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, grew up in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

and met in high school. Lehrer obtained B.A. degrees in Music and Mass Communications from the State University of New York at Albany. While a student there, he hosted a radio program on the college radio station WSUA which has since become WCDB Albany. Lehrer also hosted radio programs in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. He holds a

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) are interdisciplinary profes ...

degree from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and a master's degree in journalism from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. In 2012, he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

from Montclair State University.

Career

''The Brian Lehrer Show''

Lehrer has been hosting his show, originally called ''On the Line'', since its inception in 1989. The show was conceived in part as a response to the 1987 abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine, which required

broadcast license A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which va ...

holders to portray controversial topics in a balanced and equitable manner. The format is interviews with newsmakers, combined with listener phone calls. Newsmakers are local, national and international, often authors on book tours, or metropolitan area politicians, including both of New York's senators, and most congress, state and city representatives from the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. Sometimes guests are less-famous individuals affected by the news, like Brooklyn residents on the site of giant housing developments or neighbors of noisy Manhattan night clubs. From 2016 until 2021, Lehrer hosted the weekly "Ask the Mayor" segment, where the

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

directly answers questions from callers. The monthly segment, "Speak to the Speaker", which hosts City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, provides another opportunity for callers to engage with local politicians. Frequent topics are housing, health care, transportation, education, and other government functions; the arts; the experience of living in New York and the surrounding area; and international affairs, such as the Iraq war or Israel/Palestinian conflict, particularly from a New York perspective. Lehrer's programs often use ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' for leads and guests. He tries to maintain a balance between issues as they affect listeners and "horse-race" pundit discussions of politics. Prominent political guests include

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, Mitch McConnell, and Kellyanne Conway. Other guests also include musician Wynton Marsalis, author

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

, author Junot Diaz, filmmaker Judd Apatow, writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and baseball player Yogi Berra, among others. The show won a 2007

"for facilitating reasoned conversation about critical issues and opening it up to everyone within earshot."67th Annual Peabody Awards
May 2008.

CUNY TV shows

Lehrer hosted a cable TV talk show called ''BrianLehrer.TV'' (formerly ''Brian Lehrer Live'') on CUNY TV (channel 75 on

cable systems) from 2005 to 2015. In 2009 the show was nominated for a regional New York Emmy Award. He hosted ''POTUS 2017 from'' September 2015–August 2017. From October 2017–May 2018, Lehrer hosted the weekly CUNY TV show "Brian Talks New York".

Other work

Lehrer's op-ed pieces have appeared in ''

'', The '' New York Sun'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', and the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'', and on

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

. His

commentaries are also distributed globally on the NPR website. Lehrer was a questioner in the WABC-TV New York City Mayoral debates in 1997, 2001, and 2005. Since 1997, Lehrer has been a moderator in every New York City mayoral election. He has appeared on television as a commentator on New York 1, WNET Channel 13, and CNNfn, and hosted public affairs shows on WPXN-TV and WNET from 1990 to 1998. Lehrer was the recipient of the New York Associated Press (NYAP) Broadcasters "Best Interview" Award in 2000 for an interview with a rape survivor, and in 2001 for his role as moderator on NYC radio of the only mayoral primary debate between

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

and Herman Badillo. Since 2000, Lehrer has been awarded seven "Best Interview" awards from the NYAP. During his tenure as host of NPR's '' On the Media'', the national program was named "Best Weekly Show" by the Public Radio News Directors in 1999. He currently moderates several major public forums, including ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' vs. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' series and the Harper's Forum series, and has moderated or hosted major events for the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

and Westinghouse Science Foundation, among others.

Personal life

, Lehrer resides in Inwood with his two sons, Nathan and Simon. His wife, Victoria Ann Dennis, died in February 2014.

Awards and nominations

* 1999 Public Radio News Directors, "Best Weekly Show" winner, ''On the Media'' * New York State Associated Press Broadcaster Awards (7 total "Best Interview" awards since 2000) ** 2011 – Brian Lehrer and Megan Ryan, ''The Brian Lehrer Show,'' "Daniel Ellsberg on Wikileaks" ** 2012 – Brian Lehrer and Megan Ryan, "''The Brian Lehrer Show'''s interview with Supreme Court Justice Breyer" * 2007

George Foster Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in ...

, "Radio That Builds Community Rather Than Divides" winner, ''The Brian Lehrer Show'' * 2009 New York Emmy Awards, "Interview/Discussion" nomination, ''Brian Lehrer Live: Focus on the City'' (April 3, 2008) * 2011 New York Press Club Journalism Awards, "Best Web Exclusive Content" winner, Anna Sale, Jody Avirgan, Kathleen Ehrlich, Brian Lehrer, John Keefe, Dean Cappello, "Election Coverage, It's a Free Country" * 2012 Garden State Journalists Association Awards ** Radio Feature, ''The Brian Lehrer Show,'' "The Brian Lehrer Show: Live from New Jersey" ** Talk Radio, ''The Brian Lehrer Show,'' "The Business of Bringing Business to New Jersey" * 2014 Garden State Journalists Association Award "1st Place Talk Radio Show" winner, ''The Brian Lehrer Show'', "Debating Newark School Reform" (March 21, 2013) * 2017 Edward R. Murrow Awards, Excellence in Social Media, "3 New Ways to Cover the Election (including #HamiltonDebates, #BruceTheDebate and Audio Tweets in the Christie Tracker)" Newsroom Elections Team, ''The Brian Lehrer Show'' and editor Nancy Solomon

References

External links

Brian Lehrer Show

''WNYC'' podcast feed

"Commentaries from Brian Lehrer"
''WNYC''
"The Official Blog of the Brian Lehrer Show"
- WNYC {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehrer, Brian 1952 births American talk radio hosts Ohio State University School of Communication alumni Peabody Award winners NPR personalities Journalists from New York City Living people University at Albany, SUNY alumni Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health alumni American people of Polish-Jewish descent New York Public Radio People from Inwood, Manhattan