We had some listeners tell us this morning's show sounded so clear they couldn't believe we broadcast live from a diner on 34th Street. Well here's the proof: from the Skylight Diner near Madison Square Garden.

singer Nora York gives us a rendition

The Skylight diner menu and producer Nuala McGovern

Posted by leboheme at 01:06 PM

Our young Republican Delegates Maressa Seat and John Trandem

Posted by leboheme at 02:39 PM

Senator Mitch McConnell

Posted by leboheme at 02:33 PM

Ed Gillispie walks down Radio Row

Posted by leboheme at 02:26 PM

Posted by leboheme at 02:24 PM

John McCain sits down for his interview with Brian

Posted by leboheme at 02:23 PM

The paint was drying in the convention floor at Madison Square Garden last night

WNYC sets up at the Garden

Posted by leboheme at 10:24 AM

Excitement is building, we're off to Madison Square Garden for the Republican National Convention! See you on Monday.

Posted by leboheme at 06:00 PM

The Freedom of Expression National Monument

Posted by leboheme at 12:04 PM

On the show Thursday: Congresswoman Melissa Hart (R-PA-4th District) takes us inside the arduous, tedious, and throroughly ungamorous process of drafting a new party platform.

OK, perhaps you haven't read any party platforms lately. They are dry as dust and not even all that relevant to making policy. But if you think they can't teach us something, check out this New York Times op-ed by Peter Buttigieg, Peter V. Emerson, and Ganesh Sitaraman (article for purchase only).

Sitaraman will join us tomorrow morning, and he'll argue that the length and subject matter of a party platform can be a surprisingly good predictor of who the winner will be. Basically: the fewer the pages , the better chance of winning. The more time spent excoriating the opponent's policies, the better chance of losing.

Your thoughts?

Posted by leboheme at 05:20 PM

Newsday published the text of the ruling denying an Arab-American protest group the right to protest on Central Park's Great Lawn during the Republican Convention. Surprisingly, the judge sought fit to inject humor in the 35-page legal document. He dubbed the correspondence between the National Council of Arab Americans and the City a Kabuki dance. And describing the breadth of protest groups raising their voice against the Republicans' New York event he singled out "Dogs Against Republicans." A quick google search on this potentially interesting group proves fruitless, so if you know anything about them, please let us know.
Hear a discussion on the judge's ruling in tomorrow's show.

Posted by leboheme at 05:30 PM

Below is a link to Michael Dobbs' article from Sunday's edition of the Washington Post. Please click on the title below (note registration at the Washington Post site is required to see the article).

Swift Boat Accounts Incomplete
Critics Fail to Disprove Kerry's Version of Vietnam War Episode

By Michael Dobbs
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 22, 2004

Posted by leboheme at 09:19 AM

Mike...Chris...Kerry...Errol...Chris (again). They were all so good, each in their own way. We hoped you liked them as much as we do.

Brian will be back on Monday!

Mike Pesca joins Chris for a super-tough News Olympics. There was only one winner.

The Ethicist (Randy Cohen) finds it tough to sit still.

Feedback

Posted by leboheme at 04:11 PM

A Brian Lehrer Show t-shirt!

The attire of champions

The "other side" of champions

Posted by leboheme at 11:18 AM

MW writes: I'm curious about Chris, who's doing a wonderful job subbing for Brian. Chris's vocal quality is unique, and I like his his on-air personality. Put his photo on your website! Thanks.

With CB at the helm, you'll never run adrift

Posted by leboheme at 11:12 AM

The silly season hasn't seemed all that silly this year. What with the Governor McGreevey scandal and the recent intelligence hearings in Congress. But we producers are finding the majority of potential show guests have finally packed up and gone on vacation. Given that, we thought it would be a good opportunity to look at this summer's news as a whole. Seems like a lot when you think about the 9/11 Commission recommendations, the political conventions, Martha Stewart and many other things. If you've been following all the minutae of the summer's current affairs, tomorrow's news quiz might be the perfect way for a news junkie to spend this slack time of year. And this year we have a prize.

Posted by leboheme at 05:03 PM

Inspired by a positive review in the New York Times, one of us just caught the new reality show on Fox, “Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy” and can’t stop going on about it. In the episode rebroadcast last night, the two mothers live in such disparate worlds: black vs. white, S.U.V. vs. sedan, rap vs. country, and most especially, rich vs. scraping-by. If Americans dismiss class differences as immaterial, then why is it almost painful to see the look on Al-Mela’s face when she sees how much her “adopted” family has just spent on a sushi dinner or the size of the closets in the McMansion she’s temporarily calling home? Who knew (did the producers?) that such a fascinating sociological study of race and, especially, class in America could sneak in under the guise of low-brow “reality TV.” Is that really why these shows are so popular? Are we really starved for civics lessons?

What do you think? Let us know if you buy that theory.

Posted by leboheme at 03:55 PM

Errol Louis wrapped up his tour as guest host today with a "super nerd" conversation with Dr. Michael Dolfman of the New York office of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the somewhat dry subject matter, the phones lit up with your calls, proving that some people really do care about the consumer price index.

Dolfman wants you to know: if you paid your taxes, you've already paid for the information his office provides:
web: www.bls.gov (we at the Brian Lehrer Show want that address!)
email: BLSinfoNY@bls.gov
automated information: 212 337-2400
to receive updates by fax: (212) 337-2412

By the way, if you're already a member of WNYC, you can listen to our program every day for free! Become a member.

Errol Louis speaks with Denis Cariello and Seth Gladstone, a young Republican and a young Democrat, respectively.

Errol up close--and personable!

Tomorrow: Chris Bannon is back! He'll find out from New Jersey political analyst extraordinaire David Rebovich why Senator John Corzine is seriously mulling a move to become the state's next governor.

As always, we want your feedback. Drop us a line!

Posted by leboheme at 04:31 PM

While filming Fahrenheit 911 Michael Moore sent out a producer to speak to Rep. Porter Goss, the results never made it into the movie and ended up on the cutting room floor. However since President Bush nominated the Congressman to the post of Director of the CIA the interview resurfaced- initially in papers in Turkey and India. It's little amusing and frightening at the same time.

INTERVIEWER: [Y]ou come from intelligence. This is what you did, this is what you know.

REP. GOSS: Uh, that was, uh, 35 years ago.

INTERVIEWER: Okay.

REP. GOSS: It is true I was in CIA from approximately the late 50's to approximately the early 70's. And it's true I was a case officer, clandestine services office and yes I do understand the core mission of the business. I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified. I don't have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We're looking for Arabists today. I don't have the cultural background probably. And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day, "Dad you got to get better on your computer." Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have.
-- Rep. Porter Goss, March 3, 2004, Washington, DC

Posted by leboheme at 02:18 PM

OK, we have now all duly noted that Jim McGreevey's campaign slogan in 2001 was "straight talk"...But how long has this been going on?

Gordon Bishop of the Atlantic Highlands Herald insinuated it last May.

WNYC's own Bob Hennelly told us today:

"I will say that I was told by a trooper of some rank who wasn’t on the detail…that the talk in the trooper establishment was that when the governor broke his leg that he was not with his wife but that he was with Golan Cipel and that the troopers had to come up with this alternative strategy and help get the first family all together so that when the press lights came up and looked at the governor with this infirmity the story would work. Now-- I don’t know that to be true. Where do you call to confirm that?"

Can you confirm that?

The blogosphere reacts:

dailykos
gothamist
wonkette
boi from troy
signalshift*
gawker
discountblogger
instapundit
reason

Posted by leboheme at 03:05 PM

This is the blog entry we writing just before Jim McGreevey made his speech this afternoon:

By now you must know that James McGreevey has resigned as Governor of New Jersey. But do you remember that he's the sixth governor in four years? The others were Christie Whitman (resigned to lead the EPA), Donald Di Francesco (left job as acting Governor after bieng knocked out of Republican primary)...

Posted by leboheme at 05:36 PM

A story broke after the show about Toys R Us getting its etch-a-sketch all shaken up by Wal mart.

The upshot is Toys R US, a company some retail experts consider to be the first specialty big box store is exiting its core business, the selling of
toys.

This is actually a perfect zeitgeist moment. Toys R US moving away from the toy biz is tells us a lot about Wal Mart, but also a little about how the notion of childhood has changed. When Toys R Us began its expansion, coinciding with the post war suburban boom it embodied the concept of what childhood was about. Nothing serious, just selling Toys. Toys didn't have to be good for you, they just had to be fun.

Now most of the Toy stores you see (including the Toys R US owned
"Imaginarium" stores ) are there to assuage conflicted adults that buying a toy isn't really about buying a toy its about LEARNING, or STIMULATION,or something other than just plain fun.

The very same baby boomers who scooped up GI Joes and Barbie from the
aisles of Toys R Us want MORE for their own kids, so Zainy Briany and the
Discovery Zone abound.

The key symbol in all of this is the backwards R in Toys R US. That would
be unheard of today, it would be said to foster ignorance, or possible be
called insensitive to dyslexics. And its also telling that Toys R Us is now JUST going to be Babies R US. Babies aren't asked to adopt some work ethic into their play, though Baby Einstein and other "educational" baby activities are trending in this direction. But the concept of what it means to be a baby hasn't changed as much as what it means to be a kid. Also the first Babies R US didn't open until 1996 so that store is more relevant to the baby experience of today than Toys R US understands the child of today.

Finally Geoffrey the Toys R Us spokesanimal is a silly choice. Giraffes are famous for not making a sound, so having him talk seemed a little weird in the commercials, unlike the much more logical talking Tiger who
sells corn flakes. Tigers growl, Tony growls, makes sense. Geoffrey -
what's with that guy? Is he a kid, why am i Listening to a kid? Weird.
And its not just me -- look how low Geoffrey ranks in the "am I annoying"
survey of anthropomorphized animals.

Worse than even Spuds McKenzie. Let me say that again, worse than Spuds.
The company was doomed.
---Mike Pesca

Posted by leboheme at 08:07 PM

Mike Pesca "goes coastal" with Barbara La Rocco (center) and Zhennye Slootkin (right)

Posted by lehrer at 05:28 PM

News that a European group will monitor the Presidential elections might be a little humbling for the powers that be. Officials from the OSCE will send over observers to monitor balloting in November to avoid potential irregularities. Although the US signed up to an agreement to monitor voting 10 years ago (and there were some observers at the 2002 mid-term ballots), it will be a first in the history of presidential elections. This follows a push by Democrats fearing another Florida debacle, but their call for UN observers was nipped in the bud last month when the House tacked an amendment onto the Federal budget.

send us your thoughts

Posted by leboheme at 04:56 PM

Casual Fridays have extended themselves into Thursdays, Wednesdays and even Mondays! What does it say about our productivity in a global economy? Would July’s employment numbers have been better if we had better dress sense?

One anonymous Public Radio employee told us that she would not give up her flip flops out of principal. True, comfort when you’re running around producing is key. But are sweatpants ever appropriate in the workplace? One caller exclaimed no, a dry cleaner- apparently business has been down since we’ve gotten more casual.

What do you think? Let us know!

Listners- heads up Bill Clinton will be on Comedy Central's Daily Show on Monday!

Posted by leboheme at 03:53 PM

Tomorrow on the show: WNYC's Chris Bannon welcomes Admiral James Loy, Deputy Secretary in the Department of Homeland Security. He'll be our first guest from the Department since it was created in November 2002.

The New York Times ran a blistering editorial about Tom Ridge's periodic terror alerts today. But the latest alert, issued last Sunday is different: it includes specific information, recently gleaned from a source in Pakistan, about possible targets in New York, New Jersey, and Washington.

What would you like us to ask Admiral Loy? Let us know!

This just in: Brian Lehrer Show T-Shirts! If you pledged and asked for the shirt, hope is on the way.

rrrring! rrrrring!

long time listener, you know the rest

Posted by leboheme at 05:46 PM

Q: What do you do when you're expecting elephants in just a few weeks' time?

A: Roll out the red carpet, put the china in the attic, and get ready for a wild ride!

Now that the Democratic Convention in Boston is behind us, we're thinking a lot about how we'd like to cover the Democratic convention. A number of factors make this one different:

>homecourt advantage

>we'll have a 12'x12' space, instead of a 6'x6' one, BUT it'll be much farther from the New York and New Jersey delegations and from the convention floor

>the relative scarcity of Republican elected officials in our area

>major demonstrations are planned

>it's the PRESIDENT, not a senator from Red Sox-land

So...We were wondering what you'd like to hear on our show. We'll be doing a morning and an evening show, just like last week. Tell us what worked or didn't work, who you'd like to hear from and what you'd like to ask them...the good, the bad, and the ugly.Let us know what you think!

Posted by leboheme at 04:40 PM

We’re still catching up on some of the news we missed during last week's all-consuming convention coverage. A few days ago, a study found 195,000 Americans die of medical errors a year – the 6th leading cause of deaths. The story drew many stories from listeners today and inspired some of these emails. Let us know what you think.

We need to improve the caring and diligence of medical staff. How is this possible? My father was just in a "top" NYC private hospital for a week. My mother, brother and I were always there, and we are all educated and asked many questions. Still, there were hours of delays, lost tests, confusion about who was doing what, and when we tried to get my father care and attention, we were made to feel that we were imposing, ignorant of medical ways, and annoying. This is inexcusable, it made my father more frustrated and thus stressed and weaker. We got the clear impression that we were just a number on a list, there was no human compassion, and kept wondering what would've happened to my father if we were not there and he was not aware of what was going on. This is a chronic, systemic problem.
-DC

Clearly what the health care system needs is an army of John Edwards-like personal injury lawyers to sue the industry to its needs and end human error.
-MO

The example of aircraft safety is a good one. I've noted that doctors, from the time they are interns, are conditioned to be on duty for very long hours with no sleep. Many doctors and surgeons keep truly incredible schedules. In the airline industry, things like time on duty are carefully limited and regulated, because it is well known through many studies that pilot errors rise inexorably with fatigue, regardless of how good the pilot is. I do not understand why such simple and well known rules do not apply to doctors.
-AP

Patients should be careful not to have their names confused with somebody else's. It is a good idea to use middle initials to prevent being given treatments that are meant for somebody else, including surgery.
-VM

Posted by leboheme at 02:32 PM

Here are some left-over photos from the end of last week. We saved them for you because they're so good!

Friday

The BBC's Robin Lustig chats with Brian & Co at WBUR. Just passing through, old chap!

The Daily News' Errol Louis in studio with Brian on Friday

WBUR's stylish studios cause severe envy in Brian Lehrer's producers

Thursday

Congresspeople Nita Lowey and John Conyers share their thoughts on the new rules on campaign finance

Larry Noble of the Center for Responsive Politics

Posted by leboheme at 03:26 PM