wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

On Tuesday, Jane Mayer of the New Yorker joins Brian to discuss the career of Larry McCarthy, perhaps the most successful practitioner of the art of the negative political ad. He's now working for the pro-Romney SuperPAC "Restore Our Future." From Willie Horton to the Newt Gingrich "baggage" ad, here (in chronological order) are some of McCarthy's most notable pieces (that are available online).

→ If you find other McCarthy created ads online, tweet us a link and we'll add it! Tweet to @brianlehrer

Yesterday on the show we tested your knowledge in our annual year-end news quiz. (Listen here) Below are 10 of our favorite questions from the True/False lightning round at the end of the show. See how much you were paying attention in 2011 -- and no googling.

Happy New Year from everyone at the BL Show!

There are lots of roundups of the year's best pictures, but we want to do it a little differently.

This year cell phone pictures brought us news stories, from protests in Tahrir Square to the impact of Hurricane Irene. For our one and only best-of 2011 project, we want to collect the year's best pictures -- that are sitting on your cell phone. Upload them here - we'll make a highlight slideshow of our favorites!

And, no, Anthony Weiner is not eligible.

Merriam-Webster has chosen "pragmatic" as their word of the year. The dictionary saw a spike in searches for the word in the run-up to the debt ceiling negotiations and again during deficit negotiations this Fall.

»» What do you think of the decision? What would be your word of 2011? Post it below and tell us why! Or tweet us @brianlehrer using the tag #blword.

As a companion to our conversation with Dan Kluger, executive chef for ABC Kitchen, here's one of his favorite fall recipes.

 Roasted Kabocha Squash Toast, Fresh Ricotta and Cider Vinegar

For the Kabocha:

1 each          Kabocha squash, washed and peeled  

2 Tbsp.         Extra Virgin Olive Oil  

1/2 tsp.        Dried Red Chili Flakes

2 tsp.           Kosher Salt

2 each          Onions, Spanish, quartered and sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 Tbsp.         Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp.            Kosher Salt

1/2 cup         Maple Syrup

1 cup            Cider Vinegar

Method for the Kabocha:

Combine squash and extra virgin olive oil in bowl and season with the chili flakes and salt. Place on sheet tray lined with parchment paper in one even layer. Roast at 500°F degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes, rotating with a spatula every few minutes for even cooking.  Cook until lightly colored and tender. 

In a medium sauté pan, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep golden brown. Add the vinegar and maple syrup and reduce quickly until syrupy.

While the onions are still warm, combine with the roasted squash, cool and reserve.

For the Toast:

4 slices         Rustic Country Sourdough Bread – sliced 1/2-inch thick  

1/4 cup        Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup         Ricotta

3 sprigs        Mint, wide chiffonade

2 Tbsp.        Extra Virgin Olive Oil

To taste       Coarse sea salt

Drizzle bread with extra virgin olive oil and cook in a nonstick pan over medium heat until golden and crispy. Spread 2 tablespoons of ricotta over the toast, then top with about 1/3 cup of kabocha mix and spread evenly. Cut the toast into 4 and top with mint, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and coarse sea salt.

Listen: Project Intro from October 19th

Listen: Wrap-Up from November 9th

WNYC's Brian Leher Show and The New York World are collaborating on a project to map and report on New York City's Privately-Owned Public Spaces, aka POPS. We want to figure out how public these public spaces really are. Through zoning incentives, New York's city planners have encouraged private builders to include public spaces in their developments. Many are in active public use, but others are hard to find, under heavy surveillance, or essentially inaccessible.

With the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park drawing attention to the regulations and usage of these spaces, we want you to tell us about the POPS in your life. Whether it's parks, plazas, atriums or fountains, find all of NYC's POPS on the map below, then use the form to report on your experience.

Here's How -- Deadline for Submissions is November 9th!

1) Find your space on the map below. You can zoom in to different parts of the city, and click on a particular space to see information such as the owner, the boundaries, and the total area.

2) In the pop-up menu you'll also see a Site ID - a unique ID we've assigned to each space.

3) If you want to report on a particular space, enter the shortcode in the form below and tell us about your experience!

4) That's it! Read some of the response highlights here, and we'll follow up online and on-air in the coming weeks.

If you're on Twitter, you can tweet photos with the hashtag #privatepublic and the name or site ID code for your location.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PICTURES! Bruce Davidson was on the Brian Lehrer Show Tuesday, October 18th - Listen Here

Subway, Bruce Davidson's classic collection of New York City photography, is being re-released this fall by Aperture books. On Tuesday, October 18th, Bruce will join Brian Lehrer to talk about his photographs, and we want you to submit your most iconic subway shot. Head underground (or to an elevated track!) and snap a picture, then submit it here. Bruce will take a look at your submissions, and we'll feature some of our favorites online and on-air. By the way, regulations for what kind of photography is legal on MTA trains and platforms can be found here. Short version: it's legal, as long as you don't have extra equipment.

EXHIBIT: Aperture Gallery presents Bruce Davidson: Subway—a groundbreaking series documenting a unique moment in the cultural fabric of New York City, coinciding with the highly anticipated re-release of the book published in 1986. Opening reception: Thursday, October 13, 6:00-8:00 pm Exhibition on view: Monday, October 3-Saturday, October 29, 2011

To mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11, The Brian Lehrer Show will air a series of 10 “Decade 9/11” conversations with big ...

Our favorite responses.

»» Want Free Tickets to the Live Event on August 30th? Click Here!

And fill out the survey below about why you love your NJ town!

To wrap up our New Littles project, the Brian Lehrer Show asked local artists and illustrators to represent the various new neighborhoods we'd discussed on a map. Not knowing what to expect, we put out a call for entries and waited. The response was incredible, full of talent, inventiveness and community spirit. Check out the entries below, and be sure to visit the artist's website to support their work - many of the pieces are even for sale! Thanks to all for participating in The New Littles.

Over the course of our New Littles project, we've identified some of New York's overlooked ethnic communities. Now, we want artists and illustrators to draw a new neighborhood map. Our favorites will be featured on the WNYC website and on-air during the Brian Lehrer Show. Upload your artwork directly below, or post a link in the comments page. Deadline for submission is Monday, July 11th. Here are some of the neighborhoods you may want to include (though you can obviously include others you know about):

UPDATE: Check out the New Little Map Below! We've taken our data set and mapped it.

Each Thursday in June, the Brian Lehrer Show and Andrew Beveridge of Social Explorer will discuss New York’s diverse communities - areas of ethnic concentration you may not know about or are changing quickly. ...

Brian mispronounced "Fugazi" on the air recently (whoops!) and our twitter friends came to the rescue. Using the hashtag #brianlehrerindiemixtape they suggested songs to bring Brian up to speed. Here is that playlist. Keep adding your suggestions in the comments below or just tweet them @brianlehrer (don't forget the hashtag).

New Yorker staff writer and Harvard historian Jill Lepore talks history all month.

Annual series on the Oscar nominated docs!

On today's Brian Lehrer Show we are taking calls and collecting stories from those with connections to the civil rights movement. Here is Brian Lehrer Show producer Jody Avirgan's contribution.

In August of 1964 my mother, Martha Honey, then a Freshman at Oberlin College in Ohio, travelled to Mississippi as a member of SNCC for the "Freedom Summer" campaign to register Black voters. She attended the funeral of James Chaney, one of three civil rights workers - Cheney was a black Southerner; Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were white Northerners - murded by the Klu Klux Klan near Philadelphia, Mississippi. That evening she wrote a letter to a classmate. It appears in Howard Zinn's Voices of a People's History of the United States. Here is an excerpt: