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The Brian Lehrer Show Archive


February 2006

Cartoon Characters

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

In the controversy over the Danish cartoons, observant Muslims are told they are contradicting themselves by both supporting free speech and decrying the illustrations. Religious scholar Eboo Patel says it’s possible to hold both views. Plus: New Orleans celebrates Mardi Gras ...and the return of tourist dollars. And is the next generation of graduates really "Generation Debt"?


Kennel Hell

Monday, February 27, 2006

At Martin’s Creek Kennel in Arkansas, dogs were kept in tiny cages, beaten, and starved before being sold for research. Then an amateur filmmaker named Pete went undercover to work there, recording the kennel’s cruel practices for a new HBO documentary, "Dealing Dogs". Also, Monday morning politics with TNR's Peter Beinart, a new study shows Americans have more leisure time and a call-in for tenured professors.


Hunky Cory

Friday, February 24, 2006

Four years ago, New Jersey’s largest city had a rare turn in the media spotlight when a charismatic challenger emerged to four-term mayor Sharpe James. Cory Booker was a young, charismatic city councilman, but he lost the hotly-contested race by 3,500 votes. This May, Newark may be set for a James-Booker rematch. Also, David Eick and Ronald Moore discuss the nuances of their sci-fi hit "Battlestar Galactica", Alexandra Natapoff and Peter Moskos explore the role of snitching in criminal justice, and Selena Blake is joined by residents from the Queensbridge public housing project to discuss her new documentary.


The Nuclear Option

Thursday, February 23, 2006

In the 1980s, opposing the spread of nuclear energy was a pillar of the environmental movement. But with carbon emissions threatening to drastically change the climate within a generation, some environmentalists now say they’re open to going nuclear. And governments around the world have signaled a new willingness to invest in nuclear power plants. Also: an update of the TWU's talks with the MTA, New York's judge selection mess, and President's Week teacher talk.


Finding Allah

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The amount of Muslim converts in the US rose to record numbers after the September eleventh attacks. Author Brendan Bernhard looks at the phenomenon in his book, "White Muslim: From LA to New York…To Jihad." Plus: New Yorker editor David Remnick on Hamas and a look at terrorism and port security.


Black Humor

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Colson Whitehead and W. E. B. Dubois are not usually thought of for their comedic writing, but they appear in a new anthology of African-American humor. Novelist Paul Beatty has compiled the funniest elements from fiction, theater, and political speeches, including the witticism of Rev. Al Sharpton.


Pay to Play

Monday, February 20, 2006

Horse racing is the only sporting event for which it’s generally legal to place online bets in the United States. Now the internet sports betting industry is lobbying Congress to make all online sports wagers legal, and win back the dollars that millions of American spend on offshore gambling every year.


Ms. Moneybags

Friday, February 17, 2006

Women’s clothing usually doesn’t have pockets, and maybe that’s one reason many women feel uncomfortable talking about how much money they make. In her new book, Money: a Memoir, Liz Perle shares the story of how a divorce and the ensuing financial shakeup forced her to confront the size of her paycheck. Also: the trouble with "boot camp", Tom Suozzi's face-off with Eliot Spitzer, and the Radio Rookies.


Time to Divorce the Democrats?

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Bill Clinton once called Walter Mosley, the author of dozens of mysteries, science fiction, and young adult novels, one of his favorite writers. Now Mosley has written a polemic arguing that black Americans should abandon the Democrats and form their own political party.


Were We Misled?

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

The Bush Administration made the case for war in Iraq based mainly on the contention that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Three years later, the war continues, and there’s still no sign of WMDs. Did the administration get the intelligence wrong, or was America deliberately misled? Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hitchens, former Senator Bob Graham, Nation writer David Corn, and legal scholar Ruth Wedgwood examine the question at the Society for Ethical Culture. Plus: listener calls on the debate.


Picture This

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

The cartoon of the prophet Muhammad sparked much debate about the limits of press freedoms, but there are still many unanswered questions, like why was there a caricature contest in a Danish paper in the first place? Plus: a look at the many faces of the Iraqi insurgency, the flip side of Valentine's Day, and your calls


Empty Nest

Monday, February 13, 2006

The future of Forrest City Ratner’s proposed development in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, is still uncertain, but several blocks of the neighborhood have already been cleared to make way. In the empty row houses and brownstones of Dean Street, reporter Andrea Bernstein found potent lessons about economic development.


Query Interesting

Friday, February 10, 2006

Is it OK for a doctor to prescribe a placebo for a hypochondriac patient? Do you owe your ailing sibling a part of your liver if they haven’t spoken to you in years? Does a person’s private diary count as a “found object” for an artist who makes “found art”? The Ethicist Randy Cohen has answers. Plus an excerpt from "Were We Misled", our debate on prewar intelligence, and David Kipen who disputes the auteur theory and argues that screenwriters are the dominant creative force in shaping a movie.


I’ll Have the Ranch Dressing, After All

Thursday, February 09, 2006

A new study has found that reducing fat in one’s diet has little or no effect on the likelihood getting heart disease or cancer. The study tracked 50,000 American women over 8 years, and is considered one of the most exhaustive ever conducted.


Caring About Health Care

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman does not like President Bush’s plan for Health Savings Accounts. He says the consumer driven approach is unfair to lower income workers. Krugman also weighs in on his problems with Democrats and Republicans. Plus: Karenna Gore Schiff on the 9 women she thinks changed America


"Lawful in all Respects"?

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez spent all of Monday before a Senate committee defending the White House’s decision to tap Americans’ phone lines without court warrants. The hearings probably would not be taking place if the program’s existence hadn’t been leaked to New York Times reporter James Risen. Also: former Hong Kog governor Chris Patten.


African and American

Monday, February 06, 2006

The term “African-American” doesn’t begin to sum up all the elements in many black Americans’ pasts. Recently, Henry Louis Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and a handful of other prominent African-Americans took part in a quest to discover their roots, and made some surprising discoveries.


A Life Less Ordinary

Friday, February 03, 2006

"The biggest challenge of cooking in Iraq was finding ingredients," writes Washington Post journalist Jackie Spinner, in her new book, Tell Them I Didn’t Cry. In the 10 months she spent in Iraq in 2004-2005, she found that keeping her vegetarian diet was one way to stay sane. Also:


Who's Dowdy?

Thursday, February 02, 2006

In her decade on the New York Times op-ed page, Maureen Dowd has reinvented the newspaper column as a twice-weekly roast of the powers that be. On tour for her new book Are Men Necessary?, Dowd tells Brian Lehrer that "humor is a fantastic way to get across to the truth, in a way that is alluring to readers." Plus: Bob Hennelly from the NJ lobbyist train, and the history of Johnny Cash's album, "At Folsom Prison."


Prescription: Consumer-Driven Medicine

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

In his State of the Union address, President Bush outlined ambitious plans to change the way health care works in America. Tax-exempt “health savings accounts”, to be purchased by citizens, would gradually replace the system of employer-based health insurance. Also: city reporters on the ACS, TWU and the budget, and the State of the Union slam!!!