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The Brian Lehrer Show

Thursday, February 01, 2007
  • black and white cookie
    Black and white. (bionicgrrl/flickr)

    Black and White

    As we look at the politics and psychology of “passing,” we’ll hear from a mixed-race writer who identified as white at school and black at home while growing up and about one woman who thought she was all white until a family secret was revealed. Also, listeners react to Gov. Spitzer’s budget proposals, and Senator Biden's remarks regarding Barack Obama.

Reform Minded

Jennifer Cunningham, a political consultant who represents 1199 Service Employees International, the largest local union of health care workers in the country, and Michael Kink, legislative council to Housing Works, an advocacy and service organization for people with AIDS, discuss Eliot Spitzer's plan to tame Medicaid spending in New York State.

Trader George

Gretchen Morgenson, business columnist for the New York Times, talks about George Bush's address about the state of the economy.

Black and White

David MatthewsAlice Pifer, director of professional education, Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and co-editor of The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity (Columbia University Press; Bk & DVD edition, 2006) and David Matthews, author of Ace of Spades: A Memoir (Henry Holt & Company, 2007) discuss the practice of “passing”.

The Authentic Voice is available for purchase at Amazon.com

Ace of Spades is available for purchase at Amazon.com

They're Out and Running

Errol Lewis columnist for the New York Daily News, discusses Senator Joe Biden's remarks on Barak Obama and his column on focus groups and the democratic presidential pool. Also, Craig Charney, president of Charney Research, talks about his focus group showing that Hillary Clinton has no home field advantage in New York.

Uncommon Indicators

The Brian Lehrer Show

The Brian Lehrer Show wants to hear how the economy is affecting the little things in your daily life. Share your stories and photos of the downturn.

Cast your vote for our video contest semi-finalists.

The Rocky Road Ahead

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Ray Young, the chief financial officer of General Motors, talks about GM’s bankruptcy.

Then, Damon Lester, president of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, and Greg Williams, former owner of the recently closed Huntington Chevrolet in Huntington Station, NY., discusses the effect GM’s bankruptcy has had on dealerships and their employees.

Tweet If You Use Twitter

The Brian Lehrer Show

Farhad Manjoo, Slate's technology columnist and the author of True Enough: Learning To Live in a Post-Fact Society talks about what Twitter means and how different groups use it.

What's your take on Twitter? How do you use it? Comment below!

Don't Say That, Literally

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John Flansburgh of the band They Might Be Giants discusses the running list the band keeps of "things we can no longer say." (a few examples: "my bad" "don't go there" "one hundred and ten percent" and "voted off the island")

What would be on your list of banned words or phrases? Comment below!

From Denmark with Love

The Brian Lehrer Show

Jesper Grunwald, senior managing editor with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, talks about the Danish economy, biking to work, and why the Danes are allegedly the happiest people in the world.

Squatting, Then and Now

The Brian Lehrer Show

As former squats in the East Village make the transition to coops, making homes from abandoned housing is again an issue. Andrew Reicher executive director of Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, Frank Morales an Episcopal priest involved in East Village/Lower East Side squatting and homelessness activism since the late '70s, and Rob Robinson, a leader of the Housing Campaign of Picture the Homeless, discuss the return of squatting.

Video Picks

The Brian Lehrer Show

Check out some recent video clips of interviews with guests and Brian Lehrer's weekly Web video picks.