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The Brian Lehrer Show

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
  • Family members celebrate the homecoming of the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment (U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Ray Lewis)
    Family members celebrate the homecoming of the Marines (U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Ray Lewis)

    Troop Standoff

    The political standoff in Washington, D.C. has collided with the military standoff in Iraq. With the President and Congress staring each other down over a timeline for withdrawal, we’ll examine military implications of troop surge versus troop withdrawal, and the state of current war politics. Plus: the changing nature of class distinctions among African-Americans, a look at the World Bank, and when is it okay to boo at the ballgame?

    Watch Brian's Web Video Picks

Iraq: Surge vs. Withdrawal

Bobby Ghosh, Baghdad bureau chief for Time magazine, discusses the current effects of troop surge versus the possible implications of troop withdrawal.

Funding Face-Off

Jodi Schneider, economics editor at the Congressional Quarterly, discusses the dispute between Congress and the White House over the Iraq funding bill.

Who Controls The World Bank?

Colin Bradford, senior fellow of Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institute, explains how the World Bank works.

Gentrification and the Black Middle Class

Mary Pattillo, professor of sociology and African-American studies at Northwestern University and author of Black on the Block: The Politics of Race and Class in the City (Chicago University Press, 2007) discusses the way class differences play out within African American urban neighborhoods.

Black on the Block is available for purchase at Amazon.com

Open Phones: When Is It Okay to Boo?

Listeners weigh in on whether it's okay to boo players at baseball games and other venues.

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

The Brian Lehrer Show

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

The Brian Lehrer Show

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.