The Brian Lehrer Show

Joel Klein (azipaybarah/flickr)

School News

Friday, March 21, 2008

From the debate over “mayoral control” to protests over large cuts in the education budget, this has been a busy week for New York City public schools. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein discusses this week’s events and where we go from here. Plus: two prominent local Reverends discuss the role of politics at the pulpit and a briefing on the economy.

Listen to the whole show

Five Years with Sarbanes-Oxley

Michael Oxley, former congressman (R-OH 4th), co-sponsor of the Sarbanes-Oxley law, and Vice Chairman of NASDAQ, talks about what the law has accomplished in 5 years, as well as the state of the current economy.

Sean Bell Update

Michael Wilson, metro reporter for the New York Times, and WNYC's Arun Venugopal discuss what's happening in the ongoing Sean Bell trial.

WNYC's coverage of the Sean Bell Trial
The New York Times's coverage of the Sean Bell Trial

Deal/No Deal

The city's economy is in trouble, and the Department of Education's funding has become the subject of no small debate. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein takes listener calls and discusses budget cuts, social promotion, and the future of mayoral control- whether or not the mayor should have the final decision on the city's education policies.

Pulpit Politics

Reverend Floyd H. Flake, senior pastor of the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Reverend A.R. Bernard, founder and CEO of the Christian Cultural Center, discuss the role of political and social commentary from the pulpit.

Following Up: The Web of Medicine

Thomas Goetz, deputy editor of Wired magazine and contributor to the New York Times Magazine, discusses his article “Practicing Patients” about the issues raised by the website PatientsLikeMe for people dealing with chronic illnesses. The piece will appear in the 3/23 issue of the magazine.