In this this June 20, 2014, file photo, the Rikers Island jail complex stands in the foreground with the New York skyline in the background.

Ending Mass Incarceration in NYC

The Brian Lehrer Show | Apr 3, 2017

Jonathan Lippman, former chief judge of New York Court of Appeals, discusses his recommendation to close Rikers Island Correctional Facility.

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

WNYC Homepage - Top Stories

'It's chaos': LIRR commuters face shutdown, workarounds on first weekday of strike

The MTA says backup shuttle buses can carry only a fraction of regular LIRR riders.

Gothamist |

The History Wars and America at 250, with the Historian Jill Lepore

Three prominent historians discuss a national milestone arriving in the midst of a politically charged conflict over how Americans see the past. It’s a “goat rodeo,” Lepore says.

The New Yorker Radio Hour |

10-Question Quiz: American History

Author Kenneth C. Davis quizzes listeners on American history.

The Brian Lehrer Show |

Democrats make a run for Stefanik's seat

WNYC News |

On an off-Broadway stage, actors bring immigrant stories alive and spark public debate

Immigrants' stories have been unfolding on an off-Broadway stage in an uncommon way. One is of a doctor in her 40s who fled Zimbabwe. Another featured a Colombian woman who regretted leaving her homeland for the United States. A third entered into a marriage of convenience with an American after overstaying her visa, and then suffered a violent assault in the subway.