As a technology reporter for The New York Times, Nicole Perlroth says it's hard to convince corporations to go on the record with the details of their cybersecurity breaches. But last October, when The Times learned that Chinese hackers had infiltrated its own computer systems, Nicole got a front-row seat to report on her own company's response to a targeted attack. Perlroth talks to Brooke about the inevitability of security breaches, and the measures that can be taken to minimize damage.

Andrew Pekler - Here Comes the Night

Jon Pareles' biggest musical surprise this year? "Geezer vitality." The New York Times music critic tells us, "I could have made a top ten list with people over 50. All these people who make albums now every 4, 5, 6, 7 years, came out with amazing albums." From Bob Dylan, to Bonnie Raitt, to Leonard Cohen, it was a big year for the AARP-eligible crowd. 

Check out his entire music survey below, and listen to his conversation with host John Schaefer up top. 

The New York Times isn't just a source for news; its also the authority on the latest cultural trends—at least, so says Slate contributor and chronically un-hip Brooklynite Justin Peters. He recently used the Times' Style section as a blueprint for living the trendiest life possible. Brooke asks Justin about the results of this "scientific" experiment.

Melena Ryzik, writer of the New York Times' award season blog Carpetbagger, joins us to share a couple of important updates to this year's Academy Awards, including a change to the controversial "Best Original Song" category.

On last week's show, Bob spoke to Jose Antonio Vargas about the way that news outlets talk about immigrants and immigration. Since an article in the New York Times last year, Vargas has been working to spark discussion around immigration issues, and at the Online News Association conference last month, he announced his plan to track, and hopefully influence news organizations to move away from the terms "Illegal alien" or "illegal immigrant" to terms like "undocumented" or "unauthorized" immigrant. 

Chief among his focus were two of the world's largest news outlets - the Associated Press and the New York Times. Today, the Times' public editor Margaret Sullivan commented (for the third time) on Vargas' request:

Since writing an article called "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant" in the New York Times Magazine last year, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas has been trying to foster conversation about immigration issues. In a speech last week at the Online News Association conference, he announced his plan to track and hopefully influence news organizations away from using the term "illegal" to describe immigrants. Bob asks Vargas why he feels this change in nomenclature is important.

Latin Playboys - Crayon Sun

The New York Times Company has named BBC head Mark Thompson as its president and CEO. The choice — an Englishman with no newspaper experience and little advertising background — seems to indicate the company may be focused on a digital future.

Last Monday, Jeremy W. Peters' article on the front page of The New York Times opened up a conversation about the surprisingly common practice of 'quote approval' - wherein journalists send quotes back to campaign members and government officials after interviews for approval. Dan Rather called it 'jaw-dropping.' Bob investigates why journalists agree to the arrangement and what the press can do to push back.

Walmart, the Arkansas-based retail giant, may bank its brand on family values, but in recent years, the company has faced criticism as its executives try to balance high moral standards with extremely rapid growth. A new investigation from our partner The New York Times investigates a potential corruption scandal, stemming from a network of bribery in the company's Mexico stores. Ben Heineman, senior fellow at Harvard Law School and expert on corporate governance, explains the aftermath for Walmart.

When Jeff Zeleny, National Political Correspondent for our partner The New York Times, asked Rick Santorum about a harsh comment he made about rival Mitt Romney, Santorum lashed out. The exchange was caught on tape by a CBS news camera, and Zeleny joins us with an update on Santorum's words and the political strategy behind them.

Earlier this week the New York Times ran a big multimedia piece online about the growing need for government support in middle class communities. The piece was a two-fold argument. First, the social safety net isn’t just for poor people anymore. Second, the areas that are often receiving the most government support have representatives in government who come from the Tea Party side of the political spectrum.

The story was about the nation as a whole. But in the map graphic that accompanied the piece, something interesting is going on in New York State.

Economic recovery is coming about without sweeping action from Washington. But little decisions along the way are helping, and bigger ones could do even more.

Courtesy of the comptroller's office/Paul Brumlik

In the wake of the (potentially) damning New York Times story this morning, New York City Comptroller John Liu appears to be ratcheting up his defenses. According to WNYC, the comptroller says he's able to prove real human beings gave his 2013 campaign money of their own free will--regardless if the Times says:

"We have copies of signed checks, and signed donor forms by each of these donors," Liu told WNYC on Wednesday. "It's unclear to me how the interviews were conducted by the Times. Nonetheless the donors in question will be further reviewed by my campaign."

Some whispered rumors already being floated are that this could sink Liu's mayoral bid, and perhaps even worse, result in legal action. Of course, if Liu can prove his campaign donations are on the up-and-up ultimately, he'll look like the target of some shoddy reporting and maybe even make him a stronger contender for the mayoralty.

When these numbers came out back in July, Empire plotted them on a map so you could see who was giving what and where. I'm relaunching the map below--see if you can find the questionable donations!

The paper's food critic, Sam Sifton, will become the National Desk Editor after two years of tasting and writing about the city's delicacies.

Courtesy of the Turner campaign

The quote:

“I do have an appreciation for shtick,” Mr. Turner, 70, conceded with a mischievous laugh. “It draws attention to the race and makes the mundane newsworthy.”

Yes, it's been noted on this blog before, as the race at times has felt like an episode of the Springer Show. The piece does go on to give some important insight into Turner's background in television that haven't been looked at in-depth before.

In other Turner news, his campaign reminded us this morning that his opponent, Democrat David Weprin, doesn't actually live in the district and won't be able to vote for himself next Tuesday:

"Bob Turner will be voting for himself next Tuesday morning; I have no idea what Mr. Weprin will be doing at the time," Turner campaign spokesman William O'Reilly said in a statement. "Mr. Weprin doesn't live in the Ninth Congressional District, but he I guess he couldn't resists running to represent it.  Mr. Weprin is a professional politician who evidently runs for everything."

On the Brian Lehrer Show today at 10:06. Audio and a recap of this conversation will be posted here by 1pm.

Joe Nocera, New York Times op-ed columnist, discusses the dip and surge in the market yesterday and the connections between the American economy and the turmoil in European economies.

Seth Mnookin, contributor to New York Magazine, a former senior writer for Newsweek where he covered media, politics, and popular culture, and the author of The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear, looks at how The New York Times became "the last great paper standing," as discussed in this week's New York Magazine cover story.

This weekend, we covered the News of the World phone hacking scandal on our show (for the second time). This story has been developing so quickly that it's been hard to keep up. Fortunately, in yesterday's New York Times, Sarah Lyall took a fascinating look at the tense relationship between British Parliament and the British Tabloids, explaining that recent criticisms of News of the World are certainly uncommon in the British Political firmament.

The National Archives and Records Administration releases the Pentagon Papers in full for the first time today. When the papers were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971, Americans learned the truth behind the U.S.’s involvement in Vietnam for the first time. Exactly 40 years ago, on June 13, 1971, The New York Times published the first in a series of articles based on the Pentagon Papers. The Times' decision to publish the classified documents led to a series of legal battles with the Nixon Administration. The Supreme Court finally decided the case, ruling that under the First Amendment, the Times could freely publish the Pentagon Papers.