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The Brian Lehrer Show

Friday, June 13, 2008
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    Family Affair

    The ability to help family is common in the animal kingdom. But they don’t have a monopoly on it. Some plants have evolved to recognize their kin – and attack their enemies. We talk about the secret social lives of plants with evolutionary biologist Susan Dudley. And: learn how one father home-schooled his son—and strengthened their relationship—with three movies a week. Also: the latest campaign news, and Pete Sampras on his life in tennis.

McCain in Manhattan

Last night John McCain held a town hall meeting in Manhattan, and WNYC's political director Andrea Bernstein was there. She talks about his New York visit--plus the latest campaign news.

Follow Up Friday: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Part Deux

Jaydee Hanson, policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety, an advocacy group and frequent critic of the Food and Drug Administration, says the agency is better at making food safety plans than implementing them.

Follow Up Friday: Family Ties

Earlier this week we talked about tomatoes, chicken, and beef. Now, Susan Dudley, an evolutionary plant biologist at McMaster University in Ontario, talks about her research into the surprisingly complex social lives of plants.

Life's A Racket

Tennis legend Pete Sampras talks about his new book and his life on the hard-court.

The Beautiful Struggle

What does it take for a father to raise black boys in 1980's West Baltimore? Just ask Ta-Nehisi Coates. His new book, The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood, details how his father raised him and his siblings under otherwise bleak circumstances.

Home Movies

When novelist and film critic David Gilmour saw his son, Jesse Gilmour, begin to struggle in the classroom, he implemented an unusual strategy: he let his son drop out of school if Jesse would watch three movies a week with him. He talks about their story in his new memoir, The Film Club.

Open Phones: Father's Day

We're all struggling to find that perfect gift. What do you recommend?

Junior Senator

The Brian Lehrer Show

Glenn Thrush, senior Congressional correspondent for Politico.com, talks about potential replacements for Hillary Clinton in the Senate, once she's confirmed as Secretary of State.

Mumbai Monday

The Brian Lehrer Show

The Mumbai terrorist attacks have caused shockwaves that reach communities here in New York. How are south Asian immigrants coping with the crisis? Plus, on January 20th, Barack Obama will become the first black president, but he’s already the most prominent black father in America. Is he setting a new standard for African-American parenthood?

Baby Blues

The Brian Lehrer Show

Alex Kuczynski, New York Times style writer and the author of Beauty Junkies: Inside Our $15 Billion Obsession with Cosmetic Surgery (Doubleday, 2006), talks about her recent NYT Magazine article "Her Body, My Baby" and her experience having a child through a surrogate.

Maya Angelou

The Brian Lehrer Show

Poet-activist Maya Angelou, author of Letter to My Daughter (Random House, 2008), on the significance of the Obama presidency and more.

Digesting Politics

A weekly podcast with Brian Lehrer and Andrea Bernstein

New Episode Posted November 13
Eavesdrop on Andrea Bernstein and Brian Lehrer, two of the most political savvy minds around, as they eat lunch and break down the week’s political activities.

Video Picks

The Brian Lehrer Show

See video highlights from The Brian Lehrer Show plus Brian's weekly video picks.