Brian Lehrer

Brian Lehrer, host of WNYC, New York Public Radio's highly-acclaimed daily talk and call-in show, "The Brian Lehrer Show," has been an anchor and host of broadcast news and information programs for over 20 years. Time Magazine has proclaimed Lehrer's show "New York City's most thoughtful and informative talk show," while The Daily News called it "The sane alternative in talk radio."

The show addresses the critical news and cultural issues of the day, with stimulating conversations with politicians, journalists and authors, agenda-setters, newsmakers, and the show's listeners.  Guests have ranged from Senators Clinton and Schumer and Mayors Bloomberg, Giuliani and Dinkins to international figures such as Reverend Desmond Tutu and Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to novelists such as Isabel Allende and Amy Tan, to homeless New Yorkers and junior high school students. The show airs weekdays from 10am-noon on WNYC, New York Public Radio, FM 93.9 and AM 820.

Lehrer has been hosting the show, originally entitled "On The Line," since its inception in 1989. Prior, Lehrer was an anchor and reporter for the NBC Radio Networks, from 1982-1989.

In a Pace University Poll asking New Yorkers to rate “media celebrities” in 2004, Lehrer had the highest approval:disapproval ratio – better than 3:1 - of the eight celebrities rated. The others rated in the poll were Michael Moore, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Al Franken, Howard  Stern, Don Imus, and Bill O’Reilly.

His op-ed pieces have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, The Daily News, The Star-Ledger, The New York Sun, and on Slate.com.  His WNYC commentaries are also distributed globally on the npr.org website.

Lehrer was a questioner in WABC-TV's New York City Mayoral Debates in 1997 and 2001, and is co-moderator for 2005's first broadcast mayoral forum in April on NY1.  He has appeared on television as a commentator on CNN, Fox Newschannel, WNET Channel 13, and hosted live news-based call-in shows on WNYC-TV and WNET-TV from 1990-1998.

Lehrer's many awards as a host, author and documentarian include honors from the Associated Press New York Broadcasters, Public Radio News Directors Association, The New York Press Club, The New York Public Library, and others.

Lehrer holds Master's degrees in public health from Columbia University and journalism from The Ohio State University, and a Bachelor's in music and mass communications from the State University of New York at Albany.