His daily two-hour 2007 Peabody Award-winning program,[1] The Brian Lehrer Show, features interviews with newsmakers and experts about current events and social issues.

His parents, both children of Jewish immigrants from Poland, grew up in the South Bronx and met in high school.

[2] The show was conceived in part as a response to the 1987 abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcast license holders to portray controversial topics in a balanced and equitable manner.

Sometimes guests are less-famous individuals affected by the news, like Brooklyn residents on the site of giant housing developments or neighbors of noisy Manhattan night clubs.

Prominent political guests include Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mitch McConnell, and Kellyanne Conway.

[6] The show won a 2007 Peabody Award "for facilitating reasoned conversation about critical issues and opening it up to everyone within earshot.

[10] From October 2017–May 2018, Lehrer hosted the weekly CUNY TV show "Brian Talks New York".

[6] During his tenure as host of NPR's On the Media, the national program was named "Best Weekly Show" by the Public Radio News Directors in 1999.