The Brian Lehrer Show

Liza Mundy, writer for The Atlantic, helps wrap up marriage week by examining changing norms of marriage and giving examples of what straight married people can learn from gay couples.

→ Update: This segment aired Friday morning. On Saturday evening, George Zimmerman was found not guilty. We're taking your reaction on facebook, and will discuss (and take your calls) Monday morning. As the trial of George Zimmerman comes to a close, we convene a conversation about what the trial is saying - or not saying - about race in America. How much is the trial about the particulars of the case, and how much does the trial speak to questions of race, fear, violence, masculinity, and more? Gene Denby, lead blogger for NPR's Code Switch blog, and Jelani Cobb, professor at the University of Connecticut, who's been writing about the Zimmerman trial for The New Yorker, help guide the discussion.

Erin Barnes, co-founder and executive director of ioby.org, and Dong-Ping Wong, a founding partner of the design firm Family and one of the designers behind +POOL, discuss the crowd funding of civic projects--including the +POOL and public projects funded through ioby.

We're watching two stories related to national security and counter-terrorism efforts. Arun Rath, reporter for "Frontline" and PRI's "The World" discusses the trail of Wikileaks leaker Bradley Manning, and the ongoing hunger strike (and force-feeding of prisoners) at Guantanamo.

Andy Pasztor, senior special writer for The Wall Street Journal covering aviation and space, updates the latest on the crash of Asiana Flight 214 in San Francisco.

Byron Dorgan, Former U.S. Senator and author of Gridlock (Forge Books, 2013), discusses his new novel about cyberterrorism and energy security, and its real-world implications. Plus: his take on the latest news from Washington. Excerpt from GRIDLOCK Prologue Along the Iran- Turkmenistan Border  LIEUTENANT MOSHEN HAMIDI, the slighter of the two men dressed in winter camos, raised his hand for his partner to pull up so that he could recheck the GPS receiver for the third time in less than a half hour. They were in the foothills one hundred kilometers north of Mashad and within a kilometer or two of their rendezvous point. The night was bitterly cold and dark under a deeply overcast sky, no lights from any civilization in any direction. They could have been on the moon. He was twenty- seven, short even for an Iranian, with the dark good looks that his wife of five years still found devastating, and a quick mind that had put him on the fast track through university and then basic training at VEVAK, the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security’s School One outside of Tehran. He’d specialized at first in communications services including methods of encryption, until a supervisor had noticed that Hamidi was good with his hands, very good, and in personal combat exercises he never lost. From the start he became known as the dark ghost, because he was too elusive ever to be reached by a knife or club or fist, but when he struck it was with an almost otherworldly speed and force. And he never showed fear until this mission, which was classified top secret. “Failure is not an option,” Colonel Dabir had warned two days ago. They had met in civilian clothes downtown at a coffee bar that was never frequented by anyone in government. Hamidi had not questioned his orders, but the colonel had told him in a lowered voice that the need- to- know list was extremely small. The nature of the mission was such that no blame could ever come back to anyone in the republic, not even to anyone in VEVAK. “Take one man with you, but he is to be told nothing except that you are meeting with a Russian intelligence officer who will bring a computer thumb drive to the border, for which you will pay him one million dollars U.S. When you have it you will return back here to Mashad, to this very place, where I will be waiting.” “Am I to be told what is on this thumb drive?” “Only that it is potentially more important than your life, or mine, and the sooner you bring it to me the sooner I can send it out of the country to a client.” The colonel was nominally in charge of Section One, which dealt only with Israeli matters, but everyone suspected that some years ago he had carved out his own Special Operations Section that answered directly to President Ahmadinejad and no one else. And right now, with the troubles between the president and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the colonel’s position was precarious. “Succeed and you will make captain.” “And if I fail?” “You do not want to consider the consequences, for you and your wife and child,” the colonel had warned. They had driven from Mashad late last night, stopping just outside of the small border settlement of KabudGombad and going the rest of the way on foot. It was nearly two in the morning and a light breeze had sprung up making the spring morning feel even colder. “Are we close, Lieutenant?” Sergeant Ali Alani asked. He was twenty- four and built like a short, dark, very dangerous military weapon, which he was. He complained constantly, never smiled, never cracked a joke, but he was completely, even sometimes overwhelmingly, loyal. Hamidi waited until his GPS unit settled down and displayed a latitude and longitude in a box below the map screen which showed they were twelve hundred meters out, on a correct track. Providing the Russian they were to meet was on time and at the correct meeting place, they would make the exchange and be on the way back home. “A little over a kilometer,” Hamidi said, pointing to t

Emily Yoffe, Dear Prudence columnist for Slate, continues her summer advice series and joins us for today's installment on marriage. She takes listeners' questions on thorny ethical issues and etiquette questions and offers her advice. This week: questions about marriage - monogamy, infidelity and the gray areas in between. Have advice about this situation? Post it below! Need advice?  Post your own dilemma here and maybe you'll join Emily on the air next week!

WNYC reporter, Cindy Rodriguez, discusses her reporting which found that the rent burden has become greater during the Bloomberg years.   

It's time to catch up on the latest news from the Garden State. Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Matt Katz talks about the the special election to fill New Jersey's senate seat, Christie's re-election bid, the decision to rebuild dunes along the shore, and the marriage equality lawsuit.

Eliot Spitzer gave himself only a few days to get 3,750 people to sign the petition to get him on the ballot in the New York City Comptroller race. Were you approached by a Spitzer supporter and asked to sign the petition? Did you do it? Call us up and tell us about your interaction and how you made your decision about whether to sign. 212-433-9692

In the latest installment of this week's series on marriage, Paul Taylor, executive vice president of Pew Research Center, talks about what we can learn about the state of marriage by looking at who gets hitched, particularly when it comes to money and class.  

We're opening the phones for you to explain something to your fellow WNYC listeners. Do you just "get" something most other people find complicated? Have you done the research and figured things out? If you think you can explain something complicated or often misunderstood - in 60 seconds or less - call in. Maybe you know exactly what the Citizens United ruling does and want to explain it to everyone. Maybe you really get what 2001: A Space Odyssey is about, and can break it down in under a minute. Did you once have a teacher brilliantly definite solipsism, or describe exactly why the dinosaurs went extinct? If you can explain something - anything - clearly and simply, call 212-433-9692 or post below. No heavy opinion, no political rants, just compelling information and succinct clarification. Screening Room: Our Favorite Explainer Videos

Single parents: Give advice or ask for advice about parenting on your own. If you have a question for another single parent, call 212-433-9692. We'll pair you up and have you discusses the challenges and triumphs of raising a kid solo.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer talks about his newly announced competition for the office of NYC Comptroller and his plans for the office. [View the story "Comptroller Candidate Scott Stringer" on Storify]

The Obama administration announced a delay in the provision requiring larger businesses to cover their employees under Obamacare, but many other parts of the plan are moving forward. Kate Nocera, BuzzFeed reporter, talks about the latest on the healthcare reform package, and her reporting on the Freelancers Union position.