But it’s after the interview that the show really begins, when Mr. Lehrer opens the phone lines to listeners, allowing them to hold forth on a bevy of issues, from the hyperlocal (rezoning in their neighborhood, tension in the school district, a late-arriving Access-a-Ride) to the national (why people should stop buying single-use plastics). Topics flow from the wonky (an explainer on early voting) to the whimsical (“Does the New York accent still exist?”).

For the past few weeks, he has been covering the coronavirus pandemic closely, dedicating segments to discussions with doctors, politicians, teachers and a very informed audience. It has been something of a challenge for Mr. Lehrer.

“After 9/11, at least people could come together and support each other in their fears and in their grief,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a situation where there’s a need to support each other and isolate each other at the same time.”

Unable to move around freely, people are spending more time on their devices, getting news and misinformation from social media, which doesn’t help Mr. Lehrer’s cause: trying to keep his community calm, and together.

Brian Lehrer was born in 1952, and grew up in Bayside, Queens, which he calls a relatively homogeneous place: most people were “white, Jewish and middle class.” But the calm of the neighborhood was shattered by the tumult of the late 1960s.

People around him were in turmoil over whether they were going to go to Vietnam. “I had a high draft number,” said Mr. Lehrer, 67, by way of explaining his ability to look at the issue dispassionately.