When Will America Fall - Like the Roman Empire? The fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE is well known. Less well known, is whether the US will fall this century. Edward J Watts book ‘Mortal Republic’ covers the Roman Republic and how Rome fell into tyranny and discusses with Thom whether the American Empire will decline. The historian covers the Roman Empire fall and the possible decline of the American Empire.

The Frederick Douglass Story. American Slavery (w/ David W. Blight) The definitive, dramatic biography of the most important African American of the nineteenth century, Frederick Douglass. Author David W. Blight joined Thom to discuss American slavery, Frederick Douglass and his book, Prophet of Freedom.



Great Minds - Richard Wolff - Here Are The Alternatives To Capitalism... Economist Dr. Richard Wolff, Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown/Democracy At Work/The New School, joins Thom. Is the neverending recovery of the Great Recession the fault of austerity or the fault of capitalism itself? For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Great Minds - Richard Wolff - The System-wide Crisis of Capitalism Economist Dr. Richard Wolff, Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown/Democracy At Work/The New School, joins Thom. Is the neverending recovery of the Great Recession the fault of austerity or the fault of capitalism itself? For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!



Great Minds P1: Why Trump Won't End Up A Footnote in History Professor Kevin O'Leary PhD, Research Fellow-Center for the Study of Democracy, University of California, Irvine / Author-Trump and the Roots of Rage: The Republican Right and the Authoritarian Threat joins Thom. Even if he loses in November - Donald Trump won't just end up as a footnote in history. The terrifying reason why in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds. For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Great Minds P2: Libertarians Are For Freedom But ONLY For the Rich Professor Kevin O'Leary PhD, Research Fellow-Center for the Study of Democracy, University of California, Irvine / Author-Trump and the Roots of Rage: The Republican Right and the Authoritarian Threat joins Thom. Even if he loses in November - Donald Trump won't just end up as a footnote in history. The terrifying reason why in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds. For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!



Great Minds P1: David Bollier Explains What the Commons Is & Is Not….. In our hyper-capitalist, neo-liberal world, belief in the superiority of private property and the free market verges on the religious. In the case of the Republican Party - it borders on the fundamentalist. But as powerful as the idea of the free market might be - especially here in the United States - the truth is that it's not the only way or organizing our society There is a real alternative to the endless commodification of resources and accumulation of wealth. It’s called The Commons - and my guest for tonight's Conversations with Great Minds is one of the world's foremost experts on it. Joining me now is David Bollier - Activist -Co-Founder of the Commons Strategies Group - and author numerous books - including "Think Like a Commoner: A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons." For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Great Minds P2: David Bollier - Think Like A Commoner…. In our hyper-capitalist, neo-liberal world, belief in the superiority of private property and the free market verges on the religious. In the case of the Republican Party - it borders on the fundamentalist. But as powerful as the idea of the free market might be - especially here in the United States - the truth is that it's not the only way or organizing our society There is a real alternative to the endless commodification of resources and accumulation of wealth. It’s called The Commons - and my guest for tonight's Conversations with Great Minds is one of the world's foremost experts on it. Joining me now is David Bollier - Activist -Co-Founder of the Commons Strategies Group - and author numerous books - including "Think Like a Commoner: A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons." For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!



Great Minds P1 - The Two Santa Claus Theory Exposed If the 2016 presidential race has proven anything - it's that for Republicans - the facts simply don't matter. Since day one of his campaign - Donald Trump has been making stuff up - and he's now - according to some polls - beating Hillary Clinton - someone who's inarguably one of - if not the most - qualified person ever to run for president. This is shocking - but it should surprise absolutely no one. The Republican Paryt has been living in a world outside the bounds of reason for a long time now. What we're seeing now is just the culmination of a decades-long trend. Which raises the question - how did we get in the situation we're in right now - where one political party, the conservative one, lives in a fantasy world? Joining me now for tonight's Conversations with Great Minds is JP Bernbach - author of the new book "Beyond Reason: Debunking Conservative Lies, Delusions, and Falsehoods and What You Really Need to Know Before You Vote." JP is a board member of the Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century - a former spokesperson for the Democrats Abroad. For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Great Minds P2 - The Scorched Earth GOP Plan If the 2016 presidential race has proven anything - it's that for Republicans - the facts simply don't matter. Since day one of his campaign - Donald Trump has been making stuff up - and he's now - according to some polls - beating Hillary Clinton - someone who's inarguably one of - if not the most - qualified person ever to run for president. This is shocking - but it should surprise absolutely no one. The Republican Paryt has been living in a world outside the bounds of reason for a long time now. What we're seeing now is just the culmination of a decades-long trend. Which raises the question - how did we get in the situation we're in right now - where one political party, the conservative one, lives in a fantasy world? Joining me now for tonight's Conversations with Great Minds is JP Bernbach - author of the new book "Beyond Reason: Debunking Conservative Lies, Delusions, and Falsehoods and What You Really Need to Know Before You Vote." JP is a board member of the Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century - a former spokesperson for the Democrats Abroad. For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!



Great Minds P1 - How Overfishing Is Changing Marine Ecosystems Bunny McDiarmid, Executive Director, Greenpeace International, joins Thom. Earlier today President Barack Obama created the Atlantic Ocean's first United States marine monument - called the Northeast Cannons and Seamounts Marine national Monument. President Obama made the announcement at an ocean conservation meeting earlier today - shortly after he issued a proclamation protecting an area of ocean off the coast of Cape Cod with a total area roughly equal to the size of Connecticut. The move comes after a week of disturbing news about the world's oceans. One recent report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature shows that the oceans have absorbed much of the energy that's been added to Earth's atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels into the atmosphere. Another recent study published in "Global Biogeochemical Cycles" shows how all of the CO2 that we've dumped into the atmosphere is causing the oceans to acidify - which is having profound negative impacts on deep-sea shell-forming organisms like sea urchins and snails. And another study from Stanford University showed that larger marine animals are going extinct faster than smaller animals - marking "a pattern that is unprecedented in the history of life on Earth, and one that is likely driven by human fishing." How urgent are these threats to our oceans - and what type of efforts will it take to avoid an oceanic mass extinction event? And what will it take to go even further - to repair our ocean's ecosystems? For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Great Minds P2 - Are Our Oceans Now At A Tipping Point? Bunny McDiarmid, Executive Director, Greenpeace International, joins Thom. Bunny McDiarmid, Executive Director, Greenpeace International, joins Thom. Earlier today President Barack Obama created the Atlantic Ocean's first United States marine monument - called the Northeast Cannons and Seamounts Marine national Monument. President Obama made the announcement at an ocean conservation meeting earlier today - shortly after he issued a proclamation protecting an area of ocean off the coast of Cape Cod with a total area roughly equal to the size of Connecticut. The move comes after a week of disturbing news about the world's oceans. One recent report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature shows that the oceans have absorbed much of the energy that's been added to Earth's atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels into the atmosphere. Another recent study published in "Global Biogeochemical Cycles" shows how all of the CO2 that we've dumped into the atmosphere is causing the oceans to acidify - which is having profound negative impacts on deep-sea shell-forming organisms like sea urchins and snails. And another study from Stanford University showed that larger marine animals are going extinct faster than smaller animals - marking "a pattern that is unprecedented in the history of life on Earth, and one that is likely driven by human fishing." How urgent are these threats to our oceans - and what type of efforts will it take to avoid an oceanic mass extinction event? And what will it take to go even further - to repair our ocean's ecosystems? For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!



Great Minds P1: Medea Benjamin - Why Is Saudi Arabia A Key US Ally? Medea Benjamin, Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection/CODEPINK/Global Exchange joins Thom. The United States is supposedly the world's last great hope for democracy. So why does it work so closely with Saudi Arabia - one of the world's most brutal theocracies? The answer in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds with Medea Benjamin. For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Great Minds P2: Medea Benjamin Compares Saudi Labor System to Slavery Medea Benjamin, Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection/CODEPINK/Global Exchange joins Thom. The United States is supposedly the world's last great hope for democracy. So why does it work so closely with Saudi Arabia - one of the world's most brutal theocracies? The answer in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds with Medea Benjamin. For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!



Great Minds P1: Sarah Jaffe - What Makes Today's Protests Different? Sarah Jaffe, NECESSARY TROUBLE: Americans in Revolt/Nation Institute/Belabored Podcast/Dissent Magazine joins Thom. When Bernie Sanders emerged earlier this year as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination - many mainstream pundits were caught off guard. They simply could not understand how a self-described socialist was close to beating Hillary Clinton. Well - they couldn't understand because they hadn't been paying attention. Contrary to what the talking heads on cable news thought - Bernie's campaign wasn't some kind of magical explosion of populism. It was an extension of the surge in political activism that has emerged out of the 2008 financial crisis - a phenomenon that has seen Americans of all races taking to streets in a way we haven't seen in decades. My next guest has written about this movement in depth - and has traveled across the country to learn from the leaders of this new era in American activism. Joining me now for tonight's Conversations with Great Minds is journalist Sarah Jaffe - author of the new book "Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt." Sarah is also a Fellow at the Nation Institute and the Host of the "Belabored" Podcast for Dissent Magazine. For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Great Minds P2: Sarah Jaffe - What’s Different About Class Politics Today? Sarah Jaffe, NECESSARY TROUBLE: Americans in Revolt/Nation Institute/Belabored Podcast/Dissent Magazine joins Thom. When Bernie Sanders emerged earlier this year as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination - many mainstream pundits were caught off guard. They simply could not understand how a self-described socialist was close to beating Hillary Clinton. Well - they couldn't understand because they hadn't been paying attention. Contrary to what the talking heads on cable news thought - Bernie's campaign wasn't some kind of magical explosion of populism. It was an extension of the surge in political activism that has emerged out of the 2008 financial crisis - a phenomenon that has seen Americans of all races taking to streets in a way we haven't seen in decades. My next guest has written about this movement in depth - and has traveled across the country to learn from the leaders of this new era in American activism. Joining me now for tonight's Conversations with Great Minds is journalist Sarah Jaffe - author of the new book "Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt." Sarah is also a Fellow at the Nation Institute and the Host of the "Belabored" Podcast for Dissent Magazine. For more information on the stories we've covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com - freespeech.org - and RT.com. You can also watch tonight's show on Hulu - at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And - be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

