In this week's Conversations w/Great Minds Jeff Clements joins Thom Hartmann. Jeff is an attorney, author, is the co-founder of Free Speech for People, a national, non-partisan campaign to challenge the creation of Constitutional rights for corporations, overturn Citizens United v. FEC, and strengthen American democracy and republican self-government. He is the author of the Corporations Are Not People (Berrett-Koehler, 2012).
Susan Jacoby, Journalist/Author, "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism," and most recently, "Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age" is tonight's Greatest Mind. Forty years ago - very few politicians flaunted their religious beliefs for personal gain. So what's changed - and what's given rise to the Christian Right in American politics? Her latest piece is - How The Founders Ensured America Would Not Be a Christian Nation.
The US government freaked out when a Soviet spy claimed that telepathy was possible. The government, and 19 US military and the intelligence communities launched a 20-year research program to investigate whether it would be possible to spy on Russia while sitting on the couch. Some of the experiments were quite unnerving.
Dr. Edwin C. May was part of the research project and shared his experience with Thom during an extended session.
Is it some form of ESP? Space time distortions? Information from the future? The Space Time Continuum?
How are progressive victories built? What is the foundation of the progressive victories of the past, like the New Deal? What foundation will the next progressive victories be built upon?
According to Gar Alperovitz, no progressive victory from the New Deal to the Civil Rights movement came about without activists on the ground building up movements.
Gar Alperovitz, the Co-Founder & Principle of the Democracy Collaborative joins Thom Hartmann to discuss the laboratories of democracy being built from the ground up by activists on the ground right now.
For tonight's special edition of Conversations with Great Minds - Thom is joined by Lamar Waldron. Lamar is an author and historian - and was once called "the ultimate JFK historian and examiner," by Variety Magazine's Liz Smith. His extensive and groundbreaking research has been featured in hundreds of newspapers - and was the subject of two Discovery Channel specials produced by NBC News. Lamar has appeared on CNN, The History Channel and other major television networks. He is the author of several books - including his newest, full of bombshells, Watergate: The Hidden History. June 17th marks the 40th anniversary of the Watergate burglary - and just in time for the anniversary is the arrival of an explosive new book that sheds new light on the scandal and on President Nixon.
Candida Moss The Myth of Persecutions, joins Thom Hartmann.Candida Moss The Myth of Persecutions, joins Thom Hartmann. For tonight's Conversation with Great minds I'm joined by Candida Moss. Candida is the Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Notre Dame and an expert in the role of martyrdom in Christian theology. A renowned scholar in her field of study - she has received recognition for her research from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation - the National Endowment for the Humanities - and the John Templeton Foundation. Her new book - "The Myth of Persecution - How Early Christians Invented A Story of Martyrdom" - reveals the truth behind centuries of Christian persecution stories and is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the mindset of the American religious right.
Chris Mooney, author of four books, including his latest "The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science and Reality" joins Thom Hartmann. His recent articles include pieces on the science of fracking, why people deny science, and how the reality-based community is moving to the left. He is the host of the "Point of Inquiry" podcast and his previous book was the bestselling, "The Republican War on Science".
Dr. Neal Barnard, physician, author, clinical researcher, and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) / author of more than 50 published research papers on nutrition and its impact on human health, and several books, including The 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart (2011), Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes (2007), and Breaking the Food Seduction (2003)
Joe Madison, Joe Madison Show & Human rights activist joins Thom Hartmann. What fuels racism and police brutality in America? Is it politcal rhetoric from the right - or something more deep-seated? And what can we do about it? We'll pose those questions and more to Joe Madison in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds.
Eating organic is all the rage these days - but could it actually help save the planet from climate devastation? As the reality of global climate change continues to sink in - scientists - activists - and lawmakers all across the world are working to find new ways to fight back against greenhouse gas emissions before it's too late. Thom's guest for tonight's Conversations With Great Minds - Tom Newmark - is one such person. A former corporate attorney turned organic farmer - Tom is now at the forefront of the movement to use agriculture to fight global warming. He is the co-founder of the new non-profit the Carbon Underground as well as the co-owner of Finca Luena Nueva - an organic farm in Costa Rica. Tom is also the co-founder of Sacred Seeds - a trustee of the American Botanical Council.
Bernard Lietaer & Jacqui Dunne, co-authors, Rethinking Money join Thom Hartmann. During the past four decades - there have been around 10 countries experiencing some kind of financial or monetary crisis each year. Could turning to alternative currencies help relieve some of the burden that nations are facing today - and improve the global economic outlook?
When the next financial crisis comes - the big banks could save themselves by stealing right out of your checking account. Banking expert Ellen Brown, Public Banking Institute/Web of Debt/The Public Bank Solution will explain how 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!
A special hour with Dr. Reza Aslan, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam / Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth joins Thom Hartmann for a special one hour Conversations w/Great Minds.
For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - we're going to take a closer look at the modern Republican Party and where it's going with one of the foremost experts on the topic. John Kenneth White is a Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America here in Washington, D.C. - where he specializes in political parties and the U.S. presidency. Professor White is also the author of numerous books - including his latest - "What Happened to the Republican Party?: And What It Means for American Presidential Politics."
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!
