David Rothkopf, Author of the new book "Power, Inc.:The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Government--and the Reckoning That Lies Ahead" joins Thom Hartmann. Striking a balance between private and public power is a major goal for society today - and correctly reaching it will help us prosper in the 21st century. So how do we achieve this balance?

Dr. Michael Mann, Climate Scientist / Professor & Director-Penn State Earth System Science Center / Author-"Dire Predictions" and "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars" joins Thom Hartmann. Despite clear evidence of climate change occurring - the number of climate change deniers in this country is on the rise. Who is bankrolling the phony science behind the deniers - and why is there a war on scientific freedom underway in America?

Capitalism is in crisis, again. Do the writings of Karl Marx still have relevance as to why? Historian & Sociologist Robin Blackburn of the New Left Review joins Thom to discuss.

This Sunday will mark the one year anniversary of the beginning of the Fukushima nuclear disaster - and a year on - the disaster continues to devastate the people and nation of Japan. Towns and cities within miles of the Fukushima plant are still covered in a fine layer of radioactive dust - and have been turned into nuclear wastelands - devoid of life. Those lucky enough to have survived the earthquake and tsunami are now battling radiation poisoning and and the probability of cancer and birth defects. As hundreds of thousands of people across the world prepare to commemorate the tragedy over the course of the next month - we need to ask ourselves - is nuclear power really worth enduring such a horrible and deadly disaster? Will there ever be a way to make nuclear power a safe form of energy - or do we need to move away from it all together? Tonight we have a special edition of Conversations with Great Minds - featuring Stephanie Cooke. Stephanie is one of the world's top reporters and authors on the issues of nuclear energy and the use and history of nuclear weapons and is a real industry insider. Her articles on nuclear topics have appeared in a variety of publications - including Readers Digest - The International Herald Tribune - and GQ magazine. Stephanie first began her reporting career in 1977 at the Associated Press - and later moved to London where she covered the Chernobyl disaster for Business Week. She returned to the United States in 2004 to complete her most recent book, "In Mortal Hands: A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age." Currently - Stephanie is the editor of Nuclear Intelligence Weekly - part of the Energy Intelligence Group.

Nancy Cohen, PhD, Author - "Delirium: How the Sexual Counterrevolution is Polarizing America." joins Thom Hartmann. The battles over marriage equality and birth control are more than just contentious political debates. They're part of a larger movement that has engulfed Washington for the past 40 years...

Corey Robin, Associate Professor, Political Science-Brooklyn College joins Thom Hartmann. His most recent book is The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin. Corey Robin walks through the history of conservatism, examining key figures, such as Edmund Burke and Phyllis Schlafly. What makes a Conservative tick? What's at the very heart of the Conservative ideology?

For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - Thom is joined by Michael W. Hudson. Mike is a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and was also an investigator for the Center for Responsible Lending. His writing has appeared in the publications like Forbes Magazine - the New York Times and Mother Jones. And much of that writing has been devoted to the foreclosure and mortgage crisis still plaguing the nation today - as well as the corruption in the big banks on Wall Street that underlie our current financial crisis. Mike is widely recognized for his work - and has been awarded the George Polk Award for magazine reporting - the John Hancock Award for business journalism and has received multiple accolades from the National Press Club and American Bar Association, among others. Currently - Mike is a Business and Finance writer with The Center for Public Integrity - and is the author of the book, "The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers.

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).

David Cobb, Democracy Unlimited & Move to Amend joins Thom Hartmann. This week - Portland, Maine became the latest city in America to pass a resolution calling on Congress to amend the Constitution to overturn Citizens United and declare that corporations are not people. Joining a long line of other cities from Los Angeles to Boulder to New York that have passed similar resolutions. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - Thom Hartmann is joined by a man who's been intrumental in raising awareness of this issue - and organizing today's Occupy the Courts rallies across America - David Cobb. He is a lawyer, political activist, and engaged citizen. He has sued corporate polluters, lobbied elected officials, run for political office himself, and even been arrested for non-violent civil disobedience. Currently, David is the National Projects Director of Democracy Unlimited - and he's the Spokesperson for Move to Amend - the organization that spearheaded today's day of action. And in 2004 - David was the Green Party's candidate for President.

For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds I sit down with Gunnar Tomasson. Gunnar was originally born in Iceland - but now resides in nearby Maryland. He studied at both the University of Manchester and Harvard University - before going on to become a senior staff member with the International Monetary Fund from 1966 to 1989. Currently - Gunnar is a financial consultant - and with global markets around the world in turmoil - and the nation of Iceland taking a unique approach to shoring up its' economy - he can offer some much needed insight into solutions to get us all out of this mess. He knows a thing or two about world economies, their debts and the revolutions that followed bankrupt countries. He'll cover the collapse of Iceland and what can we can learn from that.