In tonight's “Conversations with Great Minds" Thom discusses what a post carbon planet would look like with the Post Carbon Institute’s Richard Heinberg, author of the book "Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future.”

Pamela Haag PhD, The Gunning Of America: Business and the Making of American Gun Culture. Many Americans - even those who want more gun control - probably think that America's gun culture is something - well - uniquely American. Regulations might stop some shootings - the thinking goes - but they'll never undo the fact that Americans love guns - and have loved them ever since the pioneer days. Guns are just part of our cultural DNA - and there's nothing we can do about it. But is that really the case?

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!

Anya Kamenetz, author "Generation Debt" and most recently "DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education" / staff writer for Fast Company magazine / Contributor-Huffington Post. As the costs of higher education continue to soar - what innovative and alternative ways are there for Americans to obtain a quality education at an affordable price?

Marianne Engelman Lado, Earthjustice & Alexis Baden Mayer, Organic Consumers Association & David Murphy, Food Democracy Now
This past week - two counties in Oregon passed laws banning GMO's - much to the dismay of genetically modified food companies like Monsanto. Where does the fight to ban GMOs stand today - and how can Americans fight back against mountains of corporate cash from the GM industry?

James Risen, Pay Any Price: Greed, Power and Endless War joins Thom Hartmann. 13 years after 9/11 - the War on Terror has turned into a massive moneymaking scheme for America's oligarchs. How did this happen - and what can we do to change it?

My guest for tonight's Conversations with Great Minds is one of the world's leading political scientists. Currently the Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University - Robert D. Putnam, who has been called "the most influential academic in the world." He has advised three U.S. presidents - and has won a number of distinguished awards. Professor Putnam's 2000 book Bowling Alone is considered a classic of its kind - an was a national besteller. His new book - "Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis" - is a fascinating and challenging look at our nation's deep crisis of opportunity.

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!

For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - Thom is joined by Gerald Posner. Gerald Posner was one of the youngest attorneys ever hired by the Wall Street law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and is the author of eleven books - including New York Times bestsellers - and one a finalist for the Pulitzer in History. Gerald has written dozens of articles for national magazines and papers and has been a regular contributor to a variety of television networks. He's also the author of the new book, "God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican."

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!