Jane Mayer, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right/The New Yorker Magazine joins Thom. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - I'm talking to Jane Mayer - who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1995 and is the author of three bestselling books. She’s also been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship - the John Chancellor Award - the George Polk Award - the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting - and the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence. Her latest book is "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right.

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 - I'm joined by one of America's leading experts on nutrition - someone who's been a big influence on people looking to lead healthy lives - including me! Dr. Michael Greger is a licensed Medical Doctor in general practice specializing in clinical nutrition - and a founding member and fellow at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He's also the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States, and the founder of the Nutrition Facts dot org blog. Dr. Greger is also the author of a number of bestselling books - including his latest "How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease.”

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!

Dr. Clarence Lusane, Howard University/District of Columbia Commission on African American Affairs/The Black History of the White House joins Thom. Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice both played a prominent role in the one of the most destructive presidencies in American history. How did the Bush administration use their racial idenitity to justify its adventures abroad? I'll ask Professor Clarence Lusane 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!

As vicious as the 2016 presidential has become - it could never lead to another civil war. Or could it? The answer in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds with renowned historian and literary critic David S. Reynolds , City University of New York (CUNY)/Lincoln's Selected Writings.

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!

It's now been 5 years since the Fukushima nuclear disaster. How much have we learned - and how well-prepared for the next meltdown? That and more in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds with veteran anti-nuclear activists Paul Gunther and Kevin Kamps.

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!

Thomas Frank, Listen, Liberal...Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? (Also by Thomas Frank: Pity The Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew and What's the Matter with Kansas? For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - we're going to take a closer look at what happened to the Democratic Party. From the New Deal until the middle part of the 20th century - the Democratic Party - like most left or center left parties the world over - was the party of the people. It was the home of unions - social security - medicare - and American working and middle-classes. But then something strange started happening. Over the course of the 1970s - the 1980s - and then the 1990s - the Democrats - well - they got a lot less democratic. They were still "liberal" - or said they were - but they now got their economic policies from Wall Street - and their trade policies from multinational corporations. And that was just the beginning. Then came school "reform" - welfare "reform" - the bankruptcy bill - the bailout. What happened? What happened to the party of FDR - Henry Wallace - and Lyndon Johnson? When did that party disappear and become the party of Bill Clinton - Tim Geithner and Larry Summers? Joining me now to help answer these questions and more is Thomas Frank, founding editor of the Baffler - contributor to Salon and author of numerous books - including his latest - "Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?”

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!

Thomas Frank, Listen, Liberal...Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? (Also by Thomas Frank: Pity The Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew and What's the Matter with Kansas? For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - we're going to take a closer look at what happened to the Democratic Party. From the New Deal until the middle part of the 20th century - the Democratic Party - like most left or center left parties the world over - was the party of the people. It was the home of unions - social security - medicare - and American working and middle-classes. But then something strange started happening. Over the course of the 1970s - the 1980s - and then the 1990s - the Democrats - well - they got a lot less democratic. They were still "liberal" - or said they were - but they now got their economic policies from Wall Street - and their trade policies from multinational corporations. And that was just the beginning. Then came school "reform" - welfare "reform" - the bankruptcy bill - the bailout. What happened? What happened to the party of FDR - Henry Wallace - and Lyndon Johnson? When did that party disappear and become the party of Bill Clinton - Tim Geithner and Larry Summers? Joining me now to help answer these questions and more is Thomas Frank, founding editor of the Baffler - contributor to Salon and author of numerous books - including his latest - "Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?”

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!