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!

Lots of politicians lie to try to white wash their public image. But what about the lies that they actually believe - and tell to voters? We'll be talking to Ari Rabin-Havt about his new book "Lies, Incorporate" 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!

If the rise of Donald turmp and Bernie Sanders is any indication - Americans are sick and tired of the establishment and the powers that be. So how can we break through those powers and make a better country for all? I'll ask legendary consumer right advocate and 5 time presidential candidate Ralph Nader in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds. Check out BreakingThroughPower.org.

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!

Seymour Hersh, The Killing of Osama bin Laden, joins Thom. Seymour Hersh, The Killing of Osama bin Laden, joins Thom. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds I'm joined by one of America's most importatn journalists - legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh. Mr. Hersh has broken some of the most important stories of the past half century - and his revelations abou the My Lai Massacre and Abu Ghraib prison quite literally changed the course of American and world history. He's also won numerous awards for his work - including the Pulitzer Prize - and is also the author of a number of books - including his latest "The Killing of Osama Bin Laden" - a deep dive into the real story of the Obama year.

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. William Ferguson "Fergie" Reid, Sr., M.D., Civil Rights Pioneer/90For90 & Dr. William Ferguson Reid, Jr., M.D., 90For90 joins Thom. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds I'm joined by two generations of activists. Dr. William Ferguson Reid, Sr. is a civil rights icon and a true American hero. A former Marine and trained physician - he was the first African-American elected to the Virginia Assembly since Reconstruction and played a pivotal role in that state's Civil Rights Movement by founding the Richmond Crusade for Voters in 1956. Dr. Reid is still fighting for equal rights more than half a century later - and recently founded the the 90 for 90 Campaign to help get out the vote in his native Virginia. Dr. Reid's Son - William Ferguson Reid, Jr. - is also a trained physician and is helping carry his father's legacy on to the next generation of activists.

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!