Conversations with Great Minds with Tim Carpenter. Tim is the Co-Founder and National Director of Progressive Democrats of America. Tim was a key organizer for the presidential campaigns of Rev. Jesse Jackson and Gov. Jerry Brown - and served as Deputy National Campaign Manager in the Kucinich for President campaign in 2004. In 2007 - Tim was named Progressive Activist of the Year by the Nation magazine.

EXTORTION: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets joins Thom Hartmann.

Thom Hartmann Conversations With Great Minds with Michael Ratner, Pres. The Center for Constitutional Rights Part 2. The Center for Constitutional Rights, which Michael Ratner leads, states that its mission it to defend civil liberties in the US. The group's efforts have included a legal challenge to theUSA PATRIOT Act and a lawsuit on behalf of post-9/11 immigration detainees in the US. The Center also representated Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was sent, orrendered, to Syria, where he was tortured. Ratner and his office have also sued two private military contracting companies in Iraq, alleging their employees were involved in the abuses and torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

Kurt Walters, Public Campaign Action Fund & Bob Edgar, Common Cause & Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America (CWA) all join Thom Hartmann. Imagine how productive Congress would be if the filibuster were a thing of the past. Things would actually get done on Capitol Hill for the benefit of ALL Americans. But is saying goodbye to the filibuster even realistic? For tonight's Bigger Picture discussion we're going to tackle the issue of the filibuster: what it is, it's history, how it's been used, and what are the current political dynamics shaping filibuster reform.

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!

Turn on the news these days and you're bound to hear some kind of fretting about millennials and their views on the world. Usually - the conversation revolves around questions like "why are millennials so lazy?" or "why do they spend so much time on social media?" - and while questions like that are kind of trite - they have a point. Millennials ARE different from other generations. Very - different in fact - especially when it comes to politics. My guest for tonight's Conversations with Great Minds has tried to find out why. Joining me now now is David Cahn. David is a journalist - an activist - a national leader of the Junior State of America - and an experienced campaign organizer. He also writes for the Huffington Post and along with his brother Jack - is the co-author of "When Millennials Rule: The Reshaping of America."

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. Douglas Rushkoff, "Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now" joins Thom Hartmann.Our addiction to cell phones, tablets and other high-tech gadgets has caused us to start living for the moment - and to lose our sense of a past and future. How can we better adapt to a high-tech world - and strike a balance between living in the now - and living with a past and future?