Thom tackles the rot behind the sale of the Republican party to billionaires and giant corporations- from giving lobbyists total control of government agencies, to Trump's coverups, to climate-change denial, to phony wars- where is this all going? - In the book club today- "Don't Label Me" by Irshad Manji. - A rundown of the latest corruption- Trump appears to be lining us up for a possible war with Venezuela. And meanwhile, the recently-sold CNN appears to have picked a GOP operative and former advisor to Ted Cruz, among others, to head its coverage of the 2020 election. What could go wrong? - Ed Asner plays God in the new play 'God Help Us', written by Firesign Theater alums, and now touring the country. In it, a couple tries to overcome their differences due to the fact that she is conservative, and he is Progressive. Thom chats with the authors of the play and with God himself, in the form of Ed Asner. - Also in the book club today, Thom reads from 'The Tyranny of the Majority' by Lani Guinier. - Thom asks about the chances of having a conversation with a conservative that leads to consensus? Wendy in Ohio has an idea about this. And Marty in Missouri wonders if we can ever come together when Fox news has made a large part of the population delusional. - Bob Ney of Talk Media news, former Republican congressman, shares an insider's view of Republican corruption, oh and by the way- lots of huge corporations including Amazon and Google are claiming a refund on their taxes this year. - And Bob in Missouri puts a bow on it referring back to our fresh new Attorney General William Barr's resume at hiding presidential crimes last time he was Attorney General.

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The science suggests that climate chaos is an impending disaster, and that we must implement policy that hugely cuts the amount of carbon we produce. But, by reforming the way we subsidize the fossil fuel industry, health insurance billionaires, and other malarkey, and by educating Americans and putting them to work in Green industries, we can ultimately come out ahead. -------- Thom debates Elaine Parker of the "Job Creators Network Foundation", a group that objects to using taxes to fund the Green New Deal because it's 'socialism'. If we're going to strip socialism out of America, would she want to start with the Fire Department or Social Security first? -------- Callers look at all the angles and opportunities in the Green New Deal. -------- Ellen Rattner of Talk Media News has

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Arch-Progressive Bernie Sanders is here to announce his run for president in 2020! Thom and he talk strategy and break down the socialist platform for improving America that Bernie proved are popular with millions of moderates- ideas that were previously deemed untouchable by corporate-friendly Democrats. ---------- In the context of Bernie's proposals Thom passionately revisits FDR's fight for the four freedoms- a Progressive view that argues that having a chance to live a worthwhile life rather than being exploited to by the rich is the full definition of freedom. ---------- Thom is excited by Bernie's run, and the way that Bernie has been able to shift the political conversation to give the interests of the common person a chance, a shift away from the hateful manipulative line of crap the big-money conservative propagandists are always pushing. ---------- Thom interviews Karen Hobart Flynn of Common Cause, who are working to support those challenging the illegality of Trump's fake emergency. Callers chime in. ---------- Luke Vargas, Chief Foreign Correspondent of Talk Media News is watching closely the propaganda mission American operatives are stirring up on the border of Venezuela. ---------- Thom's callers celebrate Bernie's new run for president.

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Thom's take on Trump's declaration of emergency- what are the real problems in this country, and what could we be doing about it? --------- Thom asks his listeners what the actual ongoing American emergencies are, and he gets an earful. --------- Thom reads an excerpt from 'Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right'. --------- The conversation continues on what America's real emergencies are. --------- Thom reads from the new book by Richard Wilkerson and Kate Pickett - 'The Inner Level' --------- Howard in New York puts a bow on the supposed state of emergency and the pickle we're in with a corrupt sold-out Supreme Court. 

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CA voters approved an initiative to drop Daylight Savings Time changes. Now other states are considering doing the same. Ben Franklin had nothing to do with this, but LBJ did. Is it time to drop the whole thing? - For the book club, Thom reads from "In Putin's Footsteps: Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia's Eleven Time Zones" by Nina Khrushcheva.  - DST discussion continues. - Andrew Yang asks if Americans are ready to vote for Universal Basic Income in the 2020 Election? - Reading from "The War on Normal People: The Truth About America's Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future" – by Andrew Yang - Greg Palast, the investigative journalist, joins the Thom Hartmann Program to discuss the ongoing coup in Venezuela against the democratically elected government. 

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Guest-host, Jefferson Smith explores the disturbing escalation of the far right with David Neiwert author of Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump. - Igor Volsky, Executive Director of Guns Down America considers what we've learned in the year since the Parkland shooting murders. - Jefferson engages with Noah Smith, author and opinion columnist at Bloomberg News on the practicality of the Green New Deal. - Thom Hartmann Book Club: Thom's reading from Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board – by Vince Houghton - Continuation of interview with Noah Smith. - Talk Media News - Bob Ney, fluent speaker of Farsi and expert on Iran, is our guide on the 'Highway to Hell' as Trump and Netanyahu appear to be orchestrating a possible lead up to war with Iran.

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Guest-host Jefferson Smith fills in for Thom and poses the questions: Is every millionaire a policy failure? Should wealth inequality be the question for the next presidential election? Thom Hartmann Book Club study on The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind by Raghuram Rajan.  Callers weigh in on the question of wealth inequality. Thom Hartmann reads from The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s by William I Hitchcock. Ellen Ratner gives the Talk Media News report.

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Donald Trump's NAFTA renegotiation is creating a backlash among the President's base. After learning of the large carve-outs given to Big Pharma, the white working class is inflamed. Can Democrats use this anger at the president and high drug prescription drug prices to carve out a victory in 2020? Lori Wallach, the executive director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch joins Thom to discuss.

Congressman Mark Pocan, Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus answers listener phone calls with Thom on questions including whether and how POTUS accepts the bipartisan border deal and avoids a second government shutdown.

Luke Vargas gives the Talk Media News report. Debt realities behind positive jobs report. John Bolton's disregard of accurate intelligence reporting on Iran. New studies on hearing damage from tech gadgets. 

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Thom's callers from across the country dive deep with Thom as they contemplate existing American socialist institutions- including the military, schools, the road network, and fire departments. And as AOC and the other Progressives propose America truly educate its people and make sure everyone can see a doctor, what is so dangerous to the rich about creating the same government benefits everyone in Canada, Europe, and Japan already have?

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House Democrats are finally getting a crack at questioning Trump's latest Attorney General, meanwhile over in the Senate they're busy stuffing the federal courts with conservative judges.- Author and thinker Ocean Robins joins Thom for a fascinating discussion on our food system, environmental sustainability, and how to eat healthy. - Thom reads from his own book 'The Last Hours of Humanity- Warming the World to Extinction.' - After science stories, Thom discusses with his listeners the present state of the ongoing climate collapse. - Thom reads from 'The 31 Day Food Revolution' by Ocean Robbins. - Thom's take on the chances for the Green New Deal, AOC, climate change, and equality in our society. - Many topics discussed: public banking to fund the Green New Deal, San Francisco's public bank proposal, AOC for president, jobs created (or not) from the tax cut, Trump's lies, stock buybacks, memories of when we could be proud of our president, AOC's endorsements, global warming, candidates smeared or not smeared, and where is Beto - A quick but insightful run down of world headlines with Chief Foreign Corespondent Luke Vargas, a reporter for Talk Media News. - Loyal listener James says we're all just servants in the minds of the billionaires.

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