The Hartmann Report

Purdue Pharma is considering bankruptcy to escape suits over promoting drugs including Oxycontin. Today, Thom holds a fascinating debate with conservative author Julio Rivera- how far is a corporation responsible for its actions? Thom asks if there is a parallel between Purdue and the fossil fuel industry. ------ Thom further explores how deeply the corruption goes with Stephen A. Schiller, author...

Thom wonders what it will take for Republicans to wake up and admit that Trump is a criminal who is bad for America. ------- Thom asks when Democrats will stop listening to Republicans for policy advice, and argues that compromising with Republicans got Clinton and Obama virtually nothing. Callers add to his thoughts interestingly. ------- Thom asks what happens when gangsters run government? Thug...

The weekly town hall with Congressman Mark Pocan goes into overdrive with a preponderance of wild news from the Cohen revelations, to the recent Vietnam summit, and a new hopefulness as the Democratic majority in Congress pursues investigations and promotes progressive legislation. - For the book club, Thom reads from "All the World's a Stage" by Dennis Weaver, recalling the actor's childhood...

Why are sheriffs in some counties in Washington State refusing to enforce the law? Shouldn't sworn sheriffs uphold the law, even if they don't agree with it? Washington State sheriffs are defying the law. Guest Sheriff Richard Mack also says that there should be guns in schools to protect students. He says that more weapons are best for our freedom. Do you agree with him? "Liberals hate liberty,"...

Michael Cohen Congressional Testimony Thom gives his thoughts and has a conversation with listeners. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Since the Supreme Court has effectively made corruption legal, the billionaire-lobbyist-corporate machine and the bought-out media and political classes have been busy implementing an oligarchy. This corruption has many consequences small and large in all of our lives. Can the Progressives expunge some of the poison in our body-politic? ------ Dr Richard Wolff drops some deep thinking on us about...

Thom holds court with Ro Khanna, taking calls in a national town hall meeting on national politics. -------- Thom is live from WCPT in Chicago with their afternoon host Joan Esposito for a fascinating look at what politics look like from where she sits. -------- Talk Media News' Bob Ney has the facts, and he's willing to talk about them. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cal...

Thom examines the pickle that an American woman who married an ISIS fighter is in. - Thom's thoughts turn to the abuse of children separated from asylum-seekers at the border, and he carries on a debate on the same with conservative thinker Julio Rivera. And callers share their profundity. - Venezuela is on the mind of Talk Media News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Luke Vargas. - Mark Gately of...

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 w...

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 Elain...

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...

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 conver...

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 continue...

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 pra...

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 Hartm...

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. C...

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...

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- Warmi...

Americans want Socialism - Trump and Mnuchin say no! Trump wants payday lenders to more easily rip off veterans and low income workers. Thom speaks with Professor Barak Orbach in Conversations with Great Minds - How Robert Bork Transformed America & We Never Even Noticed. Dr. Richard Wolff considers why do we have central banks, what is their role, and why is it import...

Thom welcomes Congressman Pocan, one of the leaders of the Progressives in the house, topics include Trump's speech, his wall, and also his lies... as well as Palestine, socialism, - Thom's and his caller's thoughts on Trump's state of the union speech. - Thom reads from ' The Crash of 2016 ' by Thom himself. - Bob Ney joins Thom to kibitz on Trump's speech. As a former Republican c...

Thom's take on just some of the crazy world Trump is presiding over- should we be worried about the state of this union? - Trumps cancellation of the nuclear treaty with Russia could be dangerous, with the possibility (probability?) that both sides will now develop new nuclear weapons. Derek Johnson from Global Zero tells Thom about what happens next and whether we are all safe " or not. Is the Co...

Thom's take - Intentional cruelty was used by the Trump administration to frighten possible future asylum seekers from coming to America. And with 48,000 people presently in detention, many of them children, and many children placed in foster homes, now the administration is claiming it would be too difficult to return the kids to their families. Thom is utterly disgusted, and so are his callers,...

Thom's Take: Republicans in Utah are pushing legislation that would reverse a voter initiative to accept federal Medicare expansion in that state. What are they thinking? - Norma in Alabama speaks passionately about the suffering of those who have no way to see a doctor, and the push by conservatives to pay lower and lower wages, tax the poor and middle class but not the rich- are the rich trying...

Thom's take- as Foxconn has been to show to have conned Wisconsin for massive tax break money- what can be done to keep cities from racing to the bottom with tax giveaways? - Steve in Phoenix says the endgame for the billionaires is to get rid of government spending that benefits everyone. Thom adds, they'd rather change everything into a chance for billionaires to get richer. Thom's thoughts on t...

Why shouldn't billionaires also pay a property tax on their non-real estate property? - The man in the White House won't or can't accept the scientific consensus on climate change. As Chicago faces temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero as the jet stream breaks down, even as the arctic is warmer than ever, could this be the crisis that requires Progressives to take power to make things...