The Hartmann Report

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...

Thom makes the case that our present crisis of extraordinary corruption- with lobbyists and billionaires directly running the government to enrich themselves- is on the level of past crises that led to a powerful Progressive response. Who is the right person to disinfect government and return power to the people? Elizabeth Warren, or? ------ Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin examines the crisis...

------- Thom's take - Medicare for all, free education, and the Green New Deal have a majority of American citizen support, and then some. So why do billionaires and banksters insist those ideas are not centrist? CEO-candidate Howard Schultz and corporate Democrat banksters want Democrats to continue to champion corporate interests over the common good. How should Progressive push back? ------- Se...

Thom shows how Republican favors to the rich since Reagan have worsened working class circumstances, and reflects on Stone indictment and fraud of 2016 election. - Kate Pickett, author and researcher has the facts on how unequal out society really has become, and what real-life consequences that has for millions of people. - Thom reads from "The Inner Level review – how more equal societies r...

Thom welcomes Roger Wolfson, Democratic speechwriter, Hollywood scriptwriter, and consulting expert on effective communication. Roger offers Thom and his callers specific advice on how to really get across to people. Thom has thought deeply about effective political communication, and he lays out the fundamental differences that give rise to the conservative and Progressive world views that h...

Thom's thoughtful take on the MAGA hatted youths caught on video in Washington D.C, and America's response to it. Will the Covington Catholic kids get away with bigoted taunts while the racist in chief invites them to the White House and right wing media portrays them as victims? - Co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, man-of-action Mark Pocan takes the citizen's concerns and plans out...

Shutdown Crisis: Is Trump trying to break the FBI or all of government? Why is the GOP voting to give millions to Deripaska but won't end shutdown? Author Dahr Jamail talks in person with Thom on the subject of his new book 'The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption.' Dahr argues that we must ultimately take an attitude to our planet more like the i...

A fascinating deep dive with author and hard-core researcher Lamar Waldron, author and co-author with Thom of numerous books on the related coverups of the MLK & JFK assasinations, Iran Contra, and other crimes. Also, the connection to the former CIA lawyer William Bar who is presently candidate for Attorney General. ---- Thom reads from 'Legacy of Secrecy' by Lamar Waldron and also by Thom hi...

Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.... A leaked memo proves that Trump's people lied to congress when they claimed there was no intentional program to take kids from their refugee parents at the border. And Thom covers the bombshell evidence the FBI has discovered of impeachable criminal lies; Trump directly instructed persons- including Cohen and his family- to tell congress about Trump's Russia ties....