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Yesterday, we noted that the fangs seem to have been pulled out of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, and financial reform seems to be quietly fading from the agenda. But our friends at the Roosevelt Institute are in the middle of a groundbreaking conference on market reform, and we asked a few of their guests to join us in studio. Lynn Parramore, editor of New Deal 2.0 for the Institute, Raj Date, chairman and executive director of the Cambridge Winter Center for Financial Institutions Policy, and Lawrence White of NYU's Stern School of Business discuss where financial reform is headed and what will happen to us if it dies.
 
Speaking of regulation, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund has an ongoing series, "Hard Times Profiteers," looking into schemes cropping up around the country. David Vlateck of the Federal Trade Commission explains.
 
Swine flu, bird flu, cancer, parasites, E. Coli...what do they all have in common? Factory farms, says investigative reporter David Kirby. In his new book, Animal Factory, he exposes the deep problems with the factory farming system and how it hurts people and the environment. Kirby joins Laura in studio to talk about the book and what we can do to fix our food supply, and Rick Dove of the Waterkeeper Alliance explains the effect the farms have had on his home in North Carolina.
 
The always lyrical Jay Smooth weighs in on what rappers think is profitable these days, and how not being lyrical is "the subprime mortgage of hip-hop," and our friends at Ramblin' Man Films look at the growing movement for student loan justice.
 
Finally, Laura has some thoughts about the secrets that really shape our society.

The Bush administration thrived on secrecy; Obama promised more transparency, but has yet to really deliver. What's more, when information does come out, it seems that accountability is nearly impossible to get: the torture memos were released, but there will be no trials. We ask Daniel Ellsberg, one of the world's most famous whistleblowers, if there's anything the people can do to take the power back. Former GRITtv guest Ted Rall is an editorial cartoonist as well as an acclaimed radio journalist and he's looking for a kickstart to return to Afghanistan to do more reporting. For your enjoyment, we've got a couple of his animated cartoons: one on the Democratic party, and one on Obama's health care plan. The progressive media during the Bush era grew to new heights, developing in ways that suited the particular tendencies of the left. Tracy Van Slyke and Jessica Clark started to study the way the media was developing while they worked together at In These Times magazine, and continued their work as Tracy founded the Media Consortium (of which GRITtv is a proud member) and Jessica moved to the Center for Social Media at American University. Their new book, Beyond the Echo Chamber: How a Networked Progressive Media Can Reshape American Politics, explains how the progressive media has used new technology to make progressive change, and they join us in studio to talk about their book and their continuing work. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been under investigation and the subject of constant protest over his racial profiling and abuse of power in Arizona. Now, Wells Fargo has served Arpaio with an eviction notice from his offices. Dennis Gilman sent us this video in celebration. Our friends at the Applied Research Center and the Rights Working Group are organizing a "night of 1000 conversations" around racial profiling, and they sent us this video to ask for your support and involvement. Finally, lobbyists for polluting companies and members of Congress are busy people, and sometimes they just don't have the time to make the love connections they need to keep the money flowing. PolluterHarmony is here to the rescue! (This spoof brought to you by our friends at GreenPeace.)

Today in the news: Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones magazine reports from Copenhagen Thursday on the state of the climate talks; Rory O'Connor's documentary on the Durban II conference; Mark Danner on his new book; Mohammed Rezwan on his organization, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, the F Word and more.