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"I think that we're in a society where art still is threatening, but at some point I think that we can look at when art is still being questioned or being sanctioned or being funded, then we need to look at that work that is being deliberated over because it's speaking to something that is happening in culture," says performance artist Karen Finley, whose lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Arts made her into a national icon against her will after her grant was denied on the basis of the subject matter of her art. In her new book, The Reality Shows, and in her performances, Finley takes on different personae to explore traumas, and teaches people to get in touch with their own experiences. Finley joins Laura in studio for a conversation about art, trauma, our culture's perception of women, and much, much more. In the past days and weeks we've seen some very young people protesting in the streets, squares and statehouses around the world. But what becomes of children who live through that reformation or regime change? Our documentary of the week is My Perestroika, and it tells the story of the last days of the USSR through the eyes of a group of former schoolmates who came of age as the world around them changed. The filmmaker is Robin Hessman, and the film is currently playing at festivals around the country. Comedian Lee Camp visited Scotland and was shocked by what he saw: college students protesting? What's that all about? But he's realized something more important as well--maybe the key to ending police brutality of protesters is putting them in new outfits. It seems to work all right for the Scots... Distributed by Tubemogul.

"As long as you say there is no hope, then there will be no hope, but if you go down and take a stance, then there will be hope." ; Those are the words of Asmaa Mahfouz, one of the founders of the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, who took to the Internet to spread her message in the days leading up to the protests, which have spread across her country and led to President Mubarak announcing he will not run for reelection. As the protesters continue their fight to get Mubarak out sooner rather than later, we bring you Asmaa's words to remember how all of this got started."Just as we would argue about cinema or theater or dance, progressives sometimes only see the bad and not the good," in sports, says Nation sports columnist and Edge of Sports radio host Dave Zirin.

"We are heading toward a two-tiered food system in this country," notes David Kirby, author of Animal Factory.
The food safety bill that just passed Congress puts some safety standards back into the U.S. food system, but does it do anything to change the ability of poor folks to buy healthy food? Raj Patel points out that when wages are kept low and work is devalued, it doesn't matter how cheap food is; people won't be able to afford it.Raj and David join us for a special extended conversation about the state of food policy in the U.S.: safety, subsidies, wages and working conditions. Does bipartisan acknowledgement that there is a problem bode well for our food system, and what's going on with local activism toward sustainable food production?Kelly Anderson is a longtime Brooklyn resident, but when she found herself being priced out of neighborhoods, she decided to take a closer look at the forces of gentrification, and their impact on the city's race and class makeup. ; Zeroing in on the Fulton Mall, a historically black shopping district in Downtown Brooklyn being eyed by developers for a "renaissance," Anderson and her crew examine the forces reshaping the city.Who benefits when neighborhoods suddenly catch the eye of the money men? Lasting Scars
is a look at a complex issue that doesn't have all the answers, but certainly has some interesting questions.Finally, when we talk about food, we often talk about fat. But Marjorie Ingall wants us to remember that shaming fat people doesn't fix a broken food system.

What is the key to happiness? How about "community"? This new film by Helena Norberg-Hodge, Steven Gorelick and John Page looks at the crisis caused by globalization, and suggests that maybe the solutions to our problems lie in the local economies, local culture and local communities that have been pushed aside to make way for corporate progress. To find out more or to support the film's completion, you can visit their website.