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"You can't sustain a democracy in an oligarchic state. The writers on Athenian democracy understood that 2000 years ago," says Chris Hedges, whose new book The World As It Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress explores the problems of a crumbling empire, inside and out.Chris joins Laura in studio for a conversation about the death of Bin Laden and the continuing concern over terrorism, the end of empathy in the U.S., and what avenues are left for progressives to fight back. ; "The elites are not going to help us," he warns, "We're going to have to help ourselves."

"BP has gotten away with this, the government has helped them get away with it, we can't even get cooperation from the government to test the carcasses of dead mammals washing up on the shore because they're joined at the hip with BP," says Mike Papantonio, radio host and attorney representing Gulf Coast residents. It's the anniversary of the oil spill that became America's biggest, and news reports tell of BP's involvement with the decision to go into Iraq and their intent to control the research around the Gulf Coast recovery to help clear their name, we check in with Mike via Skype to give us the latest on BP's shady dealings. "The real issue here is that modern humanity looks at nature as a great big resource for our pleasure, profit and convenience, and we do whatever we want with it. We're in trouble," says Maude Barlow of our current relationship with the our natural world. She and Shannon Biggs have spearheaded the discussion over the legal rights of nature, a discussion that has gone all the way to United Nations, where arguments are now being heard. "I think that what we’re trying to do here is take a step forward and realize that we’re not just damaging the earth, but we’re damaging people," says Shannon. A year after the Deepwater Horizon explosion claimed the lives of 11 and destroyed the livelihoods of many others, the link between respecting the earth and protecting the rights of humans should be clear. However, since the Deepwater disaster, the U.S. government has failed to pass a single law regulating oil and gas drilling. Shannon and Maude join us to talk about what's at stake for both the natural world and the people who benefit from it--and which American cities have taken the lead in officially recognizing the rights of nature. Finally, Laura has some thoughts about the recent news that China's sovereign wealth fund chair thinks the US needs to invest at home--for the health of the whole global economy. Distributed by Tubemogul.

"We need to stay loudly and clearly that there is an alternative. The debate underway is suffocatingly narrow," says Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation, of the way the conversation about jobs and the economy has become a conversation about spending and deficits. Meanwhile, she notes, outside of the Beltway, independent media and independent activists like US Uncut are fighting hard to change the conversation. Katrina joins Laura in studio to talk about what's needed to shift the conversation back to things that matter: jobs, good government, and putting the taxes where they belong. "There is a hunger out there for some kind of serious approach to the big issues of the day, and you have to be creative about it— that’s our job," says former New York Times columnist Bob Herbert of today's media landscape. Bob joined us in his first in-depth interview since leaving the New York Times in March of this year. After 20 years of working the at the Times' op-ed desk, Bob left for greener pastures--and a longer word-count. Bob is now working on a new book that will tackle, in depth, some of the issues that he covered in his nearly 20 years of working the "beat of left-out people". Bob joins us today to talk about his career as a journalist, why he left the Times, media, race, and more. Is there a journalism school somewhere that that teaches up-and-comers to put stories into little boxes? Laura has some thoughts on the connections that aren't being made in the news. Distributed by Tubemogul.

The details of the compromise that finally kept the government open and made deep cuts to the federal budget for fiscal year 2011 are finally beginning to emerge--and they're not pretty. Millions and even billions from education, labor, the EPA--all for what economist Richard Wolff says is a negligible impact on the actual deficit. Is there an upside to this mess? Richard joins Laura in studio, along with strategist Karen Finney from Washington, D.C., to break down the budget plan and the politics behind it. They also offer some solutions for ways to really fix the deficit.