8 schools in Detroit are closing and another 45 schools are being sold off to charter companies, where CEOs can make millions off these new monopolies in education. One of those schools being closed down is the Catherine Ferguson Academy - is a successful school specifically designed to cater to pregnant and parenting teens and their children. A protest was staged at that school by parents - teachers - and students to fight back against the proposed closure of their school - but the police were immediately called in and ended up hauling more than a dozen people - including children - off to jail. Shanta Driver - the National Chairperson of "By Any Means Necessary" joins Thom .

In this Earth week's edition of "Conversations with Great Minds", Thom is joined by Dr. Curt Stager, climate scientist and author. Dr. Stager discusses his latest book, Deep Future: The Next 100000 Years of Life on Earth, which provides insight on how the current actions of human beings can potentially change the fate of planet Earth.

Daniel Halper w/The Weekly Standard, Erikka Knuti-Democratic Strategist and - Jamie Weinstein w/Daily Caller.com all join Thom Hartmann for the Big Picture Rumble. The one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast, playing politics with our debt ceiling, our 9/11 first responders, and job outsourcing are just some of the topics tonight.

The GOP holds firm to their opposition on raising the country's debt limit, Thom explores if this decision will help Republicans or hurt them in the end. Later in the show, Reporter, Amanda Carey joins Thom as they discuss the movie adaptation of the Ayn Rand's novel, "Atlas Shrugged".