Reverend Billy and Savitri D of the Church of Stop Shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. It’s known as Black Friday to many but to Rev. Billy and Savitri D, it’s buy nothing day. And with an economy in decline the Church of Consumption, where everything was a profit center, has taken a hit.

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.

Happy Thanksgiving! Tonight GRITtv presents a special program on national security featuring the views of the largest group of marginalized experts on the topic—women. How would we think about personal, national and global security differently if women weren't sidelined in the debate? As the world looks to the US for some new thinking, and new behavior on the global stage, GRITtv went to Seattle to host a free, public discussion.

Our colleagues over at The Church of Stop Shopping premier "The Last Televangelist" over on Free Speech TV today. This video, "Pushback," is a little preview - reclaiming ground and working out the urge to reenact "Fame," all in one go. Church Director Savatri D, and her beau The Reverend Billy, stopped by the GRITtv studio to talk about their work, Stop Shopping Day, and

Comic Kate Clinton joins us from Provincetown this week . . .

December 1st is World AIDS day. With the Bush administration on its way out there is hope that we might begin to think big about preventing and even curing AIDS. Lifting the ban on embryonic stem cell research will open up some possibilities. But prevention and education remain the keys to slowing the spread of HIV.

Thabo Mbeki’s government in South Africa could have prevented the premature deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, a new study from Harvard University says. Denial, bias, and homophobia probably caused the premature death of some 365,000 Africans, reports the New York Times. This is a story for the file we call, "Them Not Us." What about us?

Rev. Edwin Makue, General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches and Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies on the Israeli siege of Gaza. Since the blockade began in 2006 it has become increasingly difficult for journalists and foreign aid workers to reach Gaza.

December 1st is World AIDS day. With the Bush administration on its way out there is hope that we might begin to think big about preventing and even curing AIDS. What’s the best way forward? Investing in science or communities? Or both? Today on GRITtv journalist and author Linda Villarosa, activist and editor of POZ Laura Whitehorn, Dr.

Over the last decade the politics of food has become, well, increasingly political. From Fast Food Nation to Whole Food Nation a lot has changed. So what should we eat, especially on a limited budget? If we can’t shop at Whole Foods (some call it Whole Paycheck) can we still eat well?