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."

We first met the steelworkers from Metropolis, Illinois in Madison, Wisconsin early this spring, where workers from all over the country gathered to defend the right to collectively bargain.  Until their lockout in June of last summer, these workers ran Honeywell's uranium conversion plant, the only one of its kind in the country, and they depended on their collectively bargaining rights to defend the health and safety of themselves and their small community.

A few weeks back, United Steelworkers Local 7-669 came to Morris New Jersey to exercise another right--their rights as shareholders of the very company that has locked them out.  Our own Danya Abt traveled there to get the story with cinematographer Zac Halberd.

Finally, three years ago today GRITtv first went on air, and on our birthday Laura says goodbye, for now, and introduces you to the next chapter for our organization--a new weekly program on public broadcasting stations.

"The notion of shared sacrifice--there needs to actually be some sharing, but there's been none. All the burden has been on the working people in this country," Jean notes. She joins Laura via Skype from Minnesota to discuss the nurses' plan to take the fight to Wall Street.

"I imagine a world in which my seven-year-old daughter doesn't say to me 'I can't be the president because I'm a girl.'" Anika Rahman was horrified and yet not surprised when her daughter expressed that sentiment. As the new CEO and president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, Anika works to empower women to fight for their right to control their bodies and their lives.

She joins Laura in studio to talk about the latest research on how the recession is hitting women, about why she works for women's rights, and why the attacks on collective bargaining are attacks on women.

Teachers right here in New York are facing more than just cinematic attacks—Mayor Bloomberg is laying off 4100 teachers and eliminating another 2000 teaching jobs through attrition. The Mayor blames Governor Cuomo, but the story is the same as the one we've heard in Wisconsin and around the country: there's just no money for those greedy union teachers. Our friend Brian Jones and the Grassroots Education Movement have crafted a response to that message in a film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman, and they're premiering it on May 19 in New York City.

On May 12, the teachers and a broad coalition of unions and activist groups are descending on Wall Street to make the point that there's actually plenty of money for schools and other social programs, if only Wall Street kicked in its fair share—or if they hadn't tanked the economy in the first place. Check out the links here for more on the May 12 action and the film premiere.

Senator Sanders joins  Laura from Washington, D.C. via Skype to explain his bill, why it matters, and why he thinks Vermont can lead the nation to a better health system.

Obama travels to El Paso today as part of a campaign to win back Latino voters, many of whom are still waiting for Obama to make good on his last campaign promise of immigration reform.  At the same time the glad handing and photo ops are taking place, in nearby Tuscon Arizona there's a new front to the war on immigration where students are fighting the Board of Ed to preserve a historically successful ethnic studies program.  Here's a report from the Real News Network.

World War I was called "the war to end all wars," but nearly 100 years later, war is far from over.  Adam Hochschild, co-founder of Mother Jones magazine, has written a new book looking back at that war and specifically, those who objected to and fought against the Great War.

Adam joins Laura in studio to discuss World War I, the anti-war movement then and now, and why we're still struggling to articulate an opposition to war that will successfully end all wars.

Laurie joins Laura in studio for a feature-length interview on art, electronics, making music for fish, and why Homeland Security still has one of her instruments.  "I'd like my title to be 'explorer,' but on my passport it just says 'artist,'" she says.

You may be familiar with Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff Project, the illustrated, animated explainers that break down progressive issues in easy, fun ways.  In the same style, she explains the story of Cap & Trade--how it works, who would benefit, who would suffer, and why real solutions to climate change are necessary.

And finally, Vermont is nearly all the way to single-payer health care, but Laura warns not to forget the fight the insurance companies will put up.

Malalai joined Laura in studio before the death of Bin Laden was announced, but in a later email she told GRITtv: "One of the main excuses of the US occupation is now gone. The struggle for independence, democracy, and freedom should get easier, but it won't. Not without an end to occupation."

In other words, it won't change much from the picture she presents here.

The circle of life doesn't end when people begin a life behind bars. Incarcerated women give birth; others become gravely ill. Do prisoners have the right to comfort as they approach death? If so, who will provide it?  These are real questions that many working in the prison system have ignored--but not everyone.  Our documentary of the week goes behind the walls of the maximum security Iowa State Penitentiary, where a prisoner-staffed hospice program has been touching the lives of patients and caregivers alike.  Filmmaker Edgar Barens spent six months embedded with program participants, and the resulting film is the intimate Prison Terminal.

We've followed Vermont's struggle for single-payer healthcare for a while now, and this week the grassroots movement saw victory as the State Senate passed the bill, which now heads to Governor Peter Shumlin for his signature. Last week, Sam Mayfield attended a rally in support of the bill in Montpelier and sent us this report on what Green Mountain Care means to the people of that state.

Comic Hari Kondabolu has a few words for people who don't realize that "African" is not a language.

Heather joins Laura in studio to grade Obama, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and of course the Ryan plan on the budget, the deficit, and the need for more stimulus.

Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine guitarist and protest singer as The Nightwatchman, was in Madison to support the workers' protest, and now his new music is inspired by those union workers.  His new EP, Union Town, is coming out soon and its proceeds will go to support The America Votes Labor Unity Fund, but you can download this track for free now at SaveWorkers.org.

Bernie Madoff, the infamous Wall Street Ponzi schemer who became one of the villains of the economic crisis, played on his clients' fear, not their greed. So says Diana Henriques, author of the new book Wizard of Lies. Having twice interviewed Madoff in prison, Diana notes that his personal charisma combined with Wall Street's lax regulations to create a perfect storm that wiped out his clients' wealth.

Diana joins Laura in studio for a conversation about Madoff, Wall Street, and the ways ordinary people get ripped off by complex financial schemes.

Finally, playwright Tony Kushner has spent his career fighting  prejudice, yet he was blocked from receiving an honorary degree at CUNY over his views on Israel. Laura has some thoughts.

Today, while the House debated H.R. 3, the "redefining rape" bill that would eliminate funding for abortion, we spoke with Paris via Skype from Georgia, and she noted the outrage that women around the country feel over the double standard in Congress and the states--we don't want women to have abortions, but we don't want to support their motherhood, either.

One of the deadliest tornadoes in US history, over a mile and a half wide, touched down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama last week, with devastation extending across seven states. More than 350 fatalities have been reported, 80 people are still missing in Tuscaloosa alone, and over a thousand people remain hospitalized with critical injuries. The Alabama state Emergency Management Agency is calling the aftermath in Tuscaloosa “Katrina, without three days warning...”

While the networks are wall-to-wall Bin Laden, with or without budgets or even homes - survivors are getting the story out.. To  compile this piece GRITtv's Rebecca MacDonald relied on eyewitnesses -- many of them students of University of Alabama assistant professor Dr. Rachel Raimist. Student Trey Moe's graduation was to be this week.

"We need to understand that we are one people all of whom have myriad origins. We've come together here in this place," says bestselling author Walter Mosley. He joins us to talk about his newest book, 12 Steps Toward Political Revelation.

For a growing number of American who feel left out--or even targeted--by the current political climate, the possibility of influencing change and of having a voice is becoming an increasingly problematic task. 12 Steps Toward Political Revelation stresses the importance of everything from finding a strong political identity, and recognizing the systems that work against us and not for us. Walter joins us to explain how important each of our paths towards political enlightenment is for our nation and our world.

He joins Laura via Skype from London to discuss the ramifications of bin Laden's death, on U.S. foreign policy and specifically the relationship with Pakistan, as well as to question the use of the word "justice" to describe a unilateral military action.

After the news of Bin Laden's death hit late Sunday night, Laura headed down to Ground Zero to catch up with the New Yorkers who gathered there to remember the collapse of the Twin Towers.  A few of them shared their reflections with her, and we share them with you.

"Bin Laden's ideology is not the ideology of the masses, of the Arabs, of people in central Asia, of Muslims," notes Sonali Kolhatkar of the Afghan Women's Mission. But, she notes, the danger is that now by killing him we have made him a martyr and inflamed anger again among people already feeling marginalized.

Sonali joins Laura via Skype from California to discuss the impact of the war and bin Laden's death on Afghanistan, and the standards that should be applied when pursuing people like bin Laden or Libya's Qaddafi.

And finally, Laura reflects on the past ten years and the U.S.--and the world's--desire for closure.

Dr. Shiva has been fighting corporate takeover in every area in her native India, combating a nuclear plant one week and patented, genetically modified seeds another. She joins Laura in studio to advise American activists how they can fight the merging of corporations and government here at home and around the world.

A 9-year-old child faces down Sheriff Joe Arpaio in this week's featured documentary, Two Americans. Katherine Figueroa is a US citizen born to immigrant parents, and when Arpaio targets them for deportation, she becomes the center of a fight against the sheriff's plans. In Arizona, the immigration battle has its ground zero, and this documentary follows the people at the center of it all.

Singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow died this week at the age of 58. Her powerful voice will certainly be missed, and we bring you this performance of her classic hit "Poetry Man" to remember her too-often forgotten work.