Who Killed the American Dream?
“Be Bold America!”
Airs September 18, 2026 at 5:00pm (PT)
In 1886, a corrupt court reporter inserted a single fraudulent sentence into the official record of a Supreme Court case. The Court never ruled that corporations were “persons” under the 14th amendment, the amendment written in the blood of 600,000 Civil War dead to protect formally enslaved people. But that fabricated headnote, planted by railroad oligarchs and a sympathetic justice, became the legal foundation for more than a century of corporate power over American democracy.
Thom Hartmann uncovered this fraud in a dusty Vermont law library and traces its consequences from the Gilded Age through the Reagan Revolution to today. He names the conspirators, reconstructs the crime, and shows how we can undo it. Thom Hartmann also reveals the ongoing cover-up that has made the crime even worse and further harms, democracy, and people everywhere.
Interview Guest:
Thom Hartmann is a four-time Project censored award winner, a New York Times bestselling author of over 30 books, and America’s number one progressive talk show host, heard on free speech TV and SiriusXM nationwide. Thom is also heard weekdays right here on KSQD at 4:00pm!