Free Forum with Terrence McNally

"The Party's Over," Richard Heinberg places this momentous transition in historical context, showing how industrialism arose from the harnessing of fossil fuels, how competition to control access to oil shaped the geopolitics of the 20th century, and how contention for dwindling energy resources in the 21st century will lead to resource wars in the Middle East, Central Asia, and South America. He describes the likely impacts of oil depletion, and all of the energy alternatives. Predicting chaos unless the U.S.-the world's foremost oil consumer-is willing to join with other countries to implement a global program of resource conservation and sharing, he also recommends a "managed collapse" that might make way for a slower-paced, low-energy, sustainable society in the future.More readable than other accounts of this issue, with fuller discussion of the context, social implications, and recommendations for personal, community, national, and global action.Heinberg's book is a riveting wake-up call for humankind as the oil era winds down, and a critical tool for understanding and influencing current U.S. foreign policy.Richard Heinberg, from Santa Rosa, California, has been writing about energy resources issues and the dynamics of cultural change for many years.A member of the core faculty at New College of California, he is an award-winning author of three previous books. His "Museletter "was nominated for its "Best Alternative Newsletter" award by "Utne Reader "in 1993.

Paul Rieckhoff founded and is Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). A non-partisan non-profit founded in 2004 with tens of thousands of members in all 50 US states, IAVA is America’s first and largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' group.Rieckhoff’s first book, a critically acclaimed account of his experiences in Iraq and activism afterwards, titled Chasing Ghosts, was published by Penguin in May 2006 (paperback to be published May 2007).While the IAVA is not tied to any political party or candidate, Rieckhoff has been a harsh critic of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq. A 1998 graduate of Amherst College, he now lives in New York City.

IRAQ VETS SPEAK OUT 11:22:05

The bestselling author of The End of Nature issues an impassioned call to arms for an economy that creates community and ennobles our lives.In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. For the first time in human history, he observes, "more" is no longer synonymous with "better"—indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites. McKibben puts forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. Our purchases, he says, need not be at odds with the things we truly value.

Walter Isaacson is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of TIME. He is the author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003) and of Kissinger: A Biography (1992), and is the co-author, with Evan Thomas, of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986). His biography of Albert Einstein, Einstein: His Life and Universe, was published by Simon & Schuster in April 2007. In 2007, he became a columnist for TIME on international affairs.

Chris Anderson is editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, which has won a National Magazine Award under his tenure. He coined the phrase The Long Tail in an acclaimed Wired article, which he expanded upon in the book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More (2006). He currently lives in Berkeley, California with his wife and five young children.He is the Chairman of a new startup, www.BookTour.comBefore joining Wired in 2001, he worked at The Economist, where he launched their coverage of the Internet. He also has a degree in physics from George Washington University and did research at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He has also worked at the journals Nature and Science.The Long Tail has possible implications for culture and politics. Where the opportunity cost of inventory storage and distribution is high, only the most popular products are sold. But where the Long Tail works, minority tastes are catered to, and individuals are offered greater choice.

She's moved from Greece to America, from the east coast to the west coast, from the political right to the independent left. Arianna Huffington writes about how to move on in her new book: On Becoming Fearless. Huffington describes herself as a "former right-winger who has evolved into a compassionate and progressive populist". She is the founder of The Huffington Post . www.huffingtonpost.comHuffington is co-host of the nationally syndicated public radio program Left, Right & Center. She was originally introduced by the moderator as occupying the chair "from the right," but is now described as "coming from the fourth dimension of political time and space", or from the 'independent-progressive blogosphere'. In May 2007, she and Mark Green began co-hosting a new radio show on Air America Radio, 7 Days in America.

Crashing the Gate is a shot across the bow at the political establishment in Washington, DC and a call to re-democratize politics in America. Written by two of the most popular political bloggers in America Markos Moulitsas Zúniga served in the U.S. Army for three years and later earned two bachelors degrees from Northern Illinois University and a law degree from Boston University. After moving to California to work in the tech industry, Markos started www.DailyKos.com (2002)Jerome Armstrong, a pioneer of the political blogosphere, founded one of the first political blogs, www.MyDD.com (2001); the book hails the new movement that is changing the way political campaigns are waged.

Dr. Andrew Weil discusses Integrative Medicine, a new vision of health and health care and how environmental issues and public policy affect our health and well being.http://www.drweil.com

New York Times columnist Frank Rich reviews the trajectory of fictions spun by the Bush administration from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, revealing the most brilliant spin campaign ever conducted.