This week on The Breakdown, Richard airs a panel discussion on the financial reform that he participated in at the Take Back the American Dream Conference along side New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and leading homeowner rights activist, Tracy Van Slyke.

Next, Richard speaks with Medea Benjamin, founder of CodePink, about her efforts to stop the United States predator drone bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Then, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) talks to Richard about why progressives should line up behind Democrats in November--and push them to make the right decisions in the struggle over fiscal policy in December.

Finally, Richard hears from Ethan Rome, Executive Director of Health Care for America Now, a national group that helped pass the Affordabel Care Act and is now helping defend it. Rome affirms that regardless of the Supreme Court's decision about the constitutionality of the individual mandate, Health Care for America Now will continue to fight with grassroots pressure across the country to preserve and strengthen health care reform. 

First, Richard breaks down the week's news - and a lot of them were not that good. Republican incumbent Scott Walker won the gubernatorial recall election in Wisconsin, and delivered a typically misleading victory speech about taking on "special interests," which seems to be his euphemism for unionbusting. Republicans defeated a law mandating equal pay for women in Congress. Mika Brzezinski of Morning Joe had the good sense to ridicule them for it. And former President Bill Clinton undermines Democratic messaging again with an interview on CNBC where it sounds an awful lot like he thinks the Bush tax cuts for the top 2% should be extended. 

Next, Richard talks with David Shuster, Emmy Award-winning journalist and host of Take Action News, about a scoop he made just days before the Wisconsin recall election revealing that Scott Walker is being targeted by the federal "John Doe" investigation for misuse of public funds. Up until Shuster's scoop, only Walker's aides have been indicted. Shuster received word from former federal prosecutors involved in the case that Walker was the subject of the investigation as well -- and may soon be indicted.

Richard also got the chance to chat with legendary Texan country music artist, activist and commentator, Richard "Kinky" Friedman. Kinky speaks colorfully about the problems facing the country and offers is own brand of no-nonsense, Texan-style solutions.

Finally, Richard analyzes the post-presidential career of Bill Clinton. Richard thinks that in recent years Clinton has all-too-often used his perch in recent years to do the bidding of ConservaDems and the rich. His recommendation: Clinton should hang up his cleats and retire from politics. 

Richard talks with Maya Rockeymoore, President and CEO of Global Policy Solutions, a social policy consulting firm, about the environmental causes of the high rates of obesity among African-American women, and The Plan for a New Future, a proposal that would expand Social Security benefits. 

Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future, came on the show to discuss what it means to both help elect Democrats and hold them accuntable for their actions, as well as what the Campaign for America's Future has in store for the Take Back the American Dream Conference on June 18-20 in Washington, DC.

Mike Konczal, financial policy whiz and author of the Rortybomb blog for the Next New Deal, talks with Richard about judging private equity on the merits, and the need for a new Glass-Steagall Act to reign in Wall Street.

Richard has an in-depth conversation with Nobel Prixe-winning economist and New York Times coumnist, Paul Krugman. Krugman says that the solutions ot our economic problems--massive fiscal and monetary stimulus--are obvious, but the political means to get us there are not. Despite all of our politicians' failures, Krugman is optimistic that the American people will demand change, and that this dark chapter too will pass.

Richard also talks about getting ejected from the Bank of America shareholders' conference in Charlotte, NC and shares some of his conversations with #Occupy protesters who joinedh im at the Bank of America convention. 

Daniel Marans, Executive Producer of The Breakdown, offers a tribute to Levon Helm, the great American rock and roll musician, who passed away recently. The tribute includes songs from Helm's star career as drummer and vocalist for The Band, songs from his renaissance album Dirt Farmer in 2008, and running commentary from Marans.

In the second half of the show, Richard talks with Trudy Lieberman of the Columbia Journalism Review about the media's distorted coverage of Social Security. Richard also speaks with Zaid Jilani of the Republic Report, a running guest on The Breakdown, about the latest on money in politics. They discuss the exodus of companies from the "stealth" corporate lobbying group ALEC, the recently exposed Wal-Mart bribery scandal, and the mammoth pharmaceutical industry's lobbying to preserve a lucrative tax break.