View source for Thom Hartmann

{{short description|American political commentator (born 1951)}}
{{other people||Thomas Hartmann (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Thom Hartmann
| image              = Thom Hartmann at 2010 Chicago Green Fest (cropped).jpg
| image_size         = 
| caption            = Hartmann speaks at the 2010 Chicago Green Fest
| birth_name         = Thomas Carl Hartmann
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1951|5|7}}
| birth_place        = [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], U.S.
| alma_mater         = [[Michigan State University]]
| occupation         = {{hlist|Radio/TV host|political commentator|author|entrepreneur}}
| credits            = {{ubl|''The Thom Hartmann Program'' (2003–present) | ''The Big Picture'' (2010–2017)}}
| website            = {{official URL}}
}}
'''Thomas Carl Hartmann''' (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, businessman, and [[progressivism|progressive]] [[pundit|political commentator]].<ref>{{citation|author=Hartmann, Thom|title=Threshold: The Progressive Plan to Pull America Back from the Brink|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SD2WCRgsw94C&q=%22Thomas+Carl+Hartmann%22&pg=PT155|page=155|publisher=Penguin|year=2009|isbn=9781101133194}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://athenwood.com/addpress.shtml|title=Thom Hartmann Biography|website=athenwood.com}}</ref>  Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Program'', since 2003 and hosted a nightly television show, ''The Big Picture'', between 2010 and 2017.

==Early life==
Hartmann was born in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]],<ref name="Who's Who">"Thom Hartmann". ''Who's Who in America'', 63rd Edition.</ref> one of four children of Jean and Carl Thomas Hartmann.<ref name="Jean Hartmann dies at 82">{{cite web|author=Jones, Judy|title=Jean Hartmann dies at 82|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113023124/http://www.horatioalgersociety.net/newsboys/nb09-3.pdf|archive-date=November 13, 2013|url=http://www.horatioalgersociety.net/newsboys/nb09-3.pdf|date=May–June 2009|work=Newsboy|publisher=Horatio Alger Society|page=5}}</ref> His paternal grandparents were from [[Norway]], and his other ancestry includes Welsh and English.<ref>{{cite web|title=July 13, 2009 show notes|url=http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2009/07/july-13-2009-show-notes|work=Thomhartmann.com|date=July 13, 2009|access-date=December 29, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Thom |last=Hartmann |title=The Genetically Modified Bomb |url=https://www.commondreams.org/views/2003/09/10/genetically-modified-bomb |work=Common Dreams |date=September 10, 2003 |access-date=October 1, 2017}}</ref> He lived in Detroit at age two, and later grew up in [[Lansing, Michigan]].<ref name="billionaire plan for Detroit">{{YouTube|L9b_SMgq4PM|"Is there a billionaire plan for Detroit?"}} ''The Thom Hartmann Program'': July 25, 2013.</ref><ref name="buzzflash april 2010">{{cite web|title=Thom Hartmann's April Exclusive "Independent Thinker" Review for BuzzFlash: The "Birth of a Nation"|url=http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/9181-thom-hartmanns-april-exclusive-independent-thinker-review-for-buzzflash-the-birth-of-a-nation|work=Buzzflash.com|access-date=July 26, 2013|date=April 10, 2010 |author1=Buzzflash }}</ref> Interested in politics from a young age, he was raised in a conservative, right-wing, Midwestern household. He campaigned with his staunch-Republican father for [[Barry Goldwater]] during the 1964 presidential election when he was thirteen.<ref name=7days>{{cite news|last=Picard|first=Ken|title=Radio Activist|url=http://www.7dvt.com/2004/radio-activist|newspaper=Seven Days|date=March 3, 2004}}</ref> Hartmann was expelled from high school during tenth grade for starting a newspaper that protested against the Vietnam War. He later earned a [[General Education Development|GED]].<ref name="American Dream">{{cite web|author=Hartmann, Thom|title=The American Dream – Thom's personal story|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsUSgwA7tgE|work=The Thom Hartmann Program|via=YouTube|date=September 27, 2012|access-date=October 6, 2012}} (Hartmann describes being expelled from high school for publishing a news paper that protested the Vietnam War according to Thom Heartman himself on the Thom Heartman Program aired on August 31, 2021, at the 0:15 mark and describes being in his school's gifted student program at the 1:35 mark.)</ref>

Hartmann enrolled at [[Lansing Community College]] and transferred to [[Michigan State University]], majoring in [[electrical engineering]].<ref name="Alternet 2011">{{cite web|last=Stan|first=Adele|title=Progressive Profiles: With New TV Show, Radio Talker Thom Hartmann Brings Substance to Style|url=http://www.alternet.org/story/149540/progressive_profiles%3A_with_new_tv_show%2C_radio_talker_thom_hartmann_brings_substance_to_style?page=0%2C5&paging=off|work=Alternet|access-date=October 6, 2012|date=January 14, 2011}}</ref> In 1968, Hartmann opened his first business, a repair shop named "The Electronics Joint" located next to Michigan State University and became a part-time disc jockey at local country music station WITL-FM.<ref name="repair shop">Thom Hartmann, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=SD2WCRgsw94C&q=%22michigan+state%22&pg=PT148 Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture]''.</ref><ref>Hartmann, ''[https://archive.org/details/rebootingamerica0000hart/page/97 <!-- quote="thom hartmann" "michigan state". --> Rebooting the American Dream]'', p. 97.</ref> With [[Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)|Students for a Democratic Society]], Hartmann protested against the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111001084107/http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZMST/insideradio/Interviews/HartmannArticle09-11.pdf Man's Got Heart]; Insider Radio – Personality Interviews; September 11, 2006</ref> Hartmann had been interested in consciousness and spirituality since childhood, and by 1969 his interest evolved from [[hippie subculture]] to [[Christian mysticism]]. During that year, he met the head of the Coptic Center, Kurt Stanley, called Master Stanley.<ref name=coptic>{{cite web|last=Hartmann|first=Thom|title=The Prophet's Way: Meeting Master Stanley|url=http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/1997/01/prophets-way-meeting-master-stanley|work=ThomHartmann.com|date=January 1997|access-date=November 14, 2013}} An excerpt from ''The Prophet's Way''.</ref> In this case, ''Coptic'' is an acronym for ''Center Of Personal Transformation In Consciousness'' and has no relation the [[Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States|Coptic Orthodox Church]].<ref>[https://thecopticcenter.org Website of the Coptic Center]</ref> In 1971 Hartmann was ordained as a Minister with Coptic Fellowship International. He has since been a keynote speaker at many Coptic Conferences nationally. In 1973, Hartmann returned to Detroit to work as an engineer with [[Radio Corporation of America|RCA]].<ref name="billionaire plan for Detroit"/>

== Business career ==
Hartmann began his business career in the early 1970s while in his 20s, co-founding The Woodley Herber Company. Woodley Herber sold herbal products, potpourris and teas, and operated until 1978.<ref>Hartmann, ''[https://archive.org/details/rebootingamerica0000hart/page/98 <!-- quote="woodley herber". --> Rebooting the American Dream]'', p. 98.</ref> During this time, Hartmann obtained degrees in herbology and homeopathic medicine. Hartmann moved to New Hampshire to start The New England Salem Children's Village,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salemchildrensvillage.org|title=New England Salem Children's Village|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021012065707/http://www.salemchildrensvillage.org/|archive-date=October 12, 2002}}</ref> which currently operates in [[Rumney, New Hampshire]]. He was its Executive Director for five years and served on the board of directors for more than 25 years. The childcare's model was based on the German [[Salem International]] organization, and through his affiliation with that group, he helped start international relief programs internationally.{{citation needed |date=November 2013}}

Hartmann founded International Wholesale Travel and its retail subsidiary Sprayberry Travel in Atlanta in 1983, a business which in the intervening years generated over a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue.<ref>''Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory'', Volume 2; Dun and Bradstreet, Inc.;[[Dun & Bradstreet]], Incorporated, 1999; Pg. 2542</ref><ref>''Rebooting the American Dream: 15 Ways to Rebuild Our Country''; Thom Hartmann; ReadHowYouWant, 2011; Pgs 106–107</ref>  According to their website, Sprayberry Travel was lauded by the Wall Street Journal in 1984 as one of the early adopters of frequent travel programs analogous to the recent frequent flyer programs of the airline industry.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100827210906/http://www.sprayberrytravel.com/about_company.htm "About Our Company, Overview"], Sprayberry Travel (website). Retrieved February 17, 2010</ref> He sold his share in the business in 1986, and retired with his family to Germany to work with the international relief organization Salem International.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saleminternational.org|title=SALEM International – Startseite|website=saleminternational.org}}</ref> In the late 1970s, he was a trainer in advertising and marketing for The American Marketing Centers (now defunct), and in 1987, after returning from Germany, founded the Atlanta advertising agency Chandler, MacDonald, Stout, Schneiderman & Poe, Inc., doing business as The Newsletter Factory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nlf.com/html/about_us.html|title=Newsletter Factory|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520052146/http://www.nlf.com/html/about_us.html|archive-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref> He sold his interest in that company in 1996, and re-retired to Vermont.

== Talk radio career ==
[[Image:Thom Hartmann at Santa Fe, 2004.jpg|right|thumb|Hartmann doing his radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Program'', in 2004 at [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]]]]
Having worked as a DJ and news director at Lansing radio stations from 1968 to 1978,<ref name="Who's Who"/> Hartmann started a radio show in February 2003 on a local station in Vermont; a month later{{citation needed |date=November 2013}} it was picked up on the [[I.E. America Radio Network]] and on [[Sirius Satellite Radio]]. In 2005, he moved from Vermont to Oregon and, in addition to continuing his national show, also co-hosted a local talk show in [[Portland, Oregon]] (with Carl Wolfson, the late Heidi Tauber, and later Christine Alexander) on [[KPOJ]]. The station, initially an affiliate of [[Air America Radio]], carried the program until 2007 when the station took on a sports talk format.

Hartmann's national program, on the air since 2003 and now in the noon to 3&nbsp;pm. ET daypart, was chosen by Air America to replace [[Al Franken]] on most Air America affiliates in 2007.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/01/29/daily2.html?from_rss=1 | title=Air America sold; Al Franken quitting | date=January 29, 2007}}</ref> From 2008 to 2011, ''[[Talkers Magazine]]'' rated Hartmann the most popular liberal talk show host in America, rising from number 10 among all talk show hosts in 2008 to number 8 in 2011 and 2015.<ref>Talkers Magazine Heavy Hundred, ''Talkers Magazine'', 2008–2010 {{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://talkers.com/online/?p=267 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903062331/http://talkers.com/online/?p=267 |archive-date=September 3, 2010 |access-date=August 13, 2010}} [http://talkers.com/online/?p=3774]</ref> According to his then-syndicator Dial Global, more people listened to Hartmann's show on more stations than any other progressive talk show in America. ''The Thom Hartmann Program'' is estimated by industry magazine ''Talkers'' to have 7&nbsp;million unique listeners per week.<ref name="Talkers Magazine">{{cite web|title=Top Talk Audiences |url=https://www.talkers.com/top-talk-audiences/ |access-date=June 24, 2021|work=Talkers Magazine|date=June 24, 2021}}</ref>

As of March 2016, the show was carried on 80 terrestrial radio stations in 37 states, as well as on [[SiriusXM Progress]] channel 127.<ref>{{cite web |title=SiriusXM Progress Shows |url=https://www.siriusxm.com/siriusxmprogress |publisher=Sirius XM Radio |access-date=August 4, 2020}}</ref> A community radio station in Africa, Radio Builsa in [[Ghana]], also broadcasts the show. Various local cable TV stations simulcast the program. In addition to [[Westwood One (current)|Westwood One]], the show is now also offered via [[Pacifica Radio|Pacifica Audioport]] to non-profit stations in a non-profit compliant format and is simulcast on [[Dish Network]] channel 9415 and [[DirecTV]] channel 348 via Free Speech TV. The program also airs in London, England.

Many guests appear on the show expressing a variety of points of view on diverse social and political topics. Some guests proffer progressive views similar to Hartmann's, but more than half are [[Conservatism in the United States|conservatives]], [[Libertarianism in the United States|libertarians]], or [[Ayn Rand Institute]] members<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=interviews_hartmann|title=The Ayn Rand Institute: Thom Hartmann Interviews|date=September 27, 2007|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195458/http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=interviews_hartmann|archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2017}} who espouse opposing views. Due to his eagerness to invite people who disagree with him, vigorous discussion and debate between the host and guests usually ensues; "My goal in my conversations with conservatives is not to create a spectacle, and not to win the argument, not to prove that I'm the smartest guy in the room or that I'm a tough warrior and I can smack down people." For many years, Sen. [[Bernie Sanders]] (I-VT) appeared every Friday for the "Brunch with Bernie" segment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5gNz_FycX97cSYDarmDgaWlyF-eqvCBk|title=Guest : Brunch with Bernie Sanders – YouTube|via=YouTube|access-date=March 11, 2019}}</ref> Other regular phone-in guests include Congressmen [[Mark Pocan]] (Mid-day with Mark)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5gNz_FycX97I0-HdbowqV_V3tkptXX4N|title=Guest : Con. Mark Pocan – YouTube|via=YouTube|access-date=March 11, 2019}}</ref> and [[Ro Khanna]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5gNz_FycX94Oqb0d92kIaTKqWe9LDT2r|title=Guest: Ro Khanna – YouTube|via=YouTube|access-date=March 11, 2019}}</ref> both members of the [[Congressional Progressive Caucus]]. [[Ellen Ratner]] of the Talk Radio News Service provides Washington commentary daily. Victoria Jones who is the [[White House]] correspondent for Talk Radio News Service appears occasionally, as does [[Ravi Batra]], an economics professor at [[Southern Methodist University|SMU]].<ref name="TAP">[http://prospect.org/article/broadcasting-belly-beast Broadcasting from the Belly of the Beast]; ''The American Prospect''; Paul Waldman; February 16, 2012</ref>

Like most talk radio shows, ''The Thom Hartmann Program'' takes calls from listeners. When callers asked Hartmann how he was, he used to reply, "I'm great, but I'll get better." But after a time, callers would regularly try to elicit this response, so he's stopped replying this way routinely. Hartmann ends each show with the phrase, "Activism begins with you, democracy begins with you. Get out there, get active! [[Tag (game)|Tag, you're it!]]"

Michael Harrison, publisher of radio industry trade magazine ''Talkers'', offered this appraisal of Hartmann:
{{quote|He's entertaining, he's informative, he's an original thinker, he's an author, he's an original source. In other words, he's not a B-level talking points host that so many on both the left and the right are...He's the kind of a host that other people can get their talking points from.<ref name=politico>{{cite web|last=Weinger|first=Mackenzie|title=Thom Hartmann: View from the left|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/thom-hartmann-view-from-the-left-93753.html|work=Politico|date=July 6, 2013 |access-date=28 October 2013}}</ref>}}
[[File:Thom Hartmann by Ian Sbalcio.jpg|thumb|Hartmann on the set of his television program ''The Big Picture'']]
===TV program===
Hartmann hosted a one-hour daily TV show at 7&nbsp;pm. ET Monday to Friday, ''The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann,'' which was editorially directed by his wife and was broadcast from the Washington, D.C., studios of the [[RT America]] news network. The show featured many conservative guests who routinely sparred with Hartmann. Hartmann co-produced the program with RT, who provided studio and carriage, while Hartmann retained full editorial control of his programming. The RT network aired the program via Dish Network, DirecTV, and on selected local-origination and [[public-access television]] cable TV channels globally.<ref name="TAP"/> After hosting the program for seven years, Hartmann announced his departure as host on September 29, 2017.{{cn|date=June 2021}}

== Other areas of notability ==
Hartmann has published more than twenty books on diverse topics. The title with the most critical acclaim is ''The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight''. In 1999, he was invited by the [[Tenzin Gyatso|Dalai Lama]] to spend a week in [[Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh|Dharamsala]] after the Dalai Lama read the book. Hartmann won the Project Censored Award in 2004 for ''Unequal Protection''. As a result of a book on [[spirituality]], ''The Prophet's Way'', he was invited in 1998 to meet [[Pope John Paul II]].

He also publishes The Hartmann Report, a daily progressive newsletter.<ref>[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hartmann-report/id1265276064 The Hartmann Report] [[Apple Podcasts]]</ref>

Hartmann is a practitioner of the pseudo-scientific [[Neuro-Linguistic Programming]], having been trained by [[Richard Bandler]]. Hartmann popularized some of NLP's concepts in ''Cracking the Code'' (2007), arguing [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Frank Luntz]] made use of them in the 1980s and 1990s for [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] causes, while advocating using them to advance liberalism. His book ''Healing ADD'' also utilises NLP techniques. Co-authored with [[Lamar Waldron]], Hartmann's ''Ultimate Sacrifice'' (2005) echoes the conspiracy theory that the [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories#Organized crime conspiracy|Mafia ordered the assassination of John F. Kennedy]] and that [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] was a CIA agent.<ref name="Publishers Weekly">{{cite web|title=Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7867-1441-4|access-date=May 30, 2017|work=Publishers Weekly|date=November 21, 2005}}</ref>

Hartmann was one of several contributors to ''Air America, the Playbook'', a collection of essays, transcripts, and interviews by liberal radio personalities. It was published in 2006 and was on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller List]] for October 8, 2006.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/bestseller/1008besthardnonfiction.html "Best Sellers"], ''The New York Times'', October 8, 2006</ref>

[[Leonardo DiCaprio]] made a web movie titled ''Before The Flood'', inspired by ''The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight''. Hartmann appears in DiCaprio's 2007 documentary ''[[The 11th Hour (2007 film)|The 11th Hour]]'', as well as the feature documentary film ''[[Dalai Lama Renaissance]]'' (with [[Harrison Ford]]), and ''[[Crude Impact]]''. In 2010, Warner Brothers and Leonardo DiCaprio<ref>{{cite web |first=Dave |last=McNary |url=https://variety.com/2010/film/news/dicaprio-to-star-in-jfk-tale-1118027763/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |title=DiCaprio to star in JFK tale |date=November 19, 2010 |access-date=October 1, 2017}}</ref> announced they are making a motion picture based on the book ''Legacy of Secrecy'', authored by Lamar Waldron and Hartmann. Hartmann also narrated the 2011 documentary film ''[[Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Holden|first=Stephen|title=Tracing the Great Recession to a Memo 40 Years Ago|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/movies/heist-who-stole-the-american-dream-a-documentary.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 1, 2012}}</ref>

In September 2013, Hartmann was granted an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from [[Goddard College]] in Port Townsend, Washington.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goddard.edu/news-events/press-releases/talk-radio-pioneer-thom-hartmann-receive-honorary-doctorate-goddard|title=Talk Radio Pioneer Thom Hartmann to Receive Honorary Doctorate from Goddard College – Goddard College|date=September 9, 2013}}</ref> According to President Barbara Vacarr, "Thom's work as a journalist, author, and community activist is a living example of the very mission of Goddard College, and what our students are committed to—advancing cultures of rigorous inquiry, collaboration, and lifelong-learning, where individuals take imaginative and responsible action."

Hartmann served on the board of Voqal, a collaboration of EBS licensees working to advance social equity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voqal.org/our-story/leadership/|title=Leadership|website=Voqal}}</ref>

== Political views ==
{{Progressivism sidebar|commentators}}
{{social democracy sidebar|variants}}
Hartmann is considered to have [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]]/[[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] politics, although he describes himself as part of the [[radical middle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thomhartmann.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=38|title=Thom Hartmann & info from the No. 1 progressive radio show – News. Opinion. Debate|website=Thom Hartmann & info from the No. 1 progressive radio show}}</ref> His books include ''[[Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights]]'', in which he argues that the 1886 [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] decision in ''[[Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company]]'' (118 U.S. 394) did not actually grant [[corporate personhood]], and that this doctrine derives from a mistaken interpretation of a Supreme Court clerk's notes. Hartmann considers this a clear contradiction of the intent of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thomhartmann.com/unequalprotection/|title=ThomHartmann.com "Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann"|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917201705/http://www.thomhartmann.com/unequalprotection/|archive-date=September 17, 2008}}</ref> He has also written on the [[separation of church and state]], drawing upon ''[[The Federalist Papers]]'' to argue that the Founding Fathers warned against the notion of the United States being a Christian nation. He contends that the [[2000 U.S. presidential election|2000 American election]] and [[2004 U.S. presidential election|2004 American election]] were stolen through electronic tampering, denial of the [[Suffrage|voting franchise]] by rigged voting lists, and limiting availability of voting machines in selected precincts. He also accused the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] of eroding democracy and [[individual freedom]]s.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

Hartmann is a vocal critic of the effects of [[neoliberal]] [[globalization]] on the U.S. economy, claiming that economic policies enacted during and since the presidency of [[Ronald Reagan]] have led, in large part, to many American industrial enterprises' being acquired by multinational firms based in overseas countries, leading in many cases to manufacturing jobs—once considered a major foundation of the U.S. economy{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}—being relocated to countries in Asia and other areas where the costs of labor are lower than in the U.S. and the concurrent reversal of the United States' traditional role of a leading exporter of finished manufactured goods to that of a primary importer of finished manufactured goods (exemplified by massive trade deficits with countries such as China). Hartmann argues that this phenomenon is leading to the erosion of the [[American middle class]], whose survival Hartmann deems critical to the survival of American democracy. This argument is expressed in Hartmann's 2006 book, ''Screwed: The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class and What We Can Do About It.'' One of the book's main arguments is that media [[deregulation]] leads to corporate media's shifting the American consensus towards the acceptance of [[privatization]] and massive corporate profits—which causes the shrinking of the middle class.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In a 2013 interview with ''[[Politico]]'', Hartmann described his political philosophy as [[democratic socialism]]:
{{quote|I've lived in Europe. I think that the countries that call themselves democratic socialist—Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland—have the most functional political and economic system. So, somebody says, what's your political philosophy? I'd say Democratic socialism. But boy, the crap you take when you say socialist. Because people don't understand it. They think I'm talking about Soviet-style socialism, which I'm not.<ref>Mackenzie Weinger (6 July 2013). [https://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/thom-hartmann-view-from-the-left-93753.html?hp=f1 Thom Hartmann: View from the left]. ''[[Politico]]''. Retrieved 11 August 2013.</ref>}}

==Personal life==
Hartmann has three children with his wife Louise.<ref>[https://www.thomhartmann.com/thom-hartmann-biography Thom Hartmann biography]; thomhartmann.com</ref> Hartmann has been a vegetarian since he was a teenager.<ref>Thom Hartmann. April 6, 2015 [http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2015/04/put-down-cheeseburger Put down that cheeseburger]</ref>

== Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ==
{{main|Hunter vs. farmer hypothesis}}
Hartmann has written about [[attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder]] (ADHD) and [[adult attention-deficit disorder]] (AADD), and has proposed (in 1978, published in 1992) the [[hunter vs. farmer hypothesis]], suggesting that ADHD is an expected [[Adaptation|evolutionary adaptation]] to hunting lifestyles where individuals have the ability to rapidly shift focus and external attention, while holding multiple trains of thought. This ability, Hartmann theorizes, causes difficulties for those who live and work in cultures in which "farming"—planned, predictable, organized, repetitive behaviors—is typical.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}} His first book on the disorder, ''Attention Deficit Disorder: a Different Perception'' was described by ''[[Scientific American]]'' as "innovative and fresh".<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/1887424148 listing of book at Amazon.com], Amazon.com. Retrieved March 26, 2010</ref> Hartmann has established specialized schools{{Quantify|date=February 2009}} for children with ADHD, such as The Hunter School in [[Rumney, New Hampshire]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History |url=http://www.hunterschool.org/about-us/our-history/ |website=hunterschool.org |access-date=January 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717115021/http://www.hunterschool.org/about-us/our-history/ |archive-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref> which he co-founded with his wife Louise.

He also operated the "ADD Forum" and "DeskTop Publishing Forum", along with several others, on [[CompuServe]].<ref>[http://www.holisticmed.com/add/hartmann_bio.html Thom Hartmann – Biography] ADD-Holistic Mailing List</ref>

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* 1992 (first edition): {{cite book|title=ADD: A Different Perception|publisher=Underwood Books|year=1997|isbn=1-887424-14-8}}
* 1993: {{cite book|title=The Best of the Desktop Publishing Forum on CompuServe|publisher=Peachpit Press|year=1993|isbn=1-56609-064-4}}
* 1994: {{cite book|title=ADHD Secrets of Success: Coaching Yourself to Fulfillment in the Business World|publisher=Select Books|year=2002|isbn=1-59079-017-0}}
* 1994: {{cite book|title=Focus Your Energy: Hunting for Success in Business|publisher=Pocket Books|year=1994|isbn=0-671-51689-2}}
* 1995: {{cite book|title=ADD Success Stories|publisher=Underwood Books|year=1995|isbn=1-887424-03-2|url=https://archive.org/details/addsuccessstorie00hart}}
* 1996: {{cite book|title=Beyond ADD|publisher=Underwood Books|year=1996|isbn=1-887424-12-1|url=https://archive.org/details/beyondaddhunting00hart}}
* 1996: {{cite book|title=Think Fast!|publisher=Underwood Books|year=1996|isbn=1-887424-08-3}} by Thom Hartmann and Jane Bowman, with Susan Burgess
* 1997 (2004 revised ed.): {{cite book|title=Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight|publisher=Three Rivers Press|year=2004|isbn=1-4000-5157-6|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781400051571}}
* 1998 (2004 revised ed.): {{cite book|title=The Prophet's Way: A Guide to Living in the Now |date=June 17, 2004|publisher=Park Street Press|isbn=0-89281-198-6}}
* 1998: {{cite book|title=Healing ADD|publisher=Underwood Books|year=1998|isbn=1-887424-37-7|url=https://archive.org/details/healingaddsimple00hart_0}}
* 2000: {{cite book|title=Thom Hartmann's Complete Guide to ADHD: Help for Your Family at Home, School and Work|publisher=Underwood Books|year=2000|isbn=1-887424-52-0}}
* 2000: {{cite book|title=The Greatest Spiritual Secret of the Century|publisher=Hampton Roads|year=2000|isbn=1-57174-166-6}}
* 2003: {{cite book|title=The Edison Gene|publisher=Park Street Press|year=2003|isbn=0-89281-128-5|url=https://archive.org/details/00book1151171922}}
* 2004: {{cite book|title=What Would Jefferson Do?|publisher=Harmony Books|year=2004|isbn=1-4000-5208-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/whatwouldjeffers0000hart}}
* 2004: {{cite book|title=We the People: A Call to Take Back America|publisher=Coreway Media, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=1-882109-38-4|url=https://archive.org/details/wepeoplecalltota00hart}}
* 2004 (revised ed.): {{cite book|title=Unequal Protection|date=April 24, 2004|publisher=Rodale Books|isbn=1-57954-955-1}}
* 2005: {{cite book|title=Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK|publisher=Carroll & Graf|year=2005|isbn=0-7867-1441-7}} by Lamar Waldron, with Thom Hartmann
* 2006: {{cite book|title=Screwed: The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class and What We Can Do About It|publisher=Berrett-Koehler|year=2006|isbn=1-57675-414-6}}
* 2006: {{cite book|title=Walking Your Blues Away: Practical Bilateral Therapies for Healing the Mind and Optimizing Emotional Well-Being|date=October 19, 2006|publisher=Park Street Press|isbn=1-59477-144-8}}
* 2007: {{cite book|title=Cracking The Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision|publisher=Berrett-Koehler|year=2007|isbn=978-1-57675-458-0|url=https://archive.org/details/crackingcodehowt00hart}}
* 2008: {{cite book|title=Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination (by Lamar Waldron with Thom Hartmann)|publisher=Counterpoint|year=2009|isbn=978-1-58243-535-0}}
* 2009: {{cite book|title=Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture|publisher=Viking|year=2009|isbn=978-0-670-02091-1|url=https://archive.org/details/thresholdcrisiso00hart}}
* 2010 (second edition): {{cite book|title=Unequal Protection: How Corporations Became "People" – And How You Can Fight Back|url=https://archive.org/details/Unequal_Protection_2nd_9781605095608|url-access=registration|publisher=Berrett-Koehler|year=2010|isbn=978-1-60509-559-2}}
* 2011: {{cite book|title=Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country|publisher=Berrett-Koehler|year=2010|isbn=978-1-60509-706-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/rebootingamerica0000hart}}
* 2013: {{cite book|title=The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America—and What We Can Do to Stop It}}
* 2013: {{cite book|title=The Last Hours of Humanity: Warming the World to Extinction|publisher=Waterfront Digital Press|isbn=978-1-939116-47-5}}
* 2019: [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/607015/the-hidden-history-of-guns-and-the-second-amendment-by-thom-hartmann/9781523085996/ ''The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment''] Penguin Random House {{ISBN|9781523085996|}}
* 2019: {{Cite book|title=The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America|year=2019|isbn=9781523085941|last1=Hartmann|first1=Thom|publisher=National Geographic Books }}
* 2020: [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/617256/the-hidden-history-of-the-war-on-voting-by-thom-hartmann/ ''The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back''] Berrett-Koehler Publishers {{ISBN|9781523087785|}}
* 2020: {{cite book|title=The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream|isbn=978-1523087730|last1=Hartmann|first1=Thom|year=2020|publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers }}
* 2021: {{cite book|title=Hidden History of American Oligarchy: Reclaiming Our Democracy from the ruling class|isbn=978-1523091584|last1=Hartmann|first1=Thom|year=2021|publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers }}
* 2021: {{cite book|title=Hidden History of American Healthcare : Why Sickness Bankrupts You and Makes Others Insanely Rich|isbn=978-1523091638|last1=Hartmann|first1=Thom|year=2021|publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers }}
* 2022: {{cite book|title=The Hidden History of Big Brother in America : How the Death of Privacy and the Rise of Surveillance Threaten Us and Our Democracy|isbn=978-1523001026|last1=Hartmann|first1=Thom|year=2022|publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers}}
* 2022: {{cite book|title=The Hidden History of Neoliberalism : How Reaganism Gutted America and How to Restore Its Greatness|isbn=978-1523002320|last1=Hartmann|first1=Thom|year=2022|publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers}}
* 2023: {{cite book|title=The Hidden History of American Democracy : Rediscovering Humanity's Ancient Way of Living|isbn=978-1523004386|last1=Hartmann|first1=Thom|year=2023|publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers}}
* 2024: {{cite book|title=The Hidden History of the American Dream : The Demise of the Middle Class—and How to Rescue Our Future|isbn=978-1523007288|last1=Hartmann|first1=Thom|year=2024|publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers}}


{{refend}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Official website}}. Includes information on and streaming of the radio and TV shows, essays, chatroom, and a discussion board.
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBigPictureRT Episodes of ''The Big Picture''] on YouTube
* [http://dalailamafilm.com/cast-thom-hartmann/thom-hartmann-biography-air-america-radio.html Thom Hartmann with the Dalai Lama] Videos made during the filming of the documentary ''Dalai Lama Renaissance''.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070903090652/http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=1251628960376247583&q=fascism+america%2F "When Democracy Fails"] Podcast on Google Video.
* {{C-SPAN|1012119}}
** [https://www.c-span.org/video/?291774-1/qa-thom-hartmann C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Hartmann, February 7, 2010]

{{Authority control}}

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