Audio | The Nation

Ever since his breakthrough keynote at the 2004 DNC, Barack Obama has been defined by his oratory skills. But has his rhetoric really advanced his policy goals? On this week's edition of The Breakdown, Chris Hayes talks to political scientist George C. Edwards III about the impact presidential speeches have on public opinion and political change.

Is BP unique in its ability to create catastrophe? On this week's episode of The Breakdown, Chris Hayes asks Greenpeace's Kert Davies whether the entire practice of offshore oil drilling is inherently dangerous, regardless of which company runs the rig.

Imagine that the cost you pay at the pump reflected not only the cost of gas without all of the government tax breaks and subsidies to the oil industry but also the political, health and environmental costs of drilling for oil.

If incumbents are running scared, what does that mean for the phenomenon of the incumbency effect?

Could the Senate start getting things done, if only legislators didn't have to face filibuster threats? This week on The Breakdown: the history of the filibuster, and how to get rid of it.

Obama signed the Frank-Dodd bill into law this week. What does the bill do to reform Wall Street, and will it prevent bailouts? Finance blogger Mike Konczal joins Chris Hayes to tackle these questions on this week's edition of The Breakdown.

The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision "will warp our democracy forever," says de Blasio, "if we let it do so." The challenge to progressives is to refocus and re-energize grassroots attention on the destructive role money plays in politics.

Is Sarah Palin's video a preview for a possible campaign in 2012? Nation correspondent Ari Melber explains why she hasn't crossed over into social media organizing just yet.

Imagine that the cost you pay at the pump reflected not only the cost of gas without all of the government tax breaks and subsidies to the oil industry but also the political, health and environmental costs of drilling for oil.

Guest-host Both Sides Now, Katrina vanden Heuvel takes on former Bush/Cheney aide Mary Matalin about gun control and why she would take "porno economics" over the Republicans' stimulus efforts any day.

Ever since his breakthrough keynote at the 2004 DNC, Barack Obama has been defined by his oratory skills. But has his rhetoric really advanced his policy goals? On this week's edition of The Breakdown, Chris Hayes talks to political scientist George C. Edwards III about the impact presidential speeches have on public opinion and political change.

Democrats have repeatedly conceded defeat on gun control issues and now would rather get out of the NRA's way than anger it. Christopher Hayes and Robert Spitzer investigate how the lobby came to hold such sway in Washington.

USAction's Jeff Blum argues that progressives need to embrace Obama's healthcare reform as a major victory for the social justice movement: "We actually established a new right in America... Healthcare is now a right. That's huge."

America isn't the only country reassessing their deep-sea oil drilling. The Nation's Michael Klare speaks to Jeb Sharp of PRI's The World about the globe's major oil reserves and why some of those areas are suspending their drilling.

Is BP unique in its ability to create catastrophe? On this week's The Breakdown, Chris Hayes asks Greenpeace's Kert Davies whether the entire practice of offshore oil drilling is inherently dangerous, regardless of which company runs the rig.