Guests: Journalist Peter Bergen, author Michael Eric Dyson, investigative journalist and author Jeremy Scahill, ex-Bush speechwriter David Frum, author Irshad Manji

Topics: Death of Osama bin Laden, potential OBL successors, Bush doctrine, Bin Laden's decline of popularity in the Moslem world, celebrations of OBL's death, OBL's goal to bankrupt the US, David Petraeus as CIA director nominee

May 06, 2011

Bill Maher

May 13, 2011

April 29, 2011

Guests: Assistant to the President Elizabeth Warren, actor Martin Short, political analyst James Carville, political consultant Mike Murphy, Editor-at-large of Reuters Chrystia Freeland

Topics: Consumer protection, Tucson shooting, gun control, right wing rhetoric, health care

January 14, 2011

Guests: Journalist Michael Hastings, politician/businessman David Stockman, political commentator Rachel Maddow, economist Stephen Moore, entrepreneur Russell Simmons

Topics: Keith Olbermann, Tunisian protests, health care, Ronald Reagan's legacy, gun control, Tucson shooting

January 21, 2011

Guests: Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, NRO host Will Cain, former Canadian PM Kim Campbell, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), comedian D. L. Hughley

Topics: 2011 State of the Union Address, deficit, education, 2011 Egyptian protests, 2011 Domodedovo International Airport bombing, climate change, evolution

January 28, 2011

Guests: Journalist Mona Eltahawy, director Charles H. Ferguson, conservative columnist John Fund, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

Topics: Egyptian protests, financial meltdown, RNC in debt, Kepler (spacecraft), NASA going to Mars, Clarence & Ginny Thomas, Civil War celebrations in the south, GOProud at CPAC

February 04, 2011

Guests: Syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington, philosopher Cornel West, journalist Hooman Majd, MSNBC host Norah O'Donnell, actor Matthew Perry

Topics: AOL-HuffPo merger, Egypt after Mubarak and US reaction, Chris Lee, alcoholism, O'Reilly's interview of Obama, CPAC and homophobia, re-writing Mark Twain

February 11, 2011

Guests: PBS host Tavis Smiley, director Kevin Smith, journalist John Heilemann, CNBC host Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, journalist Matt Taibbi

Topics: Griftopia, budget cuts, Obama as a bad negotiator, trade unions for government employees, Tea Party Review magazine, Red State, treatment of women in Arab world, Natalie Munroe, Civil War reenactments

February 18, 2011

Guests: Novelist T. Coraghessan Boyle, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Washington Post reporter Ezra Klein, actress and comedianne Tracey Ullman

Topics: Overpopulation, road quality in the US, Planned Parenthood, Wisconsin Governor, Equal Pay

March 04, 2011

Guests: Rep. Keith Maurice Ellison (D-MN), director Bill T. Jones, Democratic strategist Paul Begala, co-founder of the St. Louis Tea Party Dana Loesch, former congressman Thomas M. Davis (R-VA)

Topics: Peter King's radicalization hearings, Islamophobia, labor dispute in Wisconsin, sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Philadelphia, NPR, 2012 GOP presidential candidates, no-fly zone in Libya

March 11, 2011

Guests: Actor Richard Belzer, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, columnist Dan Neil, author Annabelle Gurwitch, activist Erica Williams

Topics: democracy in Arab countries, nuclear power, the economy's social impact, the environment, disaster porn, Charlie Sheen, Bradley Manning

March 18, 2011

Guests: Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, Actress Ellen Page, columnist David Brooks, former Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA), Newsweek Editor-in-Chief Tina Brown

Topics: Libya, youth bulge, Republican Birthers and racism, Labor Unions, bee colony collapse disorder, America's growing Hispanic population, General Electric's tax bill

March 25,2011

Guests: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Special Olympics chairman Tim Shriver, director Julian Schnabel, radio host Randy Cohen, commentator Doug Heye

Topics: government shutdown, budget cuts, public vs. private labor, corporate taxes, Birthers, Miral, Pastor Terry Jones, War Powers Resolution, American exceptionalism, Iowa Caucuses, gay marriage

April 01, 2011

Guests: Pilot Chesley Sullenberger, CNN host Eliot Spitzer, BBC anchor Katty Kay, Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan, comedian Colin Quinn

Topics: Government shutdown, Planned Parenthood, US Budget, Objectivism, Libya, reaction to Pastor Terry Jones, Donald Trump, Class conflict

April 08, 2011

Guests: Theoretical Physicist Michio Kaku, MSNBC Ed Show host Ed Schultz, ex-RNC Head Michael Steele, ABC News Political Director Amy Walter, author Irshad Manji

Topics: US Budget, trickle-down economics, Iraq War, military-industrial complex, France's ban on Muslim clothing, gender inequality in Muslim culture, Jon Kyl, health care in Paul Ryan's budget plan, racism in the Tea Party, National Endowment for the Arts

April 15, 2011

Guests: Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA), journalist Laura Flanders, blogger Andrew Breitbart, author Mark McKinnon, director John Waters

Topics: Birther and schooler conspiracy theories, labor union bill in Massachusetts, Romneycare, racism in the GOP, Donald Trump, gas prices, windfall profits tax, censorship on TV, Victory Day in Afghanistan, monarchy in the UK

Guests: Counter-terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke, author Andrew Ross Sorkin, columnist Reihan Salam, MSNBC analyst Michelle Bernard, actor Harry Shearer

Topics: Osama Bin Laden's life in the compound, Pakistan as ally, Newt Gingrich, job gains/losses in the private and public sectors, US Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, education, green energy, John Ensign scandal, pediatricians and gun safety

Guests: Actor Zach Galifianakis, MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan, journalist Gillian Tett, journalist Reza Aslan, author Amy Chua

Topics: Republican 2010 Presidential nominees, health care, socialism, Israel, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Catholic priest abuse scandal report

May 20, 2011

Guests: U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, professor Melissa Harris-Perry, former New York Rep. Rick Lazio, journalist Larry King, writer/director Adam McKay

Topics: Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign, Republican hyperbolic rhetoric about Obama, Sarah Palin's bus tour, Rep. Anthony Weiner scandal, Lee Atwater, John Edwards scandal, the US budget deficit, link between cell phones and cancer, businessmen as politicians

June 03, 2011

Guests: Former Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA), comedienne Janeane Garofalo, columnist Joshua Green, journalist Sharon Waxman, actress Jane Lynch

Topics: Tax cuts for the wealthy, climate change, Rick Santorum, Rep. Anthony Weiner scandal, Sarah Palin's gubernatorial record, the Republican field for 2012, cybersex

June 10, 2011

Guests: Ray Kurzweil, columnist Ross Douthat, Public Notice executive director Gretchen Hamel, pundit Chris Matthews, comedian Kevin Nealon

Topics: Mitt Romney, FEMA, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Republicans rooting for America to fail, Rep. Anthony Weiner scandal, Tracy Morgan, hunting, freedom vs. entitlement, Rick Perry's spiritual solutions to national problems

June 17, 2011

Guests: Chief Foreign Correspondent for NBC News Richard Engel, columnist David Carr, columnist Michael Smerconish, Republican strategist Susan del Percio, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi

Topics: Obama's non-Democratic policies, Republican candidate Jon Huntsman, Jr., Mormonism, Barack Obama impersonator Reggie Brown, Wal-Mart, the state of the news media, role of family in conservative politics & overbreeding

June 24, 2011

Guests: Executive Director of Drug Policy Alliance Ethan Nadelmann, Ann Coulter, The Nation editor and MSNBC host Christopher Hayes, historian Amanda Foreman, Chaz Bono

Topics: U.S. debt ceiling, jobs, Michele Bachmann, Keith Ablow on Bill Maher, News of the World phone hacking scandal, Casey Anthony trial, favorable laws for the wealthy

July 08, 2011

Guests: Sex columnist Dan Savage, Global Editor-at-Large of Reuters Chrystia Freeland, Dallas Mavericks owner and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, comedian Marc Maron

Topics: American greed, the economy, the environment, Marcus Bachmann's gay therapy, marriage vow pledge, tax pledge, Rupert Murdoch's media empire, Carmageddon on Interstate 405, liberal vs. Christian sexism

July 15, 2011

Guests: John Fetterman, DNC Vice-Chair Donna Brazile, Reason.com editor Nick Gillespie, actor John Turturro

Topics: Republican strategy of no, the US budget, financial services industry, Marcus Bachmann, personal sacrifice in the US, independent voters, Michele Bachmann's migraines, political pledges

July 22, 2011

Guests: Financial-fraud investigator Harry Markopolos, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer; political strategist Margaret Hoover; FreedomWorks president and CEO Matt Kibbe; and emmy-award winning actor Bryan Cranston.

Topics: Debt ceiling deal, deficit reduction, tea-party rise, washington and Obama's failure to negotiate, 'The Town' clip to inspire Republicans, drugs in America, Norway massacre, America's secret love of socialism

July 29, 2011

Guests: Ex-Obama economy adviser Christina Romer, Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Salon editor-at-large Joan Walsh, Palin biography filmmaker Stephen K Bannon and chef Anthony Bourdain.

Topics: US credit downgrade, debt ceiling deal, failure of the stimulus package, inability of Democrats to negotiate, 'job creators', defunding of science in America, Rick Perry's prayer festival, escaping poverty, would Hillary Clinton have been better, need for a left-wing tea party equivalent.

August 05, 2011

Guests: Host of Current TV’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” Keith Olbermann, Republican strategist Rich Galen, Fellow at the Eisenhower Institute Jennifer Donahue, author of "The Forever War" Dexter Filkins, actor/comedian Louis C.K.

Topics: Exit strategy from Afghanistan, War on terror, Republican presidential debates, Vaccination controversy, President Obama's jobs plan, manhood, Sarah Palin book, Jackie Kennedy, New York congressional special election, Palestinian statehood petition to UN, Al Gore's climate reality project.

September 16, 2011

Guests: Journalist Ron Suskind, musician and activist Tom Morello, co-editor of Deadline Artists: America’s Greatest Newspaper Columns John Avlon, former Representative and Director, President, and CEO of The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Jane Harman (D-CA), filmmaker Michael Moore

Topics: Obama's first term in office, Ricky Perry's campaign, unemployment, Bill O'Reilly threat to quote, wealthy people unwilling to accept higher taxes, Tony Bennett remarks, artist censorship, occupation of Wall Street, poor people voting against their economic interests

September 23, 2011

Guests: Reporter Dana Priest, environmental advocate Van Jones, former Governer Jennifer Granholm (D-MI), Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, Author Salman Rushdie

Topics: Anwar al-Awlaki assassination, possibility of Chris Christie running for president, Obama returning to progressive values, heckler calling Obama the antichrist and religion in republicanism, occupy wall street, Solendria going bankrupt, Obama's comments to black voters, opening of the Ground Zero mosque, tax breaks for American job creation, Jesus Christ as a republican candidate.

September 30, 2011

Guests: Labor leader Richard Trumka, humorist P.J. O'Rourke, author Jonathan Franzen, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), political commentator Nicolle Wallace.

Topics: Chris Christie and Sarah Palin's decisions not to run for President, Romney's Mormonism, Hank Williams, Jr., voter registration rules, Occupy Wall Street, Republican denial of racism.

October 07, 2011

Guests: Pastor and Romney critic Dr Robert Jeffress, Magician Penn Jillette, Progressive talk radio host Thom Hartmann, CNBC host Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, American Spectator senior editor John Fund.

Topics: The catholic church, faith vs good work, occupy wall street, Herman Cain's '999' plan, agnostics and atheism, morality without fear or reward, Obama's jobs plan, the fillibuster, attempts to dismantle the EPA, attack's on Mitt Romney's mormon faith.

October 14, 2011

Guests: EPA Chief Lisa Jackson, novelist Touré, columnist Thomas Friedman, journalist Joshua Green, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow

Topics: Attempts to dismantle the EPA, America falling behind on environmental issues, republican pettiness about Obama, drone warfare, death of Ghadafi, immigration, Herman Cain's campaign, need for a third party, occupy wall street, student debt and right wing reaction.

October 21, 2011

Guests: Tax reform lobbyist Grover Norquist, journalist Michelle Goldberg, CNN foreign correspondent Michael Ware, philosopher Cornel West, Republican strategist Ron Christie.

Topics: Herman Cain's creepy ad, Fallout from the Status of Forces Agreement, brutality of treatment of Gaddafi's corpse, Iran, Occupy Wall Street, Newt Gingrich as a big thinker, class warfare, recreational drugs vs. prescription drugs

October 28, 2011

Guests: Delaware Atty. Gen. Beau Biden, former N.Y. gov. David Paterson, journalist Alex Wagner, Rep. Darrell Issa, comedian Bill Engvall.

Topics: Herman Cain's popularity, the United States national motto, why does Middle America vote for Republicans, climate change, legalizing marijuana, Occupy Wall Street, gay marriage, the Second Amendment, Republicans trusting Jesus over government.

November 04, 2011

Guests: Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), MSNBC host Chris Matthews, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), commentator Andrew Sullivan, artist Common.

Topics: The Dodd-Frank financial reform, defeat of pro-life legislation, defeat of anti-union legislation, John Hunstman, Rick Perry's debate gaffe, education, Penn State child abuse scandal, Herman Cain's sexual harassment, legacy of John F Kennedy, Republican party as Ebenezer Scrooge.

November 11, 2011

Each week Bill Maher surrounds himself with a panel of guests which include politicians, actors, comedians, musicians and the like to discuss what's going on in the world.

May 06, 2011

Seasons24

Season 9 Episodes35

Cast1

Discussion

Episode Summary