Coming up on the show today…

A few months ago, we kicked off our 30 Million Jobs tour highlight how large our economic problems are, and also to showcase people who, through innovation and shared networks, are trying to turn things around.  But we can’t ignore the troubling economic fundamentals that are stopping any meaningful recovery.  A recent op-ed by Harold Meyerson of The Washington Post caught our eye — he writes that “as currently constituted, the U.S. economy looks less and less capable of generating the kind of prosperity that a president, or a party, needs to ensure a long run in power.”  He goes on to detail the incredible uphill battle against the killer combo of wage stagnation (or, wages simply declining), outsourcing, and the lack of any real recovery in our nation’s housing market.  He’ll be joined by Barry Ritholtz (@ritholtz), CEO of Fusion IQ and blogger behind the excellent markets and economic blog, The Big Picture.

Bradley Manning Latest: Today, the federal judge in Manning’s pre-trial case will decide whether to drop some of the 22 charges including the big one, “aiding the enemy,” which is punishable by death.  We’ll talk to Manning’s friend David House about the latest.  House is also co-founder of the Bradley Manning Support Network, which has extensive information about Manning and the pre-trial case.

The Thursday Megapanel: Karen Finney (@finneyk), Susan Del Percio (@delpercios) and Jimmy Williams (@jimmyspolitics) are here — we’ll talk about the true cost of a Presidential campaign, as President Obama’s is set to “officially” kick off on May 5th.  With Secret Service, cargo planes, advance teams, armored cards, medical staff, what does this all add up to?

The Specialist: Michael Sandel is author of “What Money Can’t Buy:  The Moral Limits of Markets.”   He’ll talk to us about what he calls the “skyboxification of society” where everything is for sale.  Should we pay children to read books or to get good grades? Should we allow corporations to pay for the right to pollute the atmosphere? Is it ethical to pay people to test risky new drugs or to donate their organs? Is there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale? If so, how can we prevent market values from reaching into spheres of life where they don’t belong? What are the moral limits of markets? Sandel, also a professor at Harvard, says that we’ve become a society built on market-based “solutions,” and points out the downside of that.  Check out his article in The Atlantic, “What Isn’t for Sale?”

We’ll also talk to Leonard Mlodinow, author of Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules your Behavior.  He says that new research proves the effect of the unconscious on everything from choice of political candidate to how much we tip waiters.

Kass’s Couch: Our resident therapist Noah Kass (@noahkass) will be here — we’ll talk about the all-too-common phenomenon of being dissatisfied with what we have.

As always, join us on Twitter during the show @dylanratigan! We want to hear your questions, comments, and general thoughts on what we’re talking about … see you at 4P ET!