The title of John Perkins’ latest book, Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded–and What We Need to Do to Remake Them, comes from a conversation the author had with Panama’s populist head of government, Omar Torrijos, in the late 1970s. Perkins describes that he was trying to convince Panama to assume huge World Bank loans, which would bankrupt Panama, and thereby ensure that the US retained control over the Canal. But Torrijos wasn’t interested.

How much control does the President really have, anyway? Americans voted for change and are getting frustrated with the lack of it, but our guests have both written about the powerful forces holding the status quo in place.

While corporations clamp their claws ever more firmly on the political process, there’s a former global economy insider who thinks that makes consumers stronger. GRITtv interviews John Perkins, author of The Secret History of the American Empire.