"Average people must look at the screens and see the disconnect," says Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel: "it’s not left vs. right, it’s top-down. It’s establishment vs. people." So says Katrina vanden Heuvel of the average TV news show. Faced with the cynical coverage of the mainstream media, what can ordinary Americans do to work toward an alternative that more accurately reflects the problems facing our country today?

Katrina joins Laura Flanders on The Nation on Grit TV to explore the ramifications of the impending end of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans out of work, the members of Congress who will continue the fight for the people, real progressive taxation and what Obama can do with his executive power to get around a gridlocked Congress.

The Nation on GRIT TV is a weekly video collaboration between The Nation and GRIT TV with Laura Flanders. Watch for Monday briefings, Wednesday commentaries, weekend conversations and more at TheNation.com. For full half-hour episodes of The Nation on GRIT TV, or local television air times visit www.grittv.org.