By host Tom Ashbrook:

There’s a battle royale raging over the future of the worldwide web and the Internet right now, and it’s all about money and the egalitarian spirit of the web. From the beginning, and by design, the web has been a come-one-come-all public square, where little bloggers and pipsqueak web sites could go nose-to- nose with the big guys.

Now, the big corporations who bring the Internet to your home and office want to charge big bucks for priority on the pipes that deliver the online world. That would favor the kind of big companies that already dominate radio, TV and cable. And maybe squeeze out the little guy.

Critics are screaming bloody murder, and demanding “net neutrality.”

Hear about money, democracy and the battle for the heart of the web.

Guests:

Adam Cohen, member of the editorial board of the New York Times, author of “The Perfect Store: Inside eBAY”

Scott Cleland, chairman of netcompetition.org

Michael Grebb, contributing editor for Wired News

Lawrence Lessig, professor of law at Stanford University, founder of school’s Center for Internet and Society

Alan Davidson, Washington Policy Counsel for Google