The Socialist Program

Richard Wolff, Marxian economist, professor, author, and co-founder of Democracy at Work, joins a discussion on France’s escalating protests. They explore the country’s revolutionary tradition, union-led strikes, austerity, military spending, media narratives, police repression, immigrant labor, and the risk of political co-option. The conversation also examines how unrest across Europe and the US could move from reform demands toward systemic transformation.

Yemen’s resistance enters a widening Middle East war, putting Saudi infrastructure and Red Sea shipping in the spotlight. The discussion traces Ansar Allah’s origins, Yemen’s anti-colonial and socialist legacy, and the decades of U.S., British, and Saudi intervention that shaped the conflict. It also explores imperial borders, economic punishment, and Yemen’s strategic importance.

Richard Wolff, Marxian economist, author, and Democracy at Work co-founder, joins a discussion on Elon Musk’s $300 million political spending and the billionaire money flooding U.S. midterms. They explore plutocratic control, corporate blackmail, public anger without an organized movement, suppression of socialist candidates, French youth protests, and the unraveling of U.S. global dominance.

Richard Wolff, economist, professor, author, and co-founder of Democracy at Work, examines the risk of another major economic crash. He discusses commercial real estate, soaring interest rates, government debt, and fragile AI investments. The conversation also explores France’s austerity backlash, war spending, rising youth support for socialism, and China’s challenge to U.S. tech dominance.

Richard Wolff, Marxian economist, professor emeritus, and Democracy at Work co-founder, joins a sharp discussion of Mark Carney’s opposition to Trump. They examine nationalism as a mask for class conflict, capitalism’s global inequality, billionaire-controlled worker enclaves, and why independent socialist analysis matters. The conversation also explores monopoly power and the growing appeal of socialism.

Recent elections in Germany show that the mainstream capitalist political party is in crisis. Left-wing pro-working class forces have made huge gains in Berlin and at the same time the right-wing political party AfD is rising. Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the implications of this development, plus Mark Carney and the Trump-Canada trade conflict.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

The biggest capitalist CEOs of AI companies have been forced in the last week to address the question raised by their own profit-driven efforts: will the AI technologies they are rapidly developing not only threaten communities where data centers are being imposed, but also threaten society and life as we know it? Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

A gas company just paid a record-breaking $5.3 million for its tanker ship to skip the Panama Canal’s long line, a line induced by the US-Iran war. Meanwhile the US fired on Iranian positions in the Strait of Hormuz. The US bond market is also in its worst state in 30 years. Professor Richard Wolff and producer Nicole Roussell unpack the state of today’s volatile global economy.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

Speaking on behalf of Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States would embark on a new campaign to destroy Iran’s economy with sanctions. He gave the operation a name: ‘Operation Economic Outcast.’ Professor Richard Wolff and Brian Becker discuss.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

A deep dive into how Operation Paperclip reshaped postwar power by importing Nazi scientists, spymasters and generals into US and NATO structures. The story traces rocket programs, slave labor at Mittelbau Dora, and the public makeover of figures like von Braun. The preview highlights Cold War stakes and the program’s wider reach into intelligence and military networks.