The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff  discuss the increasingly unstable political environment, as Dr. Wolff  writes about in his newest article. He argues that some politicians are  denying there are any problems while some find a scapegoat where they  can direct people's anger--and both of which are symptoms of the  political elite desperately trying to protect the capitalist system. Professor  Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization  Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com, and read the article here: https://www.alternet.org/2022/01/capitalism. Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram.  We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you  consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more  are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem and Nicole Roussell discuss the political period twenty years ago when George W Bush laid out “the axis of evil” – Iraq, Iran, and North Korea – and escalated the “war on terror,” which was really just a campaign of imperialist war and intervention. They also analyze the escalating war against Russia, the Washington Post’s Sunday lead editorial with an alarming message, the newest thing named after Jeff Bezos (it’s a library!), dark money in elections, the plea deals for the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery, the new angle that the U.S. press is taking against China’s incredible record against Covid, and the campaign to transfer political prisoner Leonard Peltier to a hospital to treat his Covid infection. Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

In this January 2022 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew discuss the Ukraine conflict at length, including a deep dive into the historical and geopolitical context of the region, the legacy of World Wars and the Cold War, the class character of the Russian state today, and more. We also discuss a Marxist analysis of class stratification in the U.S. today. Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!

Is war with Russia just around the corner? If you listen to corporate U.S. media and politicians it is. Brian Becker and Eugene Puryear break down what’s really going on in Ukraine and Russia, what the context of the tension is, and what the chances are of war. Brian is joined by Eugene Puryear, author and activist, host of the BreakThrough News podcast The Punch Out, and co-host of the BT live video show The Freedom Side. Watch the video edition of “The Real Story” on BreakThrough News! Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the recently turbulent stock market. What does this mean for the economy and for us? Is this volatility a sign of something to come? Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com. Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram.  We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem and Nicole Roussell discuss the U.S. evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Kiev while stating that war with Russia may be soon, the win for Julian Assange giving him his right to appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court to stop his extradition to the United States, the Senate's  maneuvers against protecting voting rights, and the newly exposed U.S. war crimes against the people in Syria. Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram.  We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you  consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more  are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Brian Becker and Dr. Ken Hammond discuss U.S. aggression against China, which often uses Taiwan as a pretext. But next month is the 50th anniversary of the Shanghai Communiqué – a document the U.S. and China jointly signed, after Nixon visited the country, which recognized that Taiwan is in fact part of China. Brian is joined by Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University, founding director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State University, and activist with Pivot to Peace. Watch the video edition of “The Real Story” on BreakThrough News! Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss cascading crises that rocked Wall Street and the stock market, which crashed yesterday, as inflation spikes and the economy slows. Things are about to get much worse as the Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com. Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem and Nicole Roussell discuss how the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court has decided to help spread Covid, how Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are joining with the Supreme Court and the Republican Party to destroy voting rights, especially for Black Americans, how people nationwide remembered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the streets yesterday and how the U.S. war machine continues its escalation of  threats against Russia at the Ukrainian-Russian border.   Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Brian Becker, Claudia De La Cruz and Gabriel Rockhill continue The Socialist Program’s analysis of the deeper meaning of the January 6 assault that temporarily dispersed Congress. One year after the attack attempted to overturn the election, the architects of that plan have yet to face prosecution and a movement of the far-right consolidates. There is a liberal response to fascism that prioritizes an alliance with one section of the ruling class and there is a working-class strategy based on building a united front from below. Brian is joined by Claudia De La Cruz, co-Executive Director of The People’s Forum, popular educator, community organizer and theologian, and Dr. Gabriel Rockhill, Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop and Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University. Watch the NEW video edition of “The Real Story” on BreakThrough News! Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram.  We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.