The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

On today's In the News roundtable, Esther Iverem, Nicole  Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how the menace of racist vigilante  violence received a dramatic boost by the U.S. court system with the  acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on all charges. They also discuss how  protesters took to the streets in outraged response to the verdict, the  victory of pro-Revolution candidates in the Venezuelan election, the  latest Jan. 6 attack court developments, demonstrations worldwide  against U.S. intervention in Ethiopia, resistance to the coup in Sudan,  and more. 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.

How does the relentless U.S. war machine sell its operations to the public? Dr. Nazia Kazi, an activist and professor of Anthropology at Stockton University, explains how the managers of the U.S. empire foment Islamophobia and other racist ideas at home as an integral part of waging war abroad. Dr. Kazi challenges theories of racism that ignore U.S. foreign policy, and discusses how Islamophobia has played a central role in justifying U.S. acts of aggression, in excusing military atrocities, and in creating a massive new surveillance apparatus at home.  That surveillance has been turned on Muslim and Arab Americans, along with social movements from Occupy Wall Street to Standing Rock to Black Lives Matter. Watch the NEW video edition of “The Real Story” on BreakThrough News! Dr. Nazia Kazi is author of the book “Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics,” which has just been republished in a second edition. 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 and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss  the steepest rise in prices in the last 30 years, which has set off  alarm bells and handed politicians like Joe Manchin a convenient excuse  to deepen their opposition to pro-worker social programs. Where does  inflation come from in a capitalist economy? What effect does it have on  the working class and on the capitalist class? 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, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss a newly-revealed US war crime in Syria that took the lives of over 60 civilians, causing  shock and outrage around the world. They also discuss the trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and the killers of Ahmaud Arbery, CIA-orchestrated efforts to destabilize Cuba, the dangerous rise of the violent far right, the social program budget being pushed to the side in favor of military spending, and more. The following articles are referenced in this episode: How the U.S. Hid an Airstrike That Killed Dozens of Civilians in Syria https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/13/us/us-airstrikes-civilian-deaths.html How a School District Got Caught in Virginia’s Political Maelstrom https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/14/us/loudoun-county-school-board-va.html 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.

Watch the video version on BreakThrough News here: https://youtu.be/WUHHe6h8iXk What could be the final effort to resuscitate the Iran nuclear deal will begin this month with negotiators meeting in Vienna. The United States,  having violated and destroyed the deal under Trump, is now pushing for new concessions from Iran. This kind of arrogance is nothing new -- it has been the defining feature of U.S. government policy towards Iran going back to the 1953 CIA-sponsored coup and through the 1979 revolution that overthrew the U.S. puppet monarchy. Brian is  joined by Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran. 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, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how tens of thousands of people marched in Glasgow and all over the world last weekend, chanting “uproot the system!” and demanding the transformation of the world economy to combat the climate crisis. They also discuss developments with the social program budget, the trial of the killers of Ahmaud Arbery, and the latest on the Iran nuclear deal. 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.

Since 1959, the Cuban Revolution has been a main target of the CIA and the entire U.S. government. Before the Revolution, Cuba was a de facto colony or semi-colony of the United States. Today, efforts to carry out counter-revolution are intensifying. Cuba is in the crosshairs -- what’s at stake? Listen to our inaugural episode as part of BreakThrough News! Brian is joined by Manolo De Los Santos, Founder & Co-Director of The People’s Forum and a researcher with the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. 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.

World leaders are gathered in Glasgow, Scotland for a major United Nations conference on climate change. But beyond the false promises and hollow phrases, what will it really take to pull the planet back from the brink of total disaster? What can prevent the capitalists from killing the planet? 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, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the Glasgow climate summit and  Biden's capitulation to the right wing on his social program budget. The Glasgow summit is underway, and yet again the U.S. government has failed to meet the challenge -- coming up with only the woefully inadequate measures contained in Biden’s social spending “framework” agreement. The following articles are referenced in this episode: The Laughing Stock of the World: Why the world pities us and fears us https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/the-laughing-stock-of-the-world Warnings of violence before Jan. 6 precipitated the Capitol riot https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/warnings-jan-6-insurrection/ The Demand for Money Behind Many Police Traffic Stops https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-ticket-quotas-money-funding.html Why Many Police Traffic Stops Turn Deadly https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-traffic-stops-killings.html Before the Final Frame: When Police Missteps Create Danger https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/10/30/video/police-traffic-stops-danger-video.html 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 October 2021 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew discuss the Biden administration's "Build Back Better" budget bill and answer a  range of questions, from the efficacy of civil disobedience, to how to organize against the military industrial complex, and more. Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!