The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the latest in Afghanistan, including the U.S. drone  missile strike in Afghanistan that wiped out a family of 10 people, all  civilians, including several young children. They also discuss the  devastation caused by Hurricane Ida and the urgent  struggle to prevent 11 million evictions in the wake of the Supreme  Court’s ruling last week striking down the federal moratorium. The following news articles and documents were referenced in this episode: Evacuations From Kabul Wind Down as U.S. Prepares to Pull Last Troops https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/28/world/asia/afghanistan-evacuations.html Is the U.S.-installed Afghan government doomed? https://www.liberationnews.org/is-the-u-s-installed-afghan-government-doomed/ Report Portrays a Broken C.I.A. Devoted to a Failed Approach https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/world/senate-torture-report-shows-cia-infighting-over-interrogation-program.html Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/publications/committee-study-central-intelligence-agencys-detention-and-interrogation-program 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.

Today's episode focuses on the long term plans being developed by the United States in light of the rapid collapse of their client government in Afghanistan. How do the war makers plan to recover from this blow to the prestige of U.S. empire? Brian is joined by Ann Wright, a retired United States Army colonel and former U.S. State Department official in Afghanistan, who resigned in protest of the invasion of Iraq and became an anti-war activist. 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 & Prof. Wolff continue a series on agriculture under capitalism with a focus on the hunger crisis in the United States. How is it possible that in the richest country ever tens of millions are deprived of something as basic as food? 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 United States' frantic evacuation from Afghanistan and the questions swirling about the future of the country’s government -- and critical history left out of the corporate media narrative. They also discuss how crucial pandemic relief measures are imperiled, the strike waged by Nabisco workers, and vital efforts to vaccinate the population from COVID & the major obstacles they are encountering. 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.

Will the chaotic end of the Afghanistan War deal a  lasting blow to US imperialism? We cover essential historical &  international context with Dr. Gerald Horne, professor at the University  of Houston & author of many books, including “The Dawning of the  Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism,  and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century.” 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 and Prof. Wolff continue a multi-part series on  agriculture under capitalism. This week, they focus on the evolution of  the system of factory farming and the effect it has on workers and  nature. 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 end to the 20-year U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. The government of Afghanistan has collapsed without a fight, in the face of a lightning offensive by the Taliban following the announcement that US forces were leaving Afghanistan. Joe Biden went on national television yesterday to defend his decision to end the war. Biden acknowledged, in essence, that the US had been defeated and retaining military forces in Afghanistan would never change the outcome. The panel also discusses the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the new court ruling on the federal eviction moratorium, the latest on the rise of the far right, 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.

Today's episode covers the rapid fall of key cities in Afghanistan to the Taliban & the consequences of 20 years of brutal U.S. occupation of the country. Brian & guest Mike Prysner also discuss how socialists struggle against imperialist war & organize enlisted soldiers to resist. Brian is joined by Mike Prysner, an anti-war activist, producer of The Empire Files & co-host of the podcast "Eyes Left". 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 and Prof. Wolff begin a multi-part series on agriculture under capitalism. Under this system, the most basic necessity of life -- food -- is turned into a source of profit dominated by a smaller and smaller number of agribusiness corporations. Environmental destruction and enormous waste are built into the capitalist agriculture system while hundreds of millions around the globe still go hungry.   Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com. Richard and Brian also discuss two important books on the topic in this episode: "Creating an Ecological Society: Toward a Revolutionary Transformation" by Fred Magdoff and "Animal, Vegetable, Junk" by Mark Bittman. 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 battle over the fate of millions of people in the United States facing eviction as the movement for housing rights gains momentum. Meanwhile, the new COVID wave worsens, the Taliban seized a series of key cities in Afghanistan, and more.  We'll also we'll hear from special guest Eugene Puryear about his recent trip to Ghana to attend a historic congress launching a new socialist organization with major support from the country's youth. Eugene Puryear is a host for BreakThrough News. Be sure to check out his daily podcast: The Punch Out. 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.