The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how the people of Cuba demonstrated in support of their revolution and government over the weekend, new environmental disasters brought about by climate change, efforts to prohibit the teaching of the history of racism in America, a new global spying scandal involving an Israeli company, 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.

The podcast explores China's foreign policy from 1989-1995, focusing on its transition from isolation to global economic integration after the Tiananmen Square protests. It discusses the impact of the protests on China's foreign policy, the significance of Deng Xiaoping's Southern Journey, and the shift in US foreign policy towards China in the 1990s.

Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff continue a  discussion on the Marxist understanding of the housing market, today  focusing on the system of rent and the current crisis resulting from  soaring rents. Today's episode is also part of a series of discussions  about the basics of Marxism — a method for understanding and changing  the world used by many of the great revolutionaries of modern history. 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. 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 the U.S.  government and corporate media are hoping for regime change in Cuba, but  the Cuban people and government are mobilizing to defend their  revolution in spite of the severe hardships caused by the U.S. blockade.  They also discuss the political crisis in Haiti and the danger of U.S.  intervention, and more. This episode includes a special interview with  Cathy Rojas, the socialist candidate for mayor of New York City. 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.

Explore China's foreign policy from 1975-1989: US-China alliance after US defeat in Southeast Asia, China's invasion of Vietnam, Gorbachev's reforms, the arms race, the counter-revolution in Eastern Europe, and the Tiananmen Square standoff.

Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the Marxist understanding of the real estate market and how the speculative nature of this capitalist market leads to tragedies like the deadly Miami condo collapse. They also discuss the concept and experience of social housing as an alternative to private capitalist housing.  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. 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 activists trying to defend the environment are being sent to prison for many years and Indigenous communities and frontline water protectors are being targeted with vicious repression. They also discuss voting rights, the indictment of the Trump Organization, the death of war criminal Donald Rumsfeld, 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.

On today's episode, we discuss the hidden history of the revolutionary class struggle that brought down the system of slavery in America, an accomplishment celebrated by the Juneteenth holiday. The military defeat of the confederacy -- accomplished thanks to the heroic intervention of hundreds of thousands of Black soldiers in the war -- ushered in a new era that sent shockwaves around the world. They also discuss the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Communist Party of China and how the party led the transformation of the country into the rising power of today.  Brian is joined by Dr. Gerald Horne. He holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston and is the author of many books. His most recent book is “The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing,” and he is the author of “The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America.” Dr. Horne is also the author of 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.

In this June 2021 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew discuss the  Communist Party of China and other communist parties in power, the union  movement today and how to organize with unions, a behind the scenes  look at the struggle to end the Vietnam War, nationalism and national  liberation, and more. Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!

Today we continue a series of discussions about the  basics of Marxism — a method for understanding and changing the world used by many of the great revolutionaries of modern history. We discus the Marxist understanding of the so-called gig economy. More and more workers are forced to make ends meet driving for Lyft or Uber, delivering food or an ever expanding number of irregular jobs. But far before smartphones and the internet, capitalism has long depended on precarious labor. 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. 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.