The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

In this special crossover episode, Rania Khalek of Dispatches sits  down with Brian to talk about the impact of severe repression on the  socialist, communist and Black Liberation movement in the United States  during the past decades. Rania Khalek’s Dispatches program is on  BreakThrough News, and is available on video at  YouTube.com/BreakThroughNews and as a podcast on Google, Apple, and  anywhere you get your podcasts. 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. This month it's on Wednesday, August 31, at  12pm ET/9am PT. Register now on Patreon!

On today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the student debt crisis. With an announcement expected imminently on the fate of the national freeze on student debt payments, pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to not only extend the moratorium, but also cancel a substantial amount of the crushing debt burden tens of millions of people in the United States are under. How did we end up in a situation where borrowers have accumulated over $1.7 trillion in debt just because they wanted to get an education? Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find 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.

Kemal Okuyan, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Turkey, joins Brian to discuss the struggle for secular identity in Turkey, attacks on women's rights in the US and Turkey, Turkey's involvement in the Syrian conflict, and the political situation in Turkey and Erdogan's hold on power.

A second congressional delegation went to Taiwan this week, less than two weeks after Pelosi visited. These trips have sparked a sense of outrage among many Chinese people, who demand respect for their sovereignty and for their impressive social and economic achievements. This includes massive poverty reduction and surpassing the United States in key indicators like life expectancy. How is U.S. aggression against China related to their continuous rise? Brian is joined by Tings Chak, Shanghai-based researcher at the Tricontinental Institute & a member of Dongsheng News collective and the author of the pamphlet “Serve the People: The Eradication of Extreme Poverty in China.” 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 Walter Smolarek and Prof.  Richard Wolff discuss the housing market as the Federal Reserve-induced  economic downturn takes shape. The situation is rapidly deteriorating  for both renters and prospective home buyers, with  evictions on the rise, prices rising and interest rates spiraling out  of control. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find 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.

Explore the significance of Black August and the fight for Black liberation. Learn about George Jackson and his organizing in prison. Discover the power of revolutionary optimism and the recent release of Sundiata Akoli. Discuss the cases of Rochelle McGee and Dr. Matulu Shakur, and ongoing campaigns to free political prisoners.

A massive fire in Matanzas, Cuba, is coming under control after five days due to tireless efforts by firefighters and specialist crews. But the U.S. blockade, which worsened under Trump with 243 additional coercive measures, and which Biden has largely kept in place, has deprived Cuba of the equipment and resources necessary to handle this disaster. Brian is joined by Manolo De Los Santos, a central organizer of the Let Cuba Live campaign and the co-executive director of The People’s Forum in New York. 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 analyze the Senate's spending bill entitled the "Inflation  Reduction Act" for the effect it could have on inflation. It falls far  short of what’s desperately needed to address the overlapping crises  causing so much suffering for working people. Professor Richard Wolff is an author  & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find 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.

A deadly fire broke out over the weekend in Cuba from a lightning storm  that struck near an oil storage facility and caused an explosion. At  least one person has been confirmed dead, and dozens more are injured  and missing. This tragic natural disaster could have happened in any  country, but is even harder on Cuba due to the U.S. war against  them...including many of Trump’s policies that Biden hasn’t touched. Nicole  Roussell is joined by Gloria La Riva, coordinator of the Cuba and  Venezuela Solidarity Committee and one of the co-founders of the Hatuey  Project at hatueyproject.org. 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.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island of Taiwan this week, in an unprecedented escalation toward China. What will the fallout be? Could Pelosi have made this trip without the administration’s blessing? Will this surprise visit anger US allies in the region? 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. 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.