The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

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!

On today's episode, Brian and Ju-Hyun Park discuss the rising tide of labor activism in South Korea demanding not only economic and social justice for workers, but also an expansion of democracy. Braving violent police repression, half a million workers in South Korea went on strike last week in a major show of force. The unfolding political and social struggles in South Korea will have a far-reaching impact not only for people on the Korean peninsula, but a major impact on regional politics Ju-Hyun Park is a writer and member of Nodutdol for Korean Community Development. You can check out their latest article titled “Half a Million South Korean Workers Walk Off Jobs in General Strike” on Truthout: https://truthout.org/articles/half-a-million-south-korean-workers-prepare-to-walk-off-jobs-in-general-strike/ 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 how the Federal  Reserve has been forced to announce new ethics rules after a scandal  over financial trading conducted by high-ranking officials led to the  resignation of two regional bank presidents. But will this really  prevent Fed officials from using their positions of power to get rich? 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 how Biden is giving away more and more in backroom negotiations with right wing Democrats in Congress like Joe Manchin, imperiling the most important measures in the social program budget. They also discuss resistance to the coup in Sudan, the latest on right wing attacks on education, new revelations about human rights abuses against migrants in the custody of the U.S. government, 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 is the second in a multi-part series on Lenin's theory of imperialism and how his ideas apply to the modern day struggle  against war and empire. Brian Becker and Walter Smolarek discuss how nearly the entire globe was divided up by the imperialist powers by the end of the 19th century as part of the expand-or-die nature of the capitalist system. The imperialists then turned to catastrophic world war as the only available means to grow their empire. But by the middle of the 20th century, it became clear that  this had led to the rise of a bloc of socialist states that threatened the existence of capitalism itself. Inter-imperialist competition took a backseat as a new era of global class war began.  These concepts are covered in detail in the book "Imperialism in the 21st Century: Updating Lenin's Theory a Century Later" published by  Liberation Media. 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 Pandora Papers -- the massive leak of financial information exposing how the rich and powerful hide their assets in tax havens around the world. How does this institutionalized system of tax evasion function? What does this tell us about how the capitalist system works? 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.