The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

Journalist Abby Martin, the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF),  and CAIR won a major victory for free speech and the right to protest in  solidarity with Palestine in a May 24 federal court ruling. A judge  ruled that Georgia’s law against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions  movements was a violation of constitutionally guaranteed free speech  rights. PCJF Executive Director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard and host of The  Empire Files Abby Martin join the show to discuss what this means for  the BDS movement and the state of civil liberties in the US.

Brian and Prof. Wolff 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. Today, they discuss the role of finance and the big banks. Why does Wall Street reign supreme in the capitalist system? 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

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole  Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the one year anniversary of the  murder of George Floyd, the Palestinian people's continuing resistance  after 11 days of massacres by Israeli forces, and how the mass movements  that developed around the issues of racist police violence and the  oppression of Palestinians have changed the world.

On today's episode, Brian and Dr. Gerald Horne talk about the dramatic changes brought about by the evolution of the role played by China in the world economy and world politics. As the United States' power declines, the managers of U.S. empire are scrambling to come up with new approaches to maintain their dominant position around the globe.   Dr. Gerald Horne holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston and the 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.” He is also the author of “The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing.”

Brian and Prof. Wolff 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. Today, they discuss the theory of surplus value. Why do Marxists believe that anyone who works for a wage is being stolen from by their boss?   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

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole  Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss Palestinians' general strike today  as fierce resistance continues to the increasingly brutal Israeli  attack, the possibility that the right-wing Supreme Court will  eviscerate the right of women to control their own bodies, the criminal  injustice system and another extreme and odious form of racism used to  justify police murder, and a left wing victory in the recent Chilean  elections.

The Israeli government is waging war against the  Palestinian people and attempting to carry out mass ethnic cleansing of  the city of Jerusalem as part of ongoing historic efforts to evict the  Palestinian people from their homelands. This has led to a historic  level of resistance in Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank and in Palestinian  communities within the current Israeli borders. Brian is joined  by Abby Martin and Mike Prysner of The Empire Files. The Empire Files'  full-length documentary movie “Gaza Fights for Freedom” is now available  for free online. Check out their work at TheEmpireFiles.tv

Brian and Prof. Wolff begin 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. Today, they discuss what a monopoly is, and how there is a natural tendency to monopoly under capitalism. 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

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the assault being waged by the Israeli military on Palestinians following intense fascist attacks and ethnic cleansing efforts directed against Palestinian residents of Jerusalem by ultra-right settlers. And in domestic news, the Biden administration’s economic program continues to draw attacks from right-wing media, the Republican Party, and key parts of the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate. 

This podcast delves into the breakdown of relations between China and the Soviet Union, the China-India war, the US invasion of Vietnam, and the CIA-organized genocide in Indonesia. It also discusses US foreign policy strategies, manipulation and lies in American foreign policy, and provides historical context for territorial conflicts.