Free Market or State Intervention? A Debate Inside the Right

Brian talks with Eugene Puryear about how the Trump White House is criminalizing left and liberal organizations as part of Project 2025’s effort to impose a new right-wing political system in the United States. Puryear argues that Trump’s economic and social policies are broadly unpopular and that the Trump Administration is using law enforcement to target and silence dissent in an illegal, unconstitutional effort to eliminate basic democratic rights.Brian Becker is joined by Eugene Puryear, an author and political activist, and co-host of The Freedom Side LIVE, a live video show every Thursday on BreakThrough News.Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

25 Sep 52min

Is the next Great Depression coming? One hedge fund manager who makes his clients billions off of economic crashes thinks the current stock market looks a lot like the high before the crash in 1929. Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss the cyclical crashes inherent to capitalism, how the stock market relates, and what’s coming.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

24 Sep 29min

Brian and Layan discuss how the assassination of Charlie Kirk is being used by the Trump White House to launch a new McCarthy-like effort to suppress Free Speech and dissent in the USA by criminalizing left, progressive and liberal organizations; they expose the false use of the “terrorism’ designation to crack down on progressive organizations; and they expose the latest high-tech war crimes being committed against the people of Gaza by the Israeli government.This is a preview of a patrons-only episode. Subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/TheSocialistProgram to hear the full episode, get access to all our patrons-only content, and help keep this show on the air.

23 Sep 17min

The U.S. economy is headed into a downward spiral, with millions unemployed, prices going up, and myriad other poor economic indicators. Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss how this is baked into the capitalist system and only a change of economic system can change the frequent economic crashes that fall the hardest on workers.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

17 Sep 29min

A new poll shows that the majority of U.S. residents—75%—don’t believe in the so-called American Dream: that if you work hard in the United States, you can succeed at having an economically secure life. Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss the major and growing inequality in the United States.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.Join the The Socialist Program community at https://www.patreon.com/TheSocialistProgram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

10 Sep 28min

Millions of Venezuelans participated in military drills to help defend the country as U.S. warships and fighter aircraft are deployed by Trump. Brian is joined by Manolo De Los Santos, Executive Director of The People’s Forum, for a discussion of the latest threats from the Trump Administration, how the issue of narcotics trafficking is being falsely used to justify another U.S. war of aggression – this time against the country that possesses the largest oil reserves in the world. Manolo explains how Maduro supporters are now being joined by many critics of the government to defend the homeland from Yankee Imperialism’s latest threats.This is a preview of a patrons-only episode. Subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/TheSocialistProgram to hear the full episode, get access to all our patrons-only content, and help keep this show on the air.

9 Sep 12min

Brian and Layan discuss the mass ICE raids and arrests in the last days of hundreds of workers at an auto factory in Georgia and a food production facility in Syracuse, NY. They also discuss the massive military parade in China that drew prominent attendance from the leaders of Russia, India, North Korea, Iran. Trump’s aggressive policies are creating a new coalition of countries opposed to U.S. hegemony.This is a preview of a patrons-only episode. Subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/TheSocialistProgram to hear the full episode, get access to all our patrons-only content, and help keep this show on the air.

6 Sep 11min

Trump’s family made $5 billion on Monday when they launched a new currency, a memecoin called $Trump. Along with propping up failing company Intel, these are recent examples of the resources the capitalists take from U.S. workers. Professor Richard Wolff & producer Nicole Roussell lay out how this corruption and grift occur.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.Join the The Socialist Program community at https://www.patreon.com/TheSocialistProgram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

3 Sep 25min