365 Days of Ukraine War: US Doubles Down, While Global South Realigns

Shockwaves hit Wall Street banks and hedge funds in the face of a Reddit-based insurgency of day traders who targeted financial giants. Brian and Prof. Wolff examine the role played by speculation, the stock market and financial bubbles in capitalism. Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The System is the Sickness: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com.

3 Feb 202134min

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek discuss how politicians throughout U.S. history have incited racist mobs to carry out acts of violence, how this long standing trend manifested in the January 6 attack on the Capitol Building, and a roundup of national and international headlines.

2 Feb 202156min

After 45 Senate Republicans voted to declare his impeachment trial unconstitutional, Donald Trump is almost assured an acquittal. It marks a stunning turnaround for a man who just a few weeks ago was completely isolated and facing the prospect of jail time for seditious conspiracy. How did the Democratic Party fail so spectacularly? Will impeachment ironically be the thing that paves the way for Trump’s reentry into the political spotlight? What does this mean for the rising danger of fascism?

28 Jan 202142min

On this week's episode of The Socialist Program's regular segment "Capitalism in Crisis" with Prof. Richard Wolff, we discuss mounting corporate debt and long term trends in capitalism, including increasingly worse recession and capitalists' growing dependency on government aid. Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The System is the Sickness: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com.

27 Jan 202129min

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek discuss the Democratic Party establishment’s blundering first week in power, Biden’s efforts to forge unity with the right wing, and how his administration’s foreign policy is playing out.

26 Jan 202155min

Under the cloud of a massive military occupation of Washington DC Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president. In a highly polarized country Biden announced 17 Executive Orders and started unveiling the policies and objectives of the new administration. Hunger, unemployment and homelessness is surging. More than 100,000 have died from Covid in just the last four weeks. We take a look at the Biden's domestic and foreign policy positions and talk about the imperative need for a new, massive and militant working class movement without which the Biden White House will enforce its number #1 promise to voters that "nothing will fundamentally change."

21 Jan 202152min

On this week's episode of The Socialist Program's regular segment "Capitalism in Crisis" with Prof. Richard Wolff, we discuss the economic stimulus bill proposed by President Biden and how it falls short of the dramatic steps needed to address the suffering caused by the pandemic. Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The System is the Sickness: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com.

20 Jan 202127min

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek continue our coverage of the aftermath of the assault on the Capitol Building, with a focus on the different components and motivations of the fascist movement that led the attack.

19 Jan 202155min