Billionaire Capitalism Makes a Killing During COVID-19
On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss growing inequality, the Juneteenth holiday, the New York City mayoral race, Joe Manchin's war on the working class, far right calls for a coup in Peru, the Biden-Putin summit, 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.
22 Juni 202151min
The Pentagon Papers 50 Years Later: America's Most Famous Whistleblower Still Fighting Militarism
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the publication by The New York Times of excerpts of the Pentagon Papers — 7,000 pages of top-secret documents. These documents proved that the government of the United States had been lying to the people of this country for decades about a war that eventually ended with a U.S. withdrawal -- but only after millions of Vietnamese had been killed, 58,000 U.S. troops were killed with hundreds of thousands more suffered from physical and psychological injuries. Brian is joined by Daniel Ellsberg. He is one of the most important whistleblowers in modern American history and the author of The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. Daniel Ellsberg is also the author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers. 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.
17 Juni 202140min
The State as a Tool of Class Oppression
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 Marxist theory of the state. Mainstream politicians talk about small government and big government, but never tell the truth about who the government serves. 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. 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.
16 Juni 202132min
Biden Appeals for Imperialist United Front at G7
On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the G7 summit and its leaders' hypocritical rhetoric about human rights and democracy, the fight against police brutality and the suppression of the movement against racism, the latest attacks on Ilhan Omar, and more.
15 Juni 202156min
Brian Becker Seminar #5: Palestine, China, Nuclear winter, and more (Preview)
In this May 2021 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew discuss the new era in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine and what it means for the region, U.S. imperialist plots to dismember China, the alarming danger of nuclear war, and more. Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!
12 Juni 202110min
China's Foreign Policy Part 3, 1965-1975: When Enemies Become "Friends"
Today's episode is the third in a multi-part series that takes an in-depth look at the history of China's foreign policy. We discuss how Chinese foreign policy shifted after the Cultural Revolution. This culminated with China and the U.S. under the Nixon administration forging a new alliance that reshaped global politics. Brian is joined by Kenneth Hammond, a Professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University and an activist with the organization 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.
10 Juni 202151min
Karl Marx's Unique Theory of Social Classes
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 Karl Marx's theory of classes. Politicians of all stripes love to talk endlessly about their devotion to the middle class, but what does that even mean? What are the unique insights from Karl Marx about the real class structure of society? 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 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.
9 Juni 202132min
How the People Blocked the Israeli Apartheid Ship
On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek discuss an exciting new victory for the Palestine solidarity movement, a crackdown on journalists that has gained momentum with successive administrations, how Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has vowed to help Republicans defeat a key piece of voting rights legislation introduced in Congress, 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.
8 Juni 202159min
