The Socialist Program

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: Wh...

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.

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...

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  ...

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.

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 week...

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 &nbs...

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.

Dr. Gerald Horne offers his insights and historical perspective on the fascist-led mob that seized temporary control of the Capitol Building and dispersed Congress for hours in an effort to alter the 2020 election outcome. Professor Gerald Horne originally sat down for a conversation with Brian about his latest book "The Bittersweet Science -- Racism,  Racketeering, the Political Economy of B...

Various ruling class factions, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have coalesced against Trump and the fascist-led insurrection against Congress. What comes next?

On this week's episode of The Socialist Program's regular segment "Capitalism in Crisis" with Prof. Richard Wolff, we discuss the role played by economic factors in the growth of fascist movements. Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss how the core features of capitalism provide fascism with an opportunity to rise and take power.

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek discuss the rising tide of the fascist movement in the United States amid the pro-Trump mob's seizure of the Capitol Building, what may come next as Trump's term comes to a close, and how the people can organize and fight back.

Donald Trump forfeited all support from establishment forces when he incited a fascist assault against the sitting U.S. Congress. Was there police and military collusion that allowed fascist forces to quickly seize control of the Capitol building?

Brian speaks with Prof. Richard Wolff about Marx and the Marxist analysis of the fundamental features of capitalism. Marx's assessment of the laws of capitalism were written more than 150 years ago, but they are spot on in their description of modern day capitalism and explain why millions of people are turning toward socialism with a renewed interest in Marx. Richard Wolff is the co-founder of th...

Is Trump trying to incite a fascist-type insurrection or simply hold control over the Republican Party -- or both? Is there a new danger of a U.S. war with Iran? Julian Assange had a major court victory...and more, on this episode of In The News.

Why does the capitalist economy lurch into a recession every few years with massive unemployment and job losses? Why is the debate between the millionaires in Congress only about whether working families should get $600 or $2,000 in a one-time payment when the banks and corporations already received trillions in subsidies and loan guarantees? Brian speaks with Richard Wolff, the co-founder of the...

Covid-19 failures, 60 million lose their jobs, growing hunger in the richest country in the world, 40 million facing imminent evictions and rampant police violence against Black and Brown people -- 2020 revealed the crises and failures of US capitalism.

Professor Richard Wolff dissects the new "stimulus package" and exposes the mind-blowing cruelty and greed of the capitalist class and the political agents in Congress.

Congress decides to throw tens of millions of working people under the bus with the new so-called stimulus package. Will Joe Biden bring the United States back into the Iran nuclear arms deal? FBI and federal police shoot and kill in DC without any account.

Militarism is everywhere you look in U.S. society. No country on earth spends sums anywhere near as vast as the U.S. government. We are fed propaganda from childhood glamorizing war and the armed forces, and the endless bombing and occupation of multiple countries around the world is normalized and forgotten. Brian is joined by Lee Camp -- a writer, comedian, activist, journalist, and host of the...

On this week's episode of The Socialist Program's regular segment "Capitalism in Crisis" with Prof. Richard Wolff, we discuss the economy's "K-Shaped" recovery -- in which one section of society bounces back from the pandemic but the majority of people see their living standards and prospects for the future continue to decline. Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work...

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem, and Walter Smolarek discuss the huge and rapidly rising rates of hunger in the United States, the "Proud Boys'" racist rampage through D.C. while the cops looked the other way, Congress's swift action on massive military spending compared with its inability to provide pandemic relief, and more.

The Korean War began 70 years ago and has still not ended even though North and South Korea want it to end. The key obstacle is not in Pyongyang or Seoul but in Washington DC. Brian takes an in-depth look at US-Korean relations as the Biden Administration prepares to take the helm. Hyun Lee and Gregory Elich are the featured expert guests in this fascinating analysis.

On this week's episode of The Socialist Program's regular segment "Capitalism in Crisis" with Prof. Richard Wolff, we discuss the system of capitalist banks, their stranglehold on society,  and why unemployment and poverty are skyrocketing. 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 &nb...

On today's “In the News” roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell and Esther Iverem discuss the roots of exploding poverty from Alabama to the Bronx, Biden's pick for Secretary of Defense, the hidden U.S. war in Somalia, new government failures on the Covid-19 front, a remembrance of murdered Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton, and more. PLUS: Leonardo Flores joins the show to talk about the...