Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the political theater, of the U.S./Iran hostilities, the political shock of Zohran Mamdani's Democratic primary win in New York City, the withdrawal of union leaders from the Democratic National Committee, and the rising trade among BRICS crosses the $1 trillion milestone. In the second part of today's show, Prof. Wolff...

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff, responding to requests, explores the parallels between what led to the rise of Hitler and fascism in Germany after World War I and what has brought the US to Trump and his current policies. Many key basic parallels are presented alongside some remaining differences that help explain why what Trump is doing is not yet what a fully formed US fascism wou...

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff has a one-on-one discussion with Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges, who draws on history, his years as a correspondent and NY Times Middle East Bureau Chief, and his current work on and in the Middle East. He explains why Israel attacked Iran and what the short and long-term prospects are for their war. He also devotes some of his analyse...

This week's episode of Economic Update features an analysis by Professor Wolff on:  1. How Trump seeks to address the problem of costly American wars and their impact on sharply rising budget deficits,  2. How the rising U.S. debt has led to the loss of the United States' "AAA" credit rating,  3. How Trump's response is to seek to slash government spending and raise money by imposing tariffs on th...

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the blow back to Iowa Senator Joni Ernst's rationalization of budget cuts to Medicaid to help fund tax cuts for corporations and the rich, 8,000 Connecticut healthcare workers win contract gains by threatening to strike, and how the advertising industry spawned by capitalism distorts and corrupts human communication. Th...

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on U.S. vs Chinese wheelbarrows, the Cold War error against China, the lasting effects of terminated U.S. federal workers, how tariffs alone won't bring manufacturing back to the U.S., further declines in U.S. coal mining, McDonald's hamburgers in the U.S., and the rapid economic decline in Europe.   The d@w Team Economic...

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on Trump's cuts to school mental health counselors, the mass strike in LA County, why China is better positioned for a trade war with the U.S., and how profit drives corporate decisions to relocate U.S. factories overseas, thereby making the US economy vulnerable to long, global supply lines.   The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard...

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff begins by presenting updates on the death of libertarianism and the rise of US economic nationalism, and US universities become big businesses, governed by money concerns. In the episode's second half, Professor Wolff interviews Professor Geert Dhondt, the Chair of the Economics Department and Economics Professor at John Jay College of the City Univers...

Professor Wolff begins this week on Economic Update by analyzing the choice between reform and revolution through two historical discussions: the anti-slavery fight in the mid-19th century and the anti-Depression fight in the U.S. during the 1930s. He then explains the stakes in choosing reform or revolution as goals for social change and outlines how and why both options are now back on the worki...

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on Trump VS Harvard, Trump's "antisemitism" maneuver, how higher education in the U.S. is becoming ever more " business-like," and the economics behind the depreciation of the U.S. dollar since Jan 20, 2025. The show's second half features an interview with Mr. Rob Robinson, who is to be awarded an honorary doctorate from...

This week on Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff examines a major labor strike unfolding in California, where 2,400 Kaiser Permanente mental health workers are fighting for better conditions. Next, we break down how tariffs function as an economic weapon, undermining the living standards of U.S. workers. Finally, Professor Wolff sits down with Kali Akuno, co-founder and co-director of Coopera...

**** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT **** For those of you in the New York area, we'd like to invite you to join us for another presentation of "Global Capitalism Live with Professor Richard Wolff" taking place on April 30th. Professor Wolff will be giving a lecture on the impact of President Trump's economic policies and explaining how they are an attack on working people as part of a reflection on May Day....

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff critiques the DOGE practice of firing federal civilian employees, analyzes the Trump tariff program, and shows how both are presented as ways to solve deep economic problems in the U.S. but are actually an assault on the working class. The second part of the show features an interview with David Van Deusen, the former head of the Vermont s...

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff explores the last 150 years of largely uncritical celebrations of "the market" as if it were a perfect institution that must be protected from the intrusion of other institutions such as the government, labor unions, and popular organizations. We compare a historical example and the present to criticize today's peculiar mix of market idolatry and its r...

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff discusses certain minimum wages by the Trump administration, the costs of Germany's rearmament, and how Trump's tariffs and deportations have hit central America with economic catastrophe. The second half features a detailed discussion of the historical blaming of foreigners for the internal problems of capitalism in the U.S.    The d@w Te...

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff discusses how Marx's class analysis presents a solution to today's inequality and the challenges to overcoming it we have faced throughout history. In short, since the early existence of human society, people lived in tribes, clans, and villages that exhibited equality of wealth, income, and political power among their members. As modern h...

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff discusses the economic causes and effects of the global demographic's decline, the Trump administration's colonial plans for Greenland, and examples of resistance and fighting back as the Trump/Musk firing of federal workers gets underway. In the show's second half, Professor Wolff interviews the activist, organizer, and people's lawyer, w...

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the firing of government workers by Trump/Musk with an economic analysis showing it to be an attack on the U.S. working class followed by a discussion of Trump's foreign policy of turning against Europe as merely an adjustment to an "American Capitalism First" project that is as old as the U.S. The second half of the show, features...

This week's episode of Economic Update features updates on the economic risks and costs Europe faces from deporting or blocking immigrants as compared to Spain's prosperity through a pro-immigrant policy, the work of Michael Burawoy, a Marxist sociology professor at UC Berkeley, and how the inflation of meat prices is affected by a four-company oligopoly that controls 85% of the U.S. meat supply....

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff discusses unionizing Whole Foods workers VS. Amazon and Trump and the contradictions, dangers, and global retaliation of the new administration's tariff program. The show's second half features an interview with political scientist Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III on the China-U.S. competition: its costs, the stakes, and why the U.S. is losing.   Th...

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff discusses Trump's attempts at taking Panama as more evidence of rising colonialism and imperial ambitions, the recent organizing and strike of 10,000 Colorado grocery workers, and finally, corporations and investment funds abandoning DEI. In the second half of the show, Prof. Wolff interviews psychotherapist Tess Fraad-Wolff on capitalism'...

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff delivers updates on the North Carolina union election at an Amazon warehouse, the deportation of immigrants, and the U.S. construction industry, a lesson in how capitalism installs new technology like A.I. and how it could be far better done. In the second half of this week's episode, Professor Wolff interviews Serena Martin, a for...

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff delves into the heroic efforts of California firefighters and their extraordinary work in battling the recent wildfires in Los Angeles. We also explore the progressive transformations occurring within U.S. labor unions and shed light on the escalating housing affordability crisis across the United States. Additionally, we interview...

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff explores the economic consequences of the United States threatening Mexico and Canada. We also highlight how worker co-ops are joining forces with unions to strengthen both movements and examine the economics of the illegal drug trade. Additionally, we discuss the significance of Indonesia joining BRICS.   The d@w Team Economic Update with...

In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff discusses updates on deep political corruption: the Illinois example, final statistics on the 2024 presidential election results did NOT give Trump any mandate, the Canadian government forcing 55,000 striking postal workers back to work despite massive worker opposition. Finally, we have an interview with housing advocate and activist, Rob...