The Socialist Program

Protests throughout France against the government’s austerity program have brought more than a half million people into the streets. Thousands have been arrested. But these protests and student strikes are continuing. What do these protests mean for France, for the Macron government, and for the people of the world who are also seeing vast attacks on their living standards by the capitalist establ...

The war in the Middle East is widening and people around the world are feeling the impact. Resistance forces in Yemen have delivered crippling blows to key infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, a key US ally. Brian Becker and Layan Fuleihan discuss the roots of the war between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, how the current conflict was triggered by the unprovoked US-Israeli war against Iran, and how this confl...

Hundreds of millions from Elon Musk, bankers, corporate entities, and others are flooding the 2026 political races to keep Republicans in power—despite mass opposition against Donald Trump. Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss. 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 c...

Are we headed toward a massive economic contraction? A recession? depression? 18 years after the 2008 meltdown on Wall Street and the bankruptcy of many of the biggest banks and corporations – are the billionaires and capitalists dragging the country toward another economic catastrophe? Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organ...

People who are sick and tired of Donald Trump’s bullying of other countries, including Canada, took a liking to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney when he stood up and rebuked Trump, saying the relationship between Canada and the United States has fundamentally changed. But the old adage “your enemy’s enemy is your friend” should definitely not apply as the working class evaluates Canada’s bourge...

Recent elections in Germany show that the mainstream capitalist political party is in crisis. Left-wing pro-working class forces have made huge gains in Berlin and at the same time the right-wing political party AfD is rising. Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the implications of this development, plus Mark Carney and the Trump-Canada trade conflict. Professor Richard Wolff is an author...

The biggest capitalist CEOs of AI companies have been forced in the last week to address the question raised by their own profit-driven efforts: will the AI technologies they are rapidly developing not only threaten communities where data centers are being imposed, but also threaten society and life as we know it? Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss. Professor Richard Wolff is an author &...

A gas company just paid a record-breaking $5.3 million for its tanker ship to skip the Panama Canal’s long line, a line induced by the US-Iran war. Meanwhile the US fired on Iranian positions in the Strait of Hormuz. The US bond market is also in its worst state in 30 years. Professor Richard Wolff and producer Nicole Roussell unpack the state of today’s volatile global economy. Professor Richard...

Speaking on behalf of Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States would embark on a new campaign to destroy Iran’s economy with sanctions. He gave the operation a name: ‘Operation Economic Outcast.’ Professor Richard Wolff and Brian Becker discuss. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work...

You may have heard that the US government recruited Nazi scientists to work for NASA, but did you know they also recruited them to experiment on US soldiers? Their recruitment was part of Operation Paperclip, and the scientists were only a fraction of this program. It also recruited Nazi SS spies and unleashed them into the Cold War, installed Nazi generals into top positions in West Germany and N...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spent billions of U.S. dollars to buy and prop up the Japanese currency, the yen. Professor Richard Wolff and Brian Becker unpack the economic and geopolitical calculations of the Trump White House, and what it means for the US economy.  Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com...

“It's kind of in the DNA of American bourgeois capitalist politics: demonize your enemy, call them a communist, and that's the end of the story. But there's another element, which is the Republican Party, the MAGA project, Project 2025 — the Trump White House is failing.” The House Ways and Means Committee has sent a subpoena to BreakThrough News, demanding internal communications, fin...

The Trump administration is catalyzing a longtime trend in the US where corporate criminals get a fine or nothing, while almost two million working class people sit behind bars. Professor Richard Wolff and producer Nicole Roussell discuss what this shows about the nature of the capitalist system and why we need socialism. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization De...

July 14 is Bastille Day, when the French stormed an armory and took up arms against the monarchy and opened the gates to a prison during the French Revolution. Guards opened fire and many died—but by August 4th, feudalism was abolished. In the midst of widespread killings by ICE, Professor Richard Wolff and Brian Becker discuss repression, revolution, and our current moment. Professor Richard Wolf...

New financial disclosure documents reveal the extent of Trump’s profiteering through the office of the presidency. Trump made over $2 billion his first year back in office, including more than $1 billion from his promotion of a Trump cryptocurrency alone. Professor Richard Wolff and producer Nicole Roussell discuss. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democrac...

The Supreme Court just gave Trump the ability to dismiss the heads of supposedly independent agencies — overruling 91 years of precedent — with the exception of the Federal Reserve. Professor Richard Wolff and producer Nicole Roussell discuss the meaning of this ruling, as well as the birthright citizenship and campaign finance SCOTUS decisions this week. Professor Richard Wolff is an author &...

Socialist History is an in-depth, immersive podcast that uncovers the real story of US imperialism through a socialist lens, told from the perspective of the people who fought back.  Hosted by Layan Sima Fuleihan and Brian Becker, each episode reopens a hidden chapter of US imperialism and shows how it still shapes the world today.  Don't let the empire whitewash its history. Get the Socialist...

In 1959 the US Army began building a base beneath the Greenland ice sheet, presented to the press, to Congress, and to the Danish government as a scientific research station. This was a cover story. The real plan, code-named Project Iceworm, was to bury a network of tunnels housing up to 600 nuclear missiles under the ice, invisible to Soviet satellites, on land taken from Indigenous people who we...

Most empires never write their plans down, but the American empire did. In 1950 a top-secret government document called NSC-68 laid out the blueprint for permanent war: a militarized economy, a nuclear buildup without limit, and a posture of global confrontation that would outlast the men who wrote it. It is the founding doctrine beneath every operation in this series. In this episode we take a de...

In 1961 the United States launched the largest covert operation of the Cold War against a single country, a campaign of sabotage, terror, and assassination aimed at destroying the Cuban Revolution ninety miles from Florida. It was code-named Operation Mongoose. Alongside it, the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up Operation Northwoods, a plan to stage terrorist attacks on American citizens and blame the...

In 1953 the CIA secretly organized a coup to overthrow the democratically elected leader of Iran. This was the CIA's first regime change operation — code-named 'Operation Ajax' — becoming the playbook for later CIA operations. Its consequences are still reverberating around the world. In this episode we take a deep dive into how Operation Ajax was planned and executed, its motivations, the politic...

Big Tech stocks lost hundreds of billions in just two days. Prof. Richard Wolff and Brian Becker examine the multiple, cascading crises that are destabilizing the capital system. 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 http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to...

According to a recent national survey, 62 percent of Americans aged 18–29 say they hold a “favorable view” of socialism, and 34 percent say the same of communism. Why is this happening inside the very center of the world capitalist system? And what does it mean for the future? Professor Richard Wolff and Brian Becker discuss. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organizatio...

Iran is outmaneuvering the United States and Trump is furious. Professor Richard Wolff and Brian Becker discuss the current war in Iran and the future of the globe – as Russia, China, Iran, and other countries start to pry control from 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...

A new Wall Street Journal study finds that the five biggest home insurers, Allstate, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, United Services Automobile Association, and Farmers Insurance, denied nearly half of all claims last year. The primary driver is an increase in deductibles, which insurers claim is being done to compensate for an increase in weather-related catastrophes. Professor Richard Wolff and prod...