The Socialist Program

Brian and Layan analyze how the New York Times and other US corporate-owned media are deliberately crafting a false narrative about the Gaza war at the moment the ceasefire is taking effect. The Netanyahu government has admitted that the they are losing the battle of narratives, and the New York Times is taking up their defense. This is a preview of a patrons-only episode. Subscribe at https://www...

What are the terms of the Gaza ceasefire? Thousands of Palestinians are returning to what is left of their homes. Trump declares that this is the end, finally, to the war. Brian Becker and Layan Fuleihan discuss. This is a preview of a patrons-only episode. Subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/TheSocialistProgram to hear the full episode, get access to all our patrons-only content, and help make t...

The Trump White House is waging war on immigrants and Black America, preparing to go to war with Venezuela, and continuing the suffocating blockade on Cuba. Brian Becker is joined by Claudia De la Cruz, the 2024 presidential candidate for the Party for Socialism & Liberation, Executive Director of IFCO, a lifelong community organizer and popular educator. Join the The Socialist Program communi...

Government shutdown; airplanes are not landing, hundreds of thousands are not being paid – Prof. Richard Wolff says what’s needed is a mass labor fightback. 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 get exclusive content...

Brian and Layan examine the Trump plan for Gaza and the Palestinian response. They assess the impact of global movement on the future of the Israeli occupation project. They also discuss Trump’s political ultimatum to US universities. This is a preview of a patrons-only episode. Subscribe at https://www.patreon.com/TheSocialistProgram to hear the full episode, get access to all our patrons-only co...

Donald Trump is sending the U.S. military into cities and towns all over the country to wage war against U.S. residents…what he calls “the enemy within.” And Secretary of War Pete Hegseth summoned military generals from all over the globe to Quantico, VA, to amplify this.  Brian Becker is joined by Mike Prysner, a veteran, anti-war organizer and producer of The Empire Files, which is premiering a...

The CEO of Walmart is acknowledging that AI will “change literally every job,” as AI threatens workers’ jobs and incomes everywhere and data centers tear up communities. The capitalists are currently who will benefit from new technology, with increasing profit while they cut jobs. Professor Richard Wolff argues that’s not how it has to be—if we fight for worker control of the technology, workers c...

Brian talks with Eugene Puryear about how the Trump White House is criminalizing left and liberal organizations as part of Project 2025’s effort to impose a new right-wing political system in the United States. Puryear argues that Trump’s economic and social policies are broadly unpopular and that the Trump Administration is using law enforcement to target and silence dissent in an illegal, uncons...

Is the next Great Depression coming? One hedge fund manager who makes his clients billions off of economic crashes thinks the current stock market looks a lot like the high before the crash in 1929. Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss the cyclical crashes inherent to capitalism, how the stock market relates, and what’s coming. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of...

Brian and Layan discuss how the assassination of Charlie Kirk is being used by the Trump White House to launch a new McCarthy-like effort to suppress Free Speech and dissent in the USA by criminalizing left, progressive and liberal organizations; they expose the false use of the “terrorism’ designation to crack down on progressive organizations; and they expose the latest high-tech war crimes bein...

The U.S. economy is headed into a downward spiral, with millions unemployed, prices going up, and myriad other poor economic indicators. Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss how this is baked into the capitalist system and only a change of economic system can change the frequent economic crashes that fall the hardest on workers. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder o...

A new poll shows that the majority of U.S. residents—75%—don’t believe in the so-called American Dream: that if you work hard in the United States, you can succeed at having an economically secure life. Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss the major and growing inequality in the United States. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work...

Millions of Venezuelans participated in military drills to help defend the country as U.S. warships and fighter aircraft are deployed by Trump. Brian is joined by Manolo De Los Santos, Executive Director of The People’s Forum, for a discussion of the latest threats from the Trump Administration, how the issue of narcotics trafficking is being falsely used to justify another U.S. war of aggression...

Brian and Layan discuss the mass ICE raids and arrests in the last days of hundreds of workers at an auto factory in Georgia and a food production facility in Syracuse, NY. They also discuss the massive military parade in China that drew prominent attendance from the leaders of Russia, India, North Korea, Iran. Trump’s aggressive policies are creating a new coalition of countries opposed to U.S. h...

Trump’s family made $5 billion on Monday when they launched a new currency, a memecoin called $Trump. Along with propping up failing company Intel, these are recent examples of the resources the capitalists take from U.S. workers. Professor Richard Wolff & producer Nicole Roussell lay out how this corruption and grift occur. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organiza...

The Wall Street Journal provides evidence that the Ukraine war is a proxy war between the US and Russia. The Trump Administration’s attempt to takeover DC is part of the attempt to end the semblance of bourgeois democracy in the United States. Don’t we need socialized healthcare, not “Medicare for All”? What do we do to stop the federal takeover of more U.S. cities? Do protests even work? How can...

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that 1.6 million immigrants have left the United States since Trump took office due to the reign of terror the administration has perpetrated. Trump has also sued the Maryland federal judiciary for making him follow proper deportation procedures. Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss the terror against immigrants, the military in the...

Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin on August 15th. 3 days later, with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with the leaders of the major NATO countries. Trump promised that his personal intervention would lead to a quick end to the war, but he has badly misjudged the situation. Brian Becker and Layan Fuleihan discuss the latest, and explain why the war in Ukraine is not ending, at least n...

The Trump administration is considering buying a 10% stake in tech company Intel to prop up the struggling chip maker. Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss why they might do this, what it means about the U.S. economy, and what it tells us about the U.S. government's competition with China. Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work...

Brian and Layan discuss the rapidly expanding worldwide opposition as Israel intentionally slaughters journalists and starves Palestinian civilians. Even mainstream media figures are now denouncing Israel. They also expose the coup-like nature of Donald Trump’s militarization decree that intensifies an all-out attack against Black, Latino and immigrant communities. They also provide a political fr...

Trump has declared a police state in D.C., announcing a federal military takeover. Despite recent violent crime rates in D.C. at a 30-year low, he cited “crime” as the reason—but Professor Richard Wolff & Brian Becker discuss his real goals. 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...

Before we can change the world, we have to understand how change occurs. Today's episode features a recording of our host Brian Becker teaching at the Summer School for Socialism, a class series hosted by The People's Forum in New York City. The class module in today's episode is titled "Change is Possible." How do systems of power rise and fall? Brian introduces the Marxist...

In the decades since its 1949 revolution, China has emerged – or reemerged – as a global power, and the U.S. government sees China’s rise as an existential threat. Now there’s a bipartisan consensus, anchored in the Pentagon’s strategic doctrine, preparing for war and “great power conflict” with China. Brian Becker talks with Prof. Ken Hammond, who recently returned from teaching in China, about t...

Coinciding with the 72nd anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended military hostilities during the Korean War, a historic People's Summit for Korea took place in New York City between July 25th and 27th. Brian Becker, host of The Socialist Program, was a guest on one of the plenary panels entitled "The Long Revolution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."  I...

Mass arrests of immigrants in the United States, massive starvation imposed on the people of Gaza. The Trump administration is on a rampage, but there is a growing nationwide fightback movement. Brian Becker is joined by Layan Sima Fuleihan, a Palestinian organizer with the Shut It Down for Palestine coalition, Education Director at The People’s Forum, and an editor at 1804 Books. This is a previe...