The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the war in Ukraine, which continues to rage as the world is engulfed in a crisis that has the potential to reconfigure global politics in fundamental ways. What consequences has the war brought about so far? Which side is winning? How can peace truly be established? The panel discusses these...

Abby Martin and Brian Becker discuss the Ukraine war and what it means for the anti-war movement. This episode was produced in collaboration with The Empire Files: https://soundcloud.com/empire-files / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG29FnXZm4F5U8xpqs1cs1Q / https://www.patreon.com/empirefiles Watch the video version of this episode on the Empire Files or BreakThrough News YouTube channels. Plea...

[This episode was recorded Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022 at 3 PM Eastern Standard Time] A historic crisis is playing out in Eastern Europe over Ukraine, one that has profound ramifications for the entire world. The United States and its allies are imposing harsh sanctions on Russia over its recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as independent states, and the possibility of dir...

On today's In the News roundtable, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the latest on the dramatic situation unfolding in Ukraine. They also discuss two important historical anniversaries: Richard Nixon visiting Mao Zedong in Beijing 50 years ago, and the assassination of Malcolm X 57 years ago. The panel also covers the far right convoy in Canada, a shooting at a protest in...

In this February 2022 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew discuss and answer questions about the ongoing conflict surrounding Ukraine, Germany’s regional role, the history of World War I and World War II and how it relates today, and more. Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!

Tensions remain sky high in Ukraine and across Europe but do they have to remain so? There is a path to peace — and solution to the crisis — but it requires recognizing the neutrality of Ukraine, which has long been internally divided. Brian is joined by Eugene Puryear, author and activist, host of the BreakThrough News podcast The Punch Out, and co-host of the BT live video show The Freedom Side....

On today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the wave of organizing exploding across Starbucks locations nationwide, and how the company is desperately trying to thwart the union by illegally firing employees who are involved. As the class struggle continues to heat up nationwide, corporations are attempting to trample on the right to organize at the workplace. Professor Rich...

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how war mongering propaganda against Russia has reached a fever pitch as the United States pushes the crisis in Ukraine to the brink. They also discuss Johnson & Johnson’s decision to halt vaccine production, the attempted lynching of a Black FedEx driver, more racist disenfranchisement, and...

After the triumph of the Soviet Union over fascism in World War Two, world politics was completely transformed. No longer allies in the war against the Axis states, the “democratic” capitalist countries turned on the USSR and formed a global bloc of all the imperialist powers to confront the rising tide of socialist revolution. In Part 4 of The Socialist Program’s multi-part series on the history...

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the newly released New York Times internal communications about the unionization efforts going on at the newspaper. U.S. politicians and officials loudly and frequently declare the United States to have "free press" -- but how does capitalism and for-profit, union-busting, private press operate freely? Professor Richard Wolff is an au...

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how the U.S. corporate media subjected viewers to wall-to-wall war mongering propaganda targeting the government and people of China as the Olympics opened in Beijing. They also discuss how pro-Trump forces consolidate their control of the Republican Party, a new report on Israeli apartheid...

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is moving ever closer to Russia’s border. Russia views this as an existential threat – and a historic betrayal of key guarantees it was given by the west as the Soviet Union disintegrated. As Biden sends thousands of additional troops to Eastern Europe, the threat of war is growing by the day. Brian is joined by Eugene Puryear, author and activist, hos...

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the increasingly unstable political environment, as Dr. Wolff writes about in his newest article. He argues that some politicians are denying there are any problems while some find a scapegoat where they can direct people's anger--and both of which are symptoms of the political elite desperately trying to protect the capitalist system...

In this January 2022 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew discuss the Ukraine conflict at length, including a deep dive into the historical and geopolitical context of the region, the legacy of World Wars and the Cold War, the class character of the Russian state today, and more. We also discuss a Marxist analysis of class stratification in the U.S. today. Check out the preview now and subscri...

Is war with Russia just around the corner? If you listen to corporate U.S. media and politicians it is. Brian Becker and Eugene Puryear break down what’s really going on in Ukraine and Russia, what the context of the tension is, and what the chances are of war. Brian is joined by Eugene Puryear, author and activist, host of the BreakThrough News podcast The Punch Out, and co-host of the BT live vi...

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the recently turbulent stock market. What does this mean for the economy and for us? Is this volatility a sign of something to come? Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com. Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by...

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem and Nicole Roussell discuss the U.S. evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Kiev while stating that war with Russia may be soon, the win for Julian Assange giving him his right to appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court to stop his extradition to the United States, the Senate's maneuvers against protecting voting rights, and the newly exposed U.S....