The Socialist Program

On today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard  Wolff discuss how millions of workers across France and the UK have  gone on strike in recent days and weeks to protest a raft of anti-worker  measures, including efforts to roll back the  right to strike and the right to retire with dignity. What can we learn  from these episodes in the class struggle as Wall Street prepares  similar attacks here in 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.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Today's episode is a recording of Brian Becker's speech  during the launch of the International People’s Tribunal on U.S.  Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades, and Economic Coercive Measures. This  event was held at The People's Forum in New York City on January 28, and  featured a wide range of anti-war leaders and experts on international  law. Brian discusses the urgent need to build the anti-war movement, and  the importance of rejecting the demonization of targeted countries and  putting the fight against sanctions at the forefront. Brian makes the  case that U.S. empire is rooted in the insatiable search of capitalists  for profits.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram.  We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you  consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more  are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On  today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the  state of the U.S. economy. With the Federal Reserve poised to slow down  its rate hikes at least temporarily, is it true that the economy is  headed for a so-called soft  landing? How healthy or sick is US capitalism? Are mainstream  economists missing the big picture?

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

In this patrons-only seminar, Brian discusses   the most dangerous part of the war in Ukraine that we're now entering,  including the current political moment that we're situated in and what  we can do to change it. He also talks about what happens if the U.S.  defaults on its financial commitments, multiracial or multinational  liberation in the US as it pertains to the struggle against police  terror, automation of jobs, and more.

This episode is a preview of a longer seminar for Patrons in the TSP community. Subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest of this seminar, support the show, register for next  time, and access the highly valuable archive of years of socialist  analysis.

On today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the so-called “debt ceiling” government borrowing limit. As the countdown begins to a default, right wing politicians are using the situation as leverage and demanding huge cuts to some of the most essential social programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Will these crucial safety net programs survive?

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

The Pentagon has “lost track” of more than half of its assets, based on its fifth failed audit in a row. The Pentagon’s assets include troops, weapons, battleships, submarines, buildings, and more, costing trillions of dollars – yet over half are unaccounted for? How does the single biggest and costliest agency get away with this while Congress dismisses free college, improved Medicare and Medicaid, helping low-income families with costs of childcare, and other basic necessities?

Brian is joined by Lee Camp, comedian, journalist, and former host of the TV show "Redacted Tonight." Now he hosts "The Most Censored News" for MintPress and you can check out his podcast "The Lee Camp Show" on Spotify. All of his work is available at LeeCamp.net.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On today's episode Brian and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss widening global  inequality in light of the Oxfam report showing that two-thirds of all  wealth created around the world since 2020 has gone to the richest 1%.  They also dissect what makes the rich different from the rest of us.

Even a film screening of a  North Korean family drama is getting South Korean organizers in trouble  under the administration of  right-wing President Yoon, as he takes the country back toward the  oppressive regime of the 1980s when reading certain books could result  in jail time.

Brian is joined by K.J. Noh, a peace  activist, organizer with Pivot to Peace, scholar on the geopolitics of  Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice.

The U.S. government has funded, written books for, and otherwise supported the development of right-wing Islam extremism to support U.S. imperialist goals. Then they turn around and stoke Islamophobia to justify their war agenda.

Brian is joined by Dr. Nazia Kazi, she is an activist and professor of Anthropology at Stockton University, and author of the article “9/11 Attacks: Why Young Americans Know Nothing About the ‘War on Terror’” and the book “Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics.”

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On today's episode Brian and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the strike that  7,000 nurses are on in New York. What's behind this huge strike and the  increasing wave of strikes?