The Socialist Program

The United States is adding even more money and capacity into its  cache of nuclear weapons, the detonation of which would mean tens of  millions of people dying. What's behind the estimated $10 trillion in  spending on a product that the government will hopefully never use?

Brian is joined by Greg Mello, co-founder and Executive Director of the Los Alamos Study Group.

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.

A growing chorus of U.S. elites are calling for the U.S. government to prepare for war with China. The strategy hinges on coercing Taiwan into the middle of the “major power conflict” with mainland China.

Brian is joined by Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University, founding director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State University, and leading organizer with Pivot to Peace.

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 unintended  global effects of U.S. sanctions on Russia. How are they reshaping the  global market for oil and other energy? How are other countries  responding around the world to shifting power?

Brian  takes a look at some of the key global issues dominating politics as  2023 begins. In this  preview, he discusses the huge shifts taking place in the world's oil  markets as a consequence of the war in Ukraine and the price cap imposed  on Russian exports. At other points, the seminar discussed the latest  military developments in Ukraine, COVID-19  response in China, and the long-term evolution of capitalism and its  world system since the 1970s.

This  episode is a preview of a longer seminar conducted by Brian and others  on The Socialist Program team for members of our Patreon community. To  receive the link to register for the monthly seminars, subscribe to our  Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheSocialistProgram

Brian conducts an end of the year review of the biggest stories  including the U.S. proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, the growing  confrontation with China and North Korea and the intensifying assault  against democratic rights inside the United States. He also talks about  the development of a new antiwar movement inside the United States.

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.

As the U.S. government plans to send its most advanced surface-to-air missile system to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the masses of people in Ukraine and the rest of Europe are falling further into poverty as conditions worsen and prices rise. Rather than promoting peace and advocating for negotiations, the United States, European Union, and NATO are publicly discussing escalating the war, while the IMF, World Bank, and corporate interests speculate on how much profit they can make in the future rebuilding of Ukraine, having moved the country decisively away from Russia and into the Western fold.

Brian is joined by Ben Norton, an investigative journalist based in Latin America, and editor of the independent news website Multipolarista, at multipolarista.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 attempted  power grab by the extreme right in the United States through the Moore  v. Harper case, for which oral arguments were heard at the Supreme Court  on December 9. He also answers questions on the anti-democratic  Congressional ruling against letting railway workers strike, using  lawfare for quiet coups, how to form a united front, and more.

Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest of this seminar, support the show, and access the highly valuable archive of years of socialist analysis.

The major media disinformation campaign about the Iran protests is making it nearly impossible for people in the United States to understand what's going on in Iran. What's true? What's half true? What's completely and totally false?

Brian is joined by Mazda Majidi, an author, journalist and educator who just got back from Iran.

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 US mainstream media is twisting and distorting news about the recent Covid-related protests in China. This important interview with Tings Chak, a Beijing-based researcher at the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, a member of Dongsheng News collective, and the author of the pamphlet Serve the People – The Eradication of Extreme Poverty in China, explains the realities of the protests, the US media, and what’s really going on with Covid in China.

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 importance of five  major international papers coming out against the ongoing prosecution of  Julian Assange, where the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine is headed, how we  can talk about these tough issues with friends and strangers, and more.

Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest of this seminar, support the show, and access the highly valuable archive of years of socialist analysis.