The Socialist Program

50 years ago today, the inmates at Attica prison in New  York state staged a heroic uprising that shook the country and the  world. Shortly after the assassination of legendary Black Panther leader  George Jackson by prison guards at San Quentin, Attica inmates took  over the prison demanding an end to the horrific conditions they were  subjected to, including routine beatings and torture at the hands of  guards. On September 13, 1971, authorities attacked the prison and  carried out a massacre -- but the legacy of the Attica uprising  continues to inspire millions today.

Brian is joined by by Eugene  Puryear. He is the host of the podcast The Punch Out on BreakThrough  News and host of the weekly live show The Freedom Side on BreakThrough  News, which airs every Thursday on youtube.com/breakthroughnews at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific.

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.

Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss the state of unemployment  in America. Politicians and the media talk constantly about the  post-COVID economic recovery, but last month’s weak jobs report suggests  that workers are still in the midst of crisis. And despite this dire  situation, the unemployment relief programs passed at the onset of the  pandemic have now expired.

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 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 "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how a Texas law has  destroyed abortion rights for 16 million women and girls and is being  used by right-wing political forces as a model for the rest of the  country -- but a new fightback movement is taking shape. They also  discuss the end of key pandemic relief programs, the aftermath of  Hurricane Ida, important victories won by the struggle against the  racist murders of Elijah McClain and Ahmaud Arbery, and more.

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 August 2021 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew discuss the U.S. empire's reorientation after its defeat in Afghanistan and how the new Afghan government may take shape, including relations with neighboring countries like China and Iran. Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!

As China emerges as a leading global economic power, the Communist Party led by Xi Jinping is taking increasingly aggressive measures to combat inequality and ensure that the entire population benefits in "common prosperity".

Brian is joined by Kenneth Hammond, a Professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University and an activist with the organization 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.

Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the Supreme  Court ruling overturning the federal eviction moratorium and putting 11  million people at risk of being thrown onto the streets in the middle  of a pandemic. The rationale used by the court to issue this cruel edict  is the essence of capitalism -- protect property owners’ “right to  exclude” at all costs.

Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the  organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest  being “The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from  Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out 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.

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the latest in Afghanistan, including the U.S. drone  missile strike in Afghanistan that wiped out a family of 10 people, all  civilians, including several young children. They also discuss the  devastation caused by Hurricane Ida and the urgent  struggle to prevent 11 million evictions in the wake of the Supreme  Court’s ruling last week striking down the federal moratorium.

The following news articles and documents were referenced in this episode:

Evacuations From Kabul Wind Down as U.S. Prepares to Pull Last Troops

Is the U.S.-installed Afghan government doomed?

Report Portrays a Broken C.I.A. Devoted to a Failed Approach

Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture

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 focuses on the long term plans being developed by the United States in light of the rapid collapse of their client government in Afghanistan. How do the war makers plan to recover from this blow to the prestige of U.S. empire?

Brian is joined by Ann Wright, a retired United States Army colonel and former U.S. State Department official in Afghanistan, who resigned in protest of the invasion of Iraq and became an anti-war activist.

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.

Brian & Prof. Wolff continue a series on agriculture under capitalism with a focus on the hunger crisis in the United States. How is it possible that in the richest country ever tens of millions are deprived of something as basic as food?

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 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 "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the United States' frantic evacuation from Afghanistan and the questions swirling about the future of the country’s government -- and critical history left out of the corporate media narrative. They also discuss how crucial pandemic relief measures are imperiled, the strike waged by Nabisco workers, and vital efforts to vaccinate the population from COVID & the major obstacles they are encountering.

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.