The Socialist Program

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the assault being waged by the Israeli military on Palestinians following intense fascist attacks and ethnic cleansing efforts directed against Palestinian residents of Jerusalem by ultra-right settlers. And in domestic news, the Biden administration’s economic program continues to draw attacks from right-wing media, the Republican Party, and key parts of the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate. 

Today's episode is the second in a multi-part series that takes an in-depth look at the history of China's foreign policy. We discuss how U.S. imperialist pressure on China and the Soviet Union lead to a breakdown in relations between the two socialist giants, Soviet efforts at peaceful coexistence with the United States, the China-India war of 1962, the Soviet-U.S. 1963 nuclear test ban treaty, the U.S. invasion of Vietnam in 1964, and the CIA-organized anti-communist genocide in Indonesia. 

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.

Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss the deadly consequences of  the U.S. government's stubborn refusal so far to waive patents  preventing developing countries from producing their own Coronavirus  vaccines -- all to protect the profits of the big pharmaceutical  corporations.

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

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss where the Biden administration is headed politically and why. In his address to a joint session of Congress last Thursday, Biden appears to have signaled a significant turn towards a program aimed at providing substantial benefits to working people.

Today's episode is the first in a multi-part series take an in-depth look at the history of China's foreign policy. As the U.S. war machine ramps up aggression towards China, understanding the history of the country's engagement with the world is more crucial than ever. In this section, we discuss the early phase of foreign policy pursued by the People's Republic of China, characterized by fervent anti-colonialism and a complex alliance with the Soviet Union. 

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.

Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss the latest efforts by the Biden administration to put severe economic pressure on Germany to back out of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, an infrastructure project that would deliver Russian gas to the European market competing with big U.S. oil and gas monopolies.  

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

On  today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how the U.S. government is hoarding vaccine doses and prolonging the suffering of people all around the world in defense of big pharma’s profits. They also discuss tensions between Russia and NATO over Ukraine, a new court ruling in Los Angeles on the rights of the homeless, and more.

The fate of the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement hangs in the balance. The United States broke the agreement during the Trump administration and reimposed sanctions that caused great suffering to Iranians, but negotiations are now underway for the United States to rejoin. Meanwhile, Israel is upping its aggression against Iran. Brian is joined by Professor Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran.

Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss how the tobacco industry built an extremely profitable business model based on addiction, and what they're doing to try to keep it going.

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

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the historic people's victory in  the trial of Derek Chauvin, which resulted in guilty verdicts on all three counts thanks to the mass movement that swept the country and the world demanding justice for George Floyd. They also discuss laws being considered across the country to repress protest, environmental issues ahead of Earth Day, and more.