On the first episode of The Socialist Program's weekly segment "Capitalism in Crisis" with Prof. Richard Wolff, we discuss how Wall Street rules Washington and tailors government policy to suit their own needs. These include outsourcing, "free trade" agreements and union-busting. Plus, we discuss Janet Yellen, Biden's choice for Treasury Secretary, and what workers can expect from a Biden administration. Brian and Prof. Wolff talk about the history of how the labor and socialist movements have organized to press demands and win concrete gains no matter who is in office.

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

In the first installment of an ongoing series where The Socialist Program examines the real origins of U.S. society, we discuss the true history of Thanksgiving. Brian and Dr. Gerald Horne talk about the history of settler colonialism in the United States, how it gave rise to slavery and white supremacist ideology, and the enduring features of U.S. society that can be traced to these phenomena.

Dr. Gerald Horne holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery,  White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century.” He is also the author of “The  Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing.”

Episode 1 of The Socialist Program! In our inaugural "In the News" roundtable discussion, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss Biden's cabinet picks so far and what they indicate about his administration's political orientation, especially regarding foreign policy and U.S. empire. 

PLUS: Joel Northam, Eliza Lucero and Lillian House -- the three Denver anti-racist organizers facing decades in prison on false charges -- join the show! They discuss the repression they have been the targets of and the ongoing struggle for justice for Elijah McClain. 

Debut episode explaining what you can expect from The Socialist Program episodes coming every Tuesday and Thursday