On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem and Nicole Roussell discuss the U.S. evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Kiev while stating that war with Russia may be soon, the win for Julian Assange giving him his right to appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court to stop his extradition to the United States, the Senate's maneuvers against protecting voting rights, and the newly exposed U.S. war crimes against the people in Syria.

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.

U.S. Imperialism: Addicted to War & Militarism

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the increasingly unstable political environment, as Dr. Wolff writes about in his newest article. He argues that some politicians are denying there are any problems while some find a scapegoat where they can direct people's anger--and both of which are symptoms of the political elite desperately trying to protect the capitalist system.

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com, and read the article here: https://www.alternet.org/2022/01/capitalism.

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.

An Empire in Decline: Why the Ruling Class Blame Game Will Fail

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is moving ever closer to Russia’s border. Russia views this as an existential threat – and a historic betrayal of key guarantees it was given by the west as the Soviet Union disintegrated. As Biden sends thousands of additional troops to Eastern Europe, the threat of war is growing by the day.

Brian is joined by Eugene Puryear, author and activist, host of the BreakThrough News podcast The Punch Out, and co-host of the BT live video show The Freedom Side.

Watch the video edition of “The Real Story” on BreakThrough News!

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 Untold History of NATO and Case for Its Abolition

Mainstream human rights organization Amnesty International has come out publicly and said that "Israeli authorities must be held accountable for committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians," and that Israel's "cruel system of domination" amounts to a "crime against humanity."

We discuss this report with Ali Abunimah, journalist and editor of the Electronic Intifada.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-wfk4QVPwP8

Follow Ali on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah

Electronic Intifada website: https://electronicintifada.net

How Israel is an apartheid regime, with Ali Abunimah

After meeting in Beijing, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin released a lengthy joint statement clarifying the ideological divisions of the new cold war: Eurasian calls for multipolarity, cooperation, sovereignty, and “redistribution of power in the world” against US unipolar hegemony and interventionism.

Read more here: https://multipolarista.com/2022/02/07/china-russia-multipolar-historic-meeting

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=c0JaOHa0qOM

China and Russia declare 'new era' of multipolarity, challenging US interventionism

After the triumph of the Soviet Union over fascism in World War Two, world politics was completely transformed. No longer allies in the war against the Axis states, the “democratic” capitalist countries turned on the USSR and formed a global bloc of all the imperialist powers to confront the rising tide of socialist revolution. 

In Part 4 of The Socialist Program’s multi-part series on the history of the Soviet Union, we discuss the emergence of the global class war known as “the Cold War” and key milestones in its early years. This includes the advent of nuclear weapons; the revolutions in China, Korea and Vietnam; the formation of NATO, and more. 

Watch the video edition of “The Real Story” on BreakThrough News!

Brian is joined by Carlos Martinez, author of “The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse,” co-founder of the No Cold War Campaign, and editor of the political analysis site Invent-The-Future.org.

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.

Revolution vs. Counter Revolution after World War Two — Lessons of Soviet History, Part 4

With a diplomatic boycott by Western governments, corporate media propaganda has demonized China over the 2022 Winter Olympics. Britain's Financial Times openly declared, "Beijing Winter Olympics: the new front line in the US-China cold war."

Actual China expert Carl Zha joins Multipolarista to pick apart the propaganda and explain what's really happening.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=tysrspp7KOU

Follow Carl on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CarlZha

You can support Carl's Silk and Steel Podcast on Patreon at https://patreon.com/silknsteel

Beijing Winter Olympics: Front line in new cold war on China - with Carl Zha

Empire Files is joined by geneticist & bioethicist Fatima Tokhmafshan and physician Dr. Shuvo Ghosh to answer the most popular questions about Covid, the vaccine and public health mandates. 

Support our work at Patreon.com/EmpireFiles

“Died FROM or WITH Covid?” and Other Answers From Experts

On today's In the News roundtable, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the latest on the dramatic situation unfolding in Ukraine. They also discuss two important historical anniversaries: Richard Nixon visiting Mao Zedong in Beijing 50  years ago, and the assassination of Malcolm X 57 years ago. The panel also covers the far right convoy in Canada, a shooting at a protest in Portland, Daunte Wright’s killer's sentencing, methane plumes seen from space, 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.

Crisis in Ukraine

Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

After weeks of US claims that a Russian invasion of Ukraine was imminent, Vladimir Putin instead recognized the breakaway republics of Luhansk and Donetsk. The decision has triggered a new round of US-led sanctions while bringing attention to rebel-held areas, where,  according to UN figures on the Donbas war, 80% of civilian casualties have occurred since 2018.

Professor Richard Sakwa analyzes the factors behind Putin's move, and its likely consequences. Putin's decision, he says, comes after Kiev refused to implement the 2015 Minsk accords, which could have ended the conflict, and a longstanding US-driven project to expand NATO to Russia's borders. 

Guest: Richard Sakwa. Professor of Russian and European politics at the University of Kent. His books include “Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands” and his latest, “Deception: Russiagate and the New Cold War.”

Rejecting NATO expansion, Putin recognizes forgotten Donbas civilians

For the entire discussion, bonus content & to help make the show happen, please join us on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow

Direct link to this broadcast's Patreon podcast (patreon-only content begins at 29min09sec, start there to pick-up where you left off)

Journalist and historian Vijay Prashad (https://twitter.com/vijayprashad) talks about the current conflict in Ukraine and the history that got us there, especially the role of NATO. He also discusses what the Left should be doing right now. 

Then join our callin where Katie will be taking some of your questions [https://www.callin.com/room/ukraine-what-should-the-left-do-about-it-hxuXjCtKXb]

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter (https://independentmediainstitute.org/globetrotter/). He is the chief editor of LeftWord Books (https://mayday.leftword.com/) and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research (https://t.co/evQYuwZXRJ). He is a senior non-resident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China (http://en.rdcy.org/). He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. His latest book is Washington Bullets, with an introduction by Evo Morales Ayma.

Vijay Prashad on Ukraine, Russia, NATO & The Media

News and views about the world for those who want to change it, with Brian Becker

An Empire in Decline: Why the Ruling Class Blame Game Will Fail

The Socialist Program with Brian Becker