The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

Understanding how the spectrum of left-wing governments in Latin America are responding to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the impact of US/NATO sanctions on socialist movements in the global South & China's emerging role in the region. With Ben Norton of Multipolarista.

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Latin American Left Shift Over Ukraine War

In this March 2022 patrons-only seminar, Brian and Nicole discuss and  answer questions about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, including  Biden's call for Putin to be removed from power in Russia, what a nuclear war would really mean, and more. They also discuss the struggle for women's liberation and the wider "New Cold War" against China. 

Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!

Brian Becker Seminar #14: Ukraine, Biden Calls For Regime Change In Russia, & More (Preview)

The right-wing loves yelling, “We’re a republic, not a democracy!” Now they have a Supreme Court that agrees with them. The Court is about to hear Moore v. Harper, a gerrymandering case that will also take up the Electors Clause of the Constitution. The Republican legal argument, made famous by Trump’s 2020 legal team, is that state legislatures can send their own choice of electors to the Electoral College, rather than abiding by the vote of the people. The implications of this are huge — the end of ‘one person, one vote.’

Brian is joined by Steven Donziger, an advocate, writer and public speaker on human rights and corporate accountability. His most recent piece is The most terrifying case of all is about to be heard by the US Supreme Court. He also filed a class-action lawsuit with others against Chevron for environmental damage – including dumping 17 million gallons of crude oil in the Ecuadorian rainforest – and won a historic $9.5 billion judgment. Chevon then fled Ecuador and launched a campaign against Donziger that resulted in him being disbarred, serving 45 days behind bars, and under home confinement for 993 days. For more on his story, watch his interview on The Freedom Side and Rania Khalek Dispatches here on BreakThrough.

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.

Supreme Court Plots to End ‘One Person, One Vote’ & the Hidden Hand of Big Oil

Brian is joined by investigative reporter Greg Palast, who wrote the film “Vigilantes: Georgia’s Vote Suppression Hitmen,” available at gregpalast.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.

Voter Suppression Behind Georgia’s Run-Off: GOP Blocked 149,000 Mail-In Ballots w/ Greg Palast

The U.S. government has funded, written books for, and otherwise supported the development of right-wing Islam extremism to support U.S. imperialist goals. Then they turn around and stoke Islamophobia to justify their war agenda.

Brian is joined by Dr. Nazia Kazi, she is an activist and professor of Anthropology at Stockton University, and author of the article “9/11 Attacks: Why Young Americans Know Nothing About the ‘War on Terror’” and the book “Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics.”

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.

How the CIA Politically Manipulates Islam for the US War Agenda

Historian Aaron Good explains how the CIA organized a coup against Guatemala's democratically elected left-wing President Jacobo Árbenz to stop land reform and help the United Fruit Company (Chiquita today). He also discusses the Dwight Eisenhower administration's policies in Southeast Asia and the Vietnamese national-liberation struggle against French colonialism.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=JTfMOH-j4Oc

This is PART 15 of the Empire and the Deep State series we are co-hosting with historian Aaron Good and producer Seamus McGuinness of the American Exception podcast.

PLAYLIST with past episodes in the series here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hNArLl765PXe8tsTKmOciGL

How CIA overthrew Guatemala's elected president for United Fruit Company (with historian Aaron Good)

Today's episode is a recording of Brian Becker's speech during the launch of the International People’s Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades, and Economic Coercive Measures. This event was held at The People's Forum in New York City on January 28, and featured a wide range of anti-war leaders and experts on international law. Brian discusses the urgent need to build the anti-war movement, and the importance of rejecting the demonization of targeted countries and putting the fight against sanctions at the forefront. Brian makes the case that U.S. empire is rooted in the insatiable search of capitalists for profits.

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 at People's Tribunal: "End the Scourge of Capitalism and Imperialism!"

Economist Michael Hudson analyzes the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate, and Signature Bank, explaining the similarities to the 2008 financial crash. He also addresses the US government bailout (which it isn't calling a bailout), the role of the Federal Reserve and Treasury, the factor of cryptocurrency, and the danger of derivatives.

TRANSCRIPT: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/14/us-banks-collapsed-economist-michael-hudson

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uvm9qrXhqf8

Check out the playlist for the show that Michael Hudson co-hosts here, Geopolitical Economy Hour: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

Michael's column "Why the US banking system is breaking up": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/12/michael-hudson-why-the-us-banking-system-is-breaking-up

Michael's other article "Why the US bank crisis is not over": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/13/michael-hudson-us-bank-crisis

Why 3 US banks collapsed in 1 week: Economist Michael Hudson explains

On today's episode Brian and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, among others, that has caused widespread panic. The federal government has bailed out these banks, which will make hard-felt U.S. inflation even worse. Are we headed for another economic crisis?

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find 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.

Collapsing Banks & A Weakening U.S. Empire

Brazil's President Lula da Silva took a historic trip to China, where he signed many cooperation agreements and pledged to challenge the dominance of the US dollar.

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

Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/04/15/brazil-lula-china-us-dollar-dominance

Countries worldwide are dropping the US dollar: De-dollarization in China, Russia, Brazil, ASEAN: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/04/06/dedollarization-china-russia-brazil-asean

Brazil and Argentina preparing new Latin American currency to ‘reduce reliance on US dollar’: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/22/brazil-argentina-latin-american-currency-dollar

Brazil’s Lula travels to China and calls to end US dollar dominance

NATO leaders met in Lithuania this week, and Finland and Sweden are now joining NATO, continuing the vast expansion of the military alliance. Ukraine was promised a path to NATO membership — despite the risk of further widening the war in Ukraine. Where is the newly emerging world order headed? How will the increasing contradictions resolve? And how can we better understand this historical moment to bring about an end to the scourge of imperialist war?

Brian Becker is joined by Vijay Prashad, the Executive Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, and a prolific author, most recently with Noam Chomsky of “The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power.”

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at https://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.

NATO Expands, Again. Will the Ukraine War Spread? w/ Vijay Prashad

On today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the historic strike of SAG-AFTRA actors and WGA writers and what's at stake. 160,000 actors are now joining the Writers Guild on strike. They're challenging who gets to decide how to install artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry.

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find 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.

Showdown Over AI: SAG-AFTRA Actors Join WGA Writers on Strike

US government documents admit that the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not necessary to end WWII. Japan was on the verge of surrendering. The nuclear attack was the first strike in Washington's Cold War on the Soviet Union.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5vMEgneKF10

Links to sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/08/07/atomic-bombing-japan-not-necessary

US-backed fascism in Japan - How Shinzo Abe whitewashed genocidal imperial crimes: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/07/09/fascism-japan-shinzo-abe-empire

After nuking Japan, US gov’t lied about radioactive fallout as civilians died: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/08/16/japan-us-lied-radioactive-fallout

Atomic bombing of Japan was NOT necessary to end WWII. US gov't documents admit it

As world leaders from the Global South convene in South Africa for the BRICS Summit this week, the West is watching closely. 23 countries have applied to join Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in the grouping, which is focused on trade and development in their regions — typically dominated by colonizing powers in Europe and the United States. Where is BRICS headed and what unifies the grouping?

Brian Becker is joined by Mikaela Nhondo Erskog, member of secretariat of Pan Africanism Today, researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, member of No Cold War, and host of the podcast The Crane: An Africa-China podcast coming from the DongSheng News collective.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at https://www.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.

BRICS Summit: China, Africa, Russia and the 23 New Applicants

Legendary Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters joins Empire Files to discuss his longtime advocacy for Palestine and the crisis in Gaza. WATCH THE YOUTUBE VERSION HERE: https://youtu.be/ScNHE78Lye0?si=6y2UrGPUICtR6ryp

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MUSIC by ANAHEDRON

Roger Waters & Abby Martin on Gaza Genocide

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

Brian Becker at People's Tribunal: "End the Scourge of Capitalism and Imperialism!"

The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

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