Episodes Newest First

politics & bullshit

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the criminal lengths that capitalists in the United States will go to make a profit, from scamming working class borrowers to extorting tax payers for subsidies and so much more. We’ll also discuss the death of Colin Powell and his legacy, right wing Democrats aiming to block passage of the social spending budget, and recent instances of racist police abuse as the trial of the killers of Ahmaud Arbery opens.

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.

Why U.S. Capitalism is a Form of Organized Crime

The war in Ukraine has altered the global order. How is it changing politics around the globe? What is the historical background of the different nations in the region throughout the different historical eras and how does that affect the current conflict? What does history tell us about where this is headed?

Brian Becker is joined by Vijay Prashad, the Executive Director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, and author  of “Red Star Over the Third World.”

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.

Ukraine as a Pawn: The Real Reason the US Forced a Crisis with Russia

On today's In the News roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem, Nicole  Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how Joe Biden deepened the war in Ukraine during a trip to Poland over the weekend when he declared that  Russian president Putin “cannot remain in power.”  As the United States and other NATO powers raise the stakes, is there  any hope for a breakthrough in negotiations? The panel also discusses  the administration’s massive new military spending proposal, protests  against British colonialism in the Caribbean, the death of Madeline Albright, the debate over Russian oil purchases, 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.

U.S. Strategy vs. Russia: Regime Change, Encirclement, or Both?

On today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard  Wolff discuss the Biden administration's budget proposal for the coming  year on Monday, proposing an enormous increase to the military budget  as the new Cold War intensifies. Biden  also included a proposal to tax the ultra-rich, but is this really  enough to make a dent in the enormous level of inequality in this  country?

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.

Biden's New Budget Gives $31 Billion Gift to War Industry

Key international relationships are being profoundly tested by the war in Ukraine, especially the alliance between China and Russia – the two countries at the top of the U.S. empire’s hit list. How does China’s government view Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine? Will the relationship between the two countries grow closer or more distant as the western powers attempt to cut Russia off from the global economy? What consequences will this have for the entire world?

Brian is joined by Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University, founding director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State University, and activist with Pivot to Peace.

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The Socialist Program with Brian Becker also comes out three times per week in podcast  form — including weekly news round-ups and segments with economist Richard Wolff. Subscribe on your preferred listening platform here! https://linktr.ee/thesocialistprogram

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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.

China Reaffirms Closer Relations with Russia as Ukraine War Continues

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)

Since the dawn of the American Empire, thin moral pretexts in our politics and press have been used to justify our wars and conquest. The invasion of Cuba and Philippines in 1898 was declared to be a fight for freedom from Spanish oppression. Vietnam was about stopping Communist tyranny. T he pioneer myth of Manifest Destiny and “westward expansion” was built about “taming” and “civilizing’ the land from violent savages.

But one current that flows through all of these imperial incursions has been the idea that the United States – as well as its allies the Great Britain and Israel – are out to protect women. Today's endless occupations in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan are, in large part, justified in perpetuity because the United States is a self-declared, unique protector of modernity and women’s rights. 

All the same, the Pentagon is increasingly promoted, in press releases and media puffy pieces, as a place where women can exercise their agency: the ultimate apex of meritocracy and a vanguard of equality. 

But what if this approach misses the point of equality altogether? What if this is simply a craven branding exercise, putting a liberal face on what is a fundamentally oppressive system of violence? On this episode, we explore various ways "empowerment" has been used to sell colonial objectives and how one can differentiate between actual progress and the superficial language of inclusion used cynically in service of mechanized violence.

Our guests are University of Delaware professor Dr. Kara Ellerby and University of Bristol senior lecturer Dr. Sumita Mukherjee.

Episode 65: How Empire Uses ‘Feminist’ Branding to Sell War and Occupation

Though now a fixture of the fringe right-wing, libertarian pundit John Stossel was a longtime staple of mainstream, Serious Person media. With hour-long specials and a weekly segment on the ABC program 20/20, Stossel built his brand as muckraking Truth-Teller against Big Government and out of control "political correctness", along with an empire of high school “educational” videos, distributed by libertarian billionaire-funded front groups  to tens of thousands of American classrooms.

In his peak libertarian phase on 20/20, the ABC News program was frequently a Top 20 show, with an average of 13 million viewers an episode. Through his “Give Me A Break” segments and other high-profile special reports, Stossel – without challenge or balance – spread endless well-worn libertarian scare stories on topics ranging from teachers’ unions to the EPA to anti-tobacco regulators to minimum wage to Black civil rights activists, nut-picking the most fringe elements while building stories on anecdotal, fraudulent data and a black hole of libertarian sourcing. 

On this episode, we trace today’s neoliberal, far-right toxic media back to Stossel’s brand of mainstream-laundered, libertarian “contrarianism.”

We are joined by Jeff Cohen, founder of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR).

Episode 72 - John Stossel: Libertarian Billionaires' Inside Man

"The United States believes any Palestinian government must renounce violence,” a U.S. official told Ha'aretz. When it comes to nonviolence, writes Barbara Reynolds in The Washington Post, “Black Lives Matter seems intent on rejecting the proven methods." "Violence Is Never the Answer," New York Times columnist Charles Blow insists.

We are told endlessly that violence is inherently and unequivocally bad, something - when it comes to advocating for social justice or against military occupation and fascism - that’s always to be avoided, condemned and renounced. It must be rejected, our press and politicians declare, in favor of non-violence, so-called "peaceful protests" and the democratic process.

But in popular discourse, discussions of violence aren’t really about violence; rather, they’re about sanctioned versus unsanctioned violence. The routine violence of poverty, racist policing, militarism is never called "violence"–––it's just the way things are, a law of nature, the price of "stability". But unsanctioned violence, namely that carried out by activists, non or sub-state actors, and those generally distant from the halls of power, causes outrage without any coherent criteria for this indignation. 

On this episode, we discuss how what is and isn't deemed "violence" by our media is largely a function of proximity to power and whether those actions challenge or serve the interests of the status quo. 

We are joined by journalist and author Natasha Lennard.

Episode 74: Liberal Gandhi Fetishism and the Problem with Pop Notions of 'Violence'

In this episode, we are joined by journalist and author Vincent Bevins (@Vinncent) to discuss his new book, The Jakarta Method: Washington’s Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World.

Vincent's Book:

https://vincentbevins.com/book/

INFILTRATE AND CONTROL THE NARRATIVE w/ Vincent Bevins

Spenser and Mike interview Army Major Danny Sjursen about his journey from West Point officer in Iraq and Afghanistan to anti-war author, commentator and activist. 

Sjursen is host of 'Fortress On A Hill' podcast and author of several books. Find his work at https://skepticalvet.com/

Army Major to the Anti-War Movement

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