The Socialist Program

“It's kind of in the DNA of American bourgeois capitalist politics: demonize your enemy, call them a communist, and that's the end of the story. But there's another element, which is the Republican Party, the MAGA project, Project 2025 — the Trump White House is failing.”
The House Ways and Means Committee has sent a subpoena to BreakThrough News, demanding internal communications, financial records and more. We are not charged with any crime, because our only “crime” has been to tell the truth – about the Palestine solidarity movement, about ICE’s terror in our streets, about Washington’s crimes around the world, from Cuba to the Congo. This is a flagrant abuse of power, and a direct attack on our work as journalists and on the First Amendment.
The State Department’s dangerous “Cuba report” released Monday – blasting Havana as the global center of a sinister anti-American communist plot by Russia, China, Iran, North Korea– is just the latest step in the Trump administration’s McCarthyist revival. But attacks on the left didn’t start with Trump: Brian Becker, host of the Socialist Program, joins BT Live to discuss how this latest crackdown on free speech is rooted in US history: From the Palmer Raids to COINTELPRO, every time a mass movement for a more just world starts to gain real traction, the state reaches for the same playbook.
DONATE / SIGN THE PETITION: https://breakthroughnews.org/bt-under-attack

The Trump administration is catalyzing a longtime trend in the US where corporate criminals get a fine or nothing, while almost two million working class people sit behind bars. Professor Richard Wolff and producer Nicole Roussell discuss what this shows about the nature of the capitalist system and why we need socialism.
Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

July 14 is Bastille Day, when the French stormed an armory and took up arms against the monarchy and opened the gates to a prison during the French Revolution. Guards opened fire and many died—but by August 4th, feudalism was abolished. In the midst of widespread killings by ICE, Professor Richard Wolff and Brian Becker discuss repression, revolution, and our current moment.
Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

New financial disclosure documents reveal the extent of Trump’s profiteering through the office of the presidency. Trump made over $2 billion his first year back in office, including more than $1 billion from his promotion of a Trump cryptocurrency alone. Professor Richard Wolff and producer Nicole Roussell discuss.
Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.
Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.

The Supreme Court just gave Trump the ability to dismiss the heads of supposedly independent agencies — overruling 91 years of precedent — with the exception of the Federal Reserve. Professor Richard Wolff and producer Nicole Roussell discuss the meaning of this ruling, as well as the birthright citizenship and campaign finance SCOTUS decisions this week.

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

Join the The Socialist Program community at http://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get exclusive content and help keep this show on the air.