Why Sanders is surging

Listen now: Eugene Puryear, the PSL’s 2016 vice-presidential candidate, provides an analysis of last week’s Iowa caucuses, and what they mean for working and poor people in this election year. The social-democratic Bernie Sanders campaign could very well surpass Hillary Clinton as they nearly tied in the polls while Ted Cruz was the unexpected winner for the Republicans.

Imperialist war and the rise of ISIS

Listen now: Brian Becker discusses the U.S.-dominated anti-Daesh meeting that took place on February 2 in Rome with journalist Hafsa Kara. The U.S.-led NATO bombing campaign that achieved “regime change” in 2011 has opened the path for the so-called Islamic State to grow in Libya, especially in Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte. This segment is rebroadcast from Loud & Clear on Radio Sputnik.

Turkey excludes Kurdish groups from peace talks

Listen now: Elif Sarican of the Kurdish Student Union discusses recent developments in Eastern Turkey. While media in the United States lauds the resistance of Kurdish resistance groups against ISIS, those groups have also been excluded in the recent peace talks. She also analyzes the relationship between the Turkish government, and U.S./NATO imperialism. The Turkish government, a partner of global imperialists, has waged a war of dehumanization and extermination against Kurdish people for nearly a century.

Haiti rises up

Listen now: Kim Ives, co-founder and editor of the international weekly newspaper Haiti Liberté, talks about the recent protests in Haiti against the government of President Michel Martelly. On January 22, thousands marched to central square in Port-au-Prince to demand new elections after massive voter fraud in the first two rounds of voting, and to denounce a government ban on demonstrations. In response, the Martelly government has planned massive police and paramilitary repression.

Women fight back against healthcare attacks

Listen now: Meghann Adams of WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend) speaks on the growing attacks on abortion rights and access to healthcare on the 43rd anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. She discusses the threat of the Supreme Court upholding the Texas Omnibus Abortion Bill (HB 2), which contains multiple restrictions on access to abortion, and how that could negatively impact abortion rights nationwide. Mass mobilization originally won the Roe v. Wade decision, and it is through such mobilizations that these attacks on women and reproductive rights can be defeated.

Iran gains breathing room after nuclear deal

Listen now: Mazda Majidi of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in San Francisco analyzes the aftermath of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s verification of Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal – a relief from increased provocations and accusations from U.S. imperialism just weeks ago. The new nuclear deal provides breathing space for Iran, allowing it to assert its sovereignty and independent development.

Report on the Black Radical Tradition conference

Listen now: Eugene Puryear, the PSL’s 2016 vice-presidential candidate, reports back on the Black Radical Tradition conference that took place this past weekend in Philadelphia, Penn. The discussions and deliberations at the conference focused on what is needed to go forward in the fight for Black liberation and the liberation of all.

Native activist tells the history of the lands held by Oregon militia

Listen now: Jacqueline Keeler, a writer and activist of Diné (Navajo) and Yankton Dakota heritage, speaks on the occupation of Native land by an Oregon militia. She tells the history of the Native lands that these fascist groups are claiming as their own. These colonized lands belonging to the Yakima and Kayute Nations were stolen through genocide by the U.S. Army. This fascist takeover is another offense in a long history of attacks on Native sovereignty that all people who believe in justice must stand against.

Venezuelan revolutionary process moves forward in the face of electoral defeat

Listen now: Gloria La Riva, the PSL’s 2016 presidential candidate, speaks about the December 6 National Assembly elections in Venezuela in which the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) lost a significant number of seats to the right-wing opposition. She provides analysis of what the electoral results mean for the PSUV and the future of the Bolivarian revolutionary process.

Addressing chronic homelessness in D.C.

Listen now: William Merrifield, Staff Attorney at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, discusses the recent clearing of homeless encampments in Washington, D.C.’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood. He discusses the urgent need to end chronic homelessness in D.C. and the profound issues in the underfunded shelter system, which the District government neglects while supporting expensive gentrification.

Could talks lead to a ceasefire in Syria?

Listen now: Ben Becker, editor of the book Imperialism in the 21st Century and a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in New York City, reviews the increasing likelihood of a policy shift among Western powers allowing for a ceasefire between the Syrian government and insurgent forces following talks in Vienna. While the shoot down of a Russian jet by Turkey, a country dependent on the United States and NATO, complicates this process, the possibility of new alliances also exist, including a significant army of insurgent forces in Syria ready to fight against ISIS.

Veterans stand against imperialist wars

Listen now: Mike Prysner of March Forward! speaks on the continued need to for active-duty soldiers, veterans and their supporters to stand against imperialist war. Veteran’s Day was named in 1954 to whitewash the truth of how working and oppressed people in the United States are recruited to fight for the rich in wars abroad. To truly support veterans, the Pentagon must be dismantled, and the capitalist drive for war must be stopped once and for all.

Trump, free speech and pushing back American-style fascism

Listen now: Karina Garcia of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in New York City talks about the mobilization against Donald Trump who hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend. Trump is a dangerous American-style fascist promoted by the U.S. ruling class to spread extreme right-wing ideology. Trump’s racism is not free speech and all progressive people must continue organizing to stop him.

Introducing the Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee

Listen now: Gloria La Riva, who long served as the National Coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, introduces the Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee. With the release of all of the Cuban Five last December, the National Committee is transforming to form a new organization to build solidarity and support for Cuba and Venezuela in the United States.

Bill Ayers on education, Black Lives Matter and the struggle today

Listen now: Bill Ayers, retired professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and lifelong activist against racism and war, discusses a number of current topics, including the Black Lives Matter movement against racist police terror and his work in fighting for education reform.

Eyewitness: North Korea

Listen now: Gloria La Riva, the PSL’s 2016 presidential candidate, speaks about her experience in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea) during the 70th anniversary of the Worker’s Party of Korea earlier this month. She describes her impressions of changes in the DPRK since her last trip in 1989, including the impact of U.S. sanctions on the North Korean economy, and discusses the need for people in the United States to continue to oppose imperialist aggression towards North Korea.

Palestine: A Third Intifada?

Listen now: Richard Becker, West Coast Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, provides an analysis of what many are calling a Third Intifada, or uprising, of the Palestinian people in response to continued Israeli repression and the desecration of non-Jewish religious sites in an attempt to declare Zionist colonial victory over Palestine.