logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
1h 28m

The Current Political Moment, U.S. Imper...

REVOLUTIONARY LEFT RADIO
About this episode

In this episode Breht sits down with Brian Becker, a longtime socialist organizer and leading member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), to break down the current political and economic crisis in the United States and the urgent need for revolutionary organization. As Trump-aligned forces consolidate power, billionaires tighten their grip over the state, and the feckless Democratic Party continues its self-imposed paralysis, Brian and Breht examine what this moment signals about the trajectory of U.S. capitalism and imperialism. Is the U.S. empire in irreversible decline, or is it adapting to sustain itself through repression and restructuring?

Brian shares insights from decades of organizing, discussing the lessons PSL has learned in building a revolutionary party, the importance of anti-imperialism in U.S. revolutionary work, and the key weaknesses and strengths of today’s left. Finally, Brian offers concrete advice for listeners looking to move from political awareness to active participation in the struggle.

If you’re serious about understanding and engaging in revolutionary politics, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. Outro Song: "Gangster" by Good Luck Chuck Feat. Rocky Rivera & Bambu

Learn about and Join the PSL HERE

Check out Liberation News HERE

Check out Brian's podcast "The Socialist Program" on YOUTUBE or subscribe to the show on your preferred podcast app

Learn more about the ANSWER Coalition HERE Check out BreakThrough News HERE

-----------------------------

Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio

Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio

Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left HERE

Up next
Oct 6
Discussing Popular Education and Social Movement Work (w/ Ultra-Red)
In this episode, Alyson joins members of the Ultra-Red collective to discuss their recent trip to Central America where they learned first hand about popular education movements of the past and present. The discussion gets into the history of popular education, existing social mo ... Show More
1h 42m
Oct 1
Menace of our Time: The Long War Against American Communism
For over a century, the U.S. ruling class has waged war on communists, anarchists, and radicals. From the Palmer Raids of 1919 to McCarthyism in the 1950s, from COINTELPRO in the Cold War to today’s MAGA rhetoric about “woke communists" and his crackdown on "Antifa Radicals", sta ... Show More
1h 41m
Sep 27
Eric Mann on Revolutionary Struggle: The Weather Underground, the Long 1960s, and the Fight for Liberation Today (Part 1)
Breht speaks with veteran organizer, revolutionary strategist, and author Eric Mann. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mann reflects on his decades of struggle; from his early work with SNCC and SDS, through his involvement with the Weather Underground and his time as a politica ... Show More
2h 19m
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Technofeudalism w/ Yanis Varoufakis
Technofeudalism—you might already have some sense of what the term means, even if you haven’t sat down and unpacked it fully. A mode of production with one hand in the past and another the future—an updated form of feudal relations married to an advanced epoch of the productive f ... Show More
1h 1m
Mar 2025
[TEASER] China Pt. 3: Bourgeois Democracy vs Socialist Democracy w/ Vijay Prashad
This is a free preview of the episode "China Pt. 3: Bourgeois Democracy vs Socialist Democracy w/ Vijay Prashad." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/upstreampodcast As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least o ... Show More
17m 53s
Sep 30
[TEASER] Venezuela Pt. 2: Socialist Communes and Anti-Imperialism w/ Chris Gilbert
This is a free preview of the episode "Venezuela Pt. 2: Socialist Communes and Anti-Imperialism w/ Chris Gilbert." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/upstreampodcast As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least ... Show More
21m 13s
Aug 23
LEPHT HAND - Myth, Nostalgia, and Liberation: Federico Campagna’s 'Otherworlds: Mediterranean Lessons On Escaping History'
Can myth itself serve as a material force in struggles for liberation? Federico Campagna joins me to discuss how myth—too often dismissed as escapism or co-opted by reaction—can instead become a practice of imagination, solidarity, and survival. We look at myth’s place in anti-ca ... Show More
1h 8m
Aug 22
Rule and divide: opposition grows in Syria
Less than nine months after Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled, the honeymoon is over. How is the new regime responding to rising dissent? Introducing Britain’s revolutionary retirees: why pensioners increasingly dominate political protest. And celebrating the life of o ... Show More
23m 38s
Jan 2025
What Went Wrong with Liberalism and How We Can Save it, with Samuel Moyn
In this episode Samuel Moyn, Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, explores what he sees as the profound crisis facing liberalism and why many in the West have become disillusioned with it. Drawing from his latest book 'Liberalism against Itself: Cold W ... Show More
49m 37s
Dec 2023
Season 3, Episode 2: Lindsey A. O'Rourke, Covert Regime Change: America's Secret Cold War
Join Professor Jeffrey Sachs and political scientist Lindsey O’Rourke as they discuss O’Rourke’s book, Covert Regime Change. Based on an original dataset of American regime change operations, O’Rourke addresses three key questions: What motivates states to attempt foreign regime ... Show More
42m 22s
Jan 2025
The Epiphany: What Joyce, the Dead, Musk and Twitter Teach Us About Economic Power
We explore today's seismic changes in media and society, by tracing historical parallels between James Joyce’s The Dead (1907) and today’s digital age. Joyce’s observations on in The Dead about generational divides, the rise of newspapers, and societal shifts echo loudly in 2025, ... Show More
33m 46s
Sep 2024
The role of British imperialism today
In this latest episode of Marxist Voice, Ben Gliniecki outlines the role of British imperialism today, and how communists can fight to overthrow it. 📚 Get your hands on Marxist classics like Lenin's 'Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism': https://wellredbooks.co.uk/ ✊ Jo ... Show More
48m 6s
Jun 2024
Neoliberalism: The Invisible Ideology, with George Monbiot
We live under an invisible ideology. It tells us that we are not citizens but consumers. That intervening in the free market compromises our freedom. That we are all millionaires-in-waiting - and if we are struggling to make ends meet, then we only have ourselves to blame. This i ... Show More
55m 7s