Economic Update

Economic Update: Today's Crisis In the Middle East with Chris Hedges

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff has a one-on-one discussion with Pulitzer Prizewinner Chris Hedges, who draws on history, his years as a correspondent and NY Times Middle East Bureau Chief, and his current work on and in the Middle East. He explains why Israel attacked Iran and what the short and long-term prospects are for their war. He also devotes some of his analyses to examining Israel's genocidal policies toward Gaza's Palestinians.

Economic Update: Making Sense of Trump's Economic Plan

1. How Trump seeks to address the problem of costly American wars and their impact on sharply rising budget deficits,
2. How the rising U.S. debt has led to the loss of the United States’ "AAA" credit rating,
3. How Trump’s response is to seek to slash government spending and raise money by imposing tariffs on the entire world,
4. How this backfires as other countries retaliate, hurting US exports and causing the dollar to lose its appeal as the world's safest currency,
5. How China's economic rise is more substantial than the U.S. measures aimed at stopping or slowing that rise,
6. How the declining U.S. empire undermines the U.S. capitalist economy by making it increasingly difficult for CEOs and other corporate leaders in the U.S., households, and the government to prevail over and dominate the U.S. economy and society.

 

Economic Update: Analyzing Trump's Mass Support

On this week’s episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the blow back to Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s rationalization of budget cuts to Medicaid to help fund tax cuts for corporations and the rich, 8,000 Connecticut healthcare workers win contract gains by threatening to strike, and how the advertising industry spawned by capitalism distorts and corrupts human communication. The show's second half features an interview with UC-Berkeley Professor Arlie Hochschild on the reasons why Trump's political base continues to support him.

Economic Update: Europe Declines Faster Than The United States

This week's Economic Update looks at how US production of wheel-barrows moved to China, and how the U.S. is adopting a Cold War mentality against China. Also discussed are the  socioeconomic effects of US federal workers' being fired, as well as how tariffs alone won't reshore manufacturing.  Professor Wolff then delves into the declines in US coal mining, in sales of US McDonald's hamburgers, along with commentary of the economic decline in Europe.

Economic Update: Who Will Likely Win and Lose the U.S.-China Trade War

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on Trump’s cuts to school mental health counsellors, the mass strike in LA County, why China is better positioned for a trade war with the U.S., and how profit is what drove corporate decisions to relocate U.S. factories overseas thereby making the US economy vulnerable to long, global supply lines.

Economic Update: The Corporatization of Universities and Trump's Attacks

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff begins by presenting updates on the death of libertarianism and the rise of US economic nationalism, and US universities are becoming big businesses, governed by money concerns. In this episode's second half, Professor Wolff interviews Professor Geert Dhondt, the Chair of the Economics Department and Economics Professor at John Jay College of the City University of New York, on how colleges and universities are reacting to Trump's attack on higher education. 

Economic Update: Reform Vs. Revolution

Wolff begins this week on Economic Update by analyzing the choice between reform and revolution through two historical discussions: the anti-slavery fight in the mid-19th century and the anti-Depression fight in the U.S. during the 1930s. He then explains the stakes in choosing reform or revolution as goals for social change and outlines how and why both options are now back on the working class's agenda in the U.S. He concludes the discussion by suggesting that revolution is the necessary guarantor of the duration of reforms in the U.S., offering an alternative perspective to consider when choosing reform over revolution.

Economic Update: Twin Failures Of Capitalism - The Homeless and Housing Crises

This week's Economic Update focuses on Trump's attacks on Harvard, Trump's "antisemitism" maneuver against educational institutions, and US universities becoming ever more " business-like." as well as looking into the economics of US dollar depreciation since Jan 20, 2025. Also featured is an interview with Mr Rob Robinson, to be awarded an honorary doctorate from the City University of New York at its Commencement, June 10, 2025, recognizing his multiple contributions to fighting homelessness and inadequate housing in the US.

Economic Update: Resisting Trump's Restoration Project

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the Kaiser Permanente mental health workers' strike unfolding in California and the function of tariffs as an economic weapon that also undermines the living standards of U.S. workers. In the second half of the show, Professor Wolff sits down with Kali Akuno, co-founder and co-director of Cooperation Jackson, to discuss Trump’s controversial "restoration" agenda and the growing resistance against it.

Economic Update: Solidarity Cities as Alternatives to Capitalism

  In this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff speaks on employers blocking, delaying, and opposing improvements on general social welfare, highlights how Trump ends "affirmative action" for veterans (including those disabled) and remarks on how tariffs worsen uncertainty with seriously negative consequences. In the second half of the show, Professors Maliha Safri and Stephen Healy, co-authors of the new book Solidarity Cities: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Mapping Transformation are interviewed.