At the moment that the Trump White House is issuing executive orders deeming Antifa and people who espoused, quote, anti-capitalist views, close quote, as domestic terrorists,

it's important to learn about the history of anti-communist witch hunting in the United States during the past century.

Today, we will talk about the history of the organized suppression and repression against the First

Amendment and in particular against communist and socialist progressive forces.

We need a new system. We need a new system.

We need a new society.

We need to demand that which may have sounded impossible

even a few weeks ago,

but is not only realizable, but an imperative necessity. Welcome to the Socialist Program. I'm your host, Brian Becker.

Today we're talking with Aaron Leonard. Aaron is the author and historian of many books.

Most recently, his book is Menace of Our Time, The Long War Against American Communism, which was published

this year by Rutgers University Press.

Aaron, welcome to the show.

Oh, thanks for having me on.

It's good to be here.

Well, it's a great honor for us to have you.

I know you've written many books.

We want people to read your books, but in particular, this book, because, one, the Trump administration is

basically declared war against the First Amendment. And many people today think, well,

Trump is a terrible anomaly. And of course, it's no disputing that Trump is different.

But the witch hunt, the witch hunting of leftists, sometimes only associated with the McCarthy

period or the McCarthy era, as it's known, that's also considered like a period of anomaly,

...