North Korea's head of state, Kim Jong-un is in Russia, meeting with Vladimir Putin,

and Venezuela's head of state, Nicholas Maduro, is in China, meeting with Xi Jinping.

Today we're talking about the dramatic changes taking place in global politics.

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 this week's episode of the Socialist Program. I'm your host, Brian Becker.

Today we're talking with investigative journalist Ben Norton. He works with the website Geopolitical Economy Report, which you can find at geopoliticaleconomy.com. Ben Norton, welcome back.

Thanks for having me, Brian. It's a pleasure.

Big news today.

I mean, we knew for, you know, the last few weeks because of rampant speculation in the

U.S. media that Putin and Kim Jong-un were going to meet as if that would be like

some terrible, menacing event.

Of course, the two countries share a border.

Russia borders North Korea, as does China.

But now that Putin is meeting with Kim Jong-un in Russia,

we learned that Maduro is meeting with Xi Jinping.

And Xi Jinping announced in a very dramatic

statement that Venezuelan China relations have been elevated to a strategic partnership.

But let's start with the meeting with Putin and Kim Jong-un.

I want to get your take, its significance.

...