Mallen Baker: Faultlines

We know the story - China is dominating the EV industry with its remarkable and cheap cars which the Western bloated manufacturers simply can't compete with. But of course, there's a lot more going on than that. In China, most of those companies are losing money hand over fist, trying to get enough market share so they can be one of the handful left still standing at the end. In the West, setbacks...

In the UK, farmers are protesting in a way they haven't in recent times. They are furious about proposed inheritance tax changes to be brought in by the Labour government. The government claims the changes will only affect a tiny minority. The national farmers union claim they have got their numbers wildly wrong. Who's right - and is there a better answer already put forward that, so far, both sid...

One of the regular topics of discussion in the media in the US recently has been how polarised and divided the country has become, even to the extent where there is regularly speculation about what a new civil war would actually look like, if things continued to worsen. How did America get here? How did it end up with two parties of extremes circling a hollowed-out centre? How did it end up with w...

This week sees the COP29 conference on climate change, where the expectation is that the next US president will walk away from the issue, leaving China a golden opportunity to step into the role of global leadership it covets. And the landmark we learned this week has been reached - that China's cumulative emissions are now greater than those of the EU - that reflects changes in China's profile an...

Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr are amongst the recent names released by President-Elect Trump as his nominations for his cabinet. To say the least, they have caused something of a stir - a lot more so than his earlier picks. Why are they controversial? Will they get through the confirmation process? And will Trump try to sidestep that process to get his picks through, regardless...

After years of our lives being taken up by the campaign for the US presidency, we finally have a result. And against the apparent polling, it is a clear and unambiguous result. Donald Trump has performed the most remarkable political comeback, has cemented his role as a transformational president in the politics of the United States, and at a stroke has removed his legal woes and avoided any likel...

The US election has ... finally ... arrived. It's all over, bar the shouting. Except that the shouting has gotten pretty loud, and it's likely to continue for quite some time after the election has taken place. This possibly counts as one of the dumbest elections in American history - and if possible it got even dumber over the last week. Let's recount the ways, and make some fervent hopes for an...

It has been the sort of week that will be referred to in decades, even centuries, hence as being one that was a turning point in history. There is a lot to come, but let's see if we can make sense of where we have gotten to in just the last few days. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The ‘Dangerously Reasonable’ channel by Mallen Baker covers news, current affairs, science and...

In the US, in the UK and the EU - the proposed shift from internal combustion cars to electric vehicles is starting to become a major factor in a big political shift that's going on. What's driving it (pun not intended!), and just how far is it going to go in rocking our old political assumptions? Let's have a look. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The ‘Dangerously Reasonable’...

This week, Rishi Sunak just announced pushing back of a few net zero targets - but much more significantly signalled a shift in campaign positioning that has thrust the issue to the centre of the conflict between the two main parties in advance of the general election. Labour leader Keir Starmer now has to work out if this is a great opportunity, or a poison-laden trap. It's a more subtle question...

More mainstream voices are starting to be raised highlighting the likely outcome for where America is currently headed. One of them is Ray Dalio, the billionaire investor whose book 'Principles for dealing with a changing world order' identified the cycles that inevitably define the rise and fall of empires. Let's have a look at what he has to say. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenb...

Elon Musk is so often at the centre of every important issue or controversy - he is a techno-optimist, he is pro-free speech, he is desperate for man to colonise Mars - you name it. He is also powerful on the world stage. And somewhat unaccountable. Is that a problem? Let's discuss.  Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker  The ‘Dangerously Reasonable’ channel by Mallen Baker covers...

Two months in to Ukraine's counter-offensive, and so far - while there have been gains - they are well short of what people had hoped for. The implication is that this war is going to last years not months, notwithstanding the unexpected. How does that realisation begin to change the landscape - for Russia, for Ukraine, for the West? Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen...

Over time, how we understand an ongoing issue, and aim to act on it, will evolve and change. We've been in the same phase on climate change for several decades - but right now it seems as though we may be entering the transition to the next phase. In this podcast, we look at why that may be, but why it will reach America later than many other places. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/malle...

Maybe companies should have values. But should they have the sort of values that are about holding powerful corporations to account, or the ones that turn powerful corporations into policeman over how we live our lives? There's nuance to be had, but a crucially important distinction not many commentators are making right now. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker S...

Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affairs, science and politics. It aims to be independent, fact-focused and non-ideological. A rational and reasoned approach to some of the difficult issues of our time, including climate change, the Covid pandemic, and how we can best survive and thrive in the modern world. You can also find videos at...

It wasn't a coup, but it looked like a coup. Putin wasn't bothered, but he certainly looked bothered. Really, it was just a protest. The sort of protest where you destroy military planes on the way. So just what HAS been going on in Russia this week, and what does it mean?

Boris Johnson has left the building - before launching a broadside against the Parliamentary Privileges Committee process just before it delivered its damning verdict. It found that he had lied repeatedly - which isn't much of a shock. The question is this. Was this the system upholding its commitment to integrity in public life? Or was it a politically biased hatchet job carrying out an act of sa...

This week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met the US President Joe Biden and amongst the various topics they discussed was Britain’s desire to carve out a role for itself on the discussion around Artificial Intelligence. In recent weeks, we’ve seen voices raised – including those of some of the pioneers in AI – warning about the potential existential danger to humanity posed by the technology,...

There has been a lot of talk this week about how the world may nose its way across the 1.5ºC line soon. It's been held up as a major landmark for so long - and generally with menaces attached. So is it truly on the cards? And how significant a line is it anyway? Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affairs, science and politics. It aims t...

Trump's Town Hall on CNN gave him his very best day of his 2024 election campaign, by far. How did it happen at all? And how much does it really change the equation for the next election, and indeed the next period of American political history? Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affairs, science and politics. It aims to be independent,...

A drone attack hits the Kremlin building. Once again, the world is left wondering "who dunnit?". Was it a false flag attack by a Russian leadership determined to drive a wedge between Ukraine and its allies? Or an attack by Kyiv, or even the United States - or a Russian partisan group? Let's look at the theories that are flying around - and at least discount the one that seems on its face to be a...

He's spoken to Vladimir Putin five times since the war started - but this was the first time he picked up the phone to Ukraine's Volodymir Zelensky. What does the call say about China's intended role in the Ukraine war - why might it signal hope for an end to the conflict - or, depending on your perspective - provoke fear in how China might use that end to its own advantage? Support this channel!...

During the last week, a major summit that was supposed to advance climate onto the World Bank agenda hit an impasse. Meanwhile, China is rapidly gaining as the alternative lender to developing countries. The stakes are pretty big - it could just be the biggest problem that no-one's talking about. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affai...

A hugely significant leak of US intelligence has dominated the week ... and it's one unlike any that came before it. But what's really interesting, is what it says about the rapidly changing place of America in the world. And it's not good news. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affairs, science and politics. It aims to be independent,...