Mallen Baker: Faultlines

Some reflections on the week that saw former president Donald Trump appearing in criminal court for the first - but surely not the last - time. Is this a shrewd political game? Or crass stupidity pushing the country closer to civil war? Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affairs, science and politics. It aims to be independent, fact-foc...

China’s Xi Jinping to visit Putin in Moscow as China outflanks the US on the world stage. Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse – is the world economic system teetering on the edge of major meltdown? And Dutch farmers hit back against green policies with a major election win from nowhere. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affairs, science...

Suggestions come from US intelligence that a pro-Ukraine group was responsible for the Nord Stream pipeline explosions. We learn that the UK government had an undisclosed position to reject the lab leak hypothesis to keep good relations with China. Massive farmers protests in Brussels underline how the EU’s. Farm to Fork sustainability policy is falling in the face of the Ukraine war. And in this...

It’s retro news week, apparently. A massive leak of whatsapp text messages from the heart of government shows the unedifying reality of the UK’s response to Covid. The US energy department declares that it now believes a lab leak is the most likely cause of the Covid-19 pandemic. And, in this week’s short thought – do we believe in science or in magical thinking? I wish you’d make your mind up. Su...

Last week, the former UK Labour prime minister Tony Blair, and  the former would-be Conservative prime minister William Hague produced a joint report calling for a British technology revolution. Some of the response to this – particularly on the populist right – was that this was the face of technocracy. Partly that’s true – and partly it’s not. But the push towards technocracy is inbuilt to our c...

The world marks the one year anniversary of the start of the Ukraine war with big speeches on all sides saying nothing new. China puts itself forward as a neutral peace broker in ways that may please neither Russia nor America. The US supreme court is offered the chance to break the internet with a single decision, but looks like declining the offer. And in this week’s short thought – the so-calle...

As the anniversary of the start of the Ukraine war approaches both sides burn through their resources at a rapid rate. The EU’s corruption crisis continues to deepen as more MEPs are named in the Qatargate scandal. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is brought down after being damaged by the trans prisoners row. And in this week’s short thought, how to step back from the modern trend to att...

A Chinese sky balloon is blown out of the sky along with recent hopes of easing tension between the two countries. Russia apparently begins to ramp up for a major offensive as President Zelensky visits the UK and Europe. Did we just get the real story about the exploding Nord Stream pipelines – or was it just a pipe dream? And, in this week’s short thought – the creative tension between change and...

Corruption continues to be the focus as more are raided in Ukraine and the EU and the UK have problems of their own. The UK’s armed forces recruitment comes under scrutiny with allegations that competence is no longer a key criteria for air force pilots. The trans rapist prisoner row in Scotland has reached the point where Nicola Sturgeon’s political end seems to be in sight. And in this week’s sh...

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...

Putin’s latest moves suggest he’s fighting a political war at home as much as a military one in Ukraine. China urges its people not to travel for the Chinese New Year as Covid starts to hit the rural areas hard. President Biden is deeply embarrassed by the discovery of top secret documents in his garage. And in this week’s short thought, why responding to crises is a healthy part of a normal syste...

Russia suffers a major blow on the battlefield the strategic implications of which highlight its biggest challenge. Republicans in the US celebrate their election gains by demonstrating an inability to agree on electing a House Speaker. Campaign group Extinction Rebellion gives up breaking the law but faces an upward struggle regardless, and in this week’s short thought, the power of taking respon...

In this news round-up of the week for 30th December 2022, as Covid rages across China, some countries bring in restrictions on travellers blaming the fear of new variants. Russian oligarchs continue to die by sudden falling out of hotel windows syndrome. A controversial leading light of the manosphere Andrew Tate picks a fight with Greta Thunberg and ends up sad. And in this week’s short thought,...

Vladimir Putin makes a startling statement after Ukraine’s Zelensky makes an appearance in the US. Scottish lawmakers pass a controversial trans self-ID bill, creating a likely constitutional crisis with the UK government. The summit on biodiversity reaches a final agreement and needless to say not everybody’s happy. And in this week’s short thought, I reflect on how we should rediscover the value...

The EU is rocked to its core by a massive corruption scandal that its enemies believe could become a rout of the bureaucrats. China is seeing its hospitals rapidly overwhelmed as the Covid takes off, but they’re not reporting how many are dying. And Vladimir Putin cancels all of his most important engagements fuelling speculation as to whether the end is in sight. Support this channel! [ https://p...

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...

The EU and the US have a huge falling out over Biden’s big subsidies for climate change action. China looks to be crossing the tipping point on its zero covid policy as cases surge upwards. Does the virtue signalling around the World Cup prove Vladimir Putin right about the West’s growing intolerance? And in this week’s short thought, why good quality thought benefits from the simple habit of bein...

China dominates the world stage at the G20 summit and Western countries start dialling back their hostility to it. Ukraine’s power grid is seriously knocked out by Russian attack as the UN criticises it for human rights abuses. Donald Trump announces that he is candidate for President but his strategy is already a defensive one. And in this week’s short thought, I talk about why you should expect...

The US mid-term elections deliver a surprising result that arguably makes US civil war just a bit less likely. Ukraine takes back control of Kherson city as senior figures in the US administration urge them to negotiate with Putin. Social media giants Twitter and Meta are in meltdown as the online landscape seems vulnerable to change. And in this week’s short thought, why the blame game at COP27 a...

America prepares itself for the mid-term elections as late polls suggest Republicans may soon control both houses, Brazil’s president Bolsonaro narrowly loses his election but does that actually mean the Amazon rainforest is safe? Rishi Sunak changes his mind about going to COP27 – we  review the issues up for debate at the climate conference. And in this week’s short thought, how almost unnoticed...

US political support for Ukraine shows first signs of fracturing as Vladimir Putin predicts the most dangerous decade. The UK has a new prime minister in Rishi Sunak who promises a return to competence in government. And the global climate summit COP27 is looming, which means a rash of updates on how we’re not on target. And in this week’s short thought, I reflect on how far adrift from reality so...

Ukraine continues to make advances as the world is newly alarmed about potential nuclear war. The UK’s brand new government sees more consequences from its self-sabotage. And EU members push back against the bloc’s plans to reduce pesticides in the middle of a world food crisis. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affairs, science and po...

Putin draws his red line and dares the West to cross it by formally annexing four regions of Ukraine. The UK Truss government’s mini-budget explodes in their faces and gives Labour real hope of regaining power. And controversial and Eurosceptic right winger Georgia Meloni wins Italy’s election, the latest populist wave that seems possibly to be sweeping Europe. Support this channel! https://patreo...

Russia announces a major mobilisation of its citizens while repeating its threats of nuclear war. The UK’s new government announces the unbanning of fracking and the most radical tax cutting day in fifty years. And in this week’s short though, we look at the latest tech giant, PayPal, to exercise unaccountable power against its customers apparently to the detriment of free speech. Support this cha...

Putin has a bad week in the war, and not a great time with China’s Xi Jinping who has ‘concerns’ about Ukraine. Sweden sees an election upheaval as concern about gun crime and immigration creates a populist backlash. And the second largest cryptocurrency ethereum slashes its massive energy use at a stroke, but will others follow? And in this week’s short thought, how our values are changing and we...