Mallen Baker: Faultlines

Liz Truss is poised to become the next UK prime minister - I look at what she’s said so far she will actually do. A critic of Vladimir Putin mysteriously falls from a window and his history making predecessor, Mikhail Gorbachev, dies. A genuine climate catastrophe has a third of Pakistan under water and is likely to be followed by famine. And in this week’s short thought, I look at a small example...

As energy prices across Europe are soaring, Russia is burning off its excess gas highlighting Putin’s high stakes gamble. UK prime minister candidate Rishi Sunak blows up the secrecy behind the UK’s covid lockdowns. China, the would-be great emerging superpower is assailed on all sides by problems of its own. And in this week’s short thought, I discuss the mindset change to best equip you to tackl...

The UK government identifies causes for the surge in excess deaths which, for 2022, could be killing more people than covid, Liz Cheney loses her election, and Sam Harris goes viral in a bad way – all in the name of keeping Trump out of the white house, Russia begins to process of wiping out national cultural identity in the areas it occupies in Ukraine. And in this week’s short thought I reflect...

China responds with fury to the visit by US House speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. The referendum in Kansas pushes back on banning abortion and changes the landscape for the midterm elections. Europe and elsewhere continue to see real consequences to continuing heatwaves and drought. And in this week’s short thought, I reflect on the phenomenon of audience capture and how it push creators down a sl...

A major climate change bill suddenly appears in the US when everyone was least expecting it. More signs of the health impact of lockdowns are emerging but people are instead focusing on monkeypox. The UK NHS shuts down the Tavistock gender clinic whose rush to prescribe puberty blockers was labelled a danger to children. And in this week’s short thought, is body positivity something to be embraced...

Joe Biden nearly declares a climate emergency – would it be a move too far for America’s fragile situation? The final two candidates for UK prime minister are settled but whether they like net zero or not, their options are limited. The European Commission instructs EU members states to cut gas use, and most of them fight back. And in this week’s short thought, I talk about the value of admitting...

Russia turns off the gas supply, and Europe’s fear it won’t be turned back on has far reaching impacts. President Biden goes to deal with people he labelled as pariahs even as America’s own bad behaviour is brought to attention. The UK conservative party fights like ferrets in a sack over who will be the next Prime Minister. And in this week’s short thought, I dream of an end to safetyism in a cou...

Boris Johnson is finally felled as a long downward spiral comes to an end China brings in and then abandons vaccine mandates as the UK and some other countries are showing an unexplained increase in non-covid deaths. The EU sees turmoil as it classifies nuclear and gas as green and Dutch farmers protest draconian laws on nitrogen. And in this week’s short thought, I reflect on what makes for effec...

The US Supreme Court rips up a key measure on climate change and makes America a bit less governable even than it already was. Meanwhile Democrats try to put Roe v Wade on the ballot for 2022 elections while taking Donald Trump OFF the ballot for 2024. Russia hits a major civilian target with significant loss of life but the G7 responds with juvenile drivel. And in this week’s short thought, we ta...

In this news round-up of the week for 24th June 2022, Boris Johnson teeters on the brink once again after the worst by-election results in living memory. The US Supreme Court delivers a huge decision (and that's BEFORE today's one, which came too late for this video)! The EU confirms Ukraine as a candidate for membership even as the EU’s unity falls apart. China extends its grip on internet censor...

In this news round-up of the week for 10th June 2022 In the US, the Jan 6th hearings begin but it’s really all about future elections not past ones. The European Parliament goes into full meltdown as its signature climate policies suffer major setbacks. President Putin talks about his war aims as three foreign soldiers are sentenced to death. And in this week’s short thought, I talk about why it’s...

Shanghai emerged from lockdown but the zero Covid policy is putting doubt over Xi Jinping’s status as dictator for life. President Biden u-turns with dizzying speed on sending long-range missiles to Ukraine American Republicans signal a shift to being more positive on climate change. And in this week’s short thought, I talk about the choice we make about whether or not to use polarising language....

Russia starts making ground in the Ukraine war as the parts of its military machine finally start working together. America endures another school mass shooting and descends into the usual internal warfare. A hacker releases documents from Chinese police stations in Xinjiang showing just what’s happening to the Uighers. The UK introduces a post-Brexit bill to deregulate gene editing. And in this w...

The growing global food crisis starts to see unrest spreading in the countries that are being worst hit. Russia finally crushes resistance at Mariupol, but is mostly focused on the blame game for its failures. In the US means the left has jumped onto a terrible shooting as a tool to associate their opponents with actual neo-nazism. Australia is imminently to head to the polls – in an election that...

As Russia’s campaign in Ukraine does badly on the ground it is raising alarm bells thanks to its manoeuvres in space. China and now North Korea battle with Covid as the WHO upends a lot of cherished misconceptions about the pandemic. The democrats put a radical abortion bill to the senate so that its glorious defeat can motivate the base. And the BBC gets caught mistaking campaigning for journalis...

A split in the EU over oil sanctions over Ukraine and a panic at the White House over being blamed for dead Russian generals. Elections in the UK, and primaries in the US give clues on the fate of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. The aftermath of the draft Roe v Wade judgement continue to send shockwaves through the US. We look at how much India is following China’s lead on digital censorship and a...

Russia begins cutting the flow of gas to EU countries that refuse to pay the bill in Roubles. Russia also bombs Kyiv while the UN secretary general is there as everyone digs in for a long war. Polls show that EU citizens want an elected president but the bloc is struggling to hold together. Also, we look at whether China’s failed Zero Covid policy is just the beginning for a failure to take world...

President Biden caused another stir by labelling Russia’s war in Ukraine as genocide. Boris Johnson survived a week where he went from glory to disgrace to controversy. Elon Musk offered to by twitter, and the French election gets to the pointy end. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers news, current affairs, science and politics. It aims to be independ...

The war in Ukraine shifts to the South East as atrocities against civilians are being revealed. The UK government launches its bold and ambitious energy security policy – at least that’s what they say. And France suddenly faces the possibility of being the site of the next big populism political upset as Marine Le Pen surges at the last minute. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker...

The Ukraine war shifts into another gear as Russia moves its forces and the West tries to psyche Putin out, and Ukraine's perfect PR war suffers a first setback when its troops commit a serious war crime. And the US splits over whether the parental rights bill in Florida really does mean teachers should not say gay. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The Mallen Baker Show covers...

The massive consequences of the Ukraine war on the world’s energy supplies continue to emerge, and one of them is to blow up the promises made at the COP26 climate conference. New claims are made that Vladimir Putin is in danger of a coup the longer the war drags on. And America indulges in the usual political showboating over the latest supreme court nomination. Support this channel! https://patr...

The Russian military tightens the noose around Kyiv while Moscow takes claims of bioweapons to the UN security council. Despite Putin’s new laws, the truth about the war is exposed on State television in Russia. And the UK SAGE committee winds up in a symbolic end to the pandemic in Britain, while in Hong Kong things have never been so bad. Support this channel! https://patreon.com/mallenbaker The...

The invasion of Ukraine has continued, with a significant shift towards indiscriminate shelling of civilian targets, not to mention a nuclear power plant. Putin has declared his settled will to take the whole of Ukraine regardless of the backlash against him. Also, it's being suggested that the Kremlin is on the verge of declaring martial law in Russia – a move which would have far-reaching conseq...

Russia invades Ukraine. We talk about why it happened, why the response by the West will make zero difference to what happens next, and whether this is the first concrete shift towards a new world order, as some people believe. 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...

UK prime minister Boris Johnson says he’ll end all Covid restrictions in two weeks, and the inevitable backlash is in full swing. Justin Trudeau’s strong stand against Canadian truckers begins to crumble as voices on his own side begin to attack a divisive approach to Covid policy. And Democrats retreat on their own Covid policies while Republicans begin to fight in earnest for the soul of their o...