Shows / Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Mallen Baker: Faultlines
'Dangerously reasonable' analysis on politics, science, and particularly the bit where they bump into each other. I aim to give an independent, fact-focused, non-ideological take on the issues that matter.
Episodes
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Post-Election Trump Still Caught In Iran War Trap
Now the midterm elections are out of the way, Trump is back to staring the Iran war in the face and he is already back pedalling furiously from all those…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
JD Vance Watches Presidency Slipping Away From Him
JD Vance has been used to seeing himself as the heir presumptive to Trump - but the midterms setback now has various people, not least the corporate executives…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Bizarre Peace Deal Declaration For Europe and Russia | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday November 6th 2026: Trump signals a pending Ukraine deal that extends to the whole of Europe - there are causes for…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Pete Hegseth In Line To Take The Fall Over Midterms Disaster
Many Republicans blame President Donald Trump as the obvious cause for the rout of the GOP in the latest midterm elections. But such comments are largely being…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Trump's Midterm Trouncing Has Changed America's Future
President Donald Trump approached the midterm elections with optimism that the results would be close enough that the administration could deflect, deny, seek…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Midterm Blame Game Has Begun | Trump vs the GOP
Unless a massive surprise unfolds over the next two days, Republicans are expecting a poor set of results from the imminent election. A muttering campaign has…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Ukraine Defies Trump And Goes Back To Hitting Russia's Oil | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday October 30th 2026: Ukraine ends its unofficial pause on striking Russian oil refineries, in spite of Trump's…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Mid-Terms Meltdown Has Tech Bros Panicking
It is entirely natural that the Trump team, facing desperately poor polling right up to the last days before the mid-term elections, are feeling grim. But the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Russia Just Admitted Trump Is Useless on Ukraine
What was carefully unspoken (but patently obvious) since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term in the White House, has finally been…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Lula And Machado Give Trump His Worst Week In South America
US President Donald Trump has said that the whole of the Western hemisphere is his backyard, and he will behave accordingly. So far, it seemed to be working…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Canada Blunder Blows Up In His Face
President Donald Trump is cancelling the tariffs on a number of Canadian goods as some of his candidates in the mid-term elections have sounded the alarm for…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Did Musk Just Make The Biggest Mistake Of His Career? | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday October 23rd 2026: The question of who interfered with Ukraine's Starlink connection has continued - and it looks…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's America Prepares For Post-Election Chaos
Two things are going to explode after the mid-term elections have finally taken place - assuming that the results are anything like what the polls are…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why The French Riots Are Coming To The Rest Of Europe Soon
The weekend saw an intensity of rioting that shocked even a French public that is very used to street protests as a way of life. President Donald Trump said…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Putin Is Using Trump To Trap Ukraine
Two stories show how the imperial Trump presidency is going to continue to shake the world over the next two years, regardless of what happens in the coming…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Zelensky Remains Defiant As Trump Fumes | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday October 16th 2026: President Trump responds to Ukraine's defiance of his demand for them to stop bombing Russian…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Zelensky Defies Trump And Hits Russian Oil Refineries Again
President Donald Trump came out this week as an agent of Putin's Russia, and adversary of Ukraine, and did so while demanding that Ukraine stop hitting Russian…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump Cut US Support For Ukraine - And What Comes Next
Having threatened dire consequences if Ukraine didn't agree to President Donald Trump's demand that they stop attacked Russian oil refineries, over the last…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Russia vs NATO: The Ugly Truth Behind the New Defence Strategy
The top military leader of NATO just openly explained the alliance's strategy for dealing with possible Russian incursions into the territory of a NATO member…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Just Showed His True Face As An Enemy Of Ukraine
Following his shock deal with Russia on diesel, President Donald Trump followed up by making it starkly clear that he is going to use that deal to try to force…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Iran Just Forced Trump To Retreat | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday October 9th 2026. President Trump acts tough on Iran, but can't cover the fact that the US has been mostly running…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump In Full-On Panic Over Mid-Terms - Hints At A Coming 'Surprise'
The polls continue to give worse and worse news for Trump and the GOP over the coming mid-term elections, and now the signs are all over the place that panic…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Russia Plague Report Shows The World Learned Nothing From Covid
One woman died from an unspecified illness in Russia - which wouldn't be a point of concern except that she worked in a laboratory that deals with the plague…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Attacks On Allies Blow Up In His Face | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday October 2nd 2026. The G20 trade ministers revolt against the Trump administration's demands that they line up…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Divide And Conquer Plan To Blow Up NATO
NATO members have just discovered that the Trump administration has set up a meeting to discuss the future of the alliance, and has pointedly NOT invited some…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump's Latest Putin Plan Has His Own Side Disgusted
Recently, President Donald Trump has increased the pace of his attempt to rehabilitate Vladimir Putin's Russia in the world community. To all appearances, this…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Russia's Hybrid War: How Europe Is Side-Stepping Trump In Its Response
Two things in one week. One - European countries have been meeting together to look at how they respond - outside of NATO - to Russia's increasing hybrid…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Xi Left Trump With Two Pandas And A Short Truce | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday September 25th, 2026: China's Xi Jinping has his big state visit hosted by President Trump. Almost none of the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Bizarre Conspiracy Of Silence On The Greenland Deal
The day after the deal was signed between President Donald Trump, Denmark and Greenland, and we've had time to absorb the full text of the agreement and the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Xi Jinping's China Is Taming Donald Trump
Today was a helter skelter of foreign policy set pieces for President Trump, with the United Nations General Assembly in full swing. But tomorrow is when the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Is Greenland Making A Huge Mistake?
President Donald Trump has announced an imminent deal between Denmark, Greenland and the United States - and that has been confirmed in outline by the other…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Worst Week As Reality Smacks Him In The Face | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday 18th September 2026. President Trump has one of the worst weeks of his second term as all the big things come home…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Canada and Europe's Move Just Sent Trump Into a Fury
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke today at the European Parliament, just one day after EC President Ursula von der Leyen called for Canada to become…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Republicans Turn on Trump Over Putin Oligarch Wedding Gift
A number of prominent Republicans have turned from Donald Trump and his family in disgust. Not because of Trump's support for Putin over Ukraine. Not because…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Insists The AI Apocalypse Be Made In America
All weekend, the talk has been about the AI apocalypse, with the most well-known and powerful AI company leaders letting it be known that they favour a…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How JD Vance Is Getting Ready for When Trump Is Gone | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday September 11th 2026: The Iranians take actions to escalate the war with the US, even as Trump is trying to keep it…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump's Big Bribe Is Designed To Fail
President Donald Trump spoke for two hours at his unusual midterm elections conference - and the big headline was that he promised to pay every adult citizen…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's War on Canada Has Nothing to Do With Trade
Today saw the imposition of Canada's retaliatory tariffs on the United States in the latest phase of its trade war with Donald Trump's America. In response, he…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Far-Right AfD Just Pulled Down Germany's Firewall - And Maybe Europe's As Well
The AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt was not unexpected - polls have been forecasting the likely victory for months. But it remains shocking for what it…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Pete Hegseth - Trump's Pick For Next President? | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday September 4th 2026: The resignation of US Army secretary Dan Driscoll leaves Pete Hegseth exposed as more voices…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Needs The Iran War To Go Quiet - But Iran Won't Let It
The last few days have seen missiles exchanged once again between the United States and Iran. For all President Trump's threats to escalate and hit Iran…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
World Pushes Back Against Trump's America At The G20
The United States grabbed its turn to host the G20 summits in order to boast to the world about how wonderful its economic policies are, and to encourage…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump's Venezuelan Oil Grab Is Doomed To Fail
President Donald Trump shamelessly declared almost immediately that he aimed to get a big slice of Venezuela's oil for the United States once it had removed…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump's NATO 'Loyalty Test' Has Allies Scrambling | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday August 28th 2026: The US pushes NATO alliance members to declare their loyalty to Donald Trump, even as different…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump's CIA Director Just Went To Moscow — And It's Not About Ukraine
John Ratcliffe, CIA Director, just made a surprise visit to Moscow. Nobody will say why, and speculation turned immediately to the idea he was there to push…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How China and Canada Block Trump's Bid To Dominate The World
President Donald Trump really wants to make the decisive move that will bring Iran to heel, and end the war there in triumph. But his best chance is blocked by…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Carney Called Trump's War On Canada - And Why Others Should Do The Same
The trade deal, which had been described as 'nearly there', fell apart. And Mark Carney explained after the event, it did so because a last minute insertion of…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Trump and Carney Showdown | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday August 21st 2026: Canada's Mark Carney is head to head with the Trump administration as attempts are made to get a…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump And Iran Are Both Changing Their War Strategy — And Only One Of Them Has A Plan
The war in Iran has been at a standstill for months, with traffic trickling through the Strait of Hormuz, and no real impetus for negotiations. You should…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Trump Is Quietly Bullying South America (And The World)
We've seen the bluster and the bullying of President Donald Trump in the headlines, but there is a quiet daily push going on much more under the surface. It is…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Bizarre Trump Lashes Out At Allies, But Not The Enemy
President Trump has the appearance of a man furious at his lack of options - to the degree where he is thrashing out at whatever is within reach. So he…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Demands Loyalty From NATO Or Lose US Troops | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday August 14th 2026. President Trump is demanding expressions of loyalty from NATO members before deciding where US…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
What Nobody's Saying About Trump's Catering Truck Switch
We just learned that Trump switched planes to fly out of the Turkey NATO summit, and he did so under the cover of a catering truck. There's one detail to this…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Just Pulled His Next Move On Greenland
Various people in the know have said that President Donald Trump has not given up on his ambitions to get Greenland. And so we can see, as an oil company with…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Trump's Bullying Is Increasingly Backfiring On America
There is nothing in the mere fact of having a dominantly powerful country in the world that says that it would be expected to act as an out-and-out bully…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Iran Cuts Trump Out Of Its Deal | News Roundup
In this news round-up of the week for Friday August 7th 2026. Iran and Oman are close to a deal on the Strait of Hormuz that cuts out Donald Trump's America…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Pete Hegseth's Luck May Have Run Out
For the last year and a half, President Donald Trump and his self-styled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have been pretty much in lockstep. But as the Iran war…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump Is Calling Everyone A Communist — And What Comes Next
President Trump is displaying one of the most distinctive traits of the irrational dictator, as seen throughout history. And it's very bad news for Americans…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Iran Is Now Openly Laughing At Trump's Latest U-Turn
When President Trump threatens thunder and fury, and then announces that negotiations are under way - he rather expects to be taken seriously. And he's used to…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump's Big Gaza Breakthrough Is Not Real | News Round-Up
In this news round-up of the week for Friday July 31st 2026 President Donald Trump announces that his Board of Peace has emerged triumphant with a breakthrough…