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
Trump’s America Really Is Becoming A Banana Republic
Having previously boasted about how good the US jobs numbers were, and taken credit for that, it was obviously an unpleasant surprise for President Trump to…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
This Is How Trump Intends To Rule The World
Rather a lot of people believe that once all the countries have either negotiated 'deals' with the United States, or have resigned themselves to higher tariff…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Toolbox GB Skip navigation Search 1.4 K 60m 124.2 K 48h insert_chart refresh vidIQ badge 34 Create 9+ Avatar image Why Is Trump Singling Out Canada Over Palestine?
In the last few days, President Macron of France, Keir Starmer of the UK, and Mark Carney of Canada have all announced that they will recognise the state of…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Has Trump Finally Turned Against Putin?
President Trump had threatened Russia's President Putin - agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine within 50 days, or I'll hit you with secondary sanctions against…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Will Canada Stand Up To Trump Where Europe Caved?
The European 'deal' is rather falling apart within a day of being announced, with various provisions being presented wildly differently by both sides. What…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Did The EU Just Cave To Trump?
The EU and US announced a "trade deal" that was declared by Trump to be "the biggest ever". Ursula von der Leyen was less bombastic, but still expressed…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Epstein Escape Plan Is Going Full Speed Ahead
Nothing screams 'banana republic' more than what is going on right now with Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump's former lawyer and assistant attorney general goes for…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Q&A: How Can Democrats Become Relevant Again?
I asked for questions, and you delivered! A far-ranging Q&A covering the future for the Democratic Party, and why the US system is particularly brutal towards…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Trump’s Chaos Hands China the Future
This week, President Trump continued the trend he has established so many times, he pulled the United States out of UNESCO. And as he did so, China was…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Flirting with Civil War: Trump’s Dangerous New Rhetoric
The mainstream media are downplaying Trump and Tulsi Gabbard's rhetoric on former President Obama and 'treason' over Russian influence on the 2016 election…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Question Trump's DOJ Will Be Asking Ghislaine Maxwell
Trump still can't get rid of the Epstein files obsession. Even though he is doing his best to distract the attention of his base with empty promises that…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Is Zelensky Going Too Far? Ukraine’s Democratic Dilemma
Zelensky's war-torn Ukraine is being accused by many, including the European Union, of authoritarian slide. This has come to a head recently with the vote to…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump’s DOJ Targets Obama – What Comes Next Is Dangerous
It was always predicted that Trump 2.0 would include a certain amount of payback - and that was particularly the case when he brought in unqualified loyalists…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Much Trouble Is Trump REALLY In?
We had gotten used to the idea that nothing stuck to Donald Trump. Previous politicians could be brought down by the slightest indiscretion, or fumble in the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Did Trump Get Stephen Colbert's Show Cancelled?
According to CBS, it was a purely financial decision. But then, that was always going to be the line because if it was actually what everybody thinks it looks…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Just Admitted He’s Rigging the Next Election
Remember all that stuff about how Trump was sure the only way he could lose an election would be if there was fraud? Well, it seems he's coming round to…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Trump Is Wrecking The MAGA Succession
When President Trump's second term started, the notable thing was just how far-reaching his actions were, just how norm-breaking and transgressive they were…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Surviving Trump's Age Of Stupid
Trump came to power on the back of multiple disinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories. While there's some satisfying karma to see his administration…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump’s ‘Big Threat’ To Putin – A 50 Day Deadline
President Trump had trailed a 'big announcement' on Ukraine and Russia coming today - and we even had Mark Rutte, the head of NATO in the White House for the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Broke the World Order — He Won't Like What Comes Next
Arguably, the world has been going through the five stages of grief since Trump came back to the Presidency six months ago. And with the latest actions to cut…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Will America Really Defend Taiwan?
Yesterday, it emerged that the Trump team has been asking its (former) allies Japan and Australia a very strange question - demanding clarity from them on a…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Word Means Nothing – Ask Canada and Vietnam
Canada thought it was making good progress in negotiations with the Trump team - then he announced even higher tariffs against it. Vietnam thought it had…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Uses Tariffs To Topple Brazil's Democracy
The US President just announced a massive 50% tariff on Brazil. Nothing to do with the usual excuses - trade deficits - the US has a trade surplus with Brazil…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Is Trump Finally Turning On Putin?
Trump has muttered, he has grumbled, he has occasionally threatened, but never has there been the slightest sign that he would actually take action of any sort…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
“We Don’t Want an Emperor” — World Slams Trump Tariff Demands
Another day, another round of tariff dramas. Trump revealed the new tariff rates he was 'granting' to various countries via letter, along with a new deadline…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Real Reason the US and UK Political Systems Are Breaking
So Elon Musk is launching a new political party in the US. And former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is doing something similar in the UK, albeit with a very…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
China Just Stunned Europe and Ukraine - ‘We Won’t Let Russia Lose’
China has had a public line on Ukraine for the last three years - studied neutrality that didn't entirely fool anybody. Well, yesterday it blew that up with a…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Free Speech Is Dying In Trump's America
For an administration that talks a lot about free speech, President Trump sure seems to sue a lot of news media companies for reporting on things he wishes…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Blindsides Allies, Stops Ukraine Weapons — Then Calls Putin
It came out of the blue, with all the NATO allies of Ukraine having thought they'd done a great job of keeping Trump on side at last week's NATO summit…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump’s Mega-Bill Could Blow Up on MAGA
The controversial Trump Budget Mega-Bill squeaked its way through the Senate, thanks to the casting vote of JD Vance. And now it has come back to the House…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Global Population Collapse Is Coming Sooner Than We Thought
We know that big changes are happening in the world. Some of them are well known as cycles in history, and affect the current geopolitical order. But there are…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Elon Musk Sabotaged His Own Legacy
Musk has largely gone back to focusing on his own businesses - but he couldn't help making a last public stab at President Trump's big budget bill which will…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
What Are The REAL Lessons From Zohran Mamdani's New York Win?
Lots of people have gotten excited about an upset win for an old-fashioned socialist candidate in the New York Mayoral race. Notwithstanding the implications…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump’s Massive Canada Tantrum – The Trade War Is Back On
Suddenly, Trump had a moment and called off the ongoing trade talks with Canada. The reason - or, at least, the excuse - was the incoming Digital Services Tax…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Quackery at the Top: How RFK Jr. Is Rewriting Vaccine Policy
We heard all the promises during the confirmation hearing for Robert F Kennedy Jr. He was not anti-vax. He was not promoting conspiracy theories. He was not…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How China Is Exploiting Trump’s Global Blunders
Trump's use of military force in Iran has made his enemies and rivals sit up and take notice - especially those in China who have been evaluating the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why THIS Is The Dumbest Thing Trump Does
The NATO Summit came to a relatively successful conclusion, given the rather limited ambition it had set for itself. But throughout the event, Trump insisted…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Floats Regime Change As Iran Strikes Back
All of Trump's team were on message - the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites was a one-off strike, not a declaration of war, and certainly not directed…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Bombs Iran – Desperately Hopes That’s the End of It
So the President Trump's United States just dropped a bunch of its 'bunker buster' bombs on the nuclear enrichment sites in Iran. Technically, that means it…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Enrages Key Ally Japan – Just As China Unveils A Game Changer
The Trump Administration's trademark abrupt bullying has just led to key regional ally Japan cancelling an annual security summit. Between America's sudden…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump ‘Not Ruling Out’ Dropping A Nuke On Iran
You read that right - The Fordow nuclear enrichment site in Iran, located as it is beneath a mountain, is considered by some in the Pentagon to be so hard to…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
It’s Official - The World Hates Trump’s America
New research by the Pew Research Centre has looked at worldwide attitudes to President Trump, and as a consequence Trump's America. Some of it won't be hugely…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Broke The World Order - So Is War With Iran Next?
The G7 Summit of 2025 may come to represent the last gasp of the old rules-based world order, condemned to impotence and irrelevance as President Trump…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
How Trump Is Breaking the Last Barrier to Dictatorship
The most frequent setbacks to the Trump Administration have been in the courts, up to and including the Supreme Court with its Trump-appointed judges - as…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Ukraine Made The Iran War Inevitable
The G7 summit is under way in Canada, and the biggest agenda item by far is the war between Israel and Iran. Almost certainly, nothing said or done there will…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Alarming Rise of Political Violence in America
This weekend, we saw the tragic eruption once again of political violence in America. Unfortunately, this is just the extreme end of a growing wave of threats…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump’s Quiet Immigration U-Turn Just Exposed His Weakness
Something happened almost, but not quite, unnoticed. Trump admitted that his administration's approach to its mass deportation project was having a major…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Israel’s Iran Attack Just Exposed Trump’s Biggest Weakness
Israel has transformed the world geopolitical stage again by launching a direct and sustained assault on Iran. It wrongfooted President Trump by doing so in…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump’s America vs the World: AUKUS, NATO, G7 at Risk
A period of extreme stress has begun for many of the leaders of the free world. Beginning with the announcement from the US that it is throwing the Aukus…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
China Just Taught Trump’s America A Hard Lesson
China and the US just wrapped up two days of trade talks in London. But the fascinating thing is what they are NOT saying about what was agreed. There's more…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Real Reason Trump Sent in the Troops — And What It Sets Up Next
The crisis in LA has deepened since we discussed it two days ago. President Trump doubled the number of National Guard, and added 700 US marines for good…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why Trump’s Golden Dome Makes The World LESS SAFE
It's a great idea in theory - an impregnable missile defence shield to protect the country from any attack from its numerous enemies around the world. But for…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump Sends National Guard To LA - Why It’s Just The Beginning
The use of the National Guard to quell violent protests / riots in LA obviously crosses a line, but it's only the start of a journey that was mapped out by the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Leaked Russian Spy Memo Says China Is The Enemy
A leaked FSB briefing document has been revealed - and it is fascinating for what it shows about Russia's REAL attitude to its supposed close ally China. These…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
The Musk vs Trump Civil War - Why It’s Bigger Than You Think
Yes, Elon Musk vs Donald Trump - it's very entertaining. The memes are flowing in industrial quantities. But a lot of people are missing just how important a…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
China and Germany Manage Trump Like A Toddler
We got a surprise today, when it was suddenly announced that China's President Xi Jinping and President Trump had spoken directly on the phone. And then it was…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Why The Trump And Musk Explosion Was Inevitable
Everyone - even me - was saying that sooner or later a huge falling out between President Trump and Elon Musk would have to happen. Just when we thought that…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Trump's Ambassador Tells Canada To Quit Moaning!
Trump's Canada ambassador Pete Hoekstra already got noticed by scolding Canadians for boycotting American products in their stores. Now, he's back to tell the…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Ukraine’s Bold Attack Exposes Trump’s Impotence on Russia
Ukraine sat down for more direct talks with Russia today - and that managed not to remotely be the story. More important was Ukraine's dramatic strike on air…
- Mallen Baker: Faultlines
Even Business Travellers Are Scared Of Trump's America
We've heard about how tourists are either boycotting holiday travel to the US, or are just scared by stories of people being detained for days or weeks on the…