Claim OwnershipMallen Baker: Faultlines
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'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.
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In this news round-up of the week, we cover the Trump DOJ move at last to put into practice the boss's public instructions to get an indictment. Even if this case stands little chance of success, it is a new front and will be the first of numerous attempts to come. Also we discuss Tulsi Gabbard abandoning future-looking Intelligence reports because the facts don't fit the current ideology. RFK Jr's puzzling harangue of the United Nations on health. YouTube's admission that it was put under pressure by the Biden Administration to censor content, and Albania's new AI initiative that we might not want to follow. Oh, and I answer a couple of comments / questions.
After his big moment berating the United Nations, President Trump met with President Zelensky and had things to say on the Ukraine war that nobody was quite expecting. Not only was Zelensky astonished, the Europeans stunned, but Russia's administration reacted with a sharpness that we've not seen in reaction to Trump so far this year. Something has changed - but does it actually mean anything? And why has the US quietly paused selling weapons to NATO countries? Well, let's discuss.
Just when it looked like the Trump Administration could just demand whatever it wanted and all the institutions, all the corporations, all the politicians would ultimately just quietly fold - finally at least one corporation - for now - has stood back up again. And the result of that move by Disney / ABC is that the Jimmy Kimmel Show is back on air from tonight. But this is the beginning of the fight, not the victory. The local affiliates who pulled the show from their areas are still not distributing it. The FCC Chair is swearing he didn't intend to threaten anyone, but we will see if anyone takes that remotely seriously. But if the question asked a couple of days ago on this channel - has Trump overstepped the mark? - is perhaps being answered here, it could go into some very interesting places.
We all know about China's surveillance state - it's pretty terrifying, but it was built more or less from the ground up to suit the authoritarians. Every other autocrat - or would-be autocrat - will have to retrofit the technology onto existing internets that were built by private companies following demand, rather than any kind of state-sponsored plan. Russia is now leading the way - with a three-tier plan that is being executed right now. And when you look at what it's doing - well, there's some spooky parallels with things that Trump is doing in the very different environment of the US. Let's discuss.
The Charlie Kirk memorial today marked the inflection point that MAGA believes the event of his assassination represented. As a result, the administration has ramped up its move against President Trump's opponents. Yesterday, Trump accidentally told the world that he is pushing the Attorney General Pam Bondi towards bringing prosecutions against key political figures. It could not be more blatant - but blatant is suddenly becoming the standard operating practice. Is MAGA mistaking the moment - thinking that Kirk's death has given them permission to go further and faster than they really have? Which is why suddenly even some of Trump's biggest supporters are looking alarmed at the real face that they're seeing? Let's discuss.
In this news round-up of the week - In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination, the Trump team has been acting quickly on its intended crackdown on opponents. Trump's FCC chairman got rid of another late night comedian, Jimmy Kimmel. Trump designated Antifa as a terrorist organisation. But this is just the start - various experienced politicians close to the action identify that the real target is much bigger. Also, it is confirmed that Alexei Navalny was poisoned in prison. Russia tests NATO again. And we learn that the AI robot revolution - well, it faces an apparent formidable obstacle.
As we already anticipated, the aftermath of the shooting of Charlie Kirk is seeing a wave of increasingly audacious action by the Trump Administration to crack down on political opponents and criticism of their operation. Now, following the previous shutting down of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, we have the next in line - with Jimmy Kimmel's show being cancelled for what seems, on inspection, to be a pretty safe commentary. But what was safe yesterday, is no longer safe. Not since the FCC is leveraging corporate cowardice to get its way. Let's discuss.
As the COP30 climate conference approaches, it's hard to ignore that a backlash against climate policy - and a scepticism in some quarters about climate change full stop - is growing in many parts of the world. Partly, this is down to the Trump effect, with Trump himself actively pushing countries to commit to fossil fuels, and with MAGA-style populists taking up the anti-net zero theme wherever they rise. Partly, it's also due to the moment - and the fact that the political pendulum swings back eventually. So what does that mean for our progress in actually getting on top of the problem? Some thoughts.
The Trump Administration is full of talk about the crackdown they will be bringing in the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. President Trump has said he wants George Soros to be in prison. Maybe Antifa could be designated a terrorist organisation. Maybe various trans groups. Stephen Miller has ideas of his own, as does JD Vance. Pam Bondi wants to go after 'hate speech'. All they need is some tenuous link between their target and what they're calling 'radical left lunacy'. And some of the links so far are pretty tenuous. So is this really going to happen? And if so, how far will it really go? Let's discuss.
The US and Xi Jinping's China have been conducting more trade talks - and today it was announcement that maybe they'd reached a deal ... on TikTok. Meanwhile, the consequences of President Trump's tariffs are really starting to make themselves felt, with American soybean farmers having no orders from China, with all farmers suffering from soaring input costs, and meanwhile China is buying more than it ever has from countries like Brazil, and selling more than it ever has to the continent of Africa. Those consequences are going to become more an more far-reaching, and they are likely to outlive Trump himself. Let's discuss.
In this Q&A video I cover Europe giving up on expecting Trump to play a part in Ukraine peace process, predictions for our polarised societies - is this here to stay? Why is the US stock market so strong despite the downsides of Trump's tariffs? Did we learn the lessons from Kamala's defeat? Trump's intentions on Alberta separatism. The impact of US poisoned politics on the UK. Teflon Trump. What should Brits do about racism? And then a couple of questions on my political past.
In this news round-up of the week for Friday September 12th 2025 - The fall-out from the assassination of Charlie Kirk continues, and the Trump team are talking about the shape of the retribution to come. The shooter himself is in custody, no thanks to Kash Patel's FBI, although he's keen to take the credit. One country just had a revolution, all because the government tried to ban social media. Donald Trump says the drone incursion sent into Poland by Russia could well have 'been a mistake' as Russia gears up for major war game exercises near the border. And I answer a Patreon supporter's question.
The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk has jolted America, but seems unlikely to provide the crisis moment that shocks the country awake to its catastrophic decline towards crisis. The rise of political violence is a reflection of the intense polarisation, as well as the influence of social media bubbles that help each side to dehumanise the other. The question will be what the Trump administration does next with this. That could go very dark, or could be passed up entirely. Either way, it's hard to see a circumstance where this situation improves quickly. Let's discuss.
Russia sent a number of drones into Poland - the first major incursion into NATO territory that Russia has made in recent times. This provoked NATO forces to shoot down those drones - but the outstanding question is - what's the play? Most likely, it is all about Vladimir Putin poking NATO trying to reveal to the world, and to itself, that President Trump's America will run away if it thinks that Article 5 might be close to being invoked. It's a dangerous game - and one that might well succeed. Let's discuss.
The concerns about the Trump Administration's summary execution of eleven people in a boat in international waters off Venezuela - alleged to be gang members involved in drug smuggling - have been growing louder. This burst into full view with an angry spat between vice president JD Vance and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul over Vance's statement of impunity over the action. Meanwhile, the US forces remain in place, Venezuela is poking them with near fly-pasts by its air fighters, and it could all escalate further at any moment. Let's discuss.
The stoics would tell you that you can't control what happens to you in the world, you can only control how you respond to it. Well, it turns out that having a post-truth populist in charge of the most powerful country in the world has ripple effects over the rest of the world. Other world leaders, the mainstream media, and indeed other autocrats - it could be that the majority of Trump's impact on the world will come not from the individual acts he takes, but how the rest of the world changes its own behaviours to cope with Trump. And the first visible sign of that - it's getting harder to identify the truth in the places where we used to most often find it. Let's discuss.
Trump is coming to the UK in ten days time. And not just for any old visit, but for a 'very special' and 'unprecedented' second state visit. All the pomp and pageantry ... and protest. In this video I answer the question, what SHOULD Brits do about the honoured guest Trump when he arrives for his state visit. Is there anything they could do that would make any sort of difference? Well, let's discuss.
We'd already picked up that Trump's America wanted to pull resources from Europe and the Middle East with a view to concentrating its full focus on its main rival and growing threat - China. Well, a leaked draft Defence Strategy seen by Politico, has revealed that the thinking has done a sharp pivot specifically in relation to China. It is hugely consequential, and might reflect the core of a strategy that survives Trump and defines America's future place in the world. So let's discuss.
In this news round-up of the week, Trump sides with Putin in blaming European leaders for his frustrations about the lack of progress in ending the Ukraine war. The US blows a boat with eleven people out of the water because it has decided they are narco-terrorists. The world's smallest and newest petrostate just had a crucial election. And a good old-fashioned British tabloid feeding frenzy has brought the deputy Prime Minister down. Plus, I respond to a comment on a recent video.
The leader of Reform UK and best bud of Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, testified to Congress yesterday and told Americans that the UK has a free speech crisis and has become akin to North Korea. That is patently absurd, and some of the supporting evidence given for it is likewise. But some of it is not, and some of the most telling instances are not even being highlighted. So what's really going on? Let's discuss.
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