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PODCAST

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.

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

00:17:12

Why Trump Will Fail — But What Comes After Will Be Worse

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/05/07

Whether in his stated terms, the policy changes he aims to make, or in the Project 2025 actions he's taking to bring in an autocratic system to the US, there are a number of reasons why President Trump is almost sure to fail. Yes, he can do damage in the mean time, but he won't succeed. The real challenge will be what comes afterwards - either the next president or the one after that if Republicans lose the subsequent election. Because there is now a proven playbook for how those guardrails can be

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00:16:45

The Trump-Style Farage Revolution Coming To The UK?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/05/06

In elections in Canada and Australia, we saw figures who had been even lightly associated with Donald Trump's MAGA movement losing, whereas before Trump had returned to office, they had been leading. But in the UK, Nigel Farage's Reform UK did the exact opposite - dominating the local elections and Parliamentary by-election. His aim is to break the two-party system, and to get himself installed as prime minister. Where his party has taken over councils, their very first statements have all been

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00:12:56

Trump’s America Declares A WORLD WAR Against Truth

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/05/05

How do we know if the economy is doing well? There are reliable statistics for that. How do we know what's happening with the climate? There is reliable data for that. How do we know what are the worldwide energy trends? That are analytical reports for that. What if all of those statistics, the data, the analyses, get wiped out and replaced by the "alternative facts" that Donald Trump, and others such as RFK Jr, would wish to be the case? Well, buckle up, because that's exactly what's happening. Oh,

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00:11:16

Will Ukraine Rain (Missiles) on Putin’s Parade?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/05/04

Russia's President Putin is gearing up for the annual grand military parade in Moscow. This year is a big one because it's the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2, and bigger names from the subset of the geopolitical world prepared to be seen in Russia are going to be attending. But Ukraine has rejected Putin's offer of a 3-day ceasefire during the period of the parade, and has said that it cannot guarantee the safety of dignitaries who attend the Moscow event. Are they planning an attack? Is

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00:19:38

Trump’s Deportation Blitz Is Failing Badly In The...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/05/03

On day one, he declared several emergencies. Later, he backed this up by invoking the Alien Enemies Act. This has been an ongoing and deliberate push by President Trump to extend the powers of the executive, to overcome the resistance of the courts, and hence to set up what is referred to as a legal abyss. A situation existing alongside the legal system as usual where some people can find themselves no longer subject to the usual rules, only to the whim of the government. It's a textbook approach

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00:18:41

The MAGA-Inspired Populist Surge That’s Changing...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/05/02

In some places, such as Canada and maybe this weekend Australia, populist-right politicians, although they clearly show the signs of being influenced by Trump's MAGA movement, have been disavowing the link as their populations turn against it. In other places, more established figures on the populist and far-right, are less mired by the association, even as MAGA influencers, and often even the top politicians, endorse them and promote them on social media. If democracy is in decline in the US - how

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00:17:13

Ukraine’s Minerals Deal with the US: Hidden Costs,...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/05/01

So Ukraine has finally signed the Minerals Deal with the Trump Administration. And news commentators are full of speculation about how much this deal now has changed Trump's orientation with the Ukraine war, how much it will translate into security guarantees for Ukraine in the future, and whether it means Trump is finally ready to get tough with Russia's President Putin. It's remarkable how much is being projected onto a text that doesn't merit any of it. Let's discuss.

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00:13:39

Tariffs Chaos Shrinks US Economy - And This Is Just...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/30

The news arrived today that the US economy has dramatically cratered - shrinking in the first quarter of the year, whereas it had been strongly growing before. It is fairly clear with the breakdown that this is due to the short-term impact of tariffs, and that it's just the first sign of the scale of the disruption being caused, which will turn into yet more problems down the line. And yet President Trump says tariffs are wonderful and blames Joe Biden for the crash, even though his own advisors say

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00:11:16

The Trump Spoiler Move That May Be Carney's First Big...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/29

Mark Carney's Liberal Party has won the Canadian election. It was close, but still extraordinary that he was able to turn around the massive deficit the party originally had with Pierre Poilièvre's Conservatives. And he did so facing a barrage of social media disinformation as we've seen in other MAGA-involved elections. Now, he faces a Trump who remains fixated on Canada becoming the 51st State. He will, as a first step, be seeking allies amongst the other democracies worldwide. But Trump may just

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00:12:41

What Everyone Missed About This Iconic Moment

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/28

The big story about the Pope's funeral - bigger than the event itself on some measures - was a 15 minute one-on-one conversation between Presidents Trump and Zelensky - captured in a photo that is already on its way to becoming one of those iconic images. Commentators have been speculating that maybe in that 15 minutes, Zelensky was able to turn Trump's perspective around, to persuade him that Putin really didn't want peace. That's not what was going on here at all, and the people indulging in that

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00:09:57

Why Trump Is Suddenly Lying About Talking To China

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/27

We're used to the idea that Trump lies a lot - I mean, even his supporters know this, although they will use euphemisms to make it sound ok. But WHY has Trump suddenly started telling people that Xi Jinping has called him to discuss a deal on tariffs? It's clearly not true. It's clearly infuriating the Chinese and making it less likely they give him the deal he actually does want. So is he just making it up as he goes along (often the case), or is this laying the groundwork for the next move. No,

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00:14:15

Why Elon Musk’s DOGE has been a dismal failure

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/25

Musk's time with DOGE is coming to an end - or at least will be massively dialled back. But the fact is that the exercise, which promised so much, seems to have ended up a failure on every measure. It failed to save the government money - indeed, it may have cost more than it saved. It failed to make government more efficient. It may have made government systems vulnerable to data theft, not least from Elon himself. And it has been a personal disaster for Musk and for the businesses he's associated

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00:17:30

Trump's tariff blunders blow up in his face

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/24

It's official. Trump's tariffs on the world, but especially on China, are making the whole world poorer. Trump wants China to make a deal - but he set the terms of the negotiation in such a way as to make it certain they won't respond. Meanwhile, the punitive tariffs Trump has imposed on China, and the corresponding equal tariffs placed by Beijing on the US, is starting to make itself felt. Major retailers are warning about imminent empty shelves. Tech firms are unable to continue with products

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00:14:50

Trump’s Meltdown As Ukraine Surrender Plan Fails

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/23

At the start of the day, Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff were on their way to a top-level meeting in London to discuss President Trump's seven-point "peace" plan. But when the details of the plan were revealed, Ukraine immediately said that it was not acceptable - that it was not a peace plan, but a surrender plan. Cue meltdown. Trump pulled Rubio and Witkoff from the meeting, JD Vance took time out in India to rail on the subject, and Trump then added his own narrative on social media. Once again the

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00:19:27

American Institutions Fight Back Against Trump Power...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/22

President Trump came out of the gates quickly in his second term, testing the limits of his power in all directions at once, and assaulting numerous institutions to show them that he could bully them into compliance with a radical change agenda. Initially, it looked like most of them would just cave in to his demands. But increasingly, from Harvard to numerous law firms and now even the Supreme Court, lines are being drawn in the sand. How important is this moment in terms of constraining the

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00:15:48

Pentagon Chaos: Will Trump Finally Fire Pete Hegseth?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/21

Reports are coming into view about complete disarray at the Pentagon under Trump's controversial pick for secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth. He has fired all his senior advisors, he is isolated, unqualified and unexperienced. And this is damaging one of the most important departments of state, even as Trump defends him against any suggestion of media witch hunts. But if the chaos is real, how long can Trump actually hold out before he bows to what seems to be the increasingly inevitable? And how

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00:11:35

Should Denmark Throw America Out Of Its Greenland Base?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/20

Answering a question from a Patreon supporter - Should Greenland kick the US out of its one remaining Greenland base, since - if Trump were to make good on his threat to take the island by force - it could be used as an entrance point? The sentiments are understandable, but the realpolitik of the situation really comes down to how Denmark and Greenland are most likely to be able to retrieve the optimal outcome from this episode of Trump posturing. A full-frontal attack of this sort might be

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00:11:06

Why Did Trump Suddenly Stop Attacking Canada?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/17

We've been witnessing something really strange over the last three weeks. Trump has been ... silent. OK, only about one thing, but even so. He's been wholly quiet on the subject of Canada, and his previous expressed desire that it should become the 51st state of the USA. The silence can mean only one thing - he actually really does understand how much he blew it with Canada - turning an entire nation against him and making it highly unlikely he will ever achieve his goals. The Canadian federal

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00:15:45

Trump Defies Courts To Lock People Up Without Due...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/15

The Supreme Court ruled decisively 9-0 that the man incorrectly removed from the USA to one of the most notorious prisons in El Salvador, Abrego Garcia, that he should be returned to be afforded the due process any human being should expect. The Trump Administration has, instead claimed the ruling vindicated their position, and in a set-piece in front of the media with the El Salvador President made it clear that it will be making no efforts to return him. What's more, Trump said that they would

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00:16:49

Can the West Trust China More Than Trump?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/04/14

The Trump / China Trade War enters its third week, and the stakes are only getting higher and the measures more intense. While Trump is busy pulling various other countries into the White House to beat them down in negotiations in the face of their tariffs, Xi Jinping is conducting a charm offensive to the countries he trades the most with, and with America's former allies who are now desperately looking for options. Will he outlast Trump in the trade war? Will he win the trust and support - at

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545 results

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