x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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

00:13:26

European peace plan in tatters as Trump cancels...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/03/04

In spite of Europe's hopes that somehow there would be a path to keeping Trump onside with supporting Ukraine, the inevitability of the dashing of those hopes is now plain to see. Trump has pulled military support for Ukraine - including weapons that were agreed before he came to office that were literally in the process of being delivered. The intent is clearly to put maximum pressure on for Kyiv to have to accept his terms for 'peace'. Let's discuss.

en-gb

00:15:05

Trump's pro-Putin anti-Zelensky stance hardens

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/03/03

Europe and Ukraine's desperate plan is to win back Trump to the cause of supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. But while they work on the details of that, the US is relaxing more of its measures against Russia and signalling a ramping up of the normalisation of relations. The Kremlin is delighted - and a Putin Trump summit is now being fast-tracked. And MAGA voices, including those within the administration, are starting to mutter about how Zelensky should be replaced as leader of

en-gb

00:16:56

The Starmer plan to win Trump for Ukraine back - and...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/03/02

Europe has been regrouping with president Zelensky and trying to come to terms with the fallout from the massive meltdown in the Oval Office on Friday. And British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is primed to act as a key facilitator to bring Ukraine and the US together - putting together an alternative peace plan that Trump can support, which will have concrete security guarantees. The only problem - it won't work. They probably know it won't work, but they have to try - because the alternative will be

en-gb

00:14:00

What nobody's saying about the Oval Office meltdown

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/03/01

Macron and Starmer had had visits to the White House that had been described as triumphs, simply because they avoided humiliation. In other words, they avoided exactly what then happened with President Zelensky at the end of the week. But he had a much harder job than they did - they had been able to fail on Ukraine gracefully, but he did not have that option. Most of the commentary on this is ignoring the context, and focusing instead on who was to blame. We can do better - let's discuss.

en-gb

00:08:41

Starmer's visit to Trump - not quite a triumph

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/28

We are being told that UK prime minister Keir Starmer's visit to Trump in the White House was a 'triumph'. On one level - that of managing a potential unpredictable encounter that could have spiralled off into embarrassment at any point - I suppose it was. But in terms of the real meat of the discussion - the clash between the new Trump 'might-makes-right' world order, and the old one that is rallied behind Ukraine's survival - not so much. Let's discuss.

en-gb

00:09:38

Did Trump accidentally save Canada's Liberals?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/27

For the last couple of years, it has looked a foregone conclusion that Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party was going to go down in flames at the next election, and Trump-aligned Pierre Poilievre would rise in his place, bringing the MAGA revolution north of the border. But Trump's jibes, his threats of 25% tariffs and his desire that Canada should become the 51st state, have thrown all the normal political logic in the air. This week, the Liberals topped the poll again. Has Trump, inadvertently, buried

en-gb

00:11:44

Trump's minerals deal changed the world

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/26

Ukraine has negotiated a form of Trump's critical minerals deal that it is prepared to sign. We haven't seen it yet, but it's clear that it has been nudged just over the line with the removal of the most egregious demands, rather than sailing triumphantly over the line as a well-crafted vehicle for mutual benefit. The truth is that the mere fact of this deal taking place has now changed the dynamics of the world order, and we're already starting to see the first signs of this in practice. Let's

en-gb

00:18:50

Is DOGE starting to FAIL?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/25

For the last few weeks, all we've been hearing about has been Doge! According to some, it's slashing through government bureaucracy spectacularly laying waste to fraud and mismanagement. According to others, it's thrashing about randomly causing immense damage to everything it touches. But there are signs growing that maybe it has over-reached, and the pushback isn't coming from the political opposition, but within the home team. Let's discuss.

en-gb

00:16:47

Can Europe go it alone in supporting Ukraine?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/24

Germany elected a new government yesterday, and the new chancellor led off with his ambition to make Europe and Germany independent of America. As if to highlight this, the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine was marked by various European leaders (and Canada) travelling to Kyiv. The US was not present. And also at the same time, a fight is raging at the UN over different versions of Ukraine resolutions to be voted on. But the question is - can Europe actually go it alone? It's a huge ask. Let's

en-gb

00:11:48

Ukraine stunned by US demands it withdraws...

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/23

February 24th is the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and - as with the previous years, Ukraine and co-sponsors has put a motion to be voted on by the UN general assembly condemning Russia's actions and abuses of human rights, and calling for Ukraine's territorial sovereignty to be upheld. This year, underlining again the complete change in stance, the US administration, under president Trump, has called on Ukraine to withdraw its motion in favour of a shorter one from the US that avoids

en-gb

00:11:18

US threatens to PULL STARLINK from Ukraine

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/22

Zelensky's refusal to sign an apparently absurdly one-sided deal where Ukraine hands over half of the value of its resources for nothing in return from the USA, has led to pressure being applied. Previously, it was pressure in the form of Trump apparently gearing up to give Putin everything he wants, and at the same time labelling Zelensky "a dictator". Now, it has moved on to the direct threat that Elon Musk's Starlink internet service, on which Ukraine has depended since the start of the war, will

en-gb

00:18:15

Anti-woke right divided on Trump's Ukraine pitch

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/21

Trump's demand for total loyalty while also making statements such as 'Ukraine started the war' and 'Zelensky is a dictator' is dividing his natural support base. Some are dancing one hundred percent to his tune. Others are, to varying degrees, either pushing back or finding other ways to try to keep some semblance of integrity. Figures such as Ben Shapiro, Konstantin Kisin, Niall Ferguson are all finding ways to make a stand - and some of them are drawing heat from the centre of the administration

en-gb

00:25:37

How Russian disinformation poisoned our society

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/20

The mere word 'disinformation' has become controversial in the modern culture wars - which is great news for the hostile states who actually use disinformation as a tool of 'war by other means'. In this video, we talk about how the KGB perfected the craft of disinformation, how modern Russian usage differs from the Soviet form, and how the end goal that was always identified for these 'active measures' looks a lot like our modern polarised society. Is it too late to do anything about it? Let's

en-gb

00:21:09

Trump and Putin's shock call - what no-one's saying

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/14

This week, Putin and Russian commentators were delighted, and Ukraine and Western ones were distraught, when Trump announced that he had a long call with Vladimir Putin, and they would be meeting soon to begin negotiating for peace in Ukraine. As he did so, he seemed to be making numerous concessions to Putin, even before the talks had begun. How could this make sense, various media commentators have asked? Well, there might just be something they're missing about the dynamic here. Let's

en-gb

00:14:58

China's shocking progress on Taiwan a test for Trump

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/11

China has its sights on reunification with China - what people don't realise is how much progress it has been making over the last year in the direction of satisfying that goal. How has their thinking been affected by the advent of the second Trump term at the White House? Not necessarily in the way you might think. Let's discuss.

en-gb

00:20:09

Trump's Gaza plan has changed the Middle East

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/07

When Trump announced his extraordinary vision for the future of the Gaza Strip, many dismissed it as just a madcap idea. But while the enormity of what it would represent has been sinking in, a number of people have started to see how this fits into a negotiating model for the current state of play, based on some of the presumptions that made the Abraham Accords successful. That said, it's a big stretch, and you have to swallow a big change in the world order that many will not be prepared to

en-gb

00:22:35

Trump shreds American soft power

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/02/04

President Trump has bashed America's close allies Canada and Mexico in return for stuff they were already doing anyway. He has threatened the EU with likewise, and pummelled Colombia into instant submission. And that's before he decides whether he wants to invade Greenland for real. What we're seeing is the abandonment of any valuing of what was termed 'American soft power' in exchange for the harsh realities of hard power. America is certainly in a position where it can do that - but there are

en-gb

00:16:47

DC air crash tragedy - can we get past the politics?

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/01/31

At Reagan National Airport in Washington DC, we have seen a major tragedy with the mid-air collision of a passenger airliner and a military helicopter. Almost immediately, the public space has been awash with a blame game. Trump kicked it off, but the mainstream media chose to make his DEI comments the main story. Others hit back, saying the crash was Trump's fault for actions taken in his first week. In the mean time, we're left asking what actually happened, and what will be the grown-up lessons

en-gb

00:07:35

China's new AI destroys America's tech complacency

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/01/27

The Chinese company DeepThink has just released its latest AI large language model - and it has caused a massive reaction. It runs rings around the American AI models for how cheaply and efficiently it is produced and trained, while matching those models for performance. The implications have seen tech stocks plunging today, with Nvidia, the main AI chipmaker, leading the fall. While it sounds like just a tech story, it's actually a profound shift in the balance of technological power of the world

en-gb

00:12:00

Trump's Ukraine war pitch: NOT what we were expecting

Mallen Baker: Faultlines ·

2025/01/24

In his first week back as president of the United States, Donald Trump started making significant noises on the Ukraine war, and his opening pitch could certainly not be described as good news for Vladimir Putin. But does it even matter? Putin has waited out Biden, has endured everything Europe could throw at him - what does Trump even have left at his disposal? Well, it turns out a lot more than you. might think, should he choose to use it. Let's discuss.

en-gb

549 results

Similar Podcasts

Voices of Life

APG Mannheim

Promo Estereo Podcast

Promo Estereo

Talking Timelines Podcast

Talkingtimelines

גיקונומי

ראם שרמן ודורון ניר

Drømmefanger

Drømmefanger