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 consequences. Let's discuss.

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 to be learned from it, so that the personal tragedy of all those whose lives were lost, and all those who now mourn them, at least may not have been in vain? Let's discuss.

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. Let's discuss.

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.

You hear it often - the mainstream media lies. You can't trust them. But the fact is that - in volume terms - they do so only very occasionally. It's just that in tends to be in dealing with the most important and consequential content when they do. Maybe 5% of the volume, but 50% of the impact. What are the different ways that the media tends to lie, either by intent or simply as a consequence of the biases they have and the incentives they follow? Let's discuss.

Reports came out on Sunday that the former advisor to the prime minister and Brexit campaign supremo Dominic Cummings has been in discussion with Elon Musk about how to get rid of Keir Starmer before the next scheduled election. But, knowing what we know, it's likely this isn't the sole, possibly even the main, point. More likely, it's Dominic Cummings' plan for a new populist party of technocrats. Yes, sounds like a contradiction in terms, but that's what he wants - and it could be a plan custom built to appeal to Musk's sense of self and his mission in the world. Let's discuss.

In a press conference this week, president-elect Trump said that he wanted to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal - not ruling out the use of military force to do so. Oh, and Canada, but limiting himself to economic force for that job. All of it matters, but Greenland is probably the point of geopolitical tension and change that matters the most. Trump has been clearer and bolder than his predecessors in getting its importance, but his approach to tackling it could just have passed by what would have been the easiest win of his presidency. And in the process, handing the win to Putin and Xi in granting them their favoured new world order. Let's discuss.

Elon Musk has been ... busy. Attacking Keir Starmer and his government in the UK, whilst praising Tommy Robinson and calling for him to be released from jail. And attacking Olaf Scholz, and calling for Germany's controversial AfD party to be elected instead. And attacking various MAGA figures over immigration, provoking an attack from Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer and support ... for now ... from Donald Trump. What are we to make of the world's richest man - a man strongly associated with the next US administration - going so hard after other countries, campaigning so nakedly for political outliers and generally making a lot of noise. Is this the rise of oligarchy - part of global democratic decline? Or just an aberration - a moment of over-excitement - soon to be reined in by a President Trump who won't be overshadowed. Let's discuss.

This channel has always had a perspective, but it has been something of a blank page - always looking at whatever seems important that has come into view. But it's time for that to change - for the channel to become more focused on the biggest themes that come through these videos time and time again. Let's discuss.

Looking forward to 2025 - there's no doubt it is going to be the year of Trump. But not only that, it's going to be the year of peak Trump. With every year that follows, his power to achieve his domestic agenda starts to erode. He will still be operating big on the world stage, although the other players will be developing strategies to deal with him. So the question is - will he hit the ground running? Will 2025 be the year when Trump's ambitious plan to reshape the US succeeds beyond all hope? Let's discuss.