Jimmy Kimmel is back - but it's not a victory, not yet. The battle is joined. One corporation has decided to stand up after all. But what happens next will matter. Will others join them? Or will the full force of the administration now be turned onto them. Let's discuss.

Russia is rapidly following China towards becoming a full AI-enhanced digital surveillance state. This matters because it's the most advanced example of an autocrat retrofitting the tech onto an infrastructure, rather than building the system to fit from the start. All others will follow this route.

In the aftermath of the killing of Charlie Kirk, Trump has been making audacious moves - convinced that the opposition are now so discredited and defeated, they can be taken on completely in the open. This could be the big mistake that sees the beginning of the end. Let's discuss.

It is so obvious that the FCC leveraging corporate cowardice to cancel Kimmel for fairly anodyne free speech pushes us into new territory, it is almost banal to say so. But it has to be said, because ignoring this step gives such permission to something far worse. Let's discuss.

While China has been playing hard ball with Trump's negotiators today, American soybean farmers are veering towards bankruptcy as the consequences of the trade war come home to roost. And these are just the beginning. Let's discuss.

News round-up for the week. Leading with - The Trump team have signalled that they're working on measures to root out the causes of political violence. Which might sound like a good thing coming from people who used normal dictionary definitions ...

America's descent into the normalisation of political violence sadly continues. This time, with the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk, was a significant milestone, and could well be an accelerator depending on what happens as a result. Let's discuss.

Putin's drones cross the border into Poland. It's likely his real target was ... President Trump. Namely, to put pressure onto the NATO alliance to ultimately expose that, when faced with reality, Trump's America will run away from its Article 5 commitments. Let's discuss.

The reverberations from the US blowing up a boat with eleven unknown men in it continue, and have now taken the form of a huge spat online between vice president JD Vance and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, after Vance tweeted that he's just ok with war crimes. Let's discuss.

What Trump does may be out of our control. But how we respond to him surely is. Right now, world leaders, journalists, and many others, are picking up some very bad habits. And it's for understandable reasons - but it's making the world a lot crappier. Let's discuss.

According to reports, the US defence review is going to see a major change in relation to the US posture towards China, amongst other changes. They are all very much inline with what we've already seen as emerging practice ... we should probably discuss!

This is an actual exchange from a VP who took an oath to defend the constitution and, as a citizen, is expected to abide by the law. May we one day have accountability for the grotesque lawlessness of this regime.

China has had a successful three days projecting its power as the world power that is bent on overtaking the US. And it turns out that Xi Jinping has had no greater help in that mission than that inadvertently provided by President Trump.

Trump was going to make America great again. He said he'd already made the US one of the most respected countries in the world. So all that's got to be good for the tourist trade, right? Right?

People have been getting very excited about the idea that Trump might become too ill to remain as president - but I'm here to point to why that might be something you would want to be careful about wishing for ...

Oh dear, oh dear. Trump's big weapon that he has been using to bend the rest of the world to his will could just turn out to have been beyond his powers after all. If the Supreme Court confirms it, the cost in humiliation and refunds to all those importers is going to be huge ...

News round-up of key items from the week. How countries across the world are gathering to work out how to bypass, and avoid risk from, Trump's America. Plus postal services stop sending parcels to the US, the head of the CDC is fired, and I answer a couple of your questions.

Maybe it wasn't part of a grand plan, but from a distance it sure looks like maybe Trump's entire style of being president this year is optimised for persuading wealthy individuals, agencies, companies and others that it's in their interest to give him money. Let's discuss.

Trump still wants Greenland, and Denmark is formally protesting having detected America's spies in the country engaging in covert influence campaigns - in other words, trying to turn Greenlanders against Denmark. How many more times before Europeans conclude the US is an adversary?

Of course, there's the gerrymandering. But so much more is going on, some of it in plain sight, some of it very much behind the scenes. And the purpose is to make it so that MAGA never loses an election again. We should probably discuss ...

The examples of our flight back to the dark ages are coming thick and fast now. The one thing the anti-science measures all have in common - they are self-inflicted harm that will stay with America like a bad smell for decades to come ...

We know that Trump can contradict himself five times before breakfast - but sometimes it really matters. Like arguing that Ukraine should be able to hit deep into Russian territory - while his Pentagon is blocking them from doing just that. Let's discuss.

There was a brief moment where Trump was able to give the illusion of momentum on Ukraine. But already, all the supposed breakthroughs from the summit have evaporated, and Russia is visibly and obviously laughing at Trump's efforts. Let's discuss.

The Trump administration is getting directly involved in strategic businesses, specifically the chip manufacturers. They even made it legal again to sell AI chips to China, so long as they get a cut of the revenue. What a shame they then blundered into alienating the customer by insulting them.

I'm a fan of the idea of hitting Russia more effectively for its ongoing war against Ukraine - but why is Trump singling out Narendra Modi's India as the only country to be targeted for buying Russian oil? Could it be it isn't really about that at all? Let's discuss.

Two areas of focus - a trilateral meeting with Zelensky and Putin with Trump there to take the credit - I mean, to help get to a deal. And the shape of a security guarantee. But can the latter be anything other than illusory - and where does that leave us if it is? Let's discuss.

They jumped through the hoops and danced the dance. But at some point the moment is coming when they will have to admit that Trump's America is an adversary of Ukraine. It won't be pleasant, but this is getting the world precisely nowhere. Let's discuss.

If it works, it won't look like a confrontation. But let's be clear - the leaders of all the European G7 nations plus a number of other key figures are all going with Zelensky to the White House tomorrow to confront Trump's Putin capitulation. Let's discuss.

The Trump team were going in, largely unprepared, not particularly clear on what they wanted to achieve, and they got rolled by the Russians who had prepared extensively, had a negotiation plan, and knew exactly what they want. Total surprise, I'm sure you'll agree ...

America's former allies are turning their back on the most sophisticated fighter jet in the world - because they no longer trust America won't use their dependence on it as further leverage to exert dominance over them. Here come the first consequences for all of that bullying ...

When Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, everybody was saying that it mattered hugely whether Trump would appoint a credible replacement or a lackey loyalist. Well, now we know, and it's pretty much the worst case scenario. Let's discuss.

A bunch of very online people want you to think Britain is on the edge of revolution, or civil war, or something. What's going on with all this? Is there any truth behind it at all, and why is it becoming such a pervasive narrative?

This big summit between Trump and Putin that everyone will be speculating about for the coming week ... did it all come about because of a misunderstanding by Steve Witkoff? Either way, let's recount the ways it is likely to fail.

It's becoming clear that this is a more pivotal moment in history than we might have wished, as we genuinely have the choice whether to continue with an evidence-based approach to the world, or one based on faith and superstition. Let's discuss.

Trump's promise to seek vengeance against those he have opposed him in the past is kicking up a gear. Handily, it also presents a possible way out for Trump's current Epstein dilemma. Let's discuss.

We know Trump went to some lengths to exclude adults from the room in his second term. Many dared to hope that maybe one or two snuck in any way. Scott Bessent, maybe. Marco Rubio? Well, recent events have led me to conclude - no. There are no adults in the room. Let's discuss.

Elon Musk just got given a massive bonus - to keep him at Tesla and implicitly to stop doing stupid stuff to destroy the value of Tesla. So, since nothing has been done since it was announced, does that mean that Musk's new political party is dead on arrival? Let's discuss.

So now the US has joined Russia in nuclear sabre-rattling, but the real question for Trump is just how does he get to project strength and dominate Vladimir Putin when his usual weapons fail, and he doesn't really dare move into the military sphere. It's not going his way. Let's discuss.

We've heard the question 'has Trump turned against Putin?' numerous times, and it was always a question asked more from hope than expectation. Now he's threatening action for the first time, so the question inevitably arises again. And the answer, well, it's complicated.

The EU is a formidable negotiator, and a major slice of US international trade. So you would think the EU / US trade deal would be relatively well balanced, right? Except as a bloc of 27 democracies, it stood no chance given its slow start. Let's discuss.

The ridiculously transparent and downright corrupt move to try to deflect the Jeffrey Epstein focus from Trump to his opponents would surely never take in his MAGA critics ... oh, wait. No - my mistake. Turns out they're lapping it up.

@mallenbaker.bsky.social delivers quality like a top public broadcaster. How does he do it? Struggle to fathom it’s a one man effort. youtu.be/9S5viBZhp8I?...

Trump exits UNESCO, and the WHO, and bullies allies and rivals alike with tariffs to push them into one-sides punitive deals. For Xi Jinping's vision of inevitable Chinese ascendance, it's all very helpful.

Accusing Obama of treason isn't just a distraction from Jeffrey Epstein (although it is that, obviously). It's a premeditated escalation in the authoritarian drift - and once that line is crossed everything is going to change

What on earth will Trump's DOJ be asking Ghislaine Maxwell when they interview her? I think it's rather obvious, and it could turn out to be the riskiest and boldest outrage that Trump has yet embarked upon. Let's discuss.

The Trump Administration really wants to start locking up its opponents - and Trump and Tulsi Gabbard think they have a smoking gun to make President Obama the first in line. This is where it gets ugly ...

Nothing quite gets under Trump's skin like the well-aimed barbs of the late-night comedians. In spite of CBS's protestations to the contrary, was getting Colbert part of the deal Paramount did with the president in trying to get approval for their big merger? And if so, who's next?

I know I'm just a Brit, but my jaw hits the ground that a sitting President could actually say this stuff out loud, and have it seem ... sort of normal?

It's fun to talk about the excesses, but the fact is that the government is specifically, as a matter of policy, choosing to be uninformed about facts that would be useful in achieving its goals. Add to that, the conspiracy theories, and you have a very special moment in history we might not survive

Trump announced his big news on Russia and Ukraine ... and it was tariffs. With a deadline. Do we think Vladimir Putin is worried about having a 50 day free pass to continue hammering Ukraine? Let's discuss.