Show Notes
In this episode of the Silk and Steel Podcast, Carl Zha is joined by Einar Tangen to examine the significance of the latest Xi-Trump summit and what it reveals about the rapidly changing relationship between China and the United States. Einar argues that one of the most important aspects of the meeting was the symbolism: Xi Jinping was treated as an equal by the United States president — something Einar describes as a potentially important shift in how China is viewed on the global stage. But beneath the diplomacy are much harder questions. Why does Washington need China’s rare earths? What does China actually want from the United States? Did the summit produce meaningful economic results, or was it primarily about keeping tensions under control? The conversation also explores China’s enormous role in global manufacturing and supply chains, the possibility of a more multipolar international system, and why economic interdependence could make direct confrontation between the two countries increasingly costly. Carl and Einar then turn to a different battlefield: artificial intelligence. Is the AI boom becoming a bubble? What happens when companies invest billions in AI without generating comparable profits? And should AI development be governed through international rules rather than competing national systems? The discussion goes even further into the future of education, technology, business, globalization and people-to-people diplomacy — including why actually visiting another country can challenge narratives that people absorb through the media. The Xi-Trump summit and its significance Why the United States needs Chinese rare earths China’s leverage in critical supply chains The future of US-China trade relations China being treated as a global peer Multipolarity vs. American hegemony Why dialogue can reduce the risk of confrontation China’s manufacturing dominance People-to-people diplomacy and student exchanges The future of globalization and international business AI regulation and competing global approaches The potential AI investment bubble The limits and risks of artificial intelligence AI, employment and education Technology, values and the future of society Watch the full conversation for a wide-ranging discussion about China, America, AI, trade and the changing global order.
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Professor Norman Fenton speaks with Professor Diane Rasmussen about his new book, The Capture of Academia: How Universities Shape Power, Silence Dissent, and Influence Society. Sharing common ground as former senior academics who lost their university careers for opposing popular stances, they speak about the hidden corruption that drives today’s British universities. Professor Fenton is Emeritus Professor of Risk at Queen Mary University of London and founder of Agenda Ltd, a company that specialises in Bayesian network tools for risk modelling and decision support. He has previously been interviewed on UK Column to discuss skewed Covid vaccine data (2022) and, later, to explain how questioning the official Covid narrative effectively ended his academic career (2023). In this 2026 interview, Professor Fenton says he went “from respected professor to academic pariah” for his unpopular views. He speaks about the requirement for university staff to follow the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) cultural Marxist agenda that pervades today’s UK university system. One example can be found in the University of Cambridge’s Behavioural Attributes Framework, which requires all staff to adhere to “the principles of diversity and inclusion”. He believes this mandate helps explain why Jason Arday received his professorial appointment at Cambridge. Professor Fenton explains how these DEI mandates provide preferential treatment to groups with certain characteristics while it excludes others, and how they deny diversity of thought. He also discusses the Research Excellence Framework (REF), a bureaucratic, expensive, and corrupt process that claims to assess “the quality of research in UK higher education institutions”. In the next REF exercise (2029), 30% of “research quality” will be evaluated based on the incorporation of DEI principles into the research. This corruption extends into scientific peer review; only grant proposals and papers that support agendas such as Net Zero and Agenda 2030 tend to be reviewed favourably. Professor Fenton can be found on X, on YouTube, and via his website. He runs a popular Substack, ‘Where Are the Numbers?’, with Professor Martin Neil. Professors Fenton and Neil also co-authored the groundbreaking book Fighting Goliath: Exposing the Flawed Science and Statistics behind the COVID-19 Event.
Mike Robinson, Vanessa Beeley, Charles Malet and Dr Liz Evans present today’s UK Column News ► Join UK Column Live every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1pm UK time or watch previous live recordings here ► [UK Column Website] Explore all our written and video content on the official UK Column website ► [Support UK Column] Please donate to support our independent journalism & investigative journalism ► [UK Column YouTube] Please subscribe to the UK Column News YouTube channel for more alternative news and independent news Follow #UKColumn on: ► X ► Telegram ► Facebook ► Instagram
In this episode, Brian Gerrish and Charles Malet take up where they left off in Episode 10; with consideration of the question ‘What is this war designed to do?’ This means dealing with the changing nature of warfare and, in particular, the corporate influence exerting itself at every stage. Alongside this, there is commentary on the way in which Russia and its inhabitants have been dehumanised by Western governments and their tame media. As the discussion progresses, the subject of Britain’s ‘warfighting readiness’ comes up. Are the hollowed-out armed forces of the country in any position to be entering into a kinetic conflict with anyone, let alone the battle-hardened Russians? Or, is ‘support’ for Ukraine designed to do something else altogether?
Brian Gerrish, Mike Robinson, and Charles Malet present today's UK Column News. ► Join UK Column Live every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1pm UK time or watch previous live recordings here ► [UK Column Website] Explore all our written and video content on the official UK Column website ► [Support UK Column] Please donate to support our independent journalism & investigative journalism ► [UK Column YouTube] Please subscribe to the UK Column News YouTube channel for more alternative news and independent news Follow #UKColumn on: ► X ► Telegram ► Facebook ► Instagram
Mike Robinson, Patrick Henningsen, and Basil Valentine present today's UK Column News. ► Join UK Column Live every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1pm UK time or watch previous live recordings here ► [UK Column Website] Explore all our written and video content on the official UK Column website ► [Support UK Column] Please donate to support our independent journalism & investigative journalism ► [UK Column YouTube] Please subscribe to the UK Column News YouTube channel for more alternative news and independent news Follow #UKColumn on: ► X ► Telegram ► Facebook ► Instagram 00:00 Introduction 00:54 Zelensky’s Latest Visit to the UK 10:57 Wes Streeting Carefully Frames the UK’s Defence Cooperation with the US 18:04 Matt Campbell Fights for a New Inquest into His Brother Geoff’s 9/11 Death 27:46 Novelist Sally Rooney Cancelled after Stating She Would Donate to Palestine Action 32:15 Support UK Column 32:54 Hamish de Bretton-Gordon: Salisbury Poisoning Commentator with Questionable Connections 48:32 Worldwide Plans for Rural AI Data Centres 53:11 The White House Wins (Again) against Pete Hegseth 56:46 In Case You Missed It