The Bunker – News without the nonsense

China’s gamechanging A.I. “DeepSeek” came out of nowhere to grab headlines and in turn rock financial markets. The release of the free app triggered a sharp reaction, wiping out a trillion dollars in value from major U.S. based A.I. firms. – and raising questions over America’s dominance in the realm of artificial intelligence. Is this a sign of an industry in flux, or the beginning of a major shi...

Trump’s trade war has begun as he seeks to bully the world with tariffs. What’s going on and what effects will we see in the coming days? And how will his whims wreak havoc on global relations? And looking closer to home, Brexit’s back on the menu. Starmer is off to meet EU leaders, what should we look out for? Gavin Esler and Ros Taylor discuss this and more as they lay out the week ahead.  We ar...

The Bunker panel is back! This week, we dive into the wild world of podcasting. Anyone with a mic and a Wi-Fi connection can broadcast their thoughts to the masses – but should they?  This month, the panel debates the pros and cons of the ever-expanding political podcast landscape. Are bro-casts speeding us toward cultural collapse? What are our biggest podcasting icks? And should there be legal r...

Donald Trump is often labeled a threat to democracy – but could political myths perpetuated by ordinary Americans be just as much of an issue? Millions of voters confidently cling to political myths as if they were hard truths, unaware that they’re propping up the fake news they claim to hate. In this episode of The Bunker , Chris Jones speaks with Dr. Casey Burgat, host of Mastering the Room and...

The number of artists being “cancelled” seems to be growing every day. But is it ok to continue to enjoy the art they made even if they’re awful people? Today on The Bunker , Rafael Behr sits down with philosophy professor Mary Beth Willard, author of Why It's OK to Enjoy the Work of Immoral Artists , to explore whether we can truly separate the art from the artist, uncover the real power of cance...

Trump is constantly talking about tariffs and has started to use the threat of them as part of his geopolitical bullying campaign. What impact would these measures have across the world? Why is he so set on them? Ros Taylor asks Dmitry Grozoubinski, author of Why Politicians Lie About Trade... and What You Need to Know About It , to discuss everything you need to know about tariffs and Trump’s tra...

Trump and Starmer had a chinwag over the phone at the weekend – what did we learn and how can the PM navigate this relationship? And what will unfold in the aftermath of Trump’s manic first week? Plus, we look at clashes at home as the government targets Farage, as well as the latest world news, with updates from Gaza and Ukraine . Author and historian Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to tal...

Why did otherwise civilised Germans welcome Hitler’s message of hatred and racial supremacy so fervently? Laurence Rees wrote and produced the acclaimed BBC series The Nazis: A Warning From History as well as documentaries on Auschwitz, Stalin, the Russian Front and the Holocaust. He talks to Andrew Harrison about his new book The Nazi Mind , where he examines the psychological mechanisms that dre...

The past 12 months have seen stunning reverses for both Russia and for Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ in the Middle East. Rebels humiliated Putin in Syria and Israel devastated Iranian proxies such has Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – albeit it at appalling human cost. Is the region finally turning a corner? Does the ceasefire really mean Israel has “won”? Could the Iranian regime fall? RUSI...

On December 14, 2012, Robbie Parker's world was shattered. His daughter, Emilie, was among the victims of the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. As if the grief of losing a child wasn’t enough, Robbie and other parents were forced to confront an unthinkable challenge: a wave of harassment and lies spawned by conspiracy theorists. In this episode, Robbie Parker, author of A Father's Figh...

The online radicalisation of men and ‘incels’ by the far right is well documented – but what about the women they target? What role do forums for mums and Instagram food vlogs play in luring women into movements that seek to undermine their freedoms? Today in The Bunker , Lois Shearing, author of Pink-Pilled: Women and the Far Right , joins Zoë Grünewald to explore how these groups operate and wha...

Donald Trump will officially become the president of the United States today – what will he say as he lays out his plans for America? And how will he shake things up on the global stage? Gavin Esler talks Jacob Jarvis through what we should we should expect from the beginning of Trump’s second presidency.    We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.      www.pa...

Keir Starmer wants Britain to “mainline artificial intelligence into its veins” and says A.I. will transform the our lives for the better. But as job automation races ahead, is anyone listening to the voices of working people? Has Labour been captured by the A.I. lobby? Mary Towers leads the TUC’s work on A.I. She tells Andrew Harrison what we need to do to make this Fourth Industrial Revolution w...

A special crosspost from our geopolitics podcast This Is Not A Drill . After 15 months of horror, a ceasefire and hostage release deal triggers rejoicing in Israel and Palestine. But the deal is ambiguous and built around only a gradual release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages, with no agreement to end the war yet. While Trump rushes to claim credit, some fear the deal is so loose it...

Mark Zuckerberg has announced he’s ditching fact checking on Facebook and across Meta platforms. This is starting in the US, but how far will it go? And how much worse will it make the content on his social media channels? Chris Jones speaks to tech journalist and LBC correspondent Will Guyatt to find out why the Facebook boss is making these changes, beyond just cosying up to Trump, and what thei...

What will Trump’s entry to the White House mean for the war between Russia and Ukraine? The incoming US insists he can get a ceasefire and end the conflict – but how feasible is this? Gavin Esler, of our sibling podcast This is Not a Drill , speaks to Russia expert Mark Galeotti, host of the In Moscow’s Shadows podcast.  • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored cred...

Reform UK are on a roll. The Tories are dancing to their tune, some polls are putting them on par with Labour and the wilder hard-right papers are hyping Farage as a potential PM. But how real is Reform’s “surge”? Are their voters really up for far-right populism, or are they more likely angry, disaffected, sometimes even left-leaning people who’ve lost faith in politics? Campaigning veteran Paul...

Rachel Reeves faces questions over Britain’s economic state this week – the right-wing press is howling, but just how bad is the situation really? And, Musk continues to meddle – we look at his moves here at home and further afield. Plus, it’s the final week where Trump isn’t president! We discuss who’ll be wanting to cosy up to him in the coming days. Ros Taylor talks Jacob Jarvis through all tha...

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, questions have been raised as to how long Putin can financially sustain the assault. How much longer can Russia’s economy sustain the staggering costs of war? Today in The Bunker, Dr. Richard Connolly , author of The Russian Economy: A Very Short Introduction , joins Chris Jones to find out if Putin’s war machine is running out of cash? • We are sponsored...

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, the political battles of his first term and a few fresh ones are returning to the fore in US politics. But what will he prioritise once in office?  In this episode of The Bunker , Jacob Jarvis is joined by his American Friction co-host, Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone , to look at the key figures and forces shaping US politics in 2025. With the...

The new year brings fresh challenges for Starmer’s government and continued pressure to deliver on Labour’s campaign promises. After years of political turbulence, can Labour deliver meaningful change? Join Alex von Tunzelmann and Steve Richards , host of Rock & Roll Politics , as they take stock of the government’s priorities for the new year and ask what resolutions Starmer should make for 2...

Will Musk’s latest meltdown see politicians and institutions finally abandon Twitter? And if so, where will they go? Or will the right-wing stay, as the left and centrists shift to BlueSky? Zoë Crowther, reporter at PoliticsHome, joins Ros Taylor to discuss how MPs will engage with social media in 2025. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.     www.patreon....

Elon Musk’s latest rant-a-thon has dominated the headlines – what should we make of it and what impact will it have? Plus, there’s NHS reforms to be announced in news Keir Starmer wants people to focus on – and Gavin Esler gives Jacob Jarvis the latest updates from further afield, addressing conflicts and flashpoints across the globe.    We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100...

Is the Great Man* theory of history back? As our world seems increasingly shaped by individual oligarchs, populists and single-issue celebrities, we complete our list of the most influential people of the century so far. Who will make the cut? Our Bunker regulars – BBC veteran Gavin Esler , historian and author Alex Von Tunzelmann and Guardian columnist Rafael Behr – name the Final Five of our Cen...

Incredibly, we’re already nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st Century. Who are the big figures who’ve shaped and transformed, or more often, terrorised and devastated, our political and physical worlds? And how did 20th century dreams of a stable consensus tomorrow fall apart? A panel of Bunker regulars – BBC veteran Gavin Esler , historian and author Alex Von Tunzelmann and Guardian colu...