The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Could you watch GB News for a whole month? Gavin Esler did, in the name of research. What he experienced was a nightmare mix of confected anger, wild conspiracy and resentment designed to make its viewers feel like victims. GB News might be a joke but its growing social media presence is spreading and detoxifying the hard right views of some very powerful people. Gavin tells Andrew Harrison why we...

As the Israel/Gaza war reaches stalemate, are hopes of a ceasefire just wishful thinking? Are “peace talks” in Ukraine just a euphemism for giving Putin what he wants? Plus Thames Water circles the plughole, the William Wragg WhatsApp fallout, and a total eclipse of everyone’s sanity. Ros Taylor sets out the week ahead with Andrew Harrison .   • “I think we’re seeing a slow creep towards giving up...

Even if you aren’t on Tiktok, you’ll know one of its billion plus monthly users. But how many of them know how their data is being collected, by whom, and why? The US is now proposing to ban the Chinese-owned social media platform over its links to the Chinese Communist Party. Chris Jones asks leading tech journalist Will Guyatt whether this is all just a form of political warfare against China –...

Britain’s Miners’ Strike conjures up strong emotions to this day – despite 40 years having passed since the confrontation. But what are the common misconceptions of this period of history? And how are its effects still being felt today? Andrew Harrison asks Robert Gildea , emeritus professor of modern history at the University of Oxford, about the enduring legacy of the Miners’ Strike.       • “Th...

Britain’s police forces seem constantly embroiled in scandal. Where does this stem from and where is most of the corruption? Former police officer and undercover drugs operative Neil Woods , author of Good Cop, Bad War , talks to Alex Andreou about the extent of police corruption in Britain and the pressing need for drug reform to reduce the problem.   • “If the public understood the extent of cor...

The Tories face electoral obliteration, according to the polls – can Sunak do anything about it? We reflect on the latest damning survey and the current fallouts swirling around the PM. Plus we discuss conflict in the Middle East, and the latest strikes on Gaza and Syria. And finally we look at the latest from the war in Ukraine, then the election results in Turkey. Alex Andreou joins Jacob Jarvis...

Collapsing birthrates have inspired dramas from The Handmaid’s Tale to Children of Men , but it isn’t just science fiction any more. We might not realise it, but we’re living through an epidemic of infertility – and it’s getting worse. How did we get here? What does it mean when humans have fewer babies? And how do we turn it around?     Jude Rogers finds out from world-leading environmental and r...

Putin’s threats have made nuclear conflict plausible for the first time since the Cold War – but few really understand the enormity of what it would mean. New book Nuclear War: A Scenario describes such a war step-by-step, from a surprise first strike from North Korea to the destruction of Washington D.C, miles-wide firestorms, the immolation of hundreds of millions of people, and the final extinc...

The Moon is packed with precious resources – silicon for microchips, manganese for batteries, and titanium for missiles. As private companies, Japan, China, Russia, India and others rush to claim our lunar neighbour, will they look after humanity’s interests or their own? And what happens when these big, belligerent actors collide? A.C. Grayling , writer, broadcaster and philosophy professor, has...

We think our media is mostly truthful, honest and fearless, but investigative journalism is increasingly stymied by legal threats and the infamous SLAPP (“Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation”) from the powerful. In Cuckooland: Where The Rich Own The Truth, Guardian investigations correspondent Tom Burgis follows a trail of money and influence from Uzbekistan, Nepal and Putin’s Russia to...

Britain is blaming Beijing for a major cyber attack on voter data – how will this impact relations with China ? And how awkward could things get for David Cameron? Plus, Rishi Sunak isn’t doing well as Prime Minister – but are the Tories giving up on plans to replace him? And we discuss the fallout from the recent Moscow terror attack , as well as the latest calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Alex And...

With Trump set to be the GOP’s presidential candidate, who will he pick to be his running mate? There’s a whole host of Republicans lining up to take on the role – despite Trump’s backlog of legal battles and the questionable ways he treats those around him. But who has a chance – and who’s been completely ruled out already? Jacob Jarvis is joined in the Bunker by Politico ’s senior political colu...

Is Britain moving into a “pre-war world”, as Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warned in January? Could we fight a land war or other conflict with Russia if we had to? Are we prepared militarily, economically and psychologically? And what would we have to do to make ourselves secure? RUSI European Security Research Fellow Edward R. Arnold tells Ros Taylor some uncomfortable home truths about NATO, ou...

Kate Middleton conspiracy theories have run rampant since  that  doctored photo emerged. But, altered photos of public figures are nothing new. Today in The Bunker,  Seth Thévoz  speaks to  Joshua Habgood-Coote,  research fellow at  Leeds University , about the power of manipulated images throughout history.    • “Image manipulation techniques go back to the earliest days of photography.” –  Joshu...

More and more high-profile figures are falling for conspiracy theories. And here in the UK, British MPs are seemingly becoming increasingly susceptible to engaging with them. Why now? Andrew Harrison asks Tom Phillips, co-author with friend of the pod Jonn Elledge of Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them .  Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast   Writ...

This week, could a backbench rebellion see Penny Mordaunt replace Rishi Sunak before the general election? As online conspiracies run rampant, how has the Royal Family fumbled the Kate Middleton situation? In international news, we look at Putin’s ‘landslide victory’ and what his win means for war with Ukraine. Finally we have the latest on the Israel/Hamas conflict as Netenyahu comes under fire f...

The history of US presidents is mixed, let’s say. Some achieved incredible things, whilst others have 91 pending criminal charges against them across multiple states. The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey pits them all against each other to find out the best and worst of all time. Professor Justin Vaughn is an associate professor of political science at Coastal Carolina University...

The internet is getting worse. Google isn’t as helpful as it used to be, all of the best content is behind a paywall and the less said about X the better. But why is the internet getting so sh*t – and why do we simply accept it? Today in The Bunker,  Jacob Jarvis  speaks to tech reporter and writer of the  Garbage Day  substack  Ryan Broderick  about the sorry state of the internet in 2024.    • “...

Problems with leaseholds have ruined lives across the UK. Labour has vowed to end the system, but how? And are its plans realistic? Labour MP Barry Gardiner has been campaigning against leasehold for decades and recently fronted a documentary exploring its major issues. He joins Hannah Fearn in The Bunker to discuss what his party plans to do about it?  Barry Gardiner’s documentary • “We have inst...

The world of online conspiracy theorists is daunting and bewildering. The BBC’s Marianna Spring knows that better than most. In today’s Bunker, Ros Taylor sits down with the disinformation and social media correspondent to discuss her new book Among the Trolls: My Journey Through Conspiracyland .     • “The internet normalises aggression and abuse and that is reflected in the real world too.”  – M...

Hunt’s budget hasn’t shifted the dial for the Tories like they wanted – what will they try next? Plus, we’ve got curious tales of Boris Johnson’s trip to Venezuela and of a doctored Royal family photo… Plus, the latest from Biden vs. Trump and an update on the situation in Gaza. Alex Andreou talks Jacob Jarvis through the news to look out for this week.     • “We know the Tories are headed for def...

Warning: major spoilers from the beginning. In a special weekend bonus, we look at the political resonances of Denis Villeneuve’s $200m-grossing space-and-sand opera Dune . What does Frank Herbert’s saga of desert rebellion, imperialism and mystic feminist conspiracy tell us about our world? Can jihadis be heroes? Why do fascists love Dune? Is Muad’Dib a hero or a monster? And is it science fictio...

The relationship between the United States and Israel is hugely significant – but it’s under serious strain. Is President Joe Biden going to be pushed to rethink some long-held positions regarding this connection? Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University and author of The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy , tells...

British politics is a shambles, from the economy to the cost of living to the NHS and public standards. But is this age of disorder worse than the endgames of past governments? Steve Richards , former BBC political correspondent and host of the Rock & Roll Politics podcast , tells Andrew Harrison how this dying government ranks among key moments of fin de siècle political acrimony from recent...

Scandal after scandal has eroded public trust in Westminster politics in recent years. Fresh research from the Institute For Government suggests that 65 percent of the public doesn’t think the current government behaves to high ethical standards. What does that mean for the next Government? And can MPs ever win back public trust? Or is it lost forever? Tim Durrant is programme director for the IFG...