The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Politics happens all around us, not just in London. Britain’s political map is far more varied than the city of Westminster. Rafael Behr joins Matt Chorley , author of Planes, Trains and Toilet Doors , on a whistle stop tour of the car parks, village halls and seaside towns that shaped our political landscape.  "Nothing in politics is new. Everything has been done before and probably better.” –  M...

Barry Gardiner MP sits down with Jacob Jarvis to talk through Labour’s priorities, the shift in vibe at this year’s conference and the Tory shambles… Recorded in the Heathrow Lounge at Liverpool’s ACC on Monday morning, we put our fingers on the pulse of what is happening at the annual party gathering.  Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast   Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Prod...

The United Nations was founded to help maintain international peace and security. The Security Council in particular is supposed to uphold those pledges. But its power and influence is dwindling. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a looming war over Taiwan and unrest in Africa is some proof of that. So what can it do to regain the power it has lost, and is there still a place in the world for the UN? R...

Following a weekend of brutal attacks on Israel, the prospect of a ground invasion of Gaza looms. We take a look at Hamas’s actions, how Netanyahu will respond, and the international reaction to the violence. Plus, we preview the Labour Conference as Starmer and his team present their views for the future of the country. How will Starmer’s speech stand up to Sunak’s? Jacob Jarvis is joined in The...

In this week’s Bunker Gold we revisit an out of this world episode from May 2022… As scientists seek extraterrestrial life, what would we do if we actually found it? How would we manage first contact, and could we even communicate with aliens? Franck Marchis , a senior planetary astronomer from the SETI Institute , unpacks the prospect with Andrew Harrison – and the idea aliens might already know...

From PM’s holidaying at Chequers to the salacious escapades of Downton Abbey, country houses hold a special place in the public imagination. While these very big houses in the country are often considered to be relics of the past, their influence looms over modern politics.  Dr. Kasia Tomasiewicz speaks to Professor Kate Retford, head of school of historic studies at Birbeck University, to find ou...

Country music and political statements often go hand in hand. And many artists find success by charging their songs with political messages – Jason Aldean’s controversial single ‘Try That in a Small Town’ being a recent example. Jonathan Bernstein is a senior research editor at Rolling Stone and joins Dorian Lynskey in The Bunker to discuss the complicated relationship between country music and po...

In this week’s Bunker Global, Seth Thévoz is joined by Bradley Hope , the author of The Rebel and The Kingdom , to discuss the totalitarian state of North Korea and the unlikely rebels leading the charge against Kim Jong Un.  “North Korea can publicly strike and kill people in the most bone chilling way.”  “We should be grateful that people take risks to show us the truth. Some just go too far.” "...

Funding for Ukraine has become a point of contention among the GOP. The Freedom Caucus, led by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, has pushed against money to help the nation’s war effort – and this was excluded in a recent budget bill, in order to facilitate a deal. How did the Republican caucus get here, and how far are they willing to go? Andrew Harrison is joined by associate professor of politics and...

The UK is no stranger to getting political decisions wrong – especially in foreign policy. Broadcaster and author Steve Richards , of Rock & Roll Politics , writes in his new book Turning Points that the decisions made by post-war leaders are often bewildering but also intensely complicated. He joins Gavin Esler in The Bunker for a very honest discussion on why that is. “It seems to me with Br...

The infected blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s saw almost 5,000 people in the UK contract HIV or hepatitis C due to contaminated NHS blood products. Over 2,800 have died and tens of thousands of lives have been affected, yet no organisation or individual has ever been held to account. Ros Taylor is joined by Caroline Wheeler , the political editor of the Sunday Times and author of the new book De...

Rishi Sunak is having a grim time up north as the Tories gather in Manchester for their annual conference. As the PM attempts to put crowd pleasing policies forward (and not mention HS2), the race to replace him has already started.  In world news, we look at the U.S. after it narrowly avoided a government shutdown, the latest on Ukraine — and finally, a slow burning financial crisis in China.  Ja...

This week on the Bunker Gold: Let us take you back to the crazy days of 2022, when Liz Truss was Prime Minister and Boris Johnson was still an MP… How would an alien fix Britain? We hear from Count Binface , who resisted the urge to vapourise Alex Andreou despite some tough questions. The Count discusses standing against Tories like Theresa May (as Lord Buckethead) and Boris Johnson, why he’d junk...

On our latest panel edition: What does centrism in politics even mean? And why is the government still so worried about newspapers? Then finally, why do politicians have such weird taste in music? We’ve assembled a supergroup of Podmasters all stars, Rock & Roll Politics hall of famer Steve Richards, the chanteuse of Paper Cuts , Miranda Sawyer and Podmasters virtuoso Jacob Jarvis join frontma...

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is leading calls to impeach President Joe Biden. Irrespective of whether that’s realistic or not (spoiler alert: it isn’t) what does it really mean to impeach a president? Professor of history and classical studies at McGill University, Jason Opal , takes us back to the origins of impeachment to understand how it’s become a common tactic of American political warfare....

In Afghanistan, women and girls have been banned from schools and universities – but underground networks have sprung up to maintain their education. This week on Bunker Global , Chris Jones is joined by Pashtana Durrani , educator and founder of LEARN Afghan and winner of a 2023 Global Citizen Award, to discuss the schools that defy Taliban rule and educate girls across the country.  "Our future...

AI is disrupting systems across the world – and is beginning to completely change global manufacturing. What are the pros and cons of this new era of technological advancement? Industrialisation led to a period of growth never before seen but could the next industrial revolution do more harm than good?  Dr. Kate Devlin is joined by Dr. Jostein Hauge , author of The Future of the Factory: How Megat...

For a few years now the Tory party has been drifting further and further right and it’s not gone well… at all. David Gauke is the former Justice Secretary under Theresa May and has edited a book titled The Case for the Centre Right which highlights the desperate need to reverse the direction of his party back to the centre. But is there a real case for the centre right anymore? Marie Le Conte sits...

The war on drugs has been going on for decades, yet the use of cocaine has continued to rise – especially in the UK. Why is that? Who are the international paramilitary groups playing a role in keeping supplies going? And is the problem being tackled by our government correctly? Genevieve Kotarska is a research fellow in the Organised Crime and Policing Team at the Royal United Services Institute...

Rishi Sunak is set to ditch HS2 plans – how will he handle enraging a huge chunk of the country and a load of fellow Tories? This comes amid a raft of Government uncertainty over policies – with pensions and inheritance tax debates rolling on. Plus, there is more Met police controversy with a number of officers turning in their firearms. Ros Taylor and Hannah Fearn discuss the news you need to loo...

Animal Farm is one of the 20th century’s most iconic books. So why make a sequel? Dorian Lynskey is joined by Adam Biles , literary director at Shakespeare and Company and author of the new book Beast of England , to explore how Manor Farm provides the perfect imaginary landscape for assessing our fraught and fractured politics.  “Watching UK politics from afar gave the impression of a frog slowly...

Bellwether and swing states are often the battlegrounds upon which the US presidential race is won. Historically, Ohio has been one of the most important - but that is changing. So which states matter the most for the upcoming 2024 election? And how will Trump or Biden (or anyone else) win them over? Kyle Kondik is the Author of ‘The Bellwether: Why Ohio Picks the president”. He joins Alex Andreou...

Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau has claimed agents of the government of India orchestrated an assassination on Canadian soil. The killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar has led to a terse back and forth between the two nations. Plus, we take a look at the latest chapter in the Azerbaijan and Armenia conflict. And, why are so many former French colonies revolting across Africa?  Chris Jones is jo...

By now most of us have had hands-on experience with an AI interface. Beyond the sleek exterior of ChatGTP there is a world of AI that threatens the privacy of each and every one of us. Kate Devlin is joined in The Bunker by tech journalist and co-founder of 404 Media, Samantha Cole, to find out if AI can produce anything, what is protecting our likeness from being exploited in disturbing, and even...

With two million active soldiers, China has the largest military in the world. But does it know what it’s doing? Even with some of the most advanced military tech in the world their ability to use it is unclear. Laura Makin-Isherwood speaks to Timothy Heath , senior international defence researcher at the RAND Corporation , to find out if Xi’s army is something we should be worried about – or if t...