The Bunker – News without the nonsense

In the 17th Century the English slaughtered one another, beheaded their king, fought bitterly over religion and politics, and acquired a taste for coffee and newspapers. Jonathan Healey , Associate Professor of Social History at the University of Oxford, tells Andrew Harrison how their world turned upside down shapes our own in his new book THE BLAZING WORLD : A New History of Revolutionary Englan...

Mhairi Black joins The Bunker to discuss the future of Scottish independence, her party’s ne leader and the quirks of Westminster. Following Sturgeon standing down as SNP leader and Scotland’s first leader, she joins Marie Le Conte to speak about what will come next – and what might happen under her successor, whoever that may be.  “If you’re in a democracy and you can’t get a reply from a ministe...

From the ERG to the CGG, the different factions within the Conservatives build up a picture of the divisions within the party. But what do all of the different groups stand for, and why don’t we seem to see the same splintering within Labour? Professor Tim Bale, author of The Conservative Party After Brexit, joins Marie le Conte to find out.  “Tendencies mean that the party is more easily managed,...

Labour’s shock General Election loss in 1992 still haunts the party – and nobody wants to tempt fate by mentioning 1997’s landslide victory either. Will the next Election be a ’92, a ’97 or something else entirely? Steve Richards of the Rock & Roll Politics podcast explains what lay behind Neil Kinnock’s defeat and the trauma it inflicted on Labour; how it created the control freakery of the N...

Sunak tries to dish out some hard right catnip on small boats – but then here’s Johnson offering his rancid father a knighthood. Can’t Rishi catch a break? Also, is the Hancock/Oakeshott WhatsApp epic really persuading Britain that lockdown was a disaster? Or just reminding them of how awful the Cabinet are? Plus Sue Gray, strikes latest, Raab in firing line and more. Hannah Fearn sets out the wee...

Lambasted by the Tory press for calling Boris Johnson a “known liar” at the Edinburgh TV festival when she was head of news at Channel 4, Dorothy Byrne is now President of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge. She talks to Ros Taylor about the pressures facing young female students, the future of C4, why we’re not treating violent porn seriously enough, and how ITV and Sky breached key broadcasting s...

Florida could well be America’s future. Governor Ron Desantis presides over an increasingly right-wing and combative “loudocracy” and he thinks he can become President by out-Trumping Trump. So why is the Sunshine State so notoriously bizarre? FLORIDA MAN Craig Pittman , author of The State You’re In: Florida Men, Florida Women, and Other Wildlife , tells Andrew Harrison about Matt Gaetz, socialis...

Germany seems to have had a blind spot over Russia – why is that? And how has their relationship changed following the war in Ukraine? Alex Andreo u is joined by John Lough, author of Germany’s Russia Problem, to unpack when their relationship changed, what it means for Europe, and why the Berlin Wall still casts a long shadow over German politics. “Russia changed direction in 2005 but Germany did...

Stella Creasy, who feels like a Labour grandee these days, talks to Ros Taylor about Brexit, Tory negligence and removing barriers to get more mothers into politics. Creasy discusses the work she’s done from opposition, and talks tentatively about a future where Labour might be in Government… “Women have always wanted to be involved in politics, but it’s about the environment we create for them.”...

There is a generational divide between who votes Conservative and who votes Labour – and it’s a problem for both parties. It used to be thought that as people got older, they naturally became more conservative – but that pattern has broken. Professor Bobby Duffy , director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London joins Marie Le Conte to delve into why. “Denigrating young people is an absol...

Hollywood has shaped how we see spies – but who are these people who secretly walk among us? How hard is it to become one? Siân Pattenden unpacks the world of espionage, and discusses why the next James Bond will be a woman with Ava Glass , author of the new spy novel The Chase , who previously worked alongside spies in the civil service .   “The highest level of security clearance takes a whole y...

Rishi Sunak is meeting Ursula von der Leyen to seal a new deal to get Brexit done again, again. Will the agreement get sealed? And what fallout will any such settlement spark? Plus, we return to the strikes and discuss the SNP leadership latest. Ros Taylor joins Alex Andreou to discuss the week ahead. “It all depends on whether the DUP think they can get anything more out of it or not.” – Alex And...

As NHS waiting lists get longer, more people are turning to private healthcare. Is this skipping the queue accelerating a decline to a two-tier system, or will the demand for more encourage policymakers to fund the NHS properly to raise the standards? Efua Poku-Amanfo from the Institute for Public Policy Research joins Hannah Fearn in the Bunker to find out.  “Young people 18-25 specifically… were...

The USA is built on ‘the American dream’. But what exactly is it? Does it actually exist? Jacob Jarvis is joined by Jim Cullen, author of The American Dream: A short history of an idea that shaped a nation , to ask where the idea came from and why it still has such a strong hold over American life. “ The English pilgrims are central to the creation of the American Dream.”  “At the heart of the Ame...

Zelensky’s story of a comedian turned President of Ukraine and now war leader is stranger than fiction. So who is the man we have cheered on as he stands up to the Russian invasion? Siân Pattenden is joined by journalist Steven Derix, co-author of the new biography Zelensky , to take a peek behind the curtain of a life lived in the media spotlight, before being thrown into violent conflict.  “Ukra...

It’s been one year since the full scale invasion of Ukraine began. From fanning the spirit of freedom, to how internally displaced people are coping, through to what Ukraine needs now from its friends and allies across the West – Olga Tokariuk, freelance journalist and fellow at the Reuters Institute for Journalism, joins Alex Andreou to reflect on the last 12 months.  “I could see the spirit of f...

Britain is all but in recession. We’re far less productive than other European countries, and take the industries that do well for granted. Trussonomics was one idea to boost growth — and we all know how that turned out. But if cutting taxes isn’t the solution to our problems, what is? Greg Thwaites from the Resolution Foundation joins Ros Taylor in the Bunker to find out.  “Most of the growth tha...

After the Financial Crisis, many expected a new approach to the economy to be taken. Instead, lessons were forgotten quickly and countries continued to rack up debt whilst subscribing to the old order of things. Martin Wolf , author of The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism joins Alex Andreou to discuss whether we’re destined to repeat the past.  “After communism failed, the western leaders… came to...

Sunak is trying yet again to establish his leadership – but will he ever be rid of Boris Johnson? With a Northern Ireland deal touted, we outline the looming showdowns. Plus, amid right wing protests over immigration – will the Government do anything but stoke them? And internationally, Turkey and Syria are still suffering the effects of the earthquake, while it’s coming up to a year since Russia...

A good apology can make or break a politician. So why are so many public figures so bad at saying sorry? Jacob Jarvis unearths the fine art of apologising with ‘sorry watchers’ Susan McCarthy and Marjorie Ingall, co-authors of Sorry, sorry, sorry: the case for good apologies. “We rarely teach children why they should apologise, we just tell them they should.” – Marjorie Ingall “Apologising is hard...

Nikki Haley has come forward as Trump’s first major challenger for the GOP nomination in 2024. Who is she – and why does she want to challenge him? Jacob Jarvis is joined by Danielle Vinson, professor of politics and international affairs at Furman University, South Carolina, to discuss. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer Jac...

When Giorgia Meloni was elected PM of Italy, many considered her the spiritual heir to Mussolini. Grappling with the energy crisis, she’s toned down much of her rhetoric - but is she just biding her time? John Hooper, author of The Italians, joins Ros Taylor to look at what we know about this enigmatic leader.  “Does she still hanker after neo-fascism? She denies that absolutely… but it’s still an...

When Stu Hennigan took up a job as a council food parcel delivery driver during lockdown, he realised he had a “front row seat to the end of the world”. Every day he kept a diary as he witnessed families struggling with isolation, poverty, and the worst impacts of austerity. He joins Hannah Fearn to talk about his book  Ghost Signs . “This is literally like front row seats to the end of the world....

Rishi Sunak believes everyone should learn maths until the age of 18, but not everyone agrees. Tim Oates , director of research at Cambridge University Assessment, talks to Ros Taylor about why some of us find maths so hard, why girls still underestimate their ability, and how good teaching makes a difference.  “Some research says that we should see maths as a language, a foreign language. If you...

Activists have demanded the return of contentious museum objects for decades – why are museums now starting to listen? Arthur Snell is joined by Dan Hicks, professor of contemporary archaeology and author of The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution, to bring some much needed clarity to a debate beset by culture war clashes.  “Museums are moving with the ti...