The Bunker – News without the nonsense

This week is a little bit special, as we are joined by Andrew and Siân live from Glastonbury 2022 ! Keeping it strictly music, we went along to see Baz Luhrmann’s new biopic Elvis , with our special guest Linda Marric . Could we not help falling in love with it or did we get the G.I. blues? And, staying with the festival theme, Jelena and our producer Jade head to Margate Dreamland Leisure Festiva...

Geoff Dyer talks to Dorian Lynskey about his career and new book The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings . In this, he examines the matter of final performances and pieces, through the tales of artists, sportspeople and writers. The pair also discuss how Dyer’s work takes shape, and how he reflects on his own writing. “The sense of not being ideally qualified to write about a subject has...

Can China control what its authors write as tightly as President Xi might want? Writers have found dazzling ways to sidestep the “literary president”’s clampdown on free expression. China expert and Times book desk veteran Megan Walsh tells Andrew Harrison how the Chinese are reading everything from world-beating subversive science fiction… to lurid pot-boilers with titles like ‘My Dangerous Billi...

Have you heard this podcast before? Or are you experiencing Déjà vu? Catherine Loveday , neuroscience professor at the University of Westminster, joins Alex Andreou to explain the strange sensation that you've already experienced something, even when you know you never have, and why for some people it can become a serious problem.  “Déjà vu is the conflict you feel when you don’t remember somethin...

From ethics to Northern Ireland to the ECHR to a mysterious disappearing story about his wife’s job prospects, Johnson is mired in legal and culture war battles. But why doesn’t anything stick to the PM? Plus, rail strikes: this is the age of the strain. And as Internet Explorer bows out, what are our fondest memories of the early Internet? Law and policy commentator David Allen Green is this week...

With 1970s-style strikes due this week, what can we expect the fallout to be? The Conservatives are trying to shift blame anywhere it might stick, while they also face tests in two by-elections. Plus, we look at the Ukraine latest and unpack France’s election results. Andrew Harrison is joined by Gavin Esler to chart the week ahead. "We’ve had 12 years now of Conservative government. Are we any be...

Music education in the UK is in a perilous place, with the largest cuts in spending per pupil for 40 years, falling teacher recruitment numbers, and huge drops in GCSE and A-Level uptake. With a new National Plan for Music Education imminent, will it be enough to ensure music matters? Jude Rogers talks to Chrissy Kinsella , Chief Executive of the London Music Fund, about transforming under-served...

Your pop-culture update: Is the MCU’s first Muslim superhero saga Ms Marvel really a cape-fest or a family comedy in disguise? Will Baltimore crime drama We Own This City match up to its creator’s classic creation The Wire? DJ Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy serves up a Balearic breakfast and on the 40th birthday of ABC’s Lexicon Of Love , guest Clark Collis helps us choose THE greatest albums of all time....

You can’t discuss Turkey’s politics without mentioning its strongman president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. What does he want? Gonul Tol , founding director of the Middle East Institute's Turkey program and author of the upcoming book Erdoğan’s War, talks to Alex Andreou about Erdoğan’s journey from reformer to autocrat, how his 19 years in power have changed Turkey, and what the future holds for the co...

Who decides the value of a piece of art? And how do they come to their conclusions? In May, Andy Warhol’s 'Shot Sage Blue Marilyn' sold at Christie’s for a record £158 million, making it the most expensive painting of the 20th century – but it is merely the biggest wave in an international tsunami of art sales. Jelena Sofronijevic speaks to Mary-Alice Stack , Chief Executive at Creative United, an...

The disappearance of British reporter Dom Phillips and indigenous people’s campaigner Bruno Pereira has shown how serious the threats to journalists in Brazil are. It appears that the worst fears of Dom’s family may be true and he and Bruno will not be found alive. In tribute to a former colleague of ours and a brave and formidable reporter, here is the podcast that Dom made with Dorian Lynskey in...

We assess our Groundhog Day Government’s self-imposed Brexit drudgery and unconvincing housing plans. Will the NI protocol wrangling ever end? Are Johnson and his Cabinet of calamity trying to divert from other problems? Plus, we unpack the various aspects of America’s gun violence problems. And, we unpack new cigarette and vape regulations – is the end of smoking nigh?  “If you believe this is go...

The Government is courting controversy again with deportations to Rwanda to take place and more NI protocol drama. As legal wranglings continue, deportation flights are due to depart on Tuesday. What will happen next? Plus, as the cost of living crisis worsens, will there be any tangible moves to deal with it? Justin Quirk is joined by Alex Andreou to chart the week ahead.  "I think the Home Offic...

We refer to measurements almost constantly – but are we truly aware of the power they hold? And why do we accept these rigid measurements of time and space? Ahir Shah speaks to James Vincent about his book Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement , which looks at how we came to define dimensions.  “We still have a flexible approach to measuring time.”  “You get a lot of measurements that...

We Super Troop down to East London to witness the ABBA VOYAGE live experience. Have any of us been the same since we saw it? Legendary founder of folk rock titans The Waterboys , Mike Scott joins us to talk about about new album All Souls Hill, plus the importance and history of working men’s clubs with Beer Boffin Pete Brown . And FINAL CUT - we watch Swan Song , an indie pic about a retired hair...

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shone a spotlight onto Russia’s oligarchs. How does the Kremlin exert influence over them? And with sanctions beginning to bite, what does the future hold? Catherine Belton , Russia reporter for the Washington Post, talks to Nick Cohen about the Kremlin’s iron grip on Russia’s elite, and her own run in with oligarchs over her book Putin’s People . “The state propaga...

Netflix’s share price plunged after it announced the loss of 200,000 subscribers in Q1 of 2022. What has gone wrong? And how can the platform get people subscribing again? Alex Hern , Technology Editor for The Guardian , talks to Justin Quirk about why Netflix’s growth turned static, and what the streaming service should be doing to get viewers back onboard.  “This is a company and an industry tha...

Johnson has clung on to power, but with 148 Tory rebels voting against him how long can he continue as leader? What’s next for him and the Conservative Party? In a late-night recording, the panel assess a dramatic result. Plus, Romeo Kokriatski, co-host of the Ukraine Without Hype podcast, shares the latest from Ukraine amid concerns the war is turning in Russia’s favour. And, after the Jubilee fe...

After being jeered over the Jubilee weekend, will Johnson now be jilted by his party in a no confidence vote? With this due to be held on Monday evening, how will the results play out? Ros Taylor and Arthur Snell give their thoughts as they tee up the week ahead. Plus, they ask what’s next for the monarchy after the weekend’s celebrations, discuss the Ukraine latest and cast an eye over the Atlant...

Pulitzer Prize-winner Margo Jefferson tells Dorian Lynskey about her wide-ranging career as a critic. She discusses shedding light on the lives of everyone from Tina Turner to Michael Jackson, being the first Black woman book critic at Newsweek , and writing on race, class and gender at the New York Times . They also discuss her new book, Constructing a Nervous System , and ask can you ever separa...

As we move into virtual surroundings able to be anywhere, anyone or anything, how will that affect our minds? As the line between online and offline fades further, we look at how our personalities could shift across spaces. Dr. Alison Attrill-Smith , head of psychology online at the University of Wolverhampton, joins Alex Andreou to discuss the potential psychological impact of the metaverse.  “We...

How do you know the world is real? How do I know I’m real? As virtual worlds expand, our concepts of reality warp. NYU philosopher David Chalmers – author of Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy – talks to Ros Taylor about the etiquette of virtual living, why video game characters deserve moral rights, and how we can know what we think we know.  “Simulated beings could end up ou...

Can you enforce laws in cyberspace like you can in the real world? Facebook, now Meta, has struggled to moderate its massive platforms for over a decade, battling with national governments over how it should be regulated. Now, it's preparing to be the biggest player in a new arena - the Metaverse. Lorna Woods, professor of Internet Law, joins Ros Taylor: “The one thing we can say about the metaver...

What would a normal day look like inside the metaverse? When would we plug in, and would we ever switch off? Charles Arthur , former technology editor of The Guardian and author of Social Warming: The Dangerous and Polarising Effects of Social Media , joins Ahir Shah to talk about the upsides, downsides and the practicalities of striking a virtual to real-world balance. “The day in the metaverse w...

We explore whether Rishi Sunak’s cost of living package is enough to address the long term hardship faced by millions. Or was it yet another political manoeuvre amid Tory turmoil? Plus, we unpack the issues faced by democracies across the globe with our guest Yascha Mounk , political scientist and author of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure.  “If John...