The Bunker – News without the nonsense

What a week! We kick off with the news of Robert Jenrick being booted from the Tories. Is this good for Badenoch? Is it good for him? Is it good for anything?! Plus, we look at our winners and losers and an under the radar story you might have missed, with Seth Thévoz and Jacob Jarvis.  www.patreon.com/bunkercast         Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Seth Thévoz. Audio production: Sim...

Open warfare between British citizens is “inevitable” according to Elon Musk. Farage says “I don’t think anybody in London even understands how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale.” New Reform convert Nadim Zahawi says we’re entering “a dark and dangerous chapter”. Where is all this talk coming from? Why are the Right so keen on these apocalyptic ideas? And beyond all the hysteria,...

If racism is supposed to be in retreat in Britain, why does it feel so much harder to ignore? We like to see ourselves as a tolerant, post-multicultural country, yet that story jars with a reality in which racial hostility feels more visible: spread across social media and validated by politicians. But is this really a rise in racism, or the effect of heightened scrutiny driven by the internet? To...

One year into Donald Trump’s second term, 2026 is already looking worse than 2025. In just its opening days, the White House has intervened militarily in Venezuela, seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, and revived threats to take Greenland by force. All of this unfolds alongside a faltering economy, violent ICE raids, slipping poll numbers, and the unresolved Epstein files. A...

Hundreds are killed by the Iranian government as the country erupts into its most serious rebellion since the Woman Life Freedom protests of 2022. Will Iran finally overthrow its theocratic oppressors? And will Trump intervene now he’s decided that not only Venezuela and Greenland but Cuba too are subject to his whim? Plus: financing Britain’s defence against Russia, is the pubs “bailout” really a...

Wrapping up the stories of the week, Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to dig into the fallout from Trump’s frenetic first week of 2026. From military intervention in Venezuela to the looming threat to seize control of Greenland, the President kicks off America’s 250th year with a bang. Plus, should Remainers be getting excited about Keir Starmer’s plan to reset the UK’s relationship w...

The human cost of Russia’s war on Ukraine is staggering, yet the war continues and Vladimir Putin’s position has barely shifted. Despite mounting attrition and international pressure, Moscow shows no sign of backing down. Today on The Bunker , Chris Jones is joined by Ian Garner , historian and author of Z Generation: Into the heart of Russia's fascist youth , to examine the scale of the losses an...

Elon Musk destroyed Twitter, tarnished the reputation of Tesla, and his financial backing of far fight politics has tipped the scales towards authoritarianism across the globe. Now he has his sights set on his next target: higher education.  This week on The Bunker , Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by Beth Singler , assistant professor in digital religions at the University of Zurich , to examine Mu...

Turning around Labour’s unpopularity would be a tall enough order for the Prime Minister. But the stakes are higher than ever with a far-right government waiting in the wings, Trump and Putin shredding the international rules-based order, and the economy refusing to recover. Can Starmer turn it around in 2026? Steve Richards , political commentator and presenter of the Rock’n’Roll Politics podcast...

Well, the year has started with chaos and conflict. With Trump meddling with Venezuela and beyond, how will these events play out? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the weeks and months ahead as 2026 shapes up to be another big year.  www.patreon.com/bunkercast         Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. G...

It’s the last of our Best of 2025 and the final Bunker of the year! And how better to see off/kick out the year than with the thing that’s blighted the last twelve months, crappy artificial intelligence imagery ? The far-right stuffs your feeds with blond white children at play, London as an open sewer patrolled by threatening migrants, and Trump as Superman – but why? Is A.I. slop the official ar...

We’re bringing you some of the best Bunkers of the year to tide you over the holidays. Today: Where’s your flag???!? The Cross of St George sprouted across the lamp-posts and roundabouts of Britain this summer. Fans, boosters and grifters claimed it was simple patriotism. Imagine our surprise when it turned out that many behind “Operation Raise The Colours” had far-right associations – who’d have...

In case you missed them, over Christmas we’re bringing you some of the best Bunkers of the year . “Organise before they rise,” is Max Brooks’ advice in his zombie survival guide. But are world leaders prepared enough? Jacob Jarvis speaks to Daniel Drezner , author of Theories of International Politics and Zombies and professor of international politics at Tufts University, to find out how the worl...

In case you missed them, over Christmas we’re bringing you some of the best Bunkers of the year . Today: How mobbed up is the American political establishment? From FDR to Trump, every modern president has had brushes with organised crime. So how have secret pacts, betrayals, and under-the-table deals influenced the commander-in-chief? Eric Dezenhall , author of Wiseguys and the White House , expl...

In case you missed them, over Christmas we’re bringing you some of the best editions of the year . Our first selection: It’s February and Labour legend and former leader Neil Kinnock joins us for the FIFTEEN HUNDREDTH edition of The Bunker. On the agenda: the story Labour should be telling… what his battles against Thatcherism can teach Starmer about fighting the rising right wing… the dangers of...

The summer of Flagmania? Donald Trump’s “FIFA Peace Prize” AKA the “At Least You Tried” Award? Albania’s AI Cabinet minister? Ed Miliband, Nuclear ASMR star? The events of 2025 have defied comprehension… but which were the strangest? Regulars Gavin Esler, Alex von Tunzelmann and Jason Hazeley reconvene to complete our run-down of the most jaw-dropping events of a year from hell. www.patreon.com/bu...

From Trump remodelling the White House along the fake gold New Jersey steakhouse aesthetic to the shambolic launch of Your Party (splitting the party before there’s a party to split?) 2025 has set new standards in bafflement. But which are the supreme moments of weirdness? Regulars Gavin Esler, Alex von Tunzelmann and Jason Hazeley set out the most bizarre, unnerving and occasionally enchanting mo...

Wrapping up the stories of the week… Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by Jonn Elledge to examine the global response to the antisemitic Bondi Beach shooting and ask whether it signals a wider rise in the threat of terror attacks. Plus, how will resident doctor strikes affect the NHS as the flu wave intensifies? Jonn tries to work out if the unexpected drop in inflation is good or bad news for Rachel...

Not long ago, China’s pandemic response was met with deep scepticism in the West. But fast-forward just a few years, and the picture looks very different. China’s bio-pharma industry is now booming, racing from low-cost manufacturing hub to serious contender in the global battle to create the next blockbuster drugs. China is rolling out vast new pharma facilities capable of producing next-generati...

For more than a decade, Tommy Robinson has been written off again and again. Yet he keeps re-emerging, reshaped for the moment. From street agitator to convicted criminal to most recently, self-styled Christian crusader. Robinson has followed a familiar far-right playbook: collapse, reinvention, repeat.  On The Bunker , Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by journalist Daniel Trilling to examine the sta...

From 9/11 and the wars that followed to the expenses scandal, the Financial Crash, austerity, Brexit and a carousel of leadership crises, Westminster has spent the last 25 years governing through upheaval. Since 2000, crisis has shifted from disruption to default setting, with governments reacting rather than governing and institutions stretched well beyond their limits. Prof. Andrew Hindmoor , au...

The stories that will shape the week ahead: How will the atrocity at Bondi Beach reverberate in a world where antisemitic violence is rising? Plus: the shocking murder of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife. Junior doctors decide whether to strike as Britain hits peak winter flu. Will Phase Two of the Gaza peace talks stay on the rails? And happy 250th birthday to Jane Austen. Alex von Tunz...

Wrapping up the stories of the week… Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by LBC host Natasha Devon to break down Keir Starmer’s latest approach to tackling the migration crisis. Across the pond, we take a look at Trump’s ongoing campaign against the EU and ask”why now”? Plus, Natasha shares her view on the proposed ban on social media for under-18s, we read your comments from the week, and finally we ta...

Personality politics isn’t just a modern problem – it started centuries earlier with an aristocrat called Charles James Fox. You can trace the roots of modern political celebrity back to this 18th-century provocateur, whose charm, scandals and theatrics helped redefine what leadership looked like. Fox built a movement around himself rather than his policies, offering an early blueprint for the dan...

Nigel Farage continues to react furiously to growing allegations that he engaged in racist and antisemitic bullying when he was a pupil at Dulwich College in the late ’70s and early ’80s. But are his angry response and his attempts at diversion doing the real damage? And can you really judge an adult on what they may have done at school? Long-time Reform-watcher Michael Crick joins us to explore a...