The Bunker – News without the nonsense

As the fallout from the Lib Dems’ victory in Chesham and Amersham continues to descend, is Boris Johnson about to get mugged by the newly liberal shires – or old school nimby Toryism? Is the Sunak-Johnson confrontation over the PM’s free spending finally on? Plus more Classic Dom internet fan exclusives, the DUP in a mess, and how will England and Scotland’s final Euro group games shape politics?...

When people end up in a job or position they love, was it because they worked hard in school, or did they just get lucky? Why is the idea of progressing on merit under threat? Is there a way we can modernise it for the 21st century? Should we we even try? Adrian Wooldridge , Political Editor of the Economist and author of its Bagehot column, talks to Ros Taylor about his new book The Aristocracy o...

As footballers take the knee and culture warriors try to whip up a minority to boo, and the Tokyo Olympics teeter on the edge of cancellation, should we just accept that sport has always been inherently political? Jules Boykoff , former footballer, politics lecturer at Pacific University in Oregon and author of four books on the history of the Olympics, talks to Alex Andreou about the politics of...

Repairing the damage of war and cementing peace is a huge challenge for countries and international organisations. So why are big players so bad at fixing the consequences of civil and national strife? Award-winning academic Séverine Autesserre has worked as a “peacebuilder” in Kosovo, Afghanistan and the DR Congo. She talks to Arthur Snell about her book The Frontlines of Peace , why the typical...

A bonus Daily…  The Met Police was “institutionally corrupt” and failed the family of Daniel Morgan, the private investigator killed with an axe outside a South London pub in 1987, an independent panel found today. In a follow-up to our podcast on the case from May, David Allen Green talks Alex Andreou through what the report means for the police force, Morgan’s family, and Priti Patel’s autocrati...

Andrew Neil’s GB News launches in a blaze of technical problems. Is Britain really ready to watch Channel Brillo? Plus Northern Ireland and the Sausage Wars overshadow the G7, NHS Digital is about to sell your health data to private concerns… and how old does an offensive tweet have to be before we can write it off as “youthful indiscretion”? • “Johnson having a good old row with the EU over the G...

Whatever the triumphalist G7 headlines, the “Sausage War” fiasco left Global Britain looking as shifty, isolated and untrustworthy as its Prime Minister. How will the intractable Northern Ireland Protocol issue shake out? Plus unlocking gets put back (to nobody’s surprise), birth pangs for new regimes in Israel and Northern Ireland, and what will Friday’s England-Scotland fixture in the Euros mean...

From public transport to plastic and even the vinyl in your record collection, petrochemicals don’t just pervade our daily life. They’ve shaped our national culture. James Marriott, co-author of Crude Britannia : How Oil Shaped a Nation , tells Alex Andreou about the pipelines, people, and pop culture behind Britain’s petro-obsession – and how it impacted politics from Benn to Blair to Brexit.   •...

The European Championships begin this week against a backdrop of more political turmoil than the game has seen in years, from taking the knee to fans booing England’s own black players to the reverberations of the Super League. Clive Tyldesley , ITV’s lead football commentator for over 20 years, talks to Andrew Harrison about football at the crossroads, and brushes with legends from Dalglish to Fe...

Adult video site Pornhub is the tenth most popular website in the world, with seven million clips uploaded every year. It’s also been accused of actively profiting from the abuse of women and young girls via its shady “amateur” videos. How can anyone hold Pornhub to account when its owner is all but anonymous? Tortoise’s Alexi Mostrous and Patricia Clarke tell Ros Taylor how they exposed the ident...

As the Government rushes to sign trade deals with some countries (just not our nearest neighbours), special guest Bridget Phillipson , Labour MP and Shadow Treasury Secretary, joins us to work out exactly what Global Britain really means. Have we left the real EU just to join the EU of the 1970s? Plus the “Lab Leak” theory of COVID’s origins seems to be gaining credence. What does this bulletin fr...

What’s left of the Sensible Tory MPs finally, finally find something to rebel on: the Government’s decision to slash international aid and potentially leave thousands to die. Plus will Johnson get strong-armed at the G7 over Northern Ireland and the taxing of multinationals? And England go to a major football tournament for the first time since the Culture Wars were declared. What could possibly g...

With the new populist Conservatives stoking culture wars, is identity politics becoming progressives’ self-inflicted weakness? Friend of the podcast and former editor of The Spectator, Tortoise’s Matthew d’Ancona joins Nick Cohen to discuss why populism is destined to fail, his new book, Identity, Ignorance, Innovation: Why The Old Politics Is Useless And What To Do About It , and leaving the cine...

Labour lost swathes of working class votes in 2019. Is “progressive patriotism” the answer to getting them back? And what does it even look like? Dan Jarvis , Labour MP for Barnsley Central, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region and author of the memoir Long Way Home Love, Life, Death and Everything in Between, talks to Alex Andreou about why love of country could be Labour’s route back to power, why...

As the Delta Variant continues to spread, is it time for the Government to give up on a grand reopening on June 21 – and for the press to stop calling it “Freedom Day”? And if Dominic Cummings’ revelations are proving to be a bit of a damp squib in the polls, what will it take to move an electorate that’s not interested in the truth? Special guest MUSA OKWONGA – author of One Of Them: An Eton Memo...

As COVID cases rise again, do we need to brace for a full Third Wave? Has the Government learned anything from the disastrous consequences of their last two late lockdowns? And do we really need to rename the variants? Plus the Tories’ polling takes a post-Cummings hit, and the Pentagon prepares to reveal its UFO research. ROS TAYLOR sets up your week ahead.  • “Don’t worry about mixing on beaches...

Daniel Morgan’s murder in 1987 exposed a toxic nexus between the police, private investigators, and top politicians. And over thirty years later, Priti Patel is putting her foot down on the release of the public report. Friend of the podcast and Financial Times columnist David Allen Green joins Alex Andreou to join the dots between cabinet and cop corruption, and why the Home Office’s excuses noth...

It’s an increasingly cynical, unequal, unpredictable and worrying world. So what are we going to do about it? Turkish journalist and author Ece Temelkuran, talks to Dorian Lynskey about her new book Together: 10 Choices For a Better Now, how we can rebuild faith in humankind, the journalistic experiences which shaped her worldview, and why we should focus our anger on those in power rather than on...

Trump’s Big Lie that Democrats stole the Presidential election is poisoning Republican minds against democracy itself. Could a future Republican Congress simply refuse to confirm an elected Democrat as President in 2024? Would Democrats willingly hand power to a victorious Republican – possibly Trump himself – who was openly committed to curtailing democracy? Georgetown public policy professor Don...

While Labour agonises over whether it can reclaim working class votes, one question gets lost: what is work for? What do we get from it? If “good work” can give life meaning in an automated world, can Labour capture the post-working class world? Jon Cruddas, Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, talks to Ian Dunt about his new book The Dignity of Labour , why the somewhere-anywhere mantra is “wretch...

As Conservative Britain batters the BBC with a Diana-shaped club, is this latest attack more serious than a customary Mail-on-Broadcasting-House punishment beating? Special guest Liz Saville Roberts MP , Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, explains the grim truth behind Britain’s trade future and tells us why English people should support Welsh independence. And why can’t Brexit Britain stop coming...

What can European countries do about Belarusian tyrant Alexander Lukashenko’s bizarre “air piracy” move to divert a RyanAir flight and make a dissident disappear? What does Dominic Cummings have in store for his Westminster appearance on Wednesday? And the BBC haters scent blood. NAOMI SMITH sets up another glorious week in politics.  • “Lots of popcorn shall be consumed this week.” • “Why on eart...

A surprise weekend extra edition, because there’s just too much news …  Apparently we’re doing a “gradual” tariff-free deal with Australia. What exactly does that mean? Will it really wipe out the Welsh lamb industry and Scottish hill farmers? And have Johnson and Truss given away Britain’s negotiating advantage just for a headline? International trade expert and former negotiator Dmitry Grozoubin...

With Labour still longing for victories past, where should the party go next? And why are the Tories so much better at dealing with defeat? Former Shadow Economic Advisor and Director of the Progressive Economy Forum James Meadway talks to Dorian Lynskey about prioritising concrete concerns over culture wars, whether Labour will ever win a majority again, and why working in the Shadow Cabinet was...

Why do people who consider themselves anti-racist have a blind spot when it comes to antisemitism? Why don’t we automatically think of antisemitism as racism, or Jews as an ethnic minority? Writer and comedian David Baddiel talks to Nick Cohen about his new book ‘ Jews Don’t Count ’, how social media nourished a new antisemitism among some progressives… and why British Jews shouldn’t have to answe...