The Bunker – News without the nonsense

The MAGA cult’s idol worship is the fuel for Trump’s war on American democracy. As British politics lurches to the right, could something similar ever happen here? Could violent racist nationalism and conspiracy thinking build a know-nothing cult of personality that would threaten our society? Prof Roger Griffin is one of the world’s top experts on the dynamics of fascism and emeritus professor in...

The horrific train stabbing attack at the weekend has shaken the nation. But are the media and politicians talking about it responsibly? Plus, the Andrew scandal rolls on and Trump continues to to commit violent acts across the world at will. Gavin Esler and Jacob Jarvis discuss all this and more.  We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   www.patreon.com/bun...

From troops on the streets to desecrating the White House to literal sh*tposting videos, Trump’s fascistic reign is relentless and exhausting. One day it will end – but how? Will he run out of steam, lose an election the Constitution says he’s not allowed to run in anyway, succumb to age and infirmity, or what? And what lasting damage will America’s worst president leave? We discuss five ways the...

In the 1970s, a new kind of revolutionary emerged: terrorists who used spectacle as a weapon. Plane hijackings, hostage crises and televised terror became the tools of radicals. Figures like Leila Khaled and Carlos the Jackal turned political violence into global theatre. Their stories still captivate filmmakers today, inspiring films like One Battle After Another . Today in The Bunker, Seth Thévo...

Donald Trump built his brand on the myth of the self-made billionaire. The man who turned a ‘small loan’ from his father into a global empire. But behind the gold-plated image lies a trail of bankruptcies, bailouts, and creative accounting that kept his empire afloat. Today on The Bunker , Jacob Jarvis is joined by Russ Buettner , journalist and author of Lucky Loser , to take a magnifying glass t...

The start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a disaster. But three years on, Moscow is learning fast. Behind the frontlines, the Kremlin is reshaping its military, its industry, and its people for a long war – and for others in the future. Today on The Bunker , Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by Dara Massicot , senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to find out what lessons...

Migration madness intensifies as the fugitive sex offender is recaptured, and Labour fights fire over the ruinous cost of asylum hotels – which was created by the previous Conservative government. Will Starmer carry the can for the Tories’ complacency? Plus, Trump tours Asia. What could possibly go wrong? Oh and there’s a US war on Venezuela and a good old fashioned stock market crash a-comin’. Ro...

When Donald Trump questions elections or attacks the press, it can feel like America’s democracy is facing something new. But from John Adams jailing journalists, to Nixon’s enemies list, presidents have tested those limits before and citizens fought back. Today in The Bunker , Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by political theorist Corey Brettschneider, who joins us to explore how past crises reveal...

Is the A.I. bubble about to burst? This week, the Bank of America reported more than half of global fund managers now think A.I. stocks are overinflated. So what happens if the hype finally bursts? Today on The Bunker, Seth Thévoz is joined by Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policymaking , to ask whether the future of A.I. could trigger the next big economic cr...

Are tech bros about to disrupt death? From gene-hacked organisms to uploading consciousness to the cloud, Silicon Valley is obsessed with the idea of chasing immortality. Today on The Bunker , Zing Tsjeng sits down with Aleks Krotoski, author of The Immortalists: The Death of Death and the Race for Eternal Life , to unravel the strange, ego driven world of techno-immortality. Buy Aleks’ book The I...

America’s Christian right has reshaped politics in the United States; from overturning Roe v. Wade to fuelling culture-war battles over gender and sexuality. Now their influence is arriving in the UK, courtesy of Nigel Farage ’s ties to the evangelical group Alliance Defending Freedom and the growing presence of ‘judeo christian values’ in the messaging of Reform and the far right. Today on The Bu...

As Americans make it clear how much they don’t want a monarchy with No Kings protests, Brits might be feeling the same as the Andrew scandal rumbles on. Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the latest news from across the world and how it might play out this week.  Head to nakedwines.co.uk/thebunker to get 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included. W...

This summer, Britain’s streets have boiled with right-wing anger. From flag debates to ‘patriotic’ rallies, the far right is trying to turn frustration into a movement. But it’s not the first time the far right has tried to muscle its way into British politics. Today on The Bunker , Gavin Esler is joined by Dr. Aaron Edwards , Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Leicester , to explore ho...

Russia once claimed to lead the world in women’s equality. But today, it’s a nation where traditional gender roles and conservative values define public life. What happened to that revolutionary promise and what does it say about how power really works in modern Russia? Today on The Bunker , Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by Julia Ioffe, author of Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, fr...

Following the Labour conference, Shabana Mahmood has emerged as one of the party’s breakout stars. Some even think the Home Secretary’s confident performance has put her in the conversation as a potential future leader. Today in The Bunker , Zoë Grünewald is joined by Rajeev Syal , home affairs editor at The Guardian, to unpack Mahmood’s rapid rise and what her ascent tells us about the future of...

China is stepping up to fill the space America is leaving behind. As Washington turns inward and Donald Trump rails against “globalist institutions” like the UN, Beijing is moving fast to shape a new world order: one built around its own power and priorities. Xi Jinping is rallying allies like Putin and Modi to his side. It’s a far cry from the optimism of the 1990s, but as a global power vacuum e...

Gaza ceasefire talks are scheduled to take place in Sharm al-Sheikh but how long will the peace last? The Chinese spying scandal rumbles on. Can the plucky American military withstand the might of a bunch of Portlanders in inflatable frog costumes? Oh, and are you prepped for the 2025 stock market crash, due Friday-ish? Ros Taylor and Gavin Esler walk you through the events of the week to come.  •...

Online hatred doesn’t stay online and women often bear the brunt. From harassment campaigns to real-world violence, from Andrew Tate and the “groypers” to terror attacks like the Gretchen Whitmer kidnap attempt, misogyny is behind some of the most dangerous forces in our politics. Cynthia Miller-Idriss , author of Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism , talks to Emma Kennedy a...

Thought viceroys and colonial administrators were a thing of the past? Tony Blair is being lined up to run the “Board of Peace” for a reconstruction authority for post-conflict Gaza and observers are agog. Historian and Bunker regular Alex von Tunzelmann takes us on a tour of the inglorious history of viceregal rule. Where did the role come from? Was it ever a particularly efficient way to run a c...

Vladimir Putin has ordered 135,000 new conscripts into the Russian military this autumn, just months after another 160,000 were called up. Officially, these recruits aren’t supposed to serve in Ukraine but as the war drags into its third year, it’s getting harder for Russia to fill the ranks. Today in The Bunker , Gavin Esler is joined by Natasha Lindstaedt , Professor of Government at the Univers...

Donald Trump keeps talking about cracking down on “left wing terror networks” in the US. This appears like a blatant move to crackdown on his enemies – so what is the real state of domestic terrorism and the overall terror threat in America? Jason Blazakis, director of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies’ Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, joins Jacob Jarvis to dis...

It’s Tory conference and Kemi Badenoch is talking about leaving the ECHR and having ICE style crackdowns here in Britain. Will any of this cut through? Plus, we look at other domestic issues and check in on conflicts across the globe with Gavin Esler and Jacob Jarvis.  Head to nakedwines.co.uk/thebunker to get 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included.   We are s...

From Margaret Atwood to Alan Moore, from 1984 to Andor , science fiction has gamed out totalitarian futures better than most political analysts. But does it have the answers to stopping the rise of fascism? Writer, critic and host of a fascinating online science fiction community Damien Walter discusses the lessons of future oligarchs, space tyrants and cosmic populism with Andrew Harrison. Which...

In the 2010s Putin’s Russia was quick to realise the potential of disinformation to undermine its enemies in the West. A complex ecosystem including now-banned propaganda TV station RT and troll factories like the Internet Research Agency used social media to sow distrust, spread fake news, distort elections and encourage a cynical culture of politicised snark. But according to Dr Precious Chatter...

Keir Starmer says his compulsory digital I.D. card will fight illegal migration and make everyday life simpler. But 2.4 million furious people have signed a petition against it, and everyone from civil liberties campaigners to Nigel Farage, Zarah Sultana and Northern Ireland’s political parties say it’s a threat to privacy and a hacking disaster waiting to happen. Can a digital I.D. system ever be...