The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Setting out the stories that will shape the next seven days… Andy Burnham confirms what everyone suspected, that Russia interfered in the UK to push the Leave vote over the line. How will the revelations affect the reopened Brexit debate? Plus, Will Trump’s sordid diesel deal with Putin stave off a kicking in the mid-terms? The Houthis cause chaos in Saudi Arabia, and more. Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison look at the week ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Produced by James Lidell. Audio production by Simon WIlliams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back at the past seven days… After two botched attempts by the State of Tennessee to execute her by lethal injection, convicted murderer Christa Pike is now reportedly awake and able to walk. Will this horrorshow of cruel incompetence shift opinions on the Death Penalty? Plus: the Kremlin insists Russia hasn’t unleashed the plague on the world, riots engulf France over its crumbling schools, and party conference season is finally over – hurrah! Andrew Harrison and Seth Thévoz recap the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Hear Andrew and Steve Richards’ fast take on the Holborn & St Pancras by-election on Oh God, What Now • And on Monday, American Friction’s Jacob Jarvis and Chris Jones speak to Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Seth Thévoz. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Simon Williams Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group…

We’re in an information crisis and in the battle with tech giants, fake news merchants and spreaders of hostile disinformation, legitimate journalism is coming off worst. How do we fight it? And does the BBC’s impartiality mean anything when journalism is drowning in disinformation? Stephen Sackur is the longtime host of the BBC’s HARDtalk strand and he says we can fight “information armageddon” – but only if journalists return to their roots and take on the tech oligarchs. With fellow BBC veteran Gavin Esler he talks about the most extraordinary stories of their careers, pulls back the curtain on the realities of investigative journalism, and explains what it takes to keep journalism alive and kicking. • Buy Stephen’s book Hard Truth: Investigations That Shook The World – And Why They Matter Now from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon –…

A.I. is already a five-alarm fire for job losses – but the consequences for democracy could be even worse, according to Matthew Botvinick, who leads Anthropic’s research on AI and the rule of law. If economic worthlessness makes us politically powerless, what happens to democracy when fewer people have a stake in the economy? And are the tech bros’ apocalyptic warnings really about public safety – or just a cunning way to sell AI? • Buy Matthew’s book AI and Political Freedom: The Risk to Democracy and How to Respond from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See…

What unites radicalised techbros, religious fanatics and ethnonationalists? According to Naomi Klein of No Logo/Shock Doctrine fame and co-author Astra Taylor, it’s an apocalyptic worldview that’s bad news for the rest of us. The award-winning writers call this bizarre march of the far-right “End Times Fascism” – but is there anything we can do to counter their attempts at a man-made Armageddon? Naomi and Astra tell Dorian Lynskey yes, there is – and it might actually lead to better times. • Buy Naomi and Astra’s book End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leebrurn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters…

The Conservative Party conference is here and Kemi Badenoch seems to think she can save the Tories single-handedly. Can she? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the news to look out for in the week ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more. Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back at the past week... Burnham has set out his vision and was praised for delivering Labour’s “best conference speech since Tony Blair”. What did he actually announce – and can his ideas stick? Plus: Donald Trump gathers the tech billionaires at the White House and brings former “first buddy” Elon Musk back into the fold. And what’s the latest on the RAF Fairford incident? Alex von Tunzelmann and Jacob Jarvis look at the biggest, weirdest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Listen to American Friction here: https://linktr.ee/americanfriction • Listen to Oh God, What Now? here: https://linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnowpod • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist.) Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more.…

Paper Cuts survivors Miranda Sawyer, Jonn Elledge and Jacob Jarvis are back to pick apart the strangest takes from the op-edverse over the past month. This week: Andy Burnham has been accused of channelling his inner Oprah, and his Labour conference speech compared to a “Beatles granny song”. Sofa Socialism is on the rise, apparently, and iced coffee sparks an inter-generational rift. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis, with Jonn Elledge and Miranda Sawyer. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The far-right is reshaping politics across Europe. So what is driving its rise? What do these movements have in common? How did we get here – and what might happen next? Steven Erlanger, The New York Times’ chief diplomatic correspondent for Europe, joins Rafael Behr to discuss whether Europe’s political firewall can hold. • Read Steven’s recent analysis in The New York Times • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once, Britain and Germany were the closest of friends. But over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, relations spectacularly unravelled – culminating in two world wars fought on opposite sides. So how did two countries with so much in common become bitter enemies? How did they find their way back to a more cordial relationship? And with Britain outside the EU, what does the future hold for the two European powers? Professor of History at Birkbeck University Jan Rüger joins Alex von Tunzelmann to untangle their turbulent history – and where things might be heading. • Pre-order Jan’s book Great Powers: A History of Britain and Germany from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group…

Setting out the stories of the next seven days… Five men are arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack on RAF Fairford. It has all the hallmarks of state-sponsored action – who would escalate their conflict with the UK so seriously? Plus: Labour seizes its second chance with promises on social care, first-time buyers and devolution in Liverpool. Manchester City at the centre of the biggest scandal in football history. And don’t forget your Glastonbury tickets. Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison break down the stories that will dominate the week ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back at the big stories from the past seven days… Andy Burnham has vowed to crack down on Russia’s “poisonous” slopaganda campaign. Can he really stop the Kremlin meddling in Britain’s affairs? Plus: Trump meets Xi (again) this time in Washington, D.C., a super El Niño is underway and could kill 450,000 by February and far-right yob Daniel Thomas has been arrested after he was filmed slashing a dinghy in the Channel. Rafael Behr and Andrew Harrison recap the biggest, weirdest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Group Editor: Andrew Harrison with Rafael Behr. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Britain really the crime-ridden hellhole the right says it is? Well… no, not really. Crime has actually fallen over the past decade for most offences – ranging from phone snatching to murder. So why do people think it’s getting worse? Why are Reform voters particularly likely to buy some myths around crime? And what’s the knock-on effect for wider society? Bobby Duffy, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute at King's College London, joins Zing Tsjeng to explain why public crime perceptions are wildly out of step with the facts. • Read Bobby’s research in full • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some people fear spiders so much they can barely stand to read the word. For others, these secretive eight-legged hunters are a source of fascination and mythic wonder. Why do some cultures loathe spiders and others love and revere them, even crediting them with creating the world? Harvard language professor and folklore and mythology expert Maria Tatar dives into the Spider-Verse with her book Arachnomania: Spiders and the Cultural Work They Do for Us. She tells confirmed arachnophile Andrew Harrison how Arachne, the original main spider-character, got a raw deal; what spider stars like Charlotte, Shelob and the one who discomfited Miss Muffet mean; and why Peter Parker is oddly detached from the great web of spider-stories. “Are spiders our significant others,” she asks, “our second selves or sworn enemies?” • Buy Arachnomania through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.…

Alexis Conran, the broadcaster and consumer champion, gets asked one question more than any other: “Is my phone listening to me?” We’ve all had a conversation about a new duvet set or a kettle, only to be served an advert for exactly that moments later. Big Tech insists it isn’t listening in most of the time… So is this all a coincidence? Or is something more nefarious at play? Alexis joins Emma Kennedy to explain what’s really going on. • Read Alexis’ full article on his blog, Scam Proof Your Life • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Burnham is meeting Trump this week – how will he handle the increasingly erratic US president? Plus, more issues for the UN, Labour conference and more news to look out for, with author and historian Alex von Tunzelmann and Jacob Jarvis. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Farage is bracing for legal war over a potential challenge to Reform’s mega money donations. But is his brand terminally damaged already? Plus, A.I. is being debated again, a village has chosen to leave the UK, and a lot of people are mad at Ed Sheeran. Jonn Elledge joins Jacob Jarvis to pull together the biggest news stories from the last week. Back us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bunkerpod.bsky.social • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Jonn Elledge. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Design by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a…

Vladimir Kuzichkin may have changed the course of the Cold War – and it was all down to a very personal problem. The KGB agent was stationed in Tehran in 1981, less than two years after the Iranian Revolution, when he made the decision to defect to the British. Known to MI6 as “Redwood”, Kuzichkin demanded that the secret service smuggle him out of Iran in exchange for his secrets. But what intel did he provide MI6 and the CIA that was so explosive? And why was he so desperate to escape? Pre-eminent chronicler of espionage Ben Macintyre joins Alex von Tunzelmann to reveal how the Soviet spy may have saved the world. • Buy Ben’s book Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin…

The future has arrived, and it’s starting to look suspiciously like something Elon Musk and his fellow tech billionaires dreamt about as nine-year-olds. Silicon Valley’s rulers promise a world run by artificial superintelligence where scientists and engineers replace politicians – or humans disappear from government altogether. So, are they really the superheroes of the modern age they claim to be? Will AI deliver the technological marvel they promise or is their vision of techno-utopia about as real as, er, Iron Man? Harvard historian and author Jill Lepore joins Emma Kennedy to discuss where we’re headed. • Buy Jill’s book The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis.…

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is constantly tipped as a potential Democratic contender for 2028. She is beloved by the left and loathed by Republicans with equal vigour for her progressive ideals. So, does she even want the White House – and if she does, could she defeat Gavin Newsom and other Democratic front-runners at the primaries? Is AOC really the antidote to Trump? And is America finally ready to accept a woman as president? The Guardian’s Washington Bureau Chief David Smith joins Jacob Jarvis to unpick what might happen. • Read David’s full article in The Guardian • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reform and Farage have raked in mega donations the likes of which British politics has never seen before. What does this money mean for democracy? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the fallout and other news to look out for this week. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back at the big stories of the past seven days… Nigel Farage faces yet another headache after the Met launched a criminal investigation into whether Reform broke party donation rules. Will he weather the storm? Plus: Ed Miliband denounces “settler terrorists” in Occupied Palestinian Territory. Trump pledges $5,000 to every adult American at his bizarre midterm convention. And an Anthropic staffer offers a cheery warning that AI will destroy humanity before the decade’s done. Zoë Grünewald and Rafael Behr recap the biggest, strangest and under-reported stories of the week. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of…

A three-part mini-series from The Bunker… The horror of the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago this week led America into massive retaliation and ultimately national humiliation in Afghanistan and Iraq. In years to come, these failures and the lies used to sell them would breed a paranoid, isolationist, racist strain that ultimately took over American politics. Did 9/11 ultimately create Trump and Trumpism? National security journalist Spencer Ackerman has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay and he’s the author of Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump. He talks to Andrew Harrison about the long road from Ground Zero to Mar-a-Lago. • Worn out by the War on Terror? Buy Spencer Ackerman’s Iron Man books – there’s two! – through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker •…

A three-part mini-series from The Bunker… In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago, an enraged America stumbled into the quagmires of Afghanistan and Iraq. At home the Bush Administration created a new security culture which began to erode freedoms in America and around the world. Are we still living with the compromises Americans made during that feverish decade? On this episode David Cole, author of Less Safe, Less Free: Why America Is Losing the War on Terror, explains how the USA PATRIOT Act and other measures ran out of control… what 9/11-era surveillance means in the age of Big Tech… and whether the freedoms Americans temporarily suspended ever fully came back. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between…

A new three-part mini-series from The Bunker… When terrorists murdered 2,977 people in the 9/11 attacks 25 years ago this week, al-Qaeda set America on a dark path which ultimately led to torture, brutal repression and finally national humiliation in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the War on Terror produced something else too: an anti-politics culture of fear and mistrust of leaders which proved fertile ground for the vicious populism of Donald Trump. Are we still living in the world that 9/11 created? In our first episode, terror and insurgency expert Bruce Hoffman of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University, Washington explains the fevered atmosphere that created the War on Terror… why the US system failed to prevent the attacks in the first place… and how 9/11 still shapes our world. • Buy God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America by Bruce Hoffman through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees…

Nigel Farage is doing everything he can to deny having been in the wrong in those disastrous sting videos. Can his excuses work? Plus, Trump is going wild with AI slop, Kushner has visited Putin and the far-right are blocking ports in Kent… Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss what to look out for this week. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quick-fire reaction with News Statesman’s associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe and Jacob Jarvis. Given the Farage fallout, we had to record something quickly, so we did an emergencycast! This was originally for Oh God, What Now?, but we thought you’d want to hear it too… The Reform conference is well underway and Nigel Farage is facing another huge crisis after two (now-ex) senior officials were filmed in an undercover investigation seemingly plotting how to bypass electoral law to bag a £500,000 foreign donation… Reform claims it’s all one big hoax, predictably… So can the party weather the storm? Is Farage absolutely done for? And what could happen next? • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The…

Looking back at the big stories of the past seven days… Burnham and Badenoch finally went head-to-head at PMQs. Who came out on top? Reform kicks off its conference, complete with £3,000 tickets for a champagne breakfast with Farage. Polanski eyes Starmer’s old seat in Holborn and St Pancras. And feminist icon Gloria Steinem dies aged 92. Seth Thévoz and Andrew Harrison round up the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service.…

Is that mini-mart laundering money? Why have five barbershops opened on the same street? And how can suspiciously empty phone repair shops afford to run? For years, rumours have swirled about Britain’s high streets. Now Andy Burnham has decided he knows who the villain is. He’s declared war on “dodgy” vape shops, branding them a scourge of the high street that only his government can defeat. So… Why are our town centres filling up with vape shops, candy stores and phone-repair shops in the first place? Who’s profiting from them? And can anything spark a high street renaissance? Jim Waterson, founder and editor of the London Centric, joins Zoë Grünewald to unveil the murky world behind Britain’s high streets. • Read how London Centric’s investigation led to a Harry Potter gift shop raid. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Zoë Grünewald. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny…

Amoral attack dog for Senator Joe McCarthy during America’s Red Scare of the ’50s. Corrupt mob lawyer, cruel swindler and powerbroker. Racist. Closeted but extremely sexually active gay man who in public spouted homophobic slurs and backed anti-gay legislation. Infamous New York lawyer Roy Cohn was all these things. He was also the man who taught Donald Trump everything he knows. Kai Bird, co-author of riveting new biography American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump explains how Cohen’s vicious, win-at-all-costs methods created a monster – and what both men say about the darkness in American culture. • Buy American Scoundrel by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James…

Setting up the stories for the week ahead… The carefree summer of announcing fun policies is over for Andy Burnham as Parliament returns with tricky questions on defence funding, prisoner release and the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields. Plus: Reshuffle time as Badenoch rearranges the deckchairs on the Torytanic. It’s Reform conference week. And was the Bayeux Tapestry the first-ever comic book? Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison take you through the stories of the week ahead. Get tomorrow’s Bunker today when you back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back at the big stories of the past seven days… Dolly Parton’s death leaves the world brokenhearted but reflecting on a true rarity: someone rich, famous and powerful who never stopped being a good human being. Plus: Meta caves in an $18bn settlement of claims that Facebook and Instagram harmed children. Andy Burnham visits Zelensky in Kyiv – and jams to The Smiths. And in Alaska… Dan Sullivan supports Dan Sullivan as he defeats Dan Sullivan in the Senate race. Zoë Grünewald and Andrew Harrison round up the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Listen as Gavin Esler explores the breakneck evolution of military technology in This Is Not A Drill’s brand new four-part mini-series • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See…

Hot Take Time Machine is back with Paper Cuts alumni Miranda Sawyer, Jonn Elledge and Jacob Jarvis sniffing out the strangest, worst – and occasionally best – opinions of the past month. On this episode: Dolly Parton’s death shocks the world, Harry and Meghan’s media storm rages on, the treatment of Jason Arday comes under scrutiny and the Mail’s Liz Jones has another mega moan. • Spotted a column we should talk about next time? Send it to info@bunkercast.co.uk • Buy Jonn’s book 31 Inventions that Built our World: The Making of Modern Life from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.…

We’re living through another technological revolution, but it’s easy to take for granted how much of the world around us was once a radical new invention. Author, columnist and Oh God, What Now? regular Jonn Elledge joins Alex von Tunzelmann to reveal the 31 inventions that made modern life possible. They answer questions such as: Before windows, did people just live in stinking darkness? Are trees really the “most useful technology” a city can invest in? And are buses slowly morphing into… crabs? • Buy Jonn’s book 31 Inventions that Built our World: The Making of Modern Life from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. Get tickets for Origin Story Live! at Islington’s Union Chapel on Tuesday, September 1 • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis.…

Do great leaders actually matter? Or are they just being carried along by bigger forces – from timing to sheer dumb luck? It’s the question that underpins almost every argument about politics, business and sport. And it’s one that Jared Diamond, the UCLA professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, has spent years trying to answer. He joins Emma Kennedy to reveal when leaders can – and cannot – bring about effective change. • Buy Jared’s book Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter? from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Get tickets for Origin Story Live! at Islington’s Union Chapel on Tuesday, September 1 • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a…

Burnham’s summer is coming to an end, how has his start in office gone? And what problems does he have to look forward to? Plus, there are new hacking concerns for the UK and Trump is back on another tariff tirade… Gavin Esler and Ros Taylor discuss this as they look at the key stories to look out for in the coming days. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back on the big stories of the past seven days… Donald Trump is once again cosying up to his dictator bestie Kim Jong Un – what’s he got up his sleeve? Plus: Burnham fleshes out plans to tackle homelessness and Zelenskyy’s former defence minister calls for Ukraine election… Rafael Behr and Jacob Jarvis discuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did we get the modern Middle East? Who shaped it and does the term even make sense in our current era? Seth Thévoz speaks to Simon Sebag Montefiore author of The Cauldron: the Making of the Modern Middle East about how the region has been changed over time and what key players led us to what we know today. • Buy Simon’s’s book The Cauldron: the Making of the Modern Middle East from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Produced by: Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis and James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a surveillance world, but what is it doing to us? To give one small example, hackers figured out Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s movements by tracking his bodyguard’s exercise data. From CCTV cameras on high streets to smart doorbells at home, surveillance has become an inescapable part of modern life – something we both demand and fear. How did we get this way? And what have we given up in exchange? Professor of social anthropology at the University of Oxford Ruben Andersson tells Zing Tsjeng how Big Security rose to power – and whether it’s failing to keep us out of harm’s way. • Buy Ruben’s book Age of Security: The Rise of a Global Obsession from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor and Chris Jones. Managing Editor:…

Silicon Valley’s overlords have completely lost their minds. Gil Durán, Kamala Harris’ former communications director and now a journalist, says Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and the rest of the tech oligarchs have a severe case of “billonaire psychosis” – where unchecked wealth and influence detach them from reality. Now democracy itself is getting in the way of their own bizarre, apocalyptic visions. Are we stuck with their vision of the future? Is pushing back against them futile? Will a vote for the Democrats make this all go away? And is money really the root of all evil? Gil joins Emma Kennedy to discuss his new book The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War on Democracy, and how we got here. • Buy Gil’s book The Nerd Reich from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James…

Setting out the stories of the week ahead… The shocking death of Jason Arday reignites questions about the press’s relentless pursuit of the story, Cambridge University and Simon & Schuster’s failure to properly look into the academic’s life story, and the general public’s prurient curiosity. Was it a legitimate story investigation, a persecution or even more complex? Plus: as the heatwave breaks, what have we learned? Trump treats the Navy as a floating septic tank. And the Premier League is back, thank God. Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison look at the stories that will shape the next seven days. Support us on Patreon - www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back on the big stories of the past week… Will all of Nigel Farage’s problems come back to haunt him now his Clacton distraction is over? Andy Burnham tries to solve the unsolveable problem of early prisoner release. Is Reform’s own prisons “fix” as unhinged as it sounds? And what the hell was going on with Donald Trump’s secret plane switch via catering truck? Plus… Britons are dazzled by the solar eclipse, A-level results day breaks more records and Harry Potter fans save Dobby the House Elf’s “grave”. Andrew Harrison and Rafael Behr discuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Picture: Trump leaves Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall on July 8 after the NATO Summit in Turkey, after an extraordinary palaver involving a catering trolley and a suspected Iranian assassin. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey.…

First an OpenAI artificial intelligence model hacked a tech start-up called Hugging Face. Then one of Anthropic’s creations escaped its testing environment and carried out cyberattacks on its own. Now Facebook owner Meta has reported a similar breach by its own AI. What is going on?! Members of Congress and even AI workers are calling for an urgent slowdown, with Senator Bernie Sanders warning of “potentially cataclysmic results” if we can’t get a handle on the technology. Could escaped AI hack self-driving vehicles, erode the financial system, wreck utilities and worse? Are we genuinely on the cusp of an AI apocalypse or is this all just mass hysteria? Author and New Yorker contributor Stephen Witt joins Zing Tsjeng to separate what’s real from the science fiction. • Buy Stephen’s latest book The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia and the World's Most Coveted Microchip from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help…

America’s hunt for al-Qaeda defined the 2000s in an epochal War on Terror that consumed $8 trillion. But the story didn’t end when Osama bin Laden and his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri were killed. The reconstituted terrorist organisation branched out into affiliate organisations, especially in Africa, and it now acts more like a criminal cartel. Has al-Qaeda evolved to become more resilient? And when terrorist groups go quiet, are they plotting under the radar or simply too weak to act? Graeme Wood, staff writer at The Atlantic and political science lecturer at Yale University, joins Alex von Tunzelmann to examine the threat it poses today. • Read Graeme’s article in The Atlantic • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See…

How do languages die? Who’s behind the death of languages from Ghana’s Dagbani to regional Italian dialects? And does it matter if they decay? Almost half of our 7,000 languages are expected to go extinct by the next century and “linguicide”, the death of a language, is to blame. It can be intentional, such as the Turkish government’s repression of Kurds or less intentional, due to simple neglect. So can anything be done to save languages from dying? Journalist, author and broadcaster Sophia Smith Galer joins Emma Kennedy to discuss the impending linguistic extinction. • Buy Sophia’s book How To Kill a Language: Power, Resistance and the Race to Save Our Words from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group…

It’s Farage vs. Binface at this week’s Clacton by-election, what has this campaign taught us? Plus, Burnham is on tour and Trump finds himself in a new conundrum. Gavin Elser joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the news to look out for this week. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew…

Looking back on the big stories of the past week… Kemi Badenoch faces fury after defending a former neo-Nazi’s decision to stand as a Tory councillor. What was she thinking? Burnham amends his early prisoner release plan. Is he really a “soft-touch” on crime? Plus: Farage and Lowe’s enemies-to-lovers character arc deepens, Cambridge professor Jason Arday steps down over plagiarism concerns and a SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon… Andrew Harrison and Jonn Elledge discuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Read Rachel Cunliffe on the Joshua Bonehill-Paine affair. • Read Jason Okundaye’s excellent piece on the Jason Arday takedown. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021.…

Sick of watching Shiv Roy or Tanya McQuoid strut around luxury properties? You’re not alone. For years, depictions of extreme wealth have dominated the airwaves with shows like Succession and The White Lotus having a huge cultural impact. But lately watching rich people has started to feel a bit… mundane. Enter Beef, The Bear, DTF St Louis and Margo’s Got Money Troubles and, with it, TV’s sudden interest in seeing ordinary people just getting by. But why? And why has it taken so long? The New Yorker’s television critic Inkoo Kang joins Dorian Lynskey to unpack the age of Broke TV. • Read Inkoo’s New Yorker article here. • Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe is secretly at war – and it has been for a long time. Across the continent, 34 disputed territories remain with places where the conflicts of empire still linger and rival nations continue to claim the same land. Some of these borderlands have become strategic prizes for leaders like Putin and Erdoğan, revealing how wars can drag on in perpetuity and how states can exist without recognition. But how much do these unresolved conflicts shape European politics today? Veteran foreign correspondent Hannah Lucinda Smith joins Jonn Elledge to reveal why these forgotten frontiers may be far more important than most of us realise. • Buy Hannah’s book Hinterlands: Journeys Through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Buy Jonn’s book A History of the World in 47 Borders and pre-order his upcoming 35 Inventions that Built Our World • Back us on…

Donald Trump is making more money than any sitting US president in history – and his eldest son isn’t about to let Dad have all the fun… Through his investment firm 1789 Capital, Donald Trump Jr is cashing in by backing companies that often stand to benefit from government policy. So how is he turning political access into profit? What does it reveal about the financial ties between the White House and the president's inner circle? And is it blatant corruption or is he exploiting a system with few guardrails? The New York Times’ finance reporter Maureen Farrell joins Jacob Jarvis to unpack what’s going on. • Back us on Patreon. Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.