Most extreme movements seem to have one thing in common: angry men. Do misogyny and radicalisation go hand-in-hand? Extreme Britain: Gender, Masculinity and Radicalisation author Dr Elizabeth Pearson discusses the mobilisation of masculinity with Marie Le Conte, drawing upon personal experiences with British extremist group leaders such as Anjem Choudary and Tommy Robinson. • “Men realise particular aspects of masculinity that get themselves esteem within their extremist groups.” - Dr Elizabeth ...
Dec 12, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1177
It’s Rishi Sunak’s nightmare week as he faces the COVID Inquiry and his own restive MPs over Rwanda. How will the testy PM deal with a real grilling? And it will only take 28 Tory rebels to sink the Rwanda legislation. How will he handle that? Plus, Farage paints coming last in I’m A Celebrity as a win, the cruelty of the family income rules on migration, and flawed leasehold legislation. Ros Taylor and Alex Andreou set out the week ahead. • “Eat Out To Help Out is the most glaring example of th...
Dec 11, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1176
Donald Trump commands extreme support from evangelicals in America – despite seemingly lacking Christian values. How has this support developed and endured? Dr Seth Thévoz is joined by Tim Alberta, journalist and author of the book The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, to discuss. “There is a caricature of the evangelical, flag waving Trump republican which isn’t always accurate.” – Tim Alberta “Evangelicals view Trump as the ultimate brawler. He ca...
Dec 08, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1175
Despite governments pushing to make people healthier, the junk food industry continues to thrive. How do the corporations in charge continue to thrive – and hold power the world over? Alex Andreou is joined in The Bunker by Eduardo J. Gómez, author of Junk Food Politics: How Beverage and Fast Food Industries Are Reshaping Emerging Economies, to find out. • “Junk food is an image of wealth which is very appealing to the upper-middle income class; having access to something that is popular in the ...
Dec 07, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1174
Elon Musk’s calamitous time at Twitter, or X as he wants to call it, has wrecked the platform. But could he go as far as tanking the company entirely? Today in The Bunker, Chris Jones speaks with Ryan Broderick, tech journalist and writer of the Garbage Day substack, to find out if we could see the end of the site – and what impact its demise would have upon the Tesla chief’s other business ventures. • "On X, you can see family friendly adverts beside some of the most hateful content you can ima...
Dec 06, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1173
Private schools have been responsible for educating a broad spread of political leaders. What’s going on in this weird world of elite education? To make sense of public schools and their staggering influence within the UK government and beyond, Andrew Harrison talks to Robert Verkaik, author of Posh Boys: How English Public Schools Ruin Britain, in The Bunker. • “It’s bizarre when you think that one school can be as influential in the running of the government as Eton has.” – Robert Verkaik • “T...
Dec 05, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1172
All eyes will be on Boris Johnson as he faces the Covid Inquiry this week. What bombshells? Plus – Keir Starmer has made headlines over the weekend for his praise of Margaret Thatcher? What’s the Labour leader up to? We have the latest on the Government’s failing Rwanda plan – can Rishi Sunak ever escape the doomed policy? Finally we have the latest on the Israel Hamas conflict, are Israel’s allies losing patience with Netanyahu? “Nothing Johnson says this week will change the public perception ...
Dec 04, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1171
We’ve all felt shame. But it’s more than an emotion – it’s also a political weapon. All manners of politicians, including recent figures like Trump and various Brexiteers, have utilised the feeling to pursue their ends. David Keen, the author of Shame: The Politics and Power of an Emotion, speaks to Alex Andreou to discuss the strength of shame and how it’s been used throughout history. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio production: Simon...
Dec 03, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1170
Donald Trump is never out of trouble. And it’s hard to keep up with his latest wrongdoing. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Andrew Rudalevige, Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government at Bowdoin College and a visiting professor at LSE, to go over the five key areas of drama you need to understand in the run up to 2024. • “If Trump were convicted of all 90 of his current felonies, he'd’ be looking at something like 700 years in prison.” • “Any private citizen not named Donald J. Trump would inevitab...
Dec 02, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1169
Gun battles, mass graves, and explosions – that’s not a description of a battlefield, but of an illegal gold mine in South Africa. Gold mining propped up the nation’s economy for over a century, and still today countries like the UK trade millions for its gold. But a huge price crash in the late 90s put tens of thousands of miners out of a job. Since then, a literal criminal underworld has risen, operated by illegal miners named the Zama-Zamas, who risk their lives everyday in abandoned mine sha...
Dec 01, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1168
We’ve all heard of ChatGPT. But what is the recent drama surrounding the lesser-known parent company OpenAI and its fired-then-reinstated CEO Sam Altman? Chris Jones gets the 411 on the controversy with The Bunker’s resident AI expert Dr Kate Devlin. •“We should be talking about the repercussions of our technology, and about how a small handful of people in a small part of America have huge amounts of global control.” – Dr Kate Devlin • “My fear is that they are going to be more focused on devel...
Nov 30, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1167
The far-right is often associated with angry white men — but their female counterparts might be even more dangerous. Dr Eviane Leidig, a postdoctoral fellow at Tilburg University and author of The Women of the Far Right: Social Media Influencers and Online Radicalization. She joins Marie Le Conte in The Bunker, to discuss how these women weaponise social media to disseminate extremist ideologies. Dr Eviane Leidig’s book: The Women of the Far Right: Social Media Influencers and Online Radicalizat...
Nov 29, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1166
What should we actually pay attention to in Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement, away from the points he wants to spin? To make sense of the mini-budget, Alex Andreou is joined in The Bunker by Jo Michell, professor of economics at the University of the West of England, to take a closer look at the chancellor’s proposals. • "We shouldn’t treat taxes as a burden, but a responsibility.” – Jo Michell • “Longer term forecasts are completely unpredictable." – Jo Michell • “The government is against invest...
Nov 28, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1165
The small period of post reshuffle harmony is over and Sunak’s party is back to doing what it does best: infighting. Could new Home Sec James Cleverly enrage backbenchers by moving away from the Rwanda plan? And Matt Hancock is back in the spotlight as he faces the Covid Inquiry. What can we expect from his testimony? Plus, the latest on the Israeli/Hamas ceasefire. Could it be extended? And finally, King Charles is heading to Dubai for COP28. Will the environmentalist monarch speak his mind or ...
Nov 27, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1164
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be teetering in 2023 — but for two decades it’s been the dominant force in Hollywood. Andrew Harrison is joined by Gavin Edwards, co-author of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, to discuss how its characters and storylines help to explain the chaos and drama of 21st Century politics. From Thanos’ economic failings to Captain America’s...
Nov 26, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1163
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. President John F. Kennedy’s assassination remains a favourite topic for conspiracy theorists. How did the momentous event spark a new era in conspiratorial thinking? And what makes it persist 60 years on. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Tom Phillips, co-author of Conspiracy: A history of bollocks theories and how not to fall for them to discuss. www.patreon.com/bunkercast ...
Nov 25, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1162
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. It’s been ten years since China launched its colossal Belt and Road initiative, intended to usher in a new era of trade and economic growth. Has it achieved what it set out to? Or is progress starting to ebb? Alex Andreou is joined by George Magnus, an associate at the China Centre at Oxford University and author of Red Flags: Why Xi's China Is In Jeopardy, in The Bu...
Nov 24, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1161
Doctor Who: bold individualist, woke mouthpiece for wet BBC liberalism, interfering Galactic colonialist, sidekick to the Military Industrial Complex… or all and none of the above? For the show’s 60th birthday we discuss the politics of Who. Were the Daleks always Nazis? What’s the most politically dodgy story? Why do the Doctor’s politics keeping changing? And what can we expect from Ncuti Gatwa, the first black actor* to play the Doctor in an ongoing role? Our panel of dyed-in-the-scarf Time L...
Nov 23, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1160
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. David Cameron’s recent comeback baffled everyone – but just how strange is it? And how does it compare to the other PM’s actions after leaving Number 10? Rock and Roll Politics host Steve Richards and Seth Thevoz discuss the history of political comebacks – and whether these moves ever work out. “To come back to the heart of politics so suddenly and unexpectedly, sin...
Nov 22, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1159
The Covid-19 inquiry is nowhere near halfway through, but already we’ve learned a lot. But there’s been so much to learn about how our government worked (or didn’t) during the pandemic that it’s been a little hard to comprehend. So before we hear the likes of Patrick Valance give evidence Alex Andreou sat down in the Bunker with Prof. Christina Pagel, Professor of Operational Research at UCL, to explain 7 key moments that we’ve seen so far and why they’re so important to notice. “How can we chan...
Nov 21, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 1158
It’s Autumn Statement week and the Tory press are baying for tax cuts. Will they get their wish? Plus a possible hostage deal in Gaza, Argentina’s new president looks like a Vegas Wolverine and talks like Trump, Musk finds a new way to screw up TwitteX… and Doctor Who is back! Alex Andreou sets out the week ahead with Andrew Harrison. Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. “Inflation is down which just me...
Nov 20, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1157
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. On this week's Bunker Gold, let us take you back to September 2020… There’s an unseen epidemic of people dying while homeless, and journalist Maeve McClenaghan tells their stories in No Fixed Abode: Life and Death Among the UK's Forgotten Homeless. She tells Dorian Lynskey what she learned, how there was more to the 2010s explosion in rough sleeping than just austeri...
Nov 19, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1156
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. When we think of the mafia, we think of Tony Soprano and Don Corleone – men with gelled hair, tailored suits, cigars and machine guns. But today’s mobsters are increasingly young and social-media savvy. University of Essex criminology professor and author of Chasing the Mafia. 'Ndrangheta, Memories and Journeys Anna Sergi joins Rafael Behr in The Bunker to discuss th...
Nov 19, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1155
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. As religious fanatics surge to megachurches across the United States, how do those in charge garner such cult-like devotion? Inspiring total obedience from their followers, some have even made supporters abandon families to support their religious pursuits. How do these groups form, and what about the U.S culture makes them thrive? Adam Morris, author of American Mes...
Nov 18, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1154
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. The Supreme Court has shot down the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. But Rishi Sunak is determined to see his policy through, even if it means defying the European Court of Human Rights. So what next for the controversial plan? Ros Taylor is joined in The Bunker by legal academic and head of the research at UK in a Changing Europe, Joelle Grogan to...
Nov 17, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1153
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. Things are bad for Elon Musk. From the slow motion car crash at Twitter to his mission to eradicate the woke mind virus. Where did it all go wrong for the Tesla CEO and how has his politics warped his view of the world? Marie Le Conte is joined in The Bunker by tech journalist for Bloomberg and co-host of Elon Inc. Max Chafkin to discuss the divisive politics of the ...
Nov 16, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1152
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. Disasters shape the course of politics – and financial crises have heavily impacted Labour’s policies over time. A century ago, the Labour party had almost no economic experts within its ranks. Since then it has battled crises like the great depression of the 30s and more recently the economic crash of 2007. How has this changed the party? Dr. Christopher Kirkland is...
Nov 15, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1151
Tell us what you think of The Bunker in our Listener Survey – five respondents will get the Bunker mug or t-shirt of their choice. The Barclay brothers were one of the most influential pairings in political life in recent decades. Born into a normal family, the duo became powerful, broadsheet newspaper owning billionaires. Despite that, very little is actually known about them. Professor Jane Martinson is the Marjorie Deane Professor of Financial Journalism at City University of London and autho...
Nov 14, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1150
It’s finally happened – Suella Braverman has been fired. In a speedy extra recording, Ros Taylor gives Jacob Jarvis her thoughts on the latest news. Then in our usual programming Ros and Alex Andreou discuss the other stories to look out for this week. There is the latest on the Israel-Hamas conflict – the US has told Israel to stop targeting hospitals but will Netanyahu heed the warning? And Joe Biden will be meeting with Xi Jingping for the first time in over a year. Can the two leaders restor...
Nov 13, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1149
This week's Bunker Gold arrives out of the smog, from 2022... Dirty air filing homes across the UK is leading to an increase in asthma and lower life expectancy. But just how filthy is it? And are we doing anything meaningful about it? Ros Taylor talks to David Green, senior research fellow in the aerosol science team at Imperial College London. “Scientists have found particles from polluted air in unborn babies.” “Some of the highest levels of pollution are experienced in cars.” “Government ant...
Nov 12, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 1148
