Vladimir Putin has a tight grip on information in Russia. How does he shape how his nation sees the rest of the world? And how does he actually perceive other countries? Chris Jones asks Dr. Ivan Grigoriev, lecturer in Russian politics at the King’s Russia Institute. • “Propaganda in Russia is like a steamroller that keeps rolling over and over the population.” - Dr. Ivan Grigoriev • “Russia’s election went just how we thought it would: It was an 87% landslide election for Vladimir Putin. And th...
Apr 18, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1270
Paris is like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it. But it’s changing. Physically, through massive expansions in social housing and transport and a €40bn shot of investment, but also politically and psychologically. People are even smiling in the streets these days. Ros Taylor talks to Simon Kuper, Financial Times columnist and author of Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century, about how the French capital is transforming in the lead up to this year’s Olympics. • “One thing tha...
Apr 17, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1269
Political drama can be tedious but we can all enjoy watching a bitter rivalry unfold. What have been the greatest personal beefs in British politics? Before Starmer and Sunak there was Thatcher and Heath, Blair and Brown, Cameron and Johnson. Seth Thévoz talks Andrew Harrison through some of the ultimate Westminster head-to-heads. • “When the personal overrides the principle, that’s when it becomes a problem. It’s a weak spot if you’re trying to bring down a person and not forward a cause.” • “T...
Apr 16, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1268
All eyes remain on the Middle East after Iran’s drone attacks on Israel. How will Netanyahu respond? And how are Britain and the US going to react? In the UK, Parliament returns – what is on the agenda? Plus, we look at other flashpoints across the globe – and round-up the rest of the domestic news. Alex Andreou and Hannah Fearn talk through the week ahead. • “Perhaps it is a poor choice of timing for Iran, but it feels like a febrile time for the entire region.” – Hannah Fearn • “It feels like ...
Apr 15, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1267
Donald Trump needs evangelical Christian voters to back him to stand a chance in November. But can his religious rhetoric and doubling down on his supposed love of all things Jesus really help him win? Philip Bump is a national columnist for The Washington Post and says that “Trump’s appeal to Christians is more limited than he suggests”. He joins Jacob Jarvis in The Bunker to discuss whether Trump’s Christian pandering will help him. • “There’s definitely a subset that believes that the hand of...
Apr 12, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1266
Every party promises a growing economy as a solution for everything – but can economic expansion carry on forever? On a planet with finite resources, can growth really be infinite? Ros Taylor talks to Daniel Susskind, economic professor and author of Growth: A History and a Reckoning, about the mystery of economic growth, what “degrowthers” want, and how to balance the pros and cons of an ever-expanding economy. • “Economic growth feels like it’s a permanent fixture, and yet for most of history ...
Apr 11, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1265
Adolf Hitler still comes up in conversations startlingly regularly – particularly online. Why? Sir Richard J. Evans, regius professor emeritus of history at the University of Cambridge and the author of The Hitler Conspiracies: The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination, as well as countless other titles, tells Jacob Jarvis why we’re still so obsessed with one of the most evil people to ever live. • “Our perspectives change - you can now look at Hitler through the eyes and experience of Donald...
Apr 10, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1264
Could you watch GB News for a whole month? Gavin Esler did, in the name of research. What he experienced was a nightmare mix of confected anger, wild conspiracy and resentment designed to make its viewers feel like victims. GB News might be a joke but its growing social media presence is spreading and detoxifying the hard right views of some very powerful people. Gavin tells Andrew Harrison why we need to start taking Britain’s most absurd TV channel much more seriously. • “I am a recovering GB ...
Apr 09, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1263
As the Israel/Gaza war reaches stalemate, are hopes of a ceasefire just wishful thinking? Are “peace talks” in Ukraine just a euphemism for giving Putin what he wants? Plus Thames Water circles the plughole, the William Wragg WhatsApp fallout, and a total eclipse of everyone’s sanity. Ros Taylor sets out the week ahead with Andrew Harrison. • “I think we’re seeing a slow creep towards giving up some Ukrainian territory to Russia” • “The more Putin can pick-off Ukrainian support, particularly in ...
Apr 08, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1262
Even if you aren’t on Tiktok, you’ll know one of its billion plus monthly users. But how many of them know how their data is being collected, by whom, and why? The US is now proposing to ban the Chinese-owned social media platform over its links to the Chinese Communist Party. Chris Jones asks leading tech journalist Will Guyatt whether this is all just a form of political warfare against China – or if we really should worry about TikTok. • “The idea that TikTok is in whole owned by the Chinese ...
Apr 05, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1261
Britain’s Miners’ Strike conjures up strong emotions to this day – despite 40 years having passed since the confrontation. But what are the common misconceptions of this period of history? And how are its effects still being felt today? Andrew Harrison asks Robert Gildea, emeritus professor of modern history at the University of Oxford, about the enduring legacy of the Miners’ Strike. • “The slogan was ‘close a pit, kill a community’ – and there was indeed devastation across mining communities i...
Apr 04, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1260
Britain’s police forces seem constantly embroiled in scandal. Where does this stem from and where is most of the corruption? Former police officer and undercover drugs operative Neil Woods, author of Good Cop, Bad War, talks to Alex Andreou about the extent of police corruption in Britain and the pressing need for drug reform to reduce the problem. • “If the public understood the extent of corruption caused by drug policy, we would have a referendum... Drug laws in this country are not ethically...
Apr 03, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1259
The Tories face electoral obliteration, according to the polls – can Sunak do anything about it? We reflect on the latest damning survey and the current fallouts swirling around the PM. Plus we discuss conflict in the Middle East, and the latest strikes on Gaza and Syria. And finally we look at the latest from the war in Ukraine, then the election results in Turkey. Alex Andreou joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the week ahead. • “This is a really high-stakes local election – if the Tories do as poo...
Apr 02, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1257
Collapsing birthrates have inspired dramas from The Handmaid’s Tale to Children of Men, but it isn’t just science fiction any more. We might not realise it, but we’re living through an epidemic of infertility – and it’s getting worse. How did we get here? What does it mean when humans have fewer babies? And how do we turn it around? Jude Rogers finds out from world-leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologist Dr Shanna Swan, author of the cheerily-entitled Count Down: How Our Modern Wor...
Mar 29, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1256
Putin’s threats have made nuclear conflict plausible for the first time since the Cold War – but few really understand the enormity of what it would mean. New book Nuclear War: A Scenario describes such a war step-by-step, from a surprise first strike from North Korea to the destruction of Washington D.C, miles-wide firestorms, the immolation of hundreds of millions of people, and the final extinction of civilisation – all within two hours and 40 minutes. Pulitzer-nominated author Annie Jacobsen...
Mar 28, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1255
The Moon is packed with precious resources – silicon for microchips, manganese for batteries, and titanium for missiles. As private companies, Japan, China, Russia, India and others rush to claim our lunar neighbour, will they look after humanity’s interests or their own? And what happens when these big, belligerent actors collide? A.C. Grayling, writer, broadcaster and philosophy professor, has just published Who Owns the Moon? In Defence of Humanity’s Common Interests in Space. He talks to Ale...
Mar 27, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1254
We think our media is mostly truthful, honest and fearless, but investigative journalism is increasingly stymied by legal threats and the infamous SLAPP (“Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation”) from the powerful. In Cuckooland: Where The Rich Own The Truth, Guardian investigations correspondent Tom Burgis follows a trail of money and influence from Uzbekistan, Nepal and Putin’s Russia to the heart of the Conservative Party – and an extraordinary encounter with Tory donor Mohamed Amersi...
Mar 26, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1253
Britain is blaming Beijing for a major cyber attack on voter data – how will this impact relations with China? And how awkward could things get for David Cameron? Plus, Rishi Sunak isn’t doing well as Prime Minister – but are the Tories giving up on plans to replace him? And we discuss the fallout from the recent Moscow terror attack, as well as the latest calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Alex Andreou joins Jacob Jarvis to talk through the news to look out for this week. • “I can’t imagine how [Da...
Mar 25, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1252
With Trump set to be the GOP’s presidential candidate, who will he pick to be his running mate? There’s a whole host of Republicans lining up to take on the role – despite Trump’s backlog of legal battles and the questionable ways he treats those around him. But who has a chance – and who’s been completely ruled out already? Jacob Jarvis is joined in the Bunker by Politico’s senior political columnist and politics bureau chief Jonathan Martin, before taking a deep dive on some of the candidates ...
Mar 22, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1251
Is Britain moving into a “pre-war world”, as Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warned in January? Could we fight a land war or other conflict with Russia if we had to? Are we prepared militarily, economically and psychologically? And what would we have to do to make ourselves secure? RUSI European Security Research Fellow Edward R. Arnold tells Ros Taylor some uncomfortable home truths about NATO, our European allies, and our ability to defend ourselves. • “Our forces are quite underprepared. Two y...
Mar 21, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1250
Kate Middleton conspiracy theories have run rampant since that doctored photo emerged. But, altered photos of public figures are nothing new. Today in The Bunker, Seth Thévoz speaks to Joshua Habgood-Coote, research fellow at Leeds University, about the power of manipulated images throughout history. • “Image manipulation techniques go back to the earliest days of photography.” – Joshua Habgood-Coote • “Photos are supposed to capture reality – but that has never been the case.” – Joshua Habgood-...
Mar 20, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1249
More and more high-profile figures are falling for conspiracy theories. And here in the UK, British MPs are seemingly becoming increasingly susceptible to engaging with them. Why now? Andrew Harrison asks Tom Phillips, co-author with friend of the pod Jonn Elledge of Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Managing e...
Mar 19, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1248
This week, could a backbench rebellion see Penny Mordaunt replace Rishi Sunak before the general election? As online conspiracies run rampant, how has the Royal Family fumbled the Kate Middleton situation? In international news, we look at Putin’s ‘landslide victory’ and what his win means for war with Ukraine. Finally we have the latest on the Israel/Hamas conflict as Netenyahu comes under fire from high profile US democrats. Gavin Esler talks Ros Taylor through the biggest news stories to look...
Mar 18, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1247
The history of US presidents is mixed, let’s say. Some achieved incredible things, whilst others have 91 pending criminal charges against them across multiple states. The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey pits them all against each other to find out the best and worst of all time. Professor Justin Vaughn is an associate professor of political science at Coastal Carolina University and co-authored the survey. He joins Gavin Esler in The Bunker to discuss the results. Find the resu...
Mar 15, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1246
The internet is getting worse. Google isn’t as helpful as it used to be, all of the best content is behind a paywall and the less said about X the better. But why is the internet getting so sh*t – and why do we simply accept it? Today in The Bunker, Jacob Jarvis speaks to tech reporter and writer of the Garbage Day substack Ryan Broderick about the sorry state of the internet in 2024. • “The only way to get ourselves out of this enshittification trap is to rethink what we expect from the interne...
Mar 14, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1245
Problems with leaseholds have ruined lives across the UK. Labour has vowed to end the system, but how? And are its plans realistic? Labour MP Barry Gardiner has been campaigning against leasehold for decades and recently fronted a documentary exploring its major issues. He joins Hannah Fearn in The Bunker to discuss what his party plans to do about it? Barry Gardiner’s documentary • “We have instances where people are paying £33k in ground rent a year… on top of their mortgage, it’s absolutely w...
Mar 13, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1244
The world of online conspiracy theorists is daunting and bewildering. The BBC’s Marianna Spring knows that better than most. In today’s Bunker, Ros Taylor sits down with the disinformation and social media correspondent to discuss her new book Among the Trolls: My Journey Through Conspiracyland. • “The internet normalises aggression and abuse and that is reflected in the real world too.” – Marianna Spring • “In the absence of religion or local communities, people turn to the internet for that se...
Mar 12, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1243
Hunt’s budget hasn’t shifted the dial for the Tories like they wanted – what will they try next? Plus, we’ve got curious tales of Boris Johnson’s trip to Venezuela and of a doctored Royal family photo… Plus, the latest from Biden vs. Trump and an update on the situation in Gaza. Alex Andreou talks Jacob Jarvis through the news to look out for this week. • “We know the Tories are headed for defeat, and because Sunak is too afraid to call an election, we are forced to watch them mess up again and ...
Mar 11, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1242
Warning: major spoilers from the beginning. In a special weekend bonus, we look at the political resonances of Denis Villeneuve’s $200m-grossing space-and-sand opera Dune. What does Frank Herbert’s saga of desert rebellion, imperialism and mystic feminist conspiracy tell us about our world? Can jihadis be heroes? Why do fascists love Dune? Is Muad’Dib a hero or a monster? And is it science fiction’s job to explain our reality to us? Novelist and Professor of Nineteenth Century Literature Adam Ro...
Mar 09, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1241
The relationship between the United States and Israel is hugely significant – but it’s under serious strain. Is President Joe Biden going to be pushed to rethink some long-held positions regarding this connection? Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University and author of The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy, tells Gavin Esler how Biden might end up revising his stance. • “The U.S. is absolutely vital to Israel. T...
Mar 08, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1240
