This year marks NATO’s 75th anniversary – having survived the Cold War, 9/11 and most recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Is NATO’s role is changing, can it hold on to its members – and will it be recognisable in ten years? Will it even exist? Peter Apps, author of Deterring Armageddon: a biography of NATO, joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker to discuss its uncertain future. Buy Deterring Armageddon: a biography of NATO through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us ...
Aug 16, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1359
Online politics is drowning in memes – repurposed movie stills, videos and viral catchphrases are everywhere. From the UK General Election to the American Presidential race, memes are increasingly central to political campaigns. But can they actually sway votes? Senior Research Fellow at Complutense University Madrid Paolo Gerbaudo joins Jacob Jarvis in The Bunker to discuss the intrinsic political power of memes. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www...
Aug 15, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1358
The second in our ‘Foreign Affairs’ mini-series on Britain’s battered foreign relationships. Today: China is growing in industrial and military power while post-Brexit Britain is increasingly adrift. Will StarmQer have to accommodate to whatever Beijing wants – or can Britain assert itself against the new superpower? Gavin Esler speaks to KCL Professor and former Beijing embassy official Kerry Brown – whose new book looks at China-UK relations all the way back to 1600 – to explain the current cl...
Aug 14, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1357
Far-right riots and racist violence have traumatised Britain – but how powerful are the extremists? Where are they drawing their power from? And how can ordinary people stop them? Paul Mason is a journalist is the author of How To Stop Fascism. He tells Andrew Harrison what makes modern far-right politics different and dangerous – the compromises we’ll need to defeat it – and why we need “militant democracy” to protect our freedoms. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sp...
Aug 13, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1356
The fallout from rioting continues to dominate the news – how will the Government handle this? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss challenges for Starmer now and into the future. Plus, they discuss clashes with Elon Musk, relations with China, Trump’s most recent grim behaviour and the latest from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. There’s all that and more in your primer for the week ahead. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bun ker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.c...
Aug 12, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1355
In 1914, war engulfed Europe in a conflict that killed millions and change the course of the twentieth century. Now, 110 years later, the geopolitical climate feels uncomfortably familiar to the period preceding the First World War. Are we moving ever closer to another global conflict – and might it be avoided by taking lessons from the origins of the Great War? To find out, Luke Turner talks to David Stevenson, professor of international history at the London School of Economics. We are sponsor...
Aug 11, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1354
For decades class has been a dirty word in British politics. Now Keir Starmer heads the most working class, least privately-educated cabinet in modern history, and is putting class concerns like workers’ rights reform at the centre of its politics. Will Labour’s programme work? How true has the party been to its working class origins? And does it win when it is? Political historian Anthony Broxton of Tides of History takes Andrew Harrison into Labour’s tangled history with the class issue. We ar...
Aug 09, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1353
Joe Biden won’t have a second term as president after he heeded calls to leave the 2024 race. So as it comes towards an end, how will his time in office be remembered? Leslie Vinjamuri director of the US and the Americas programme at Chatham House, talks to Dorian Lynskey about Biden’s legacy. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Tom Tay...
Aug 08, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1352
The country is facing its worst wave of far-right violence in the modern age –but is it just mindless thuggery or are deeper forces at work? Can the psychology of rioting help us defeat this wave of violence?Professor of social psychology Clifford Stott unpacks the dynamics of the riots, how they’ve spread, and what they really mean to Andrew Harrison. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Support us on Patreon. Written and presented by Podmasters Group E...
Aug 07, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1351
An occasional series on how Britain is fixing its battered foreign relationships. Today: After the combative Tory years, Keir Starmer is trying to reset the Anglo-French connection. What do we want from France and what does Paris want from us? Britain’s former Ambassador to France Lord Peter Ricketts talks to Ros Taylor about whether Starmer and Macron are natural allies, the damage caused by Brexit, and what France’s “deep unease” with itself means for Britain. • “I would not have relished bein...
Aug 06, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1350
After the worst civil disorder in a decade, will severe instant sentencing deter rioters like it did in 2011? Is the violence evidence of the far right’s weakness, not its strength? And is this really a test of the Starmer Government’s strength? Plus Kamala Harris’s choices of running mate, the chances of an Israel/Hezbollah war, and more Alex Andreou sets out the week ahead with Andrew Harrison. https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom...
Aug 05, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1349
Britain’s new army chief recently said Britain must be ready for war in three years. Where are the biggest threats coming from, what are our current weaknesses, and how can we best prepare? To find out, Gavin Esler speaks to the Economist’s defence editor Shashank Joshi. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Managing Editor Jacob...
Aug 02, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1348
Donald Trump recently announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate. Who exactly is Vance – and why is he the subject of so much controversy? POLITICO national political correspondent and author of Trump in Exile Meridith McGraw tells Dorian Lynskey of her own recent experience on the campaign trail with the Senator. Buy Trump in Exile 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...
Aug 01, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1347
The Olympics are in full-swing – but news of medals and victory are often overshadowed by controversies linked to contestants and politics. We’ve seen this already this year – but has the Olympics always been so political? Emma Kennedy sits down with David Goldblatt, author of The Games: A Global History of the Olympics. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. A...
Jul 31, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1346
From overcrowding to underfunding, British prisons are in crisis. So how can Labour remedy 14 years of the Tories’ neglect of criminal justice system? Former director of public prosecutions Lord Ken Macdonald sits down with Ros Taylor to discuss how we might solve the prison conundrum. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Managin...
Jul 30, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1345
Rachel Reeves is set to unveil a £20bn black hole in public finances – what will Labour do about this? In more bleak news, GPs are set to strike over unfair working conditions – what would this mean for patients? And, a public sector pay deal is expected, what will it look like? Plus, who are the top contenders in the Tory leadership race? In world news, we discuss the latest in the U.S. Presidential race, and concerning escalations between Israel and Hezbollah. Jacob Jarvis and Ros Taylor discu...
Jul 29, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1344
With Kamala Harris set to replace Joe Biden in the 2024 race, focus has turned to who will be her running mate. Jacob Jarvis gets the rundown on the top contenders from Katie Gaddini, visiting scholar at Stanford University, an associate professor of sociology at the Social Research Institute, University College London. Take a listen to America Friction podcast: https://listen.podmasters.uk/American_Friction We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patre...
Jul 26, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1343
As our climate continues to heat up, wildfires, flooding and drought are becoming the new normal. But beyond weather events, how is extreme heat affecting our politics, economy, and society at large – and have we already reached a boiling point? Alex Andreou asks Jeff Goodell, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of The Heat Will Kill You First. Buy The Heat Will Kill You First through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund [name of podcast] by earning us a small commission for ...
Jul 25, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1342
As vicious conflicts rage across the world, the civil war in Sudan has received limited attention. To explain the far-reaching impacts of the conflict, the humanitarian crisis unfolding, and why we should start paying attention, Gavin Esler speaks to Alan Boswell, Crisis Group’s director for the horn of Africa, in today’s Bunker. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Eliza Davis ...
Jul 24, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1341
Keir Starmer has one hell of a challenge fixing everything the Tories broke in their 14 years in charge. Where to begin? Guardian journalist Polly Toynbee sits down with Ros Taylor in The Bunker to discuss Starmer’s uphill battle ahead. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harriso...
Jul 23, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1340
It’s the morning after Joe Biden’s shock withdrawal from the U.S. Presidential race. Why now – and who will replace him? Closer to home, we’ve got Keir Starmer’s first PMQs to look forward to. What should we expect? And what does the strike on Yemen mean for the Middle East – and how will international governments respond? Want to hear more about the situation in the US? Listen to American Friction, from the makers of the Bunker. Here’s a link to their bonus episode discussing Biden’s withdrawal...
Jul 22, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1339
Amazon turns 30 this month – and it’s unrecognisable from the online bookstore it once was. But can it continue to grow forever – or might recent legal cases mark the end of Bezos’ global market domination? Kate Devlin speaks to The Wall Street Journal’s Dana Mattioli, author of The Everything War, to find out. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. • Incogni keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from b...
Jul 19, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1338
Political leaders have been targeted by assassins for thousands of years – Donald Trump being the latest example, after the attempt on his life in Pennsylvania. Historically, what impact have these actions had on societies the world over? What similarities are there between these acts and the people who carry them out? Jacob Jarvis is joined by Arie Perliger, professor in security studies at University of Massachusetts Lowell and author of American Zealots: Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism, ...
Jul 18, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1337
Labour’s landslide has brought in a new wave of political optimism to the UK. But a near record poll attendance has been a cause for concern in the weeks following the election. Hannah Fearn is joined by Professor of behavioural science at Kingston University Gaëlle Vallée Tourangeau to find out why people just aren’t turning out to vote and what can be done to engage with the electorate. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. • Incogni keeps your privat...
Jul 17, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1336
Keir Starmer has plenty to get on with at home – but amid global turmoil, Labour’s foreign policy is increasingly important too. In response to multiple wars, regional conflicts, an increasingly far-right Europe and a turbulent U.S. Presidential race, how might Starmer interact with the rest of the world? Zoë Grünewald asks Dr Victoria Honeyman, associate professor of British politics at the University of Leeds. Please note, this episode was recorded on the 8th of July before the NATO summit. • ...
Jul 16, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1335
After the Trump shooting we ask what it means for America and the election. Could the failed assassination win the race for the former president? Meanwhile, the new Labour Government is in full swing. From the new Growth Agenda to the launch of Great British Energy what can we expect from Starmer this week? Recorded in the aftermath of England’s defeat, best not to say too much about that, Andrew Harrison and Hannah Fearn look out for the news stories which will shape the week ahead. Want to hea...
Jul 15, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1334
Joe Biden is the US’ oldest ever President – and it’s showing. From his catastrophic performance during the recent debate against Donald Trump, to celebrity calls for him to step down, the question on everyone’s lips is: Will he quit? Gavin Esler asks Democratic insider Sidney Blumenthal in today’s Bunker. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. • Incogni keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps your data from being ...
Jul 12, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1333
In an increasingly unstable international climate, we need our internal laws more than ever – but they don’t seem to be working. Which states are ignoring them, what are the consequences, and who will enforce them? Alex Andreou asks Professor Kevin Heller, the ICC Prosecutor’s special advisor on war crimes, in today’s Bunker. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. • Incogni keeps your private information safe, protects you from identity theft and keeps y...
Jul 11, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1332
We think of the US as a universe unto itself, uninterested in the outside world. But according to geopolitics analyst and host of the Disorder podcast Jason Pack, few things influence American elections as much as three diaspora countries – Ireland, Italy and Israel – and “peer nation” the UK. Their role as political test labs for new ideas means that Keir Starmer’s victory could be good news for Democrats. But how do these “mystical relationships” work? Get Disorder wherever you get your podcas...
Jul 10, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1331
The Conservatives are out of power for the first time in 14 years. So what does the future of the party look like, and should we expect a serious Tory-transformation if they have hopes of regaining control in the future? Ros Taylor asks Queen Mary University professor of politics and The Conservative Party After Brexit author Tim Bale, in The Bunker. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. • Incogni keeps your private information safe, protects you from i...
Jul 09, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1330
