The past 12 months have seen stunning reverses for both Russia and for Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ in the Middle East. Rebels humiliated Putin in Syria and Israel devastated Iranian proxies such has Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – albeit it at appalling human cost. Is the region finally turning a corner? Does the ceasefire really mean Israel has “won”? Could the Iranian regime fall? RUSI fellow Jason Pack of the Disorder podcast explains connects the threads of a crucial period for the ...
Jan 23, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1479
On December 14, 2012, Robbie Parker's world was shattered. His daughter, Emilie, was among the victims of the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. As if the grief of losing a child wasn’t enough, Robbie and other parents were forced to confront an unthinkable challenge: a wave of harassment and lies spawned by conspiracy theorists. In this episode, Robbie Parker, author of A Father's Fight, joins Gavin Esler to discuss his legal battle with conspiracy theorist talking head Alex Jones an...
Jan 22, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1478
The online radicalisation of men and ‘incels’ by the far right is well documented – but what about the women they target? What role do forums for mums and Instagram food vlogs play in luring women into movements that seek to undermine their freedoms? Today in The Bunker, Lois Shearing, author of Pink-Pilled: Women and the Far Right, joins Zoë Grünewald to explore how these groups operate and what can be done to stop them. Buy Pink-Pilled: Women and the Far Right through our affiliate bookshop an...
Jan 21, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1477
Donald Trump will officially become the president of the United States today – what will he say as he lays out his plans for America? And how will he shake things up on the global stage? Gavin Esler talks Jacob Jarvis through what we should we should expect from the beginning of Trump’s second presidency. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Tom Taylor. M...
Jan 20, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1476
Keir Starmer wants Britain to “mainline artificial intelligence into its veins” and says A.I. will transform the our lives for the better. But as job automation races ahead, is anyone listening to the voices of working people? Has Labour been captured by the A.I. lobby? Mary Towers leads the TUC’s work on A.I. She tells Andrew Harrison what we need to do to make this Fourth Industrial Revolution work for everyone – not just Big Tech and corporate cost-cutters. • Support us on Patreon for early e...
Jan 18, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1475
A special crosspost from our geopolitics podcast This Is Not A Drill. After 15 months of horror, a ceasefire and hostage release deal triggers rejoicing in Israel and Palestine. But the deal is ambiguous and built around only a gradual release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages, with no agreement to end the war yet. While Trump rushes to claim credit, some fear the deal is so loose it might collapse. Could this conflict reignite? Gavin Esler talks to Middle East expert Dr H.A. Hellyer...
Jan 17, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1474
Mark Zuckerberg has announced he’s ditching fact checking on Facebook and across Meta platforms. This is starting in the US, but how far will it go? And how much worse will it make the content on his social media channels? Chris Jones speaks to tech journalist and LBC correspondent Will Guyatt to find out why the Facebook boss is making these changes, beyond just cosying up to Trump, and what their impact will be. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. w...
Jan 16, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1473
What will Trump’s entry to the White House mean for the war between Russia and Ukraine? The incoming US insists he can get a ceasefire and end the conflict – but how feasible is this? Gavin Esler, of our sibling podcast This is Not a Drill, speaks to Russia expert Mark Galeotti, host of the In Moscow’s Shadows podcast. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. ...
Jan 15, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1472
Reform UK are on a roll. The Tories are dancing to their tune, some polls are putting them on par with Labour and the wilder hard-right papers are hyping Farage as a potential PM. But how real is Reform’s “surge”? Are their voters really up for far-right populism, or are they more likely angry, disaffected, sometimes even left-leaning people who’ve lost faith in politics? Campaigning veteran Paul Mason of The New European and The Guardian’s Rafael Behr ask the big question of 2025: how do we sto...
Jan 14, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1471
Rachel Reeves faces questions over Britain’s economic state this week – the right-wing press is howling, but just how bad is the situation really? And, Musk continues to meddle – we look at his moves here at home and further afield. Plus, it’s the final week where Trump isn’t president! We discuss who’ll be wanting to cosy up to him in the coming days. Ros Taylor talks Jacob Jarvis through all that and more. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patre...
Jan 13, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1470
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, questions have been raised as to how long Putin can financially sustain the assault. How much longer can Russia’s economy sustain the staggering costs of war? Today in The Bunker, Dr. Richard Connolly, author of The Russian Economy: A Very Short Introduction, joins Chris Jones to find out if Putin’s war machine is running out of cash? • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and ...
Jan 10, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1469
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, the political battles of his first term and a few fresh ones are returning to the fore in US politics. But what will he prioritise once in office? In this episode of The Bunker, Jacob Jarvis is joined by his American Friction co-host, Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone, to look at the key figures and forces shaping US politics in 2025. With the growing influence of Elon Musk, a political mandate and experience in the office, what does this next ...
Jan 09, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1468
The new year brings fresh challenges for Starmer’s government and continued pressure to deliver on Labour’s campaign promises. After years of political turbulence, can Labour deliver meaningful change? Join Alex von Tunzelmann and Steve Richards, host of Rock & Roll Politics, as they take stock of the government’s priorities for the new year and ask what resolutions Starmer should make for 2025. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/...
Jan 08, 2025•40 min•Season 1Ep. 1467
Will Musk’s latest meltdown see politicians and institutions finally abandon Twitter? And if so, where will they go? Or will the right-wing stay, as the left and centrists shift to BlueSky? Zoë Crowther, reporter at PoliticsHome, joins Ros Taylor to discuss how MPs will engage with social media in 2025. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: J...
Jan 07, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1466
Elon Musk’s latest rant-a-thon has dominated the headlines – what should we make of it and what impact will it have? Plus, there’s NHS reforms to be announced in news Keir Starmer wants people to focus on – and Gavin Esler gives Jacob Jarvis the latest updates from further afield, addressing conflicts and flashpoints across the globe. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. A...
Jan 06, 2025•40 min•Season 1Ep. 1465
Is the Great Man* theory of history back? As our world seems increasingly shaped by individual oligarchs, populists and single-issue celebrities, we complete our list of the most influential people of the century so far. Who will make the cut? Our Bunker regulars – BBC veteran Gavin Esler, historian and author Alex Von Tunzelmann and Guardian columnist Rafael Behr – name the Final Five of our Century Shapers. Part One already available. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We a...
Jan 03, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 1464
Incredibly, we’re already nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st Century. Who are the big figures who’ve shaped and transformed, or more often, terrorised and devastated, our political and physical worlds? And how did 20th century dreams of a stable consensus tomorrow fall apart? A panel of Bunker regulars – BBC veteran Gavin Esler, historian and author Alex Von Tunzelmann and Guardian columnist Rafael Behr – assemble to choose the first five of our Century Shapers. Part Two out tomorrow o...
Jan 02, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 1463
Jimmy Carter, who has died aged 100, suffered derision in his one-term presidency, becoming a scapegoat for recession, the Iran hostage crisis and America’s diminution in the world. But his reputation as a humanitarian only grew after he left office. What is the true meaning of Jimmy Carter’s life? Andrew Harrison talks to writer and filmmaker Jonathan Alter – author of His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life – about the 39th President and his legacy. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and m...
Dec 31, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1462
Fighting the holiday podcast drought, we bring you another taster of a Podmasters show you might have missed – our US politics weekly American Friction. And this time it’s their review of 2024. No Jarv on this edition, but Chris and Nikki unpack the key moments and lessons from a year when Trump’s election as President may well have changed American democracy forever. Get the sharpest take on American politics every Friday when you follow American Friction on your favourite app. Written and pres...
Dec 30, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 1461
Continuing our intra-festive selection of Podmasters shows you might have missed… have you tried Paper Cuts, the podcast that reads the papers so you don’t have to? Cos you really should. As a taster, join Miranda Sawyer plus host of Queerphoria Jack Guinness and comedy writer and actual Grinch Jason Hazeley for Part One of the Paper Cuts Review of 2024. Remember when everyone had a meltdown over Princess Kate? Jack reminisces about the whole saga that engulfed the nation. Miranda tries to recal...
Dec 29, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 1460
Climbing the walls in the holiday podcast drought? We’re tiding you over with some episodes you might have missed from the giant Podmasters universe. Today, a fascinating edition of our science and psychology podcast, Why? with Emma Kennedy. On this episode… The allure of evil. Lots of us are obsessed with true crime documentaries and podcasts and can’t get enough gruesome details of horrific murder, torture and kidnapping. It’s all pretty horrible – so why are we drawn to it? Does ‘evil’ really...
Dec 28, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 1459
Desperate for a fresh pod over the holidays? We’re tiding you over the Christmas-New Year gap with some shows you might have missed from the wider Podmasters universe. Today, enjoy this edition of our geopolitics weekly This Is Not A Drill. On this edition… Corruption, bribery and cronyism aren’t just criminal matters. International alliances of corrupt states and their enablers are undermining democracies and international law, creating a world without rules where everything and anyone can be b...
Dec 27, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 1458
Completing our countdown of the events of 2024 that we can barely believe happened. From Rishi Sunak dooming his own election campaign by launching it in a downpour to Robert F Kennedy Jr’s shenanigans with a dead bear (blame the brainworms) to America deciding that its new folk hero is an actual murderer, we examine the moments that made 2024 incomprehensible. Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge of Paper Cuts join Andrew Harrison to complete an ignominious countdown. (Part One available now) • Supp...
Dec 23, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 1457
It’s that time of year when we look back over the last twelve months and ask… did that really happen? From Oasis giving the nation a brutal lesson in demand economics to the near-assassination of Donald Trump to the baffling rise of “Huak Tuah Girl”, 2024 has been a year of signs, wonders and bewilderment. In the first of a two-part Bunker special Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge of Paper Cuts join Andrew Harrison to choose the first ten of the twenty most bizarre moments of the year – and work o...
Dec 20, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 1456
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! From enormous Tudor banquets to Fortnum & Mason’s luxury hampers, Christmas food has always been about showing off. But how did we leap from turducken and spiced pies to our roast potatoes and a turkey that barely fits in the oven? Join Alex von Tunzelmann and Thomas Ntinas, host of The Delicious Legacy podcast, as they unravel how centuries of festive indulgence, and a brief detour thr...
Dec 19, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1455
• Our Cyber Monday sale is just about still on! Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker. Yes, Die Hard IS a Christmas movie… but what about its politics? Is the Bruce Willis blockbuster a howl of anger from Reagan’s rustbelt, an attack on ’80s yuppie finance bros, an America First broadside against Japanese corporate raiders, or a diatribe against capitalism that Bernie Sanders would be proud of? And who’s the real villain? Conservative economist John Phelan joins wet liberal centrist ...
Dec 18, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1454
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! Last week, a high-profile murder in broad daylight shocked the world, but it’s the reaction that has everyone talking. Why is the victim, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, met with scorn while the accused, Luigi Mangione, is hailed as a cult hero across the internet? Join Alex von Tunzelmann and Jessica Glenza, health reporter for The Guardian US, as they delve into the complexities of ...
Dec 17, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1453
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! The Chinese spy scandal lifts the lid on Prince Andrew’s murky world. What do the Chinese think the Prince can give him? Has the affair sealed Andrew’s fate as a Royal? And will we find out the identity of the mysterious “H6”? Plus: Why is Starmer cosying up to Italy’s far-right leader Giorgia Meloni? The US healthcare debate grows bitterer still after the arrest of Luigi Mangione. And are ...
Dec 16, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1452
• Our Black Friday sale is still on! Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker. Beige against the machine – Mocked by left and right in the 2010s, Centrist Dad had the last laugh. Now he bestrides our politics like gilet-clad colossus – he’s even Prime Minister. But what makes him tick? How is he adjusting to power? What is Centrist Mum like? Authors of The Centrist Dad Handbook, friend of the pod Jason Hazeley and pal Nico Tatarowicz, talk to Andrew Harrison about the man at the centre ...
Dec 13, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 1451
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! It’s been a busy time in the USA – so you’d be forgiven for having missed the latest UFO hearings. To help you catch up, Jacob Jarvis spoke to Tom Phillips, co-author of Conspiracy: A History of B*llocks Theories, and How Not to Fall For Them, to discuss what was said and if any of it actually hinted at Alien life… www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Audio prod...
Dec 12, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1450
