Rachel Reeves heads to Washington this week – what should we be looking out for? Plus, we unpack what happens now after the death of Pope Francis and look to the latest news from America. Ros Taylor joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the week ahead in news. 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 Ros Taylor. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harr...
Apr 22, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1542
From ‘cleanfluencers’ to home gurus, the ideal of a spotless home has never been so aspirational. But why are women still being told that inner peace is only a bottle of disinfectant away? Today on The Bunker, Coco Khan is joined by Emma Casey, author of The Return of the Housewife, to find out why we are still selling the idea that cleaning is the new path to feminist empowerment. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Buy The Return of the Hous...
Apr 18, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1541
What if your neighbour was a Russian spy? In 2010, the FBI arrested ten deep-cover agents living quiet suburban lives across North America, their true identities hidden even from their own children. Today on The Bunker, Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by Shaun Walker, author of The Illegals, to take a closer look at one of the most shocking espionage operations in modern history and what it reveals about Putin’s spy games. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://Indeed.com/bunker for £100 spon...
Apr 17, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1540
Trump’s trade war has intensified the rivalry between America and China – while Beijing’s retaliation has exacerbated worldwide market meltdowns. Has the US president actually had a plan, and what does China make of his actions? Journalist and China commentator Cindy Yu joins Gavin Esler to discuss the trade war and which side might be more confident of ending up on top. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Follow us ...
Apr 16, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1539
At first the social media ‘Like’ button was just an easy way to get users to interact. Now people click a Like button some seven billion times a day, creating a colossal dataset that companies can use to sell to us, mislead us and predict what we want. And liking itself gets user addicted to a dopamine loop of gratification. Where did the Like button come from and what is it doing to us? Silicon Valley veteran Bob Goodson, co-author of Like: The Button That Changed The World, tells Andrew Harris...
Apr 15, 2025•42 min•Season 1Ep. 1538
The Trump tariff mayhem rolls on and back at home steel is grabbing the headlines. What’s going on now and how will these stories develop? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss all this and more in Start Your Week. 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 Rafael Behr. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. T...
Apr 14, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 1537
What would you do if the world as we know it came to some sort of catastrophic end? Well, you’d be forgiven for not being prepared for it – but doomsday preppers across the globe think they are. To discuss the phenomenon of people bracing for armageddon, and the theories around why they do this, Jacob Jarvis is joined by the co-authors of Be Prepared: Doomsday Prepping in the United States, Robert E. Kirsch and Emily Ray. Buy Be Prepared: Doomsday Prepping in the United States through our affili...
Apr 11, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 1536
The climate crisis is spiraling, Trump’s back in the White House, and the headlines keep getting worse. It’s easy to feel powerless. But what if the first step toward saving the planet is something you learned in primary school? In this episode of The Bunker, Zing Tsjeng sits down with Mike Berners-Lee, author of A Climate of Truth, who argues that radical honesty about what’s happening, who’s responsible, and what must change might just be our most powerful tool against the looming polycrisis. ...
Apr 10, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 1535
Why is Donald Trump dismantling America’s national security apparatus? And how dangerous will this be for the US and the world? The commander-in-chief recently dismissed six National Security Council staffers, reportedly at the request of right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer. Today in The Bunker, national security journalist Ben Makuch joins Jacob Jarvis to ask: Who is Laura Loomer, and why does she have the ear of the president? Plus, they unpack the global consequences of...
Apr 09, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1534
French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen has been convicted of embezzlement and handed a five-year ban from running for office – a verdict she has promised to overturn. Could this be the end of the Le Pen political dynasty? Today in The Bunker, Gavin Esler is joined by Emile Chabal, professor of contemporary history at Edinburgh University, to explore the tale of money, ambition, and political survival. Could this be Le Pen’s coup de grâce or lead to a political renaissance? • We are sponsored ...
Apr 08, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1533
Trump’s tariffs have created turmoil and Starmer has declared “the world as we know it has gone”. So, if it truly is the end of “globalisation” – what does that mean for us now? Gavin Esler joins Ros Taylor to discuss the news to look out for in the week ahead. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group...
Apr 07, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1532
Liberation Day? More like Liquidation Day. Trump’s malicious and ignorant tariff package has horrified the worlds of business and economics. What does it all mean? Did Britain really get off “lightly” as the Trump fanboys claim? Dmitry Grozoubinski – director of ExplainTrade and author of Why Politicians Lie About Trade – talks Andrew Harrison through the wrongheaded tactics, fantasy maths and tatty showmanship of what The Economist calls “the most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic erro...
Apr 04, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1531
Nearly 40 per cent of the world’s dirty money flows through London, but what role have British institutions played in helping wealthy elites launder cash? Today on The Bunker, Tom Mayne, journalist and co-author of Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corruption, joins Seth Thévoz to discuss how deregulation, weak enforcement, and the UK’s libel laws have enabled corruption to thrive in the capital. Buy Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service...
Apr 03, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1530
The generation born after the War? They hoarded all the wealth and now they’re hoarding the political power. Millennials? Lazy, self-absorbed, could afford a house if they cancelled Netflix. Generation X? Nobody cares. These are the clichés – but are they really true? Bobby Duffy, KCL Professor of Public Policy and author of The Generation Divide: Why We Can’t Agree and Why We Should, tells Alex von Tunzelmann why both the avocado/Netflix Millennial AND the selfish Boomer caricatures are wrong… ...
Apr 02, 2025•40 min•Season 1Ep. 1529
Thought that Trump’s bizarre threat to annex Canada as the “cherished 51st state” was just another spur-of-the-moment brainfart? In Canada they’re taking it deadly seriously – and America’s global bully act is reshaping Canadian politics. John Michael McGrath of Ontario politics podcast On Poli joins us to explain how Trump has made Canadians more patriotic, the challenge facing new premier Mark Carney, whether an actual shooting war could erupt… and the true meaning of “Elbows up”. • Support us...
Apr 01, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 1528
Trump’s trade war continues with Starmer desperately seeking to keep Britain out of it as much as possible. What’s going to happen next? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and more as they look at the week ahead in news. 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 Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harriso...
Mar 31, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1527
Labour promises to take the brakes off building with its new Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Will the downgrading of rights to object on environmental, local and procedural grounds anger voters more than new homes will mollify them? Has the government created the right incentives to get its mythical 1.5m new homes built? And have the YIMBYs really defeated the NIMBYs? A special roundtable with Hugh Ellis, Director of Policy at the Town and Country Planning Association; Housing & Residential Pr...
Mar 28, 2025•49 min•Season 1Ep. 1526
America’s far-right is obsessed with people having babies. Why are they focused on this and where did ‘pronatalism’ come from? Carter Sherman is a reproductive health and justice reporter at Guardian US and joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss why people like Musk and JD Vance have jumped on this bandwagon and what it means for politics and people across the United States. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written...
Mar 27, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1525
Is British TV in crisis? On the surface, it looks like a golden age – hits like Bridgerton, Baby Reindeer, and Adolescence are winning international acclaim. But behind the scenes, it’s a different story. Traditional broadcasters are losing ground to streamers, and homegrown hits like Mr Bates vs. The Post Office could struggle to get commissioned as budgets tighten. To break it all down Scott Bryan, TV critic and writer of the Worth Watching Substack, joins Alex von Tunzelmann in The Bunker to ...
Mar 26, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1524
Since winning re-election Donald Trump hasn’t just embraced the shady world of cryptocurrencies, he’s cheerleading and even shilling for crypto – and profiting from it himself. Why is Trump going all-in on impenetrable digital currencies? What do the Crypto-Bros think they’ll get from hooking up with MAGA? And could a crypto-addicted US financial system collapse the real economy like subprime mortgages did? Tech journalist and self-styled “crypto sceptic” Molly White of the essential industry ne...
Mar 25, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1523
The Spring Statement is due this week – is there anything to look forward to or will it be just cuts, cuts, cuts? Gavin Esler talks Jacob Jarvis through what Reeves has planned, and what it means for Starmer’s government. Plus, they discuss the latest from the US and look at conflicts across the world. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Simon Wi...
Mar 24, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1522
Warning! Mild spoilers. As acclaimed sci-fi workplace satire Severance reaches its season 2 climax, we assemble three assiduous followers of Lumon Industries to refine the data on this hypnotic show’s appeal. Are the mind-wiped “innies” more real, moral beings than their “outies”? What does the severance procedure mean? And where is the series heading? Join Marie le Conte, Jonn Elledge and Andrew Harrison for a Waffle Party in podcast form. Let not weakness live in your veins… • Support us on Pa...
Mar 21, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1521
Trump's economic policies have experts scratching their heads – and while the US isn't yet in recession, many believe one is imminent. The true impact of Trump's disruptive tactics remains uncertain, yet the consequences could be felt worldwide. Today on The Bunker, Gavin Esler is joined by Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at King’s College London, to unpack the fallout from MAGA economics and what it could mean for the rest of the world. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go...
Mar 20, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1520
Is the age of the visionary political leader over? Why have unserious political entertainers and bland technocrats replaced inspirational, storytelling presidents and prime ministers? Is it all down to the internet, again? Seasoned political journalist Steve Richards of the Rock’n’Roll Politics podcast joins Andrew Harrison to ask: where have all the great leaders gone… or were they always just an illusion? • Buy Steve Richards’ books The Prime Ministers and The Prime Ministers We Never Had thro...
Mar 19, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 1519
The backlash against Elon Musk is growing – and Tesla is paying the price. Sales have plunged, showrooms have become hotbeds for protest, and owners are finding their cars defaced with swastikas. Yet the CEO continues to entangle himself in populist politics worldwide and seems more focused on working for the US government than running his own companies. Today on The Bunker, Adam Shaw is joined by journalist Edward Luce, US national editor and columnist for the Financial Times, to explore whethe...
Mar 18, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1518
The government’s benefit plans have caused turmoil within the Labour party and backlash more broadly – what might they change? Plus, what can we expect from a Trump-Putin call this week, and why is Cummings back in the news? Ros Taylor joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the news to look out for in the week ahead. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Ros Taylor. Audio production: Tom...
Mar 17, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1517
When earning a little extra money leaves you worse off, women end up spending all their additional earnings on childcare, and the benefits system actively encourages low wages, it’s no wonder many people make a rational decision not to work. But our nine million “economically inactive” people are a drag on growth as well as an affront to human potential. As Keir Starmer goes to battle with his own party over cutting benefits in a bid to get people back into work, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak...
Mar 14, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 1516
Almost no major event in America goes by without conspiracy theorists making up bizarre narratives to explain what’s “really” going on. Why has this mindset taken hold – and why has Trump embraced it? In January, catastrophic wildfires devastated Los Angeles, destroying communities and claiming 29 lives. Before the fires were even extinguished, conspiracy theories thrived online – and further amplified by President Trump's misinformation about the disaster response. Chris Jones is joined by jour...
Mar 13, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1515
Gen Z's reported pivot to the right has come as a shock for many – but should we have seen it coming? Trend forecaster Sean Monahan joins Zing Tsjeng in The Bunker to unpack what's behind this generational shift. What sparked Gen Z's political awakening – and what impact will their political evolution have on our future? • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. https://www.patreon.com/c/bunkercast Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Produced by L...
Mar 12, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1514
Democracy is in decline across the globe – with authoritarians alarmingly on the rise. Constance Hunter, chief economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, joins Ros Taylor to discuss the Economist’s latest Democracy Index – and to ask which nations have fallen away from democracy and why. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Tayor. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Ja...
Mar 11, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1513
