The KGB is one of the most notorious intelligence agencies of all time. Though long defunct, how did this Soviet network warp the world we live in today? Seth Thévoz is joined by Mark Hollingsworth, author of Agents of Influence: How the KGB Subverted Western Democracies. “The myth of the KGB being brilliant intelligence gatherers is largely exaggerated.” “There was a game between the KGB and MI5 over what was really happening.” “It was about planting doubt, sowing seeds of doubt, to weaken the ...
Apr 13, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 921
Birmingham plays a key role in the Tory imagination – something that might shock some of its 1.1 million inhabitants. So what is the relationship between the Conservatives and Britain’s Second City? Marie Le Conte is joined by Richard Vinen, professor of history at King’s College London and author of Second City: Birmingham and the Forging of Modern Britain , to unpack the myth and memory behind this Tory spiritual home. “You don’t have to like it to recognise how important Birmingham is.” “Birm...
Apr 12, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 920
Keir Starmer is staying on the attack while Sunak faces more strike conundrums with junior doctors staging a mass walkout. Is the Government going to resolve these issues – or just try to distract? Plus, we discuss the latest from Ukraine, protests in Georgia and Xi’s posturing over Taiwan. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex Andreou to tee up the week ahead. “If [the right] can character assassinate you online, why should you have to play nice?” – Alex Andreou “Junior doctors came out of the pandemi...
Apr 11, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 919
This Bank Holiday, enjoy a Bunker from the archives… We all want control over our lives. But as we make more decisions digitally, the impact of algorithms on our choices grows. They help to sort the information presented to us and limit the options we see – shaping the products we buy, films we watch and even the partners we end up with. Andrew Harrison discusses the future of such technology with Kartik Hosanagar , author of A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Ou...
Apr 10, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 918
Britain has hundreds of abandoned villages. How did they fall victim to history? And how are the communities that once called these places home remembered? With more than 4000 villages at risk of flooding over the coming decades, these question feels more pertinent than ever. Hannah Fearn is joined by historian Matthew Green, author of Shadowlands: A journey through lost Britain , to dig up the ruins of our gone but not (quite) forgotten lands. Matthew’s book is out in paperback from Faber and c...
Apr 09, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 917
Manchester’s music scene is famous the world over – but did Joy Division, the Haçienda and Factory Records really lead to a real estate boom that transformed the city? Journalist and adopted Mancunian Andy Spinoza tells Andrew Harrison how Tony Wilson’s empire triggered a boom that transformed the city’s skyline and more – as charted in his book Manchester Unspun: Pop, Property And Power In The Original Modern City . BOOK ORDER LINK: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Andy-Spinoza/Manchester-Unspun-...
Apr 08, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 916
In Sweden most people have a great deal of trust in the state, but in recent years vaccine scepticism has gained ground. Ethnographer Mia-Marie Hammarlin spent time in the Swedish countryside sharing saunas and kitchen tables with women who refused the COVID vaccine. She explains how a belief in the power of nature and spirituality, bolstered by conspiracy theories found online, has convinced some Swedes to refuse jabs. “There are high levels of social trust in Sweden.” “Trust in nature and spir...
Apr 07, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 915
In the autumn of 1984, the Provisional IRA almost wiped out the British Cabinet. Five people were killed in the Grand Hotel bombing. As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, The Guardian ’s Ireland correspondent Rory Carroll joins Gavin Esler to revisit the event that – had it been successful – would have changed British politics forever, and the way it did change history. Rory’s book Killing Thatcher: The IRA, the Manhunt and the Long War on the Crown can be bought here...
Apr 06, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 914
Next to births and deaths, taxes are one of life's only certainties. But with a tax system made up of a bewildering mish-mash of rates and loopholes, who are the winners and losers? And how can the system be hacked? Siân Pattenden is joined by the top-secret Rebel Accountant, author of Taxtopia , to explore how the tax system is scamming us all. “The poorest in society pay the most amount of tax – the whole system is rigged.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Siân Pattenden. Pr...
Apr 05, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 913
We know what political failure looks like in Britain. But why does it happen? Why do governments pass bad laws and ignore looming crises? Ben Ansell , author of Why Politics Fails , tells Ros Taylor why a small number of party members can impose leaders on the rest of us, how self-interest scuppers our decision making, and what happens to a mature democracy when politics stops working. Have we turned a corner since the disastrous Truss premiership? Or are we in for more of the same? “We have mov...
Apr 04, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 912
Donald Trump is to be arrested this week – what drama can we expect to unfold? Plus in the UK the Tories are looking at potholes, while Labour gets ‘tough on crime’ – are we completely out of new ideas? And as Suella Braverman continues to dream about Rwanda, why won’t she admit any flaws to her plans? Arthur Snell joins Jacob Jarvis to lay out what’s happening in the week ahead. • “ Trump is using his indictment to raise more funds.” • “London-based consultants create silly caricatures like ‘Sw...
Apr 03, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 911
Cold War fears of nuclear disaster have been replaced for many by the horrific prospect of climate oblivion. How can our past fears prepare us for the possibility of future catastrophe? Jude Rogers meets Dr Matthew Grant, a senior lecturer in History at the University of Essex, to discuss what lessons can be learnt from our ‘Protect and Survive’ days and how the past is shaping our responses to extreme weather. “The main fear of nuclear apocalypse wasn't that you'd die, but that you’d survive.” ...
Apr 02, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 910
Trump has been indicted and his arrest looms – what the hell is going on? Will this be his downfall or a boost to the former president? Brian Klaas , Washington Post columnist and associate professor at UCL, joins Alex Andreou to discuss what we know now, the fallout and how this all might play out. “There’s a viewpoint that Trump has stoked that any sort of criminal investigation involving him is automatically a witchhunt.” “The only question that matters to Republicans is, ‘Do you think this i...
Apr 01, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 909
Denmark is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. Gert Tinggard Svendsen of Aarhus University explains how Danes routinely hold each other to account for their actions so that political corruption is not tolerated. Wrongdoers find themselves outcast from Danish society, which acts as a powerful incentive to do the right thing. With Ros Taylor. “If you lie in Denmark, your reputation will be severely damaged. There’s no way back. You really have to do something extraordinary to compensa...
Mar 31, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 908
Did Henry Dimbleby really quit his role as the Government’s food policy advisor “in disgust”? Why have its attempts to create a healthier nation through our diet proved such a failure? And what should they be doing instead? Ros Taylor talks to the founder of LEON and the author of Ravenous: How To Get Ourselves And Our Planet Into Shape about the salad shortage, changing Britain’s food culture, the dark side of Bake Off … and why we still depend on celebrity intervention to get kids eating decen...
Mar 30, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 907
GB News launched with much fanfare two years ago and was swiftly mocked for the seeming ineptitude of its entire team. But, it’s still going – and getting more popular. And the questionable output is cranking up to be more extreme too… Should we be taking it more seriously? Jacob Jarvis asks William Turvill, associate editor of Press Gazette and media correspondent for New Statesman. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Jacob Jarvis. Assistant Producer: Kasia Tomasiewic...
Mar 29, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 906
Brexit is done — insofar as it ever will be. But the Brexit we got was not the one most Britons wanted. Years of bad-tempered Parliamentary battling only came to an end when Boris Johnson purged his MPs and stopped the Commons from sitting, then called a general election. Ros Taylor is joined by Meg Russell and Lisa James, authors of The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit , to talk about the damage done, the legacy of those years — and whether we should ever have a referendum again. “These terms o...
Mar 28, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 905
Mass protests in Israel as secular members of society fear a theocratic takeover from the religious right. Will Netanyahu be forced to halt his controversial judicial reforms? Plus, the focus of violent protests in France moves from Macron’s pensions reform to the President himself. Plus, what will be on the new SNP leader’s to-fix list? And Kwasi Kwarteng and Matt Hancock get caught out touting their Westminster influence at £10,000 a day. Hannah Fearn gives Andrew Harrison the stories to look ...
Mar 27, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 904
How do we support soldiers traumatised by war? And is the public too sheltered from the reality of life during and after conflict? As the 20th anniversary of Iraq reignites questions over the experience of war and care for service personnel, Arthur Snell is joined by Louise Jones , an ex-Army Officer who served in Afghanistan and an active Labour Party member , to discuss how war changes a person. “We have treated the Afghans we served with appallingly.” “As a country, we have let down those who...
Mar 26, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 903
The Republican Party was once hawkish in its stance towards Russia – but now some within its ranks seem sympathetic towards Putin and his regime. What’s changed? And why is there a split? Jacob Jarvis is joined by Jackie Calmes, columnist for the Los Angeles Times , to discuss. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Jacob Jarvis. Assistant Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Alex Rees. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is...
Mar 25, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 902
Suella Braverman’s plan to send refugees to Rwanda has been described as inhuman. But what is the country actually like? And what does the nation’s Government get out of the deal? Award winning journalist Anjan Sundaram joins Arthur Snell on a deep-dive into a country few of us know, but is rarely out of headlines. Anjan describes life after the genocide, the Western blind-spot to present human rights abuses and the political coercion at the heart of the present regime. Anjan wrote about the per...
Mar 24, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 901
The UK is “muddling towards extinction”, says the Irish thinker and journalist Fintan O’Toole . Neglected by a Westminster political class that’s preoccupied by Brexit, the things that once held it together are disappearing. He tells Ros Taylor how England is embracing a nationalism it can’t articulate, why the SNP has failed to get what it wants, and why the UK is not the natural union that its supporters believe it to be. “The UK was not a natural occurrence.” “Englishness knows what it is not...
Mar 23, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 900
NATO’s power has been thrown into sharp focus amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. How does it operate – and what has it got right and wrong of late? Alex Andreou is joined by Mark Webber , a professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham who is co-authoring the book What’s Wrong with NATO and How to Fix It , to discuss the military alliance. “Whenever NATO acts it is acting as the aggregate of its members, that is its great strength.” “What NATO has done very well is it has s...
Mar 22, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 899
The Iraq War began 20 years ago – what lessons have been, and what must still be, learned from this invasion? Arthur Snell , the host of Doomsday Watch who served as a diplomat in Iraq, joins Alex Andreou to discuss the mistakes that were made, the human and cultural costs of the conflict, and the arguments surrounding a conflict which fundamentally reshaped global politics. “There was a lot of groupthink and clustering around a set of predetermined conclusions.” “The human losses, the cultural ...
Mar 21, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 898
Both Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are in hot water – how will each try to wriggle their way out of trouble? The former PM faces the privileges committee for a grilling, while the ex-President has said he could be arrested this week. It’s also the twenty year anniversary of the second Iraq war, while bank Credit Suisse has been bought by UBS, and the ICC has issued an arrest warrant against Putin. Alex Andreou is joined by Gavin Esler to give you the stories to look out for this week. “We’re no...
Mar 20, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 897
Most people consider themselves reasonable. But are they? And what rules is that notion defined by? Siân Pattenden is joined by Kirsty Sedgman , author of On Being Unreasonable , to discuss what the response to breastfeeding in public, noisy theatre audiences, neighbourhood watch indiscretions and Edward Coulston show about society today – and whether our collective rules might be wrong. ““Being ‘reasonable’ has usually meant being a man.” “The NextDoor app shows us the dangers of thinking you a...
Mar 19, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 896
As Republicans play chicken with the debt ceiling, could America suffer a Liz Truss-esque financial meltdown? Alex Andreou speaks to Neil Malhotra , a professor of political economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business, to discuss this financial showdown being played out by Congress. “Republicans see it as part of a game – this is an opportunity to extract concessions.” “It’s like Liz Truss’ financial plans, it’s hard to know what might happen.” “As you found in the UK – what happens first is...
Mar 18, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 895
Tax breaks for the 1%, business giveaways that won’t make a difference, free child care that turns out to be a fraction of what’s needed, and nothing for public services. Does Jeremy Hunt’s Budget make sense? Is he loading the pain onto the next government because he knows it won’t be Conservative one? And can he put the post-Truss tax-cutting headbangers back in their box? New Economics Foundation chief exec and Bunker regular Miatta Fahnbulleh takes the Budget apart for Andrew Harrison. Suppor...
Mar 17, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 894
The unexpected “accidental” deaths of prominent Russians have become a dark joke in the West. But the truth about ‘Sudden Russian Death’ syndrome is even darker. Bill Browder campaigned for the Magnitsky Acts against Russian corruption and wrote Freezing Order: A True Story of Russian Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath. He tells Andrew Harrison about the chaos within wartime Russia; what turned Putin from a reformer into a despot; and why Ukraine must win this war. Yo...
Mar 16, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 893
The war in Syria began twelve years ago today. But who are the key players in this complex conflict? And how have changes of leadership in neighbouring countries and the recent earthquake changed how the war is being fought? Alex Andreou is joined by Christopher Phillips , professor of international politics at the Queen Mary University of London and author of The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East, to discuss the current status of the conflict. “Things have settled i...
Mar 15, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 892
