The brand new podcast from the makers of The Bunker. Bewildered by the US Presidential Election? Don’t worry, American Friction has got you. Every Friday Chris Jones , Jacob Jarvis and Nikki McCann Ramírez of Rolling Stone join expert special guests to count down to America’s most rancorous election in generations. Get the full episode and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify and all major platforms . Follow us on social media: Twitter Instagram TikTok Written and presented by Chris Jones, Jaco...
May 03, 2024•8 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Fox News is regularly criticised for being sensationalist, full of conspiracies and obsessed with Trump. But, what’s it like if you really watch it for hours on end? Jacob Jarvis did just that and he talked to Dan Cassino , a political scientist at Fairleigh Dickinson University and author of: Fox News and American Politics: How One Channel Shapes American Politics and Society, about what he saw. What is the channel, which has been America’s most watched cable news station for twenty years, real...
May 03, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1281
Trump’s followers are often described as cult-like. But how much does the former president actually act like a cult leader? Does he employ the same coercive control tactics utilised by infamous infamous figureheads of the past – like Jim Jones and Sun Myung Moon? The Cult of Trump author and leading mind control expert Steven Hassan tells Rafael Behr how perceiving Trump as a cult leader might let us better understand the current political climate. • “People don’t care that Trump has ninety-one ...
May 02, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1280
Satire has been pronounced dead more times than disco. As the political world has lurched into chaos, satirists have struggled to match the absurdity of the figures they mock. But what happens if politics gets boring? Andrew Harrison is joined by Jan Ravens to find out how satire can survive beyond the next general election. • “Liz Truss’s tragic flaw is that she hasn't grown up. She is still a little girl expecting approval.” – Jan Ravens • “Satire can't bring down the government, but it can at...
May 01, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1279
We live in a world of borders – and often take them for granted. But they’ve shaped the world in myriad ways over the centuries. Our politicians go to extreme lengths to secure them and in some cases build giant walls to protect them. So what can we learn from examining their history? Andrew Harrison is joined by Jonn Elledge , author of A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps , as we talk about the weird and wonderful history of the lines on our maps. • “O...
Apr 30, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1278
It’s the local elections this week – just how bad does it look for Rishi Sunak? As general election rumours swirl, he’s going to be crossing everything in the coming days… And there was the no confidence vote in Scotland lined up – but it’s been reported Humza Yousaf will quit before it happens. Plus, Trump’s trial continues – will he contain his rage as it rolls on? Then finally we turn to Gaza and look at the latest in terms of ceasefire talks . All that and more in Start Your Week, with Ros T...
Apr 29, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 1277
Silicon Valley presents itself as a haven for tech start-ups wanting to change the world for the better. But, beneath the facade, it has a serious fraud problem. Why do tricksters thrive among the geniuses? Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX crypto exchange is the latest high-profile example – but he’s far from being the first tech start-up founder to wind up in jail. Erin Griffith is a reporter for the New York Times specialising in tech and finance – and joins Chris Jones in The Bunker to d...
Apr 26, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1276
The Conservative Party was once a unified force, able to steadily maintain power. But today’s Tories are in constant turmoil. How did they become the party of chaos? Since Brexit there’s been a revolving door of leaders, the rise of tribalism within the party and a series of humiliating byelection losses. Alex Andreou is joined by professor of politics at Queen Mary University Tim Bale to try and understand this shift in conservative politics. • “ Everything that top Tories say needs to be consi...
Apr 25, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1275
The prospect of a new Civil War in the United States is increasingly discussed as political turmoil rips through America. How could such a conflict actually break out? Rob Hutton is joined by The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future author Stephen Marche to discuss the terrifying new film Civil War – and how the reality could be even worse. • “Civil wars when they come are the very worst things that can happen to a country. In England, the civil war demonstrated a level of brutali...
Apr 24, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1274
The Union Jack represents many things for many people, linked to historical pride – but also shame. And, unfortunately, it’s become somewhat synonymous with the political Right. So what is Labour’s relationship with the flag? Andrew Harrison asks The People's Flag and the Union Jack: An Alternative History of Britain and the Labour Party co-author Gerry Hassan if Labour can reclaim Britishness. • “I don’t think anyone in the UK can be completely objective about the Union Jack. Flags are things w...
Apr 23, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1273
Sunak has lost another MP after Mark Menzies announced he’s leaving the Tories and won’t stand at the next election. What issues does this raise for the PM? Meanwhile, the Tory leader is set to head to Poland to discuss the Ukraine war with Donald Tusk. What will they talk about? Plus, will Israel go ahead with further strikes on Rafah? And can Donald Trump manage to stay awake during his hush money trial this week? Alex Andreou joins Ros Taylor to discuss the week ahead. • “They were happy to c...
Apr 22, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1272
We know what happened the last time Donald Trump lost – and Joe Biden wants to make sure he’s prepared for more shenanigans this time out. If Trump doesn’t win “he is willing to cheat and steal it,'' writes today’s guest Adam Rawnsley , reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. He joins Jacob Jarvis in The Bunker to discuss how President Biden is preparing for an electoral tussle with the GOP. • “The one message we keep seeing from the polls is that no one is excited for this race.” – Adam Rawnsley •...
Apr 19, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1271
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...
Apr 18, 2024•24 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 th...
Apr 17, 2024•20 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•28 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•25 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•22 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•25 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 Dona...
Apr 10, 2024•24 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•25 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•22 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•24 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 ...
Apr 04, 2024•21 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 ethical...
Apr 03, 2024•27 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•26 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 W...
Mar 29, 2024•22 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•30 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 Al...
Mar 27, 2024•28 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•28 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 [...
Mar 25, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1252
