As Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum ramps up high-tech crackdowns on the nation’s cartels, Trump’s chaotic second term is throwing a spanner in the works. Alex von Tunzelmann speaks to David Shirk , Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of San Diego , to find out whether the MAGA movement is helping Mexico’s fight against organised crime or making things worse. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www....
Jun 11, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1579
From antiwar, Biden-backing Democrat to apologist for Assad and Putin and finally strident Trump loyalist, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard ’s political journey has been astonishing. Her taste for strongmen and conspiracy thought makes her perfect tool for Trump’s revenge on the intelligence community. The Guardian’s global affairs correspondent Andrew Roth explains why Gabbard’s appointment amounted to a middle finger to the security establishment, how she’s embedding paranoid so...
Jun 10, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1578
Elon Musk and Trump’s epic fallout continues – who will win this war of words? And how will the squabbling pair try to hurt each other next? Plus, there’s chaos on the streets of LA – how far will Trump take this? And back at home, there’s the spending review – who will be the winners and losers? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss all that and more on Start Your Week. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com / bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Writte...
Jun 09, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1577
Listen in to our sibling podcast American Friction as they pick apart the Trump-Musk breakup. Musk and Trump’s messy falling-out hit new heights this week. We recorded a whole episode, then it went nuts — so Ni kki McCann Ramiréz of Rolling Stone magazine and Jarv jumped on for a late night call and unpacked the madness. Listen in then we have a big old chat for the main show, with Chris too! Yay! Listen to the full episode of American Friction on all platforms. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go ...
Jun 07, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 1576
A Chinese ‘super embassy’ could be built in the heart of London – and intelligence experts say it would open the door to cyber interference at the heart of Britain’s financial system. Today on The Bunker , Gavin Esler sits down with security expert Nigel Inkster , former director of operations and intelligence MI6 and senior advisor at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, to ask if Britain is turning a blind eye to the growing threat from Beijing? With fears of espionage, tech thef...
Jun 06, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 1575
A special crossover edition from our partner podcast, This is Not a Drill. Ukraine’s daring drone attack Operation Spiderweb has stunned Russia with its stealth, precision planning and the damage it unleashed on warplanes based deep within Russian territory. The Bunker regular Gavin Esler is joined from Kyiv by This Is Not A Drill co-host Oz Katerji, to discuss the impact of an operation planned meticulously over the past 18 months – and what it means both for the war and the nature of asymmetri...
Jun 05, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1574
From memes demanding we “eat the rich” to real-world insurrections, the language of revolution is everywhere. But what does it really mean to call for one today? Zing Tsjeng is joined by Dan Edelstein , professor of political science and history at Stanford University and author of The Revolution to Come , to explore our relationship with revolutionary thought, from Ancient Greece, to the French revolution, through to the January 6th riots – and ask whether we need a revolution today. Buy The Re...
Jun 04, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1573
Wes Streeting? Angela Rayner? Andy Burnham? Or someone you’ve never heard of? Starmer won’t be stepping down any time soon – but what happens when he does? Who’s most likely to win the leadership? Do they have the right combination of personality and vision to get Labour out of its rut? And will it be yet another bloke? Ava Santina of PoliticsJoe joins Andrew Harrison around the crystal ball to see who’s most likely to lead Labour when Keir disappears. • Listen to Why? with Emma Kennedy: How cou...
Jun 03, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1572
The defence review is the big talking point of the moment – what’s new and how will Starmer frame it? Plus, Rafael Behr and Jacob Jarvis discuss other pressures on Labour, the state of conflicts across the globe and Trump’s latest conspiracy theory thinking. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Listen to the latest podcast from Podmasters, Crime Scene, the truth behind true crime with Alison Phillips and Bernard Hogan-Howe: https://linktr.ee/crim...
Jun 02, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1571
Donald Trump isn’t an emperor, yet – but who knows how he might change the US in the next few years. As he gets more dictatorial by the day, what lessons could we learn from Rome – and which Roman emperor is he most like? Peter Edwell is associate professor in ancient history at Macquarie University and joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Listen to the latest podcast from Podmasters, Crime Scene, the truth behind t...
May 30, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1570
Elon Musk seems to be limping off the political stage with a whimper. So was he ever the power behind the throne or just a useful idiot with a fat wallet and a massive platform for Trump to exploit? Today in The Bunker, Alex Von Tunzelmann is joined by Andrew Boujean , editor of The Washingtonian , to find out just how the richest man on earth m became the latest high profile figure to be chewed up and spat out by the Maga machine. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker fo...
May 29, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1569
Why did getting pillaged by Vikings ultimately help the economies of the Middle Ages? How did a flood of silver from conquered South America end up making Spain poorer? Was Genghis Khan the father of globalisation? And why was it a terrible idea to garland Luftwaffe fighter aces with medals and fame? In an absorbing new book Blood and Treasure: The Economics of Conflict from the Vikings to Ukraine , economist and historian Duncan Weldon explains how war shapes economies and economies shape wars…...
May 28, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1568
There are reports of chaos in Downing Street – but just how bad are things really? Ros Taylor talks Jacob Jarvis through the latest from Number 10 and how Farage is upping the pressure on Starmer. Plus, we look at world news to look out for in the coming days. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Listen to the latest podcast from Podmasters, Crime Scene, the truth behind true crime with Alison Phillips and Bernard Hogan-Howe: https://linktr.ee/cr...
May 27, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1567
Forget the storybook version of British history. Churchill without Hitler would be a forgotten windbag with a record of failure. Elizabeth I and Francis Drake didn’t defeat the Spanish – bad luck and bad weather sank the Armada. And Boudicca would be remembered as a sadistic tyrant if not for the Romans. Creator of the multi-million-selling kids’ series Horrible Histories Terry Deary brings his irreverent, fact-packed style to adult readers with A History of Britain in Ten Enemies . He tells And...
May 26, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1566
Donald Trump is obsessed with sport – and increasingly, sports stars are obsessed with him. From his ties to wrestling through to his connection to the UFC, fight sports in particular have shaped the way he approaches politics. To discuss this journey, Jacob Jarvis is joined by Tom Kludt, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, who recently wrote a piece headlined A Guide to Donald Trump’s Jockocracy: 100 Days of Sports and Politics. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker fo...
May 23, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1565
Whatever happened to the promise of social media? What started as a buzzing digital town square now feels like a ghost town overrun with fake news, A.I. slop and disinformation. LBC tech correspondent Will Guyatt joins Natasha Devon to ask: Is social media dying – and what could possibly take its place? • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bunkerpod.bsky.social Written an...
May 22, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 1564
From ancient Mayan prophecies to the QAnon faithful awaiting the next biblical storm, humanity has never been able to resist a good apocalypse. Today in The Bunker , Gavin Esler is joined by Tom Phillips , author of A Brief History of the End of the F**king World , to talk about asteroid anxiety, finding community in chaos, and why dreaming about doomsday might just be the ultimate form of escapism. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Buy A Br...
May 21, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1563
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, two of the world’s most powerful autocrats, are cosying up to each other in a bromance that could have seismic consequences. Today in The Bunker , Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick , expert on Sino-Russian relations and senior research scientist in the China and Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Division at CNA, joins Chris Jones to look at the motivations behind the pair’s partnership, the cracks beneath the surface, and what their relationship could mean for the rest of the wor...
May 20, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 1562
Keir Starmer is hoping for positive news from an EU summit this week. What can we expect to see and what could block any sort of “deal”? Plus, we look at the latest from elections in Europe and news from the US, as Trump makes more horrible plans for the world. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Listen to the latest podcast from Podmasters, Crime Scene, the truth behind true crime with Alison Phillips and Bernard Hogan-Howe: https://linktr.ee/c...
May 19, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1561
Trump’s plan for Hollywood isn’t really a plan, yet. He claims to want to boost the film industry – but will he revive it or wreck it even more? As he talks about tariffs on movies coming into the US, we try to pick apart what he actually means. Daniel Bessner , historian, journalist and co-host of the American Prestige podcast, joins Alex von Tunzelmann to discuss. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. • Listen to Crime Scene – the truth behind true cr...
May 16, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1560
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK seems to be going from strength to strength – and running in politics isn’t cheap. So where are they getting their money from? Seth Thévoz speaks to Peter Geoghegan, author of the Democracy for Sale substack , to discuss where the cash is coming from and how it’s being raised. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Listen to the latest podcast from Podmasters, Crime Scene, the truth behind true crime with Alison Phillips and Bernar...
May 15, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1559
Keir Starmer’s migration speech has sparked a backlash – from across the political spectrum and for various reasons. Do we have a “problem” with migration – and what does the PM actually think he’s solving? Gavin Esler speaks with migration policy expert and campaigner Zoe Gardner to unpack what’s really going on, what circumstances are impacting the numbers, how we can be more honest about the situation – and what you really need to know about it. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bu...
May 14, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1558
Keir Starmer presented the US/UK trade deal as a jobs-saving triumph. Badenoch claims we were “shafted”. What’s the real picture? Will car, beef and ethanol (?) exports to the US make a difference to our economy? Why are the people who demanded Brexit so furious that we’ve signed exactly the sort of deal Brexit was supposed to facilitate? And while we’re here, what’s the truth about the Indian trade deal and the National Insurance exemptions that so enrage the the Take Back Controllers? Import/e...
May 13, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 1557
Labour is announcing a raft of new immigration rules to “toughen up” in what is being branded a “crackdown”. What are they announcing and what will it mean? Ros Taylor and Gavin Esler discuss the latest proposals. Plus, they look at the latest from Ukraine peace talks and ask what Trump is getting up to this week. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Listen to the latest podcast from Podmasters, Crime Scene, the truth behind true crime with Alison Philli...
May 12, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 1556
Try the latest edition of our new podcast where ex-Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe and former Mirror editor Alison Phillips bring you the truth about true crime. On this episode: When police shoot dead a suspect the consequences are huge. But how is the decision to shoot to kill made? Is firearms policy fit for purpose? And is it right that the officer cleared of murdering Londoner Chris Kaba in a police roadblock now faces gross misconduct charges? Bernard and Alison share unprecedented ins...
May 10, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 2
The SDP blasted through politics in the early 80s, hoovering up blockbuster by-election wins and a quarter of the national vote. They were a gift to the Thatcher Government – splitting the opposition vote and ensuring Tory power. So how come today’s insurgents, Reform UK, aren’t seen as a boon to Starmer but a mortal threat to Labour *and* the Conservatives? Steve Richards of the Rock & Roll Politics podcast takes Andrew Harrison back to the heady days of the Gang Of Four to see what the SDP...
May 09, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1555
Mark Neville is on the ground in Ukraine, not just taking pictures but also delivering aid and exposing the realities of the conflict through his work. He joins Dorian Lynskey in The Bunker to discuss his new project Diary of a Volunteer , the ethics of conflict photography, the toll of PTSD, and the role photographers play in shaping how wars are remembered. Links to Mark’s work: https://www.instagram.com/marknevillestudio https://www.postcodeukraine.com/ • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to htt...
May 08, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1554
The death of Pope Francis has raised questions over the future of the Catholic Church – and what type of successor we might see. Could they follow the progressive path he set, or are they likely to be more conservative? To discuss what might happen next, Ros Taylor is joined by David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Follow us on BlueSky:...
May 07, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 1553
The fallout of the local elections have left Labour and the Tories in a tizz, with neither party entirely sure how to react to Farage’s gloating. So what way will Starmer end up leaning? Ros Taylor talks Jacob Jarvis through the latest domestic politics, plus we look at elections around the world, and lessons which can be learned. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Listen to the latest podcast from Podmasters, Crime Scene, the truth behind true crime w...
May 06, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1552
Bunker listeners, try a bite-sized sample of our brand new podcast CRIME SCENE . Every week ex-Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe and former Mirror editor Alison Phillips lift the lid on how criminal investigations really work. In our debut episode: The horrific shooting of an innocent nine-year-old girl in Dalston in 2024 laid bare bitter rivalries between London’s armed gangs. Are police they fighting a losing battle against guns in the Capital? Want to know more? Search CRIME SCENE fo...
May 02, 2025•11 min•Season 2Ep. 1
