Artificial intelligence is chewing through the economy, wiping out manual work and supposedly safe professional jobs alike. Are politicians’ promises that A.I. will create new, better jobs to replace the ones it destroys hollow? How will we handle a world with drastically fewer jobs? Will it be an Oscar Wilde paradise or a Matrix nightmare? And did the Luddites have a point after all? Economic analyst and author of A World Without Work Daniel Susskind meets Andrew Harrison at the New Claims wind...
Feb 19, 2026•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1752
How did Britain, a country bursting with factions, movements and rebellions, end up dominated by two major parties? Today in The Bunker , Seth Thévoz is joined by historian George Owers, author of The Rage of Party , to trace the fierce rivalry between Whigs and Tories that shaped our modern political norms and to explore why its legacy still shapes every election Britain fights. Buy George’s book The Rage of Party: How Whig Versus Tory Made Modern Britain through our affiliate bookshop and you’...
Feb 18, 2026•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1751
The Russian army invading Ukraine today is very different to the one which started the conflict. How are things going for Putin’s military – and how can Ukraine and Europe push back against them? Shashank Joshi, defence editor at The Economist, joins Gavin Esler to discuss. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bunkerpod.bsky.social • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION peopl...
Feb 17, 2026•22 min•Season 1Ep. 1750
Setting up the stories of the week ahead… At the Munich Security Conference, Yvette Cooper calls out Russia for the murder of Alexei Navalny but what is Britain going to do about it? And what’s behind Marco Rubio’s apparently conciliatory tone? Plus Britain rushes forward a social media ban for teenagers, John Healey is this week’s next Keir Starmer… and are you ready for the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse? Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison guide you through the next seven days. • Hear more on Brit...
Feb 16, 2026•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1749
Keir Starmer survives the worst week of his premiership – just. The Epstein whirlpool drags Sarah Ferguson downwards (astonishing BBC feature here ). New investigations into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Plus: the US Government trolls LGBTQ+ Americans by removing Pride flags from outside the Stonewall Inn. The winners and losers of the week. And no pork scratchings at the Peppa Pig stage show. Jonn Elledge and Andrew Harrison round up the stories of the week that’s just gone. www.patreon.com/bunke...
Feb 13, 2026•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1748
The new Wuthering Heights film is already sparking debate. From saucy costume choices to renewed arguments over what Heathcliff should look like, raising a bigger question: Why are we still arguing about a novel published nearly 200 years ago? Today in The Bunker , Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by historian, playwright and author Samantha Ellis , How to be a Heroine , to ask: have we all been getting Wuthering Heights wrong this whole time? Buy Samanth’s book How To Be A Heroine Or, what I’ve le...
Feb 12, 2026•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1747
Back in 2001 Eric Schlosser’s masterwork of investigative journalism Fast Food Nation exposed the dirty secrets of America’s “convenience restaurant” business: the catastrophic treatment of livestock, the terrible wages, the injuries, poor pay and outbreaks of food poisoning… and worse. The book started a conversation about food health around the world. Now, 25 years later, a weird mix of wellness woo and RFK Jr’s anti-science Make America Healthy Again movement dominates the debate – and fast f...
Feb 11, 2026•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1746
Trump has stripped US foreign policy down from a mix of carrot and stick into an ideological cudgel to beat friends and foes alike – and a lurid horrorshow for domestic consumption in Red America. But who’s actually running the show? Is America’s realignment with the world purely dependent on Trump’s whims or is there something coherent going on in there? Is it all just 1980s real estate thuggery writ large? And where is it all heading? The Economist’s Geopolitics Editor David Rennie explains th...
Feb 10, 2026•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1745
Setting up the stories of the next seven days… Labour’s widely unpopular senior advisor Morgan McSweeney falls on his sword but will it be enough to stop Starmer from being consumed by the Mandelson/Epstein fallout? Plus the unfolding Tulsi Gabbard scandal, make or break for the assisted dying bill, Cuba in trouble… and minnows vs giants in the FA Cup, except the minnows are owned by former Man Utd players. Gavin Esler talks Andrew Harrison through the stories of the week ahead. www.patreon.com/...
Feb 09, 2026•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1744
Wrapping up the stories of the week… With Peter Mandelson quitting the Lords after more damning info emerged from the Epstein files, will this lead to Starmer’s demise? Zoë Grünewald and Jacob Jarvis discuss this and more as they round up the biggest stories from the past week. • Head to nakedwines.co.uk/thebunker to get 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bunkerpod.bsky.social • A...
Feb 06, 2026•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1743
Donald Trump didn’t threaten to take over Greenland only for reasons of military conquest. The arctic territory contains significant deposits of rare earth metals including dysprosium, terbium and yttrium. They’re vital to tech – and currently, China controls a staggering 95% of them. But what are they and why are they so valuable? Commodities journalist Ronan Murphy , Editor of Argus Non-Ferrous Markets , tells Gavin Esler about the real economics behind Trump’s bluster; why invading Greenland ...
Feb 05, 2026•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1742
How has money laundering become such a major business and why do we struggle to stop it? Oliver Bullough, bestselling author of Moneyland and Butler to the World , joins Seth Thévoz to discuss his new book Everybody Loves Our Dollars - How Money Laundering Won. Buy Everybody Loves Our Dollars through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Adverti...
Feb 04, 2026•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1741
“Well that’s just, like, your opinion, man…” We’re swamped with hot takes, cold takes, tepid takes and more opinions than anyone can handle. Now Paper Cuts survivors Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge join Andrew Harrison to choose the weirdest (and occasionally best) columns of the month… so you don’t have to. This time: Telegraph reverse-ferrets on Trump, Sarah Vine goes H.A.M. on the Beckhams, everyone tries to wring something out of The Traitors… and much more! • Spotted a column we should talk...
Feb 03, 2026•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1740
Yet more damning information linking Andrew to Epstein has emerged and former diplomat Peter Mandelson has also quit Labour due to new information. Will this scandal ever reach a conclusion? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the fallout and the week ahead in news. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. ...
Feb 02, 2026•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1739
Trump continues to reign terror upon Americans with his ICE crackdowns. Protests are heating up after two killings at the hands of ICE officers – how far will this division spread and what consequences will it have? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why no...
Jan 30, 2026•34 min•Season 1Ep. 1738
Donald Trump continues to eye Greenland, as he continues to float the idea of annexing the Danish territory. Europe has rallied behind Denmark and Greenland, which insists nothing is up for negotiation. So what’s really going on? Today on The Bunker, Alex von Tunzelmann speaks to Dr Christine Nissen of the European Council on Foreign Relations about Europe’s pushback against Trump’s pressure tactics, what this standoff reveals about shifting global power and what it means for the people who actu...
Jan 29, 2026•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1737
The public executions of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE in Minneapolis have horrified America. Now the Trump Administration is slandering Good and any woman who protests as a trivial, out-of-control “Wine Mom” or an “AWFUL”: Affluent White Female Urban Liberals . What are these new iterations of the hated “Karen” meme telling us about the misogyny that powers MAGA – and Trump’s vulnerability? Podcaster and New York Times writer Molly Jong-Fast takes Andrew Harrison on a tour of the pol...
Jan 28, 2026•20 min•Season 1Ep. 1736
Trump’s foreign policy has been described as “the Donroe Doctrine”, harking back to the Monroe Doctrine. How does the current president’s expansionist mindset compare with this historical outlook? History Seth Thévoz and borders expert Jonn Elledge discuss what the Monroe Doctrine was, how it was formed and how it measures up to the present day. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bunkerpod.bsky.social • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential...
Jan 27, 2026•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1735
Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has been blocked from standing as an MP sparking a fresh row within Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. What will the fall out look like? Does the PM come out stronger or weaker? Gavin Esler and Ros Taylor discuss this and the other issues to look out for in politics this week. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every mont...
Jan 26, 2026•21 min•Season 1Ep. 1734
Catching you up on the big stories of the week… Trump blusters, threatens and rambles his way through the World Economic Forum week in Davos, insulting America’s allies. Where does this shitshow leave the semblance of Western security? Plus: the Chinese mega-embassy, super-intelligent cows, whatever the hell is going on with the Beckhams… and would you fly RyanAir if Elon Musk owned it? The Guardian’s Rafael Behr reads the entrails of another brain-dissolving week with Andrew Harrison . www.patr...
Jan 23, 2026•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1733
The government says it’s getting serious about childhood obesity, with a ban on junk food ads before 9pm and online. Today on The Bunker, Zoë Grünewald is joined by Dr Beverley O’Hara lecturer in Public Health Nutrition at Leeds Beckett University to find out whether this is real reform or a rerun of previous failed plans. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Zoë Grünewald. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Ma...
Jan 22, 2026•19 min•Season 1Ep. 1732
Pete Hegseth is one of the most powerful people in Trump’s orbit as the self-proclaimed secretary of ‘war’. He has a huge budget and the weight of the entire American military at his disposal. What will he do with it and why has he caused such chaos so far? Guardian US politics reporter Joseph Gedeon joins us to discuss. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Audio production: Simon Williams. Producer: Liam Tait. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harr...
Jan 21, 2026•24 min•Season 1Ep. 1731
After the Cold War ended, the West thought of Russia as a potential ally, a protégé nation ripe for liberal democracy. How wrong we were. Western ignorance, short-termism, and a catastrophic failure to understand how humiliation grips the Russian psyche – plus the suspicious and resentful mindset of eventual supreme leader Vladimir Putin – have led Russia to a dark place of vengeance, neofascism and the horrors of Ukraine. How did we get here? And can we get out? Former BBC and Reuters Moscow Co...
Jan 20, 2026•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1730
Trump is trying to bully and blackmail the world with cashgrabs and tariff threats. How will his actions play out and how will leaders respond? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the key issues and questions for the days ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our...
Jan 19, 2026•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1729
What a week! We kick off with the news of Robert Jenrick being booted from the Tories. Is this good for Badenoch? Is it good for him? Is it good for anything?! Plus, we look at our winners and losers and an under the radar story you might have missed, with Seth Thévoz and Jacob Jarvis. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Seth Thévoz. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNK...
Jan 16, 2026•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1728
Open warfare between British citizens is “inevitable” according to Elon Musk. Farage says “I don’t think anybody in London even understands how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale.” New Reform convert Nadim Zahawi says we’re entering “a dark and dangerous chapter”. Where is all this talk coming from? Why are the Right so keen on these apocalyptic ideas? And beyond all the hysteria, what really triggers civil wars? Political commentator and author Phil Tinline tells Andrew Harrison...
Jan 15, 2026•31 min•Season 1Ep. 1727
If racism is supposed to be in retreat in Britain, why does it feel so much harder to ignore? We like to see ourselves as a tolerant, post-multicultural country, yet that story jars with a reality in which racial hostility feels more visible: spread across social media and validated by politicians. But is this really a rise in racism, or the effect of heightened scrutiny driven by the internet? Today on The Bunker, Zoë Grünewald is joined by Rahul Sambaraju , Lecturer in Psychology at City St Ge...
Jan 14, 2026•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1726
One year into Donald Trump’s second term, 2026 is already looking worse than 2025. In just its opening days, the White House has intervened militarily in Venezuela, seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, and revived threats to take Greenland by force. All of this unfolds alongside a faltering economy, violent ICE raids, slipping poll numbers, and the unresolved Epstein files. Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by Dr Casey Burgat, Legislative Affairs Program Director at George Wash...
Jan 13, 2026•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1725
Hundreds are killed by the Iranian government as the country erupts into its most serious rebellion since the Woman Life Freedom protests of 2022. Will Iran finally overthrow its theocratic oppressors? And will Trump intervene now he’s decided that not only Venezuela and Greenland but Cuba too are subject to his whim? Plus: financing Britain’s defence against Russia, is the pubs “bailout” really a bailout, and will Labour ban X? Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison set out the stories of the week ahea...
Jan 12, 2026•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1724
Wrapping up the stories of the week, Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to dig into the fallout from Trump’s frenetic first week of 2026. From military intervention in Venezuela to the looming threat to seize control of Greenland, the President kicks off America’s 250th year with a bang. Plus, should Remainers be getting excited about Keir Starmer’s plan to reset the UK’s relationship with the EU? And finally, Alex’s under-the-radar story takes us to Texas, where a proposal to ban the...
Jan 09, 2026•30 min•Season 1Ep. 1723
