The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Who will be the big winner at the local elections – and will Farage make it sound like it was Reform UK no matter what happens? Plus, Trump marks 100 days in office – how does this stand up to previous presidents? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to talk through the news to look out for for the week ahead. Subscribe to Crime Scene, the truth about true crime with Bernard Hogan-Howe and Alison Phillips, out on Thursday 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 Gavin Esler.. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Political allegories and woke wars, Patrick Troughton’s louche sex life, the madness of Tom Baker, Doctor Who’s strange grip on Britain’s psychic landscape… Fascinating new book Exterminate! Regenerate! The Story of Doctor Who is a bigger-on-the-inside popular history of Who for the general reader. Author John Higgs talks to confirmed Who addict Andrew Harrison live onstage at the Rock’n’Roll Book Club https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/ in London’s cosmic Walthamstow. • Buy Exterminate! Regenerate! The Story of Doctor Who 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. Picture courtesy Joel Morris. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Live audio: Jim Dobson. Audio edit by Sara Farolfi. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do we really mean by free speech? How has the definition changed over time? And why is it always so contentious? As the issue remains the cause of political arguments across the world, Seth Thévoz speaks to Fara Dabhoiwala, historian and the author of What is free speech? The history of a dangerous idea to ask who decides what we can and can’t say? • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Buy What is free speech? The history of a dangerous idea through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. https://bookshop.org/’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bunkerpod.bsky.social Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump spent his last campaign distancing himself from Project 2025. But since returning to office, he’s followed its blueprint with surprising precision. It's already reshaped American life and the workings of government – but could the most dramatic changes still be ahead? Today on The Bunker, Jacob Jarvis sits down with David A. Graham, author of The Project, to explore Project 2025 and how its authors’ growing influence could shape the future of the Trump administration. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Buy The Project: How Project 2025 is Reshaping America and the World through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. https://bookshop.org/’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Labour’s election guru, a modern-day Macchiavelli, the power behind the PM, a “permanent insurgent”… Starmer’s Chief Of Staff Morgan McSweeney is perhaps the most powerful unelected person in politics. Who is he? What does he want? Is he behind the party’s lurch right – and can he win Labour a second term? Steve Richards of the unmissable Rock and Roll Politics podcast tells Andrew Harrison what makes McSweeney tick. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Charlie Duffield. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Housewife: Why Women are Still Cleaning Up through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. https://bookshop.org/’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Coco Khan. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Charlie Duffield. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 sponsored credit. Buy The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and the Plot to Infiltrate the West through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. https://bookshop.org/’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bunkerpod.bsky.social Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Harrison about the cloudy history and the destiny of the ubiquitous thumbs-up. • Buy Like: The Button That Changed The World 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. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Charlie Duffiled & Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 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. • 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.. Audio editor: Simon Williams and Sara Farolfi. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Buy A Climate of Truth: Why We Need It and How To Get It through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. https://bookshop.org/’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Trump’s ongoing efforts to hollow out the United States’ security infrastructure. • 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 Jacob Jarvis. Produced by Liam Tait. Audio editors: Simon Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 by Indeed. Go to https://indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. https://www.patreon.com/c/bunkercast Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Liam Tait. Audio editors: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 error in the modern era.” • Buy Why Politicians Lie About Trade 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. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corruption through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. https://bookshop.org/’s fees help support independent bookshops too. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to https://Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Charlie Duffield and Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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… what really shapes the identities of generations… why we must fix the huge problem that we’re separating the generations more than ever… and the truth about the impending “Great Wealth Transfer”. • Buy The Generation Divide 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. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production by Simon Williams and Charlie Duffiield. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 on Patreon for early episodes and more • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Property Journalist of the Year Hannah Fearn; and NIMBY-Hunter General Jonn Elledge. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 look at the current state of British TV and find out what can be done to revive the industry. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 newsletter Citation Needed explains all to Andrew Harrison. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices