The Bunker – News without the nonsense

What’s left of the Sensible Tory MPs finally, finally find something to rebel on: the Government’s decision to slash international aid and potentially leave thousands to die. Plus will Johnson get strong-armed at the G7 over Northern Ireland and the taxing of multinationals? And England go to a major football tournament for the first time since the Culture Wars were declared. What could possibly go wrong? Arthur Snell explains it all. • “If international development funds are cut, hundreds of thousands of people really could die.” • “£4bn might seem like a lot – but Dido Harding blasts through that in a week on her useless Test and Trace.” • “Neither Johnson nor Sunak want to be the man who switched off furlough.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the new populist Conservatives stoking culture wars, is identity politics becoming progressives’ self-inflicted weakness? Friend of the podcast and former editor of The Spectator, Tortoise’s Matthew d’Ancona joins Nick Cohen to discuss why populism is destined to fail, his new book, Identity, Ignorance, Innovation: Why The Old Politics Is Useless And What To Do About It, and leaving the cinema to find fifteen missed calls from Boris Johnson… “In every generation, there is a progressive moment – and this is it.” “There are always new elites, and there is going to be a Boris elite.” “The kind of conservatism I was suggesting in the 1990s doesn't really exist anymore.” Presented by Nick Cohen. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Matthew-dAncona/Identity-Ignorance-Innovation--Why-the-old-politics-is-us/25426615 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Labour lost swathes of working class votes in 2019. Is “progressive patriotism” the answer to getting them back? And what does it even look like? Dan Jarvis, Labour MP for Barnsley Central, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region and author of the memoir Long Way Home Love, Life, Death and Everything in Between, talks to Alex Andreou about why love of country could be Labour’s route back to power, why the left are so reluctant to be patriotic… and how his extraordinary life has shaped his political outlook. • “On numerous occasions in 2019 I prepared myself for a physical altercation, such was the anger on the doorstep.” • “In 100 years of the Labour Party, nobody has inherited a more difficult situation than Keir Starmer.” • “People want their MPs to have had real life experiences. I’m a better MP and Mayor because I’ve done other things.” • “COVID provides us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to for radical change. I really hope we take it” • “It’s entirely consistent to love your country, but also to want it to be better. And we haven’t reached our potential.” Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/dan-jarvis/long-way-home/9781408710708/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Delta Variant continues to spread, is it time for the Government to give up on a grand reopening on June 21 – and for the press to stop calling it “Freedom Day”? And if Dominic Cummings’ revelations are proving to be a bit of a damp squib in the polls, what will it take to move an electorate that’s not interested in the truth? Special guest MUSA OKWONGA – author of One Of Them: An Eton Memoir and host of the amazing Stadio football podcast – joins us to mull these matters and football’s worrying future too. • “Johnson promising fidelity? He’s probably had mistresses called Fidelity.” – Alex Andreou • “You can forgive the British public for not thinking Cummings is the most trustworthy • person.” – Yasmeen Serhan • “A lot of people are very comfortable – and happy to sit back and watch the world burn.” – Musa Okongwa • “Lord Geidt has fulfilled his job as Lord Chief Whitewasher.” – Alex Andreou Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Yasmeen Serhan and Alex Andreou. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As COVID cases rise again, do we need to brace for a full Third Wave? Has the Government learned anything from the disastrous consequences of their last two late lockdowns? And do we really need to rename the variants? Plus the Tories’ polling takes a post-Cummings hit, and the Pentagon prepares to reveal its UFO research. ROS TAYLOR sets up your week ahead. • “Don’t worry about mixing on beaches. Worry about mixing in homes.” • “We don't even know if the Kent variant started in Kent.” • “People will be shocked by how much travel has changed when they can travel again.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daniel Morgan’s murder in 1987 exposed a toxic nexus between the police, private investigators, and top politicians. And over thirty years later, Priti Patel is putting her foot down on the release of the public report. Friend of the podcast and Financial Times columnist David Allen Green joins Alex Andreou to join the dots between cabinet and cop corruption, and why the Home Office’s excuses nothing but “codswallop”… "The police, private investigators, and government have all worked together since 1987." "Each of the parties involved had an ultimate weapon." "The Home Office had three motivations - delay, forewarn, retract." "The report could reveal that this goes far into the Met, and very far into Fleet Street and private industry." "This is the Home Secretary trying to bully an independent panel." "This is just government intolerance of anyone outside of the central government having power." "Conspiracies are used to cover cock-ups…the Home Office just did not like the idea of learning about this at the same time as everyone else." Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s an increasingly cynical, unequal, unpredictable and worrying world. So what are we going to do about it? Turkish journalist and author Ece Temelkuran, talks to Dorian Lynskey about her new book Together: 10 Choices For a Better Now, how we can rebuild faith in humankind, the journalistic experiences which shaped her worldview, and why we should focus our anger on those in power rather than on social media. “Hopelessness is a timid code for the loss of people’s faith in their own kind.” “I try to talk about politics without the political discourse, and it’s not a piece of cake.” “What you do as a journalist is to witness the extraordinary.” “Anger is a commodity on social media, and we are selling our most intimate emotions.” Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump’s Big Lie that Democrats stole the Presidential election is poisoning Republican minds against democracy itself. Could a future Republican Congress simply refuse to confirm an elected Democrat as President in 2024? Would Democrats willingly hand power to a victorious Republican – possibly Trump himself – who was openly committed to curtailing democracy? Georgetown public policy professor Donald Moynihan looks at these nightmare scenarios and explains why American democracy is in critical danger. • “The Big Lie is not a marginal idea… Some 55 to 70% of Republicans believe that Trump won the election.” • “If these ideas remain dominant it could lead to the end of democracy as we know it in the United States.” • “The Republican Party hasn’t bothered with a sensible autopsy like in 2012 because it’s committed to this Big Lie.” • Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Ayesha Hazarika and Justin Quirk. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While Labour agonises over whether it can reclaim working class votes, one question gets lost: what is work for? What do we get from it? If “good work” can give life meaning in an automated world, can Labour capture the post-working class world? Jon Cruddas, Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, talks to Ian Dunt about his new book The Dignity of Labour, why the somewhere-anywhere mantra is “wretched”, what Starmer can take from FDR… and if the dream of “automated luxury communism” is just Get Out Of Jail politics. • “Dignity today is often more about how you die than how you live.” “The work that we value most in society – caring for one another - is the work that we value least in pay.” “I fear that the Right want the Left to choose between Somewhere and Anywhere, so they can lock in their power forever.” • “Progressive politics is being outmanoeuvred at every turn. We need to turn the tide.” Presented by Ian Dunt. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jon-Cruddas/The-Dignity-of-Labour/25421083 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Conservative Britain batters the BBC with a Diana-shaped club, is this latest attack more serious than a customary Mail-on-Broadcasting-House punishment beating? Special guest Liz Saville Roberts MP, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, explains the grim truth behind Britain’s trade future and tells us why English people should support Welsh independence. And why can’t Brexit Britain stop coming bottom in Eurovision? • “We had a huge market on our doorstep, and now we’re trying to replace it with one thousands of miles away” – Liz Saville Roberts • “If you love the BBC, you should want it to be held to a high standard than the tabloids.” – Ayesha Hazarika • “Can you imagine the headlines if Diana were around now? ‘Look at this woke virtue-signaller.’” – Justin Quirk Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Ayesha Hazarika and Justin Quirk. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can European countries do about Belarusian tyrant Alexander Lukashenko’s bizarre “air piracy” move to divert a RyanAir flight and make a dissident disappear? What does Dominic Cummings have in store for his Westminster appearance on Wednesday? And the BBC haters scent blood. NAOMI SMITH sets up another glorious week in politics. • “Lots of popcorn shall be consumed this week.” • “Why on earth are we having to rely on Cummings for COVID scrutiny? Where are the opposition parties?” • “The BBC row is manna from heaven for Tories who want to stoke the culture wars.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A surprise weekend extra edition, because there’s just too much news… Apparently we’re doing a “gradual” tariff-free deal with Australia. What exactly does that mean? Will it really wipe out the Welsh lamb industry and Scottish hill farmers? And have Johnson and Truss given away Britain’s negotiating advantage just for a headline? International trade expert and former negotiator Dmitry Grozoubinski explains how one deal could come back to bite Brexit Britain in painful places. • “When you look at what Britain has just given away for a modest deal, the precedent is remarkable.” • “The Americans will be asking, why can’t we have the same very favourable terms as Australia? And the US is a much, much bigger and stronger economy than Australia.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Labour still longing for victories past, where should the party go next? And why are the Tories so much better at dealing with defeat? Former Shadow Economic Advisor and Director of the Progressive Economy Forum James Meadway talks to Dorian Lynskey about prioritising concrete concerns over culture wars, whether Labour will ever win a majority again, and why working in the Shadow Cabinet was one of his worst jobs… • “The Tories are very good at dusting themselves down and working out what to do next.” • “Labour needs to say to voters, ‘This is how your life would be better if you voted Labour’.” • “The focus should be on how you get middle class voters to vote Labour instead of Tory.” • “If you try to reproduce policy tricks and electoral victories, you get negative returns.” Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why do people who consider themselves anti-racist have a blind spot when it comes to antisemitism? Why don’t we automatically think of antisemitism as racism, or Jews as an ethnic minority? Writer and comedian David Baddiel talks to Nick Cohen about his new book ‘Jews Don’t Count’, how social media nourished a new antisemitism among some progressives… and why British Jews shouldn’t have to answer for Benjamin Netanyahu. • “Israel-Palestine is a situation that most Jews are not responsible for… It’s racist to imagine that all Jews have to have an opinion either way” • “The idea that there would be no anti-Semitism without the State of Israel is a myth.” • “Our notion of identity politics just doesn’t apply to Jews.” • “My atheism has no bearing on whether or not I would have been killed by the Nazis. It’s racism. I don’t have a choice to be Jewish.” Presented by Nick Cohen. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peace in Northern Ireland has not looked this fragile in decades. Violence erupted in Belfast and elsewhere with both Brexit and resurgent gangs to blame. The duped DUP have replaced their leader with a creationist evangelical. And it’s all happening against the backdrop of increasing support for a United Ireland. In a Two Naomis special, leader of the Alliance Party and MLA for East Belfast Naomi Long talks to Naomi Smith about Northern Ireland’s precarious peace – and how it might fall apart. • “Boris Johnson never listened to Northern Ireland as a collective. He only listened to the DUP” • “A United Ireland is more likely than at any point in my lifetime, and Brexit has been a big driver in that” • “Northern Ireland is like a child caught up in a very difficult divorce” • “Poots is in the soul of Paisley’s DUP… whoever leads the party, it will not be moving forwards” Presented by Naomi Smith. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Indian coronavirus variant takes a foothold, is the UK’s grand unlocking on June 21st under threat? And as foreign holidays return, will Brits head for the airports or stay grounded? Plus, we speak to solicitor and human rights activist Tawseef Khan about his new book The Muslim Problem: Why We’re Wrong About Islam and Why It Matters. Plus: Could a one-off wealth tax pay the world’s hefty COVID bill? “I hope the red list delay was for a trade deal, because at least that makes Johnson cynical rather than hopelessly incompetent.” - Ian Dunt “The crisis in India proves we need action right now, and the most obvious way is for rich countries to donate vaccines.” - Yasmeen Serhan “There is no Islam aside from the one that we choose to interpret.” - Tawseef Khan Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ian Dunt and Yasmeen Serhan. The producer is Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain greets the latest milestone of indoor pubs and restaurants with trepidation, not celebration. Is Boris Johnson preparing to shift the blame for another surge – possibly from the India Variant – onto the public? Plus, what’s driving the terrifying violence in Israel and Palestine, and how will that play out? ARTHUR SNELL is here to start your week. • “People who gave the Government a chance will be a LOT more critical now we’re near the end of this.” • “A lot of long-term trends in Israel and Palestine have come together in this moment of combustion.” • “I’ll be holding back on going to the pub. It’s Monday. You’ve got to pace yourself…” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Infamous anonymous blogger FLEET STREET FOX lifted the lid on the seedy world of tabloid journalism in the Leveson years – then in 2013 unmasked herself as Mirror columnist Susie Boniface. She tells Ian Dunt how being a total pain in the arse is the way to get into journalism, where the loathing of hacks really comes from… and why the credibility of print goes all the way back to Babylonian tax inspectors. Audio note: features guest appearance by a dog. • “I started in journalism because I couldn’t stand the idea of other people doing it and getting it wrong” • “Is journalism a dying industry? It’s been dying since the first newspaper was printed!” • “The human mind has been bred to think that if something is in black and white print, it’s fact” https://www.susieboniface.com Presented by Ian Dunt. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The vastly wealthy Sackler family are known as respectable patrons of the arts, but the story behind their philanthropy is a dark one. The Sacklers made their billions from OxyContin or “Hillbilly Heroin”, the $35m prescription drug that precipitated America’s opioid crisis – an epidemic that has killed half a million people. Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, tells Ros Taylor about the corruption and influence that turned a deadly addictive drug into a medical staple, how the Sacklers insulated themselves from what they’d done, and how racism in medicine – surprisingly – spared many African Americans while devastating poor whites. • “The truth has caught up with the Sacklers. I don’t know that justice ever will.” • “This story is a slow-moving disaster. It took a quarter of a century to get to a quarter of a million deaths.” • “Many people hooked on OxyContin just switched to heroin when they reformulated it in 2010.” • “The question is, What did the Sacklers know about the harm OxyContin caused? And evidence shows that they DID know.” Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the dust settles, what are these bizarre elections really telling us about how British politics work? Electoral consultant Kenny Campbell, a former journalist and editor of the Metro newspaper, goes deep into the entrails of Elections ’21 with Alex Andreou. Does Labour have to wean itself off its attachment to the shattered Red Wall? Might levelling up the North provoke a backlash in vulnerable southern Conservative seats? And do we have to face up to the fact that England is becoming a one-party democracy? • “The pandemic has come good for Johnson at exactly the right time… If anything, voters were voting simply not to mess things up.” • “We know what Johnson, Sturgeon and Drakeford stand for. Starmer is struggling to articulate what Labour stands for.” • “When Johnson does blow up, it will be because of a monumental catastrophe.” Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Labour find a way to make a bad week worse, we look at the long-term consequences of Starmer vs. Rayner. Plus, we might be on the eve of the biggest economic boom since 1948 but will the boom play in Hartlepool? The Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance in trouble. And would it be better for Britain if we stopped worrying and let London balloon until it becomes Mega-City N1 (and other postcodes)? “Mark my words, the person who’ll undo Boris Johnson will be Boris Johnson.” – Alex Andreou “Starmer’s main selling point has been competence, but this reshuffle has been a total mess.” – Miatta Fahnbulleh “Global Britain is trying to find its place in the world and for Brexiters, the Anglosphere is their happy place.” – Arthur Snell Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Arthur Snell, Miatta Fahnbulleh and Alex Andreou. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How will Labour’s post-election Hell Weekend and the sacking-not-sacking of Angela Rayner play out this week? How badly is Starmer damaged? And what sort of a Queen’s Speech can we expect from a Government that has no reason to fear opposition? IAN DUNT ruins… sorry, starts your week. • “Starmer has come out of these elections absolutely savaged.” • “If you’re an urban voter, it looks like Labour is almost embarrassed of your support.” • “Voter ID is pure voter suppression. There are many problems in this country, but voter fraud is not one of them.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tax havens aren’t all desert islands with palm trees. One of the worst offenders is rainy Britain. So are we wrong focus on offshore tax chicanery? And what can we do about it at home as well as away? Chair of the Tax Justice Network Alex Cobham tells Arthur Snell about how tax injustice goes beyond beaches and palm trees – and the implications for businesses in post-Brexit Britain. www.taxjustice.uk www.taxwatchuk.org https://fairtaxmark.net/ • “When it comes to tax havenry, Britain is the biggest actor out there.” • “We think we know what tax haven means… but it’s actually quite slippery.” • “You can avoid tax on a sunny beach with a palm tree, but you can also do it in London and Amsterdam.” • “The UK and its network is the biggest single actor in tax avoidance.” • “Every single second, one nurse’s salary is lost to tax havens – mostly to multinational companies.” Presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the Prime Minister was corrupt, and nobody cared? As Labour steels itself for a tough election day, we look at where sleaze is and isn’t cutting through. Plus, as the COVID horror in India worsens, Ahir Shah tells us what his friends and family in India are experiencing – and the extend of Modi’s culpability. And a Wild Idea for the future: Universal Basic Capital. Rather than tinkering with inequality through a complex benefits system, why don’t we just give everyone £10,000 on their 18th birthday? “The country is so fucking broken that Johnson will put himself on sale for a pair of curtains.” – Alex Andreou “If you’re asking ‘If Labour can’t win now, when can it?’, you’re asking the wrong question.” – Ros Taylor “If someone gives you a shit-ton of money, surely you’re beholden to them?” – Ahir Shah “We’ve somehow decided that old people deserve state handouts during this pandemic, and young people don’t. That’s a really poisonous point of view.” – Ros Taylor Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Ahir Shah, Ros Taylor and Alex Andreou. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enforced isolation, powerlessness, boredom, even emasculation – lockdown was the perfect petri dish to create a pandemic of online gambling which affects young people worse than most. The Director of Clean Up Gambling Matt Zarb-Cousin was a problem gambler himself and betting almost destroyed his life. He talks to Andrew Harrison about how sponsorship and ads normalise dangerous betting behaviour, how the gambling industry capitalises on toxic masculinity, his personal experience with addiction, and what we need to do about this growing problem. “We’ve created a generation who believe that betting obsessively on football is all part of supporting your team.” “These are highly addictive products… I found myself missing sixth form classes to go to the bookies.” “Gambling offers the illusion of control but people end up feeling subordinated to it.” “By advertising on football shirts, gambling companies can bypass advertising laws.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As votes loom in Hartlepool, Scotland, Wales and in local authorities and metro mayor regions across England, is Keir Starmer’s message on Government sleaze finally cutting through? And what will it all mean for independence in Scotland and Wales? Ros Taylor is here to start your week. “When the media just hang on the Prime Minister’s every word the result is this decrepitude of politics.”. “It’s a wonderful time for an incumbent government to have an election.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can the classics tell us the truth about Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow and the Marvel pantheon? Robert Eaglestone, Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought at Royal Holloway, University of London, uses the Marvel Cinematic Universe to explain Aristotle’s Poetics to his students. He sits down with fellow Marvelite Andrew Harrison to discuss the mythic resonances of the MCU. Face front! Warning: many spoilers here. “What Aristotle says about Greek tragedy and drama fits the Marvel Universe perfectly.” “Captain America and Iron Man’s moral choices come right out of their characters. And Aristotle would really appreciate that.” “Fighting Thanos is fighting the inevitability of death. We’re all going to lose – but what is a good death?” “Aristotle’s Lyceum was a kind of counter-school to Plato’s X-Men.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Britain really the hopelessly split society that we fear? The good news is that as the Brexit rubble settles, our common ground is growing, and Britain is more up for serious political change than almost any other Western democracy. Tim Dixon, co-founder of pro-consensus pressure group More In Common and former advisor to Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard in Australia, talks to Ros Taylor about the weird online and offline dynamics that over-represent vocal extremes, and why Brexity nationalists agree with progressives more than you think. “We’ve lived off the capital of past generations in terms of the glue that holds society together. Now we need to reinvest in it.” “People’s identities as Remainer or Leaver is still a lot stronger than their identification with a political party.” “We tend to forget that most people don’t see the world through a political lens.” “If politics can come back into people’s lives, and be useful again, then it can be really transformative.” Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963 might be the closest the world has ever come to actual nuclear war – but do we really understand what went on between Kennedy, the USA and Kruschev’s USSR? Ukraine-born Harvard Professor of History Serhii Plokhy tells Jude Rogers about his new book Nuclear Folly: A New History of the Cuban Missile Crisis – and what this fatal moment in the confrontation between East and West can tell us about today’s unspoken second Cold War. “Diplomatic telegrams were so slow that Kruschev thought the best way to communicate with Kennedy was openly, through Radio Moscow.” “The technology has changed since the Cuban Missile Crisis but human nature hasn’t.” “Today we’re back in the uncharted waters of the nuclear arms race before the Cuban Crisis.” Presented by Jude Rogers. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whoever wins, we lose… As Dominic Cummings takes a wrecking ball to the Prime Minister he made, writer Emma Kennedy joins us to ask who will win this particular Battle of the Bastards. Plus, if social media is so toxic that Premier League footballers are boycotting it, should we end anonymity online? And are quiz shows to blame for the state of politics? “Let’s all grab a sun lounger and enjoy the weapons-grade spite from Dominic Cummings.” – Emma Kennedy “My main emotional response to all of these leaks is hilarity and joy.” – Ian Dunt “Carrie Symonds’ flat decor is like a Home Counties version of Trump Tower” – Emma Kennedy “Number 10 was once our version of The West Wing. Now it’s like the Tweenies have taken over.” – Ayesha Hazarika “The old producer of HIGNFY told me that putting Boris Johnson on TV was the biggest regret of his life.” – Emma Kennedy Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Ayesha Hazarika and Ian Dunt. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a classic Alien vs Predator scenario as disgruntled supervillain Dominic Cummings resurfaces with the receipts on Johnson’s squalid behaviour over lockdown, leaks and the No.11 flat. What will go down worse for the embattled Prime Minister? The news that he’d rather see “bodies piled high in their thousands” than a third lockdown, or Carrie’s taste in gold wallpaper? Alex Andreou is here to start your week. “Cummings won’t release snippets. He’ll want to make his committee appearance big box office.” “The message is, Don’t go after me, mate. I know where all the bodies are buried.” “Johnson’s glove puppet turned around and bit him in the face.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Cameron to cabinet, the Greensill Capital scandal has spiralled into corruption chaos. But now numerous instances of shady practice are joining hands. Special guests Cynthia O’Murchú and Andy Bounds who cover Greensill and more for the Financial Times join us to connect the dots between Greensill, Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG/Liberty Steel empire and the surprise approval of a new deep coal mine in Cumbria. What’s really going on and how do we fix it? “The transparency rules don’t work. Where are you supposed to log a private drink with Matt Hancock?” – Cynthia O’Murchú “We call it the Private Eye test. Would you want to see this in the paper?” – Andy Bounds “I’ve lost count of how many inquiries there have been into Greensill’s connections with government.” – Cynthia O’Murchú “Cameron wasn’t shy about Greensill. He touted them as the future of Government finance. But his involvement has become tawdry.” – Andy Bounds “Transparency rules didn’t reveal these meetings, it was the ABSENCE of transparency.” – Cynthia O’Murchú “If a Civil Servant is already working for a private company when they leave government, they don’t have to declare the new job. That is gobsmacking.” – Alex Andreou Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Perseverance Rover is bringing us stunningly detailed images of Mars, but do we really need to go there? Are we anywhere nearer proof of life on other worlds? And is Elon Musk’s dream of a million-person Mars base by the end of the century feasible – or desirable? Alok Jha, The Economist’s Science Correspondent and host of The Jab podcast talks space-sceptic Ros Taylor through the pros and cons of Martian exploration, and ponders whether interstellar objects are proof of extraterrestrial tech. “If you’re interested in life on earth, you should be interested in life in Mars.” “We’ve never sent an astronaut to Mars, let alone a million people.” “Before COVID, we didn’t think you could develop a vaccine in twelve months. It shows what you can do with willpower and money.” “We’ve never had people sitting in a tin can to Mars for six months before. Would they just destroy one another?” “If there are one million planets in the universe, that’s a lot of opportunities for life to start.” Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

THIS PODCAST WAS RECORDED BEFORE CHELSEA AND MAN CITY LEFT THE COMPETITION: English football clubs triggered shockwaves of revulsion at the weekend when they announced their plans to join a €4bn breakaway ‘Super League’. Is the plan starting to crack, and can English football be saved? The man who broke the story, Chief Sports Reporter for The Times Martyn Ziegler, tells Andrew Harrison how a greed-fuelled vanity project came about, why the owners are unwise to discount “legacy fans”, and if there’s anything fans can do to stop it. “This has gone beyond sabre rattling, this is civil war” “These owners simply don’t care about the tradition and community that surrounds their football clubs” “There is no doubt that the clubs have been taken aback by the reaction from fans, the media and even politicians” “The Premier League’s success is built on the fact that Leicester can win the title, and ‘Super League’ clubs can have a bad season” “In 30 years of reporting on sport I have never known the Government behave like this towards football” Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Greensill scandal continues to leak dodginess like a busted fridge. Is lobbying really the issue, or is it really about the corrupt Old Boys’ Network? Joe Biden withdraws US troops from Afghanistan after 20 years: what does it mean? And we look at the new Carey Mulligan movie Promising Young Woman, an intense and provocative rape revenge fantasy, and what it says about Hollywood after #MeToo. David Aaronovitch of The Times is this week’s special guest “People love a story of sex sleaze, but the thing is, they won’t always condemn the perpetrator for it.” – David Aaronovitch “ACOBA isn’t just toothless, it’s gumless and mouthless too.” – Arthur Snell “The problem with sleaze is that it’s easy to end up painting it on ALL politicians.” – David Aaronovitch “If you have to keep affirming that you’re a nice guy, you’re probably not.” – Yasmeen Serhan on Promising Young Woman “Why should withdrawing troops somehow mean ‘the end of America’s longest war’? The troops might be gone but the war isn’t.” – David Aaronvitch Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Yasmeen Serhan and Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the sleaze scandal spreads, will the rising tide of corruption start lapping at Boris Johnson’s feet? Beer Garden Britain thinks COVID is done but as cases rise alarmingly in India and Brazil, will we need to think again? Alexei Navalny faces death in prison for opposing Putin. And will that revolting European Super League actually kill football? Naomi Smith is here to start your week. “We need to stop calling this chumocracy, and start calling it corruption.” “The football terraces could be somewhere we can begin to win the culture war.” “Johnson is the master of Teflon. He’s deflected this onto the mandarins.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When there’s a “heated debate” about racism on Good Morning Britain, you’ll often see Kehinde Andrews, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University, tussling with Toby Young and Nigel Farage and bringing uncomfortable arguments about white supremacy into Middle England’s living rooms. What does he get from it? He talks to Jude Rogers about the Sewell Report, his book The New Age Of Empire: How Racism and Colonialism Still Rule The World and the value of being the “bad black guy who gets invited on TV to wind up the Daily Mail.” “This is the most diverse cabinet, yet racist government of my lifetime.” “I can say things on Good Morning Britain that I can’t say in The Guardian.” “The reason why people love the Monarchy and the British Empire is that they don’t really understand what it is.” “The problem isn’t that black people don’t trust the police. The problem is the police.” “A culture war is going to happen whether I’m on TV or not.” “Diversity doesn’t mean that racism is over. The British Empire couldn’t have functioned without countless black and brown people helping to administer it.” Presented by Jude Rogers. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What kind of person crashes a £3.6bn business, shattering the life savings of 400,000 people? When Britain’s most famous fund manager Neil Woodford went down in flames in 2019 it was a personal humiliation for a “rock star investor” that the City thought was infallible. Owen Walker, the FT’s European Banking Correspondent and author of Built On A Lie: The Rise And Fall Of Neil Woodford And The Fate Of Middle England’s Money tells Andrew Harrison how Woodford’s arrogance lost his clients millions – and asks whether the City has learned any lessons from the debacle. “This was a guy who could get the biggest CEOs to do his bidding” “Journalists loved Woodford. They could create stories around him. And yes, they’re to blame for hyping him up” “When Woodford rang up, even major CEOs would take a seat and prepare for a rollicking” Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The English public school is one of the country’s strangest and often most sinister institutions. James Scudamore, author of the moving and gripping novel of memory, friendship and abuse English Monsters, talks to Arthur Snell about his own experience with the mad and petty regime of the English boarding school. How did this culture spread the “profound damage” of men who’d seen true horror in war down to generations of pupils? And why do public schools produce an emotionally damaged elite? “There’s a special toxicity in that closed world of elitism and privilege.” “That blend of extremely rigid rules and the psychopathy of the punishments… it’s incredible that these things were still going on as late as the 80s.” “One thing you have to do to survive is to completely shut down your empathy. And another is to fall into extreme flippancy.” Presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The pubs are back! Can the Great British Public drink the county back to economic health? Plus, did the deeply strange Prince Philip memorial weekend give us any pointers to the future fate of the Monarchy? Should we give up hoping for ‘normal’ politics to come back? And why shouldn’t there be a black James Bond? “AstraZeneca? I’d have taken a North Korean vaccine if they offered me.” – Justin Quirk “Brits treat the Royal Family as both superhuman and somehow subhuman too.” – Alex Andreou “If there’s one thing that Labour hates, it’s Labour.” – Marie le Conte Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Alex Andreou, Marie le Conte and Justin Quirk. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As England scratches at the doors of pubs and hairdressers like a starving cat, Yasmeen Serhan joins Andrew Harrison to set out the week’s news stories. Are we on for a retail superspreader event? Plus the Cameron-Greensill scandal gets worse, London decides to let Northern Ireland stew, Prince Philip is still dead… and Ramadan for dummies (i.e. Andrew). “If you guys want this change to be permanent, you need to make sure your queues outside Primark are socially distanced.” “Advice for non-Muslims: if you’re going to annoy your friends, do it today while they’re still allowed to swear.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When digital artist Dan Hett tragically lost his brother Martin in the 2017 Manchester bombings, he turned to the world of interactive fiction to help him understand what had happened – and ultimately he produced the game ‘Closed Hands’, which examines the causes and effects of a terrorist attack in a fictional UK city. Dan talks to Arthur Snell about the fascinating world of interactive fiction novels, how he turned his painful experience into a piece of art, and the role it could play in tackling extremism. “There is a route through the game that reflects my reality, but I’m the only one who knows what it is” “This game is me questioning society and us as a population, rather than my individual experience” “Closed Hands was difficult to write, difficult to research, and for some people it’s difficult to play” “Sometimes the decisions you make during the game are not black and white, and there isn’t a correct way of doing things” “If can reach one person through games, who hadn’t thought about this, then I’ve succeeded” Presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Content warning: Includes discussion of sexual violence and abuse. What is it like being an “activist prosecutor” in a legal system hampered by institutional prejudice and often indifference? Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal tells The Observer’s Nick Cohen about his memoir The Prosecutor: One Man’s Pursuit for Justice for the Voiceless and what it reveals about British justice. Why are marginalised young women so badly served by our justice system? How might COVID transform that system? And is “cultural sensitivity” a cover for failures on racial and class prejudice? “Police and prosecutors often use excuses to cover the fact that ‘This is really difficult, why are we bothering?’” “The idea of ‘working in the interests of justice’ got changed to ‘working in the interest of just us’.” “Our legal system is stuck in the past and isn’t updating with any speed.” “One police station has been sold to a pizza restaurant. And do you know who owns it? Organised crime.” Presented by Nick Cohen. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good news, everyone! Institutional racism is over, at least according to the Government-sponsored Sewell Report into racial disparity in the UK. As the report falls to pieces in plain sight, special guest Matthew Ryder QC (former London Deputy Mayor for social integration) joins Ayesha Hazarika, Ahir Shah and Ros Taylor to discuss a textbook example of selecting your conclusion before looking for evidence. Plus: Populism’s endgame in Brazil, the joy of blue plaques, and is Britain less divided than we thought? “The Sewell Report is a huge backwards step.” – Matthew Ryder “This should be a wake up call for Labour. The party just doesn’t trust people of colour with the big jobs.” – Matthew Ryder Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Ayesha Hazarika, Ahir Shah and Ros Taylor. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russia is massing troops on the Ukrainian border. Does Putin just want to hand Biden his first test, or is there more to it? Plus: the tangled mess that is vaccine passports. Why your foreign holiday is probably off this year. Keir Starmer under a cloud on his first anniversary as Labour leader. And what’s going on in Jordan? Arthur Snell sets out the week ahead. “It’s a bad look for an opposition leader if you can’t win a by-election in the North of England.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is it like being one of the few black people at Eton and Oxford? And what do they actual teach our future rulers? Musa Okwonga is the author One of Them: An Eton College Memoir, and host of the Stadio football podcast. He talks to Alex Andreou about imperial pride in private schools, why Brexit led him to move to “the heart of Europe”, and whether Spurs will make it to the Champions League… “MPs would learn more about the world by getting off the train one stop earlier, not going on a gap year.” “Schtick only works when people buy into it.” “It’s easier to name Henry VIII’s six wives than the six biggest colonial massacres.” “A lot of the people at Eton didn’t know black people. I felt like I was representing all black people.” “Eton is the kind of school where you can be a kind of Gatsby.” Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When writer Erica Buist had the traumatic experience of finding her partner’s father dead in his home, it led her to ask why we respond to death with fear and sadness – and ultimately to travel from Mexico to Nepal and beyond to research the surprisingly uplifting book This Party's Dead: Grief, Joy And Spilled Rum At The World's Death Festivals. She talks to Arthur Snell about greeting the dead and dancing with corpses, feasts where dead bodies are “invited to the party”, the true meaning of Voldemort… and why Westerners need to get over the idea that talking about death is “rude”. “We leave this incredibly important thing to your highest moment of trauma. Why would you do that?” “I got hit on the head with a corpse at one of these festivals. They were dancing with it…” “We’re happy to look at the blue corpse of a girl in a movie, but somehow not in real life.” “In the West, when you die you lose your powers. But in a lot of these cultures, death is where you GAIN your power.” “Hanging out with a dead body sounds bizarre. But after a couple of minutes, it’s so normal.” “The idea that teaching kids about death will traumatise them? No. Kids LOVE death. It’s their favourite.” Presented by Arthur Snell. Produced Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What will the Sturgeon/Salmond stand-off mean for the SNP’s make-or-break bid for re-election and a second independence referendum? And can an independent Scotland pay its way? SNP Cabinet Secretary for Finance Kate Forbes is our special guest. Plus: What’s behind Johnson’s defence plans for fewer soldiers and more nukes? And Alan Turing is on the £50 note but will the Queen be on our banknotes for much longer? “If Scotland goes independent, England would lose an unruly neighbour, and gain a close ally.” – Kate Forbes “By repeatedly saying ‘No’, it’s almost as if Boris Johnson has given up on making the case for the Union.” – Kate Forbes Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Yasmeen Serhan and Arthur Snell. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Outdoor “mingling” is back but as the Government bets all on the vaccine, are they ignoring the danger of new COVID variants? And if/when it all goes wrong, will it somehow be Europe’s fault again? Plus the possible Labour reshuffle, the SNP vs the Alba Party and what Johnson’s affair with Jennifer Arcuri really means. Ian Dunt explains the week ahead. “The only Government strategy is the vaccine, and praying that no variants blow it to smithereens” “The only way the Government can countenance giving vaccines to Ireland is under a narrative of sticking it to Europe” “If anything good can come from Boris Johnson being PM, it will be a modernisation of life in Number 10”.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Brexit opening a Pandora’s Box of irrational nationalism in England, and Scotland and Northern Ireland heading to the exit door, the break-up of the United Kingdom is no longer a weird fantasy but a real possibility. Nick Cohen talks to the writer, broadcaster and card-carrying Scot Gavin Esler about his new book How Britain Ends, and the forces that could pull Britain apart. Can the Union be saved? Would an independent Scotland really be welcomed into the EU? And is Britain in danger of becoming a failed state? “I’ve had people telling me ‘We English aren’t nationalistic – that’s why we’re BETTER than other people’…” – Gavin Esler “The central role of British foreign policy since the Spanish Armada was to stop Europe uniting against us. And Brexit has achieved exactly that.” – Nick Cohen “What would post-imperial Britain’s role be? It wouldn’t BE post-Imperial Britain. It would be England alone.” – Gavin Esler “Brexit has led to the collapse of an English myth that we’re a tolerant, pragmatic people not given to wild ideas.” – Nick Cohen “Thatcher said Northern Ireland was as British as Finchley. Under Boris Johnson, in customs terms it’s as British as France.” – Gavin Esler Presented by Nick Cohen. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices