The Bunker – News without the nonsense

The Labour antisemitism leak: what does it mean and is anyone going to jail for a data breach? Plus, how long can lockdown continue? Why herd immunity isn’t a scare phrase but in fact the only way we’ll beat COVID. The magical, corporeally-fixated incantations of the Johnson fan-press. And how Corona is changing technology. Who’ll win out if the emergency forces the battle of the streaming titans to a grand season finale? Ian Dunt, Helen Lewis and special guest Stuart Dredge, tech writer for The Guardian, convene to sort it all out. “At no point did [the Labour Left] confront the idea that people didn’t like their candidate or their policies… If it’s always someone else’s fault, what are you going to change next time?” – Helen Lewis “People talk about how good Hong Kong’s response was. But in Hong Kong, if you test positive they take you away and put you in Covid Butlins.” – Helen Lewis Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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

Who knew that poetry would join videoconferencing and sourdough-making as one of the key ways we got through the COVID lockdown? SARAH CROWN, Director of Literature at the Arts Council and senior reviewer for the Guardian and the TLS, talks to Ros Taylor about why poetry’s stillness and conciseness is perfect for pressured times. Plus, how to find the right poetry for your lockdown experience. And do poets cope better with solitude – or does solitude turn you into a poet? “Poetry isn’t about escape. It’s about recognition, and achieving meaning in your life.” “In a pandemic we don’t look for happiness. We look for meaning. And poetry really delivers on that.” The poem that Sarah reads on this episode is Spring by Edna St. Vincent Millay Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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 the end of the world as we know it and… some people are quite into that, it seems. Why are so many people so keen on the end of everything? What do doomsday preppers, alt.right catastrophists and billionaire plutocrat antidemocrats like Peter Thiel have in common? And is the communal response to COVID proving their worst ambitions wrong? We talk to Mark O’Connell – author of new book Notes From An Apocalypse: A Personal Journey The End Of The World And Back – about the dark fantasy of the End Times. Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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 COVID lockdown has provided scammers, fraudsters and cybercriminals with a golden opportunity to find new ways to steal. Now ALEXIS CONRAN, presenter on The Real Hustle and talkRadio, tells Naomi Smith about the new scams they’re using, and how to defeat them. What are the telltale signs of a con? What are the worst counterfeit products out there? How can you spot fake Coronanews? Plus why the Cabinet ought to be worried about their Zoom chat logs – and why you should bin passwords for passphrases, “When there’s panic and fear, people stop using logic and they’ll try anything.” – Alexis Conran Presented by Naomi Smith. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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

COVID-19 has put the NHS under the spotlight as never before but how many of us really understand the true state of this national treasure? ROY LILLEY is one of the most influential voices in the world of public health. Today he explains the catastrophic errors on the road to Corona, what the outpouring of love and respect for NHS workers means for its future, how the NHS compares to other health systems worldwide… and what must happen if the NHS is to survive. WARNING: Andrew Lansley should probably not listen to this podcast. “I travel the world and the one thing everyone says to me is, We wish we had your system.” “The NHS is holding its collective breath as to what’s to come.” “This is the biggest challenge since 5 July 1948 when the NHS was born. This is its day and this is its hour.” “That round of applause changed the status of the NHS forever. There is no politician who can touch it now.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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

Newly-promoted Shadow Justice Secretary DAVID LAMMY joins us in an unprecedented week in British politics. Has Boris Johnson’s hospitalisation finally brought home the seriousness of COVID-19 to the hosts of secret barbecues and birthday parties? Does new Labour leader Keir Starmer’s cabinet re-do amount to socialist distancing? What needs sorting in the criminal justice system? And why all Bunker guests get immediate promotions… “If you’re in a war, the time to question the generals is not in the middle of the battle.” – David Lammy Presented by Naomi Smith with Ayesha Hazarika and Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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

WFH? WTF! As the world adjusts to flexible working, will we ever go back to offices, meetings and “presenteeism”? GABY HINSLIFF, Guardian writer and author of Half a Wife: The Working Family's Guide to Getting a Life Back, talks to Ros Taylor about COVID’s seismic changes to working life. Will the crisis change our attitude to screentime for children? Will it be a wrench to go back to “normal”? And what happens when your kids wander into that critical Zoom conference with the CEO of Omni Consumer Products? NB This podcast was recorded before the news about Boris Johnson’s hospitalisation. “For women, WiFi has been as revolutionary as the pill.” “Adults are using Houseparty, Zoom and FaceTime… we’ve stolen all the teenagers’ apps.” “I never imagined this situation in my wildest dreams, or nightmares.” There’s a BUNKER DAILY every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and the main full-length panel show every Wednesday morning. Lockdown conditions mean we’re having to use available audio tech, so please bear with our variable sound quality. We’re working on it. Presented by Ian Dunt. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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

Domestic Goddess NIGELLA LAWSON comes to the nation’s aid in a Lockdown Kitchen conversation with our own Alex Andreou. What’s her emergency back-of-the-cupboard recipe for when the chips are down (and there aren’t any chips)? Is isolation reminding us to value our food culture a little more? Plus top kitchen tips – yes, it turns out you can freeze cheese – and a titanic clash of potato-peel crisp techniques between Nigella and Alex. “They say the Italians are extravagant with food but not wasteful. I’m a lot like that.” – Nigella Lawson “For someone like me, not having lots of people to cook for is strange. But it does make you reflect on exactly what cooking means to you.” – Nigella Lawson Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. 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’s so seductive about the end of everything? What happens when you’re writing a novel about an apocalyptic future, and then an apocalyptic future arrives? NAOMI ALDERMAN, author of bravura sci-fi gender reversal novel The Power and now showrunner for its upcoming TV adaptation, talks to Dorian Lynskey about the appeal of Armageddon fiction in the midst of an actual global disaster. Plus, a guide to the end-of-the-world novels that are really worth reading… and why our best guide to the current crisis is Groundhog Day. “Every Utopia is a dystopia for somebody” “Every death is a tragedy, and this is a serious time. But it’s worth remembering that many of us are going live through the most luxurious plague humanity has ever experienced.” “Maybe it’s time for the return of the Utopia. I could certainly use one now.” Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Audio production by Alex Rees. Produced by Andrew Harrison. 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

Exiled Tory moderniser LORD ANDREW COOPER talks to Naomi Smith about the grave consequences of ignoring Brexit because of COVID-19, why the crisis government is neither “socialist” nor “conservative” but populist nationalist, and why Johnson’s stubborn refusal to extend Transition would devastate an economy already enfeebled by the Coronavirus. “Brexit turned the party from a mainstream project into a sort of cult. They’ve become an English Nationalist party… and they know the crisis has transformed the landscape on which they have to govern.” – Andrew Cooper We’re recording remotely and still working on our sound, so please excuse our audio quality for the moment. Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Helen Lewis and Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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 Corona Age sets in, will it change our politics and economy more fundamentally than your average here-today-gone-tomorrow World Existential Crisis? What does the outpouring of national gratitude towards the NHS mean for its future? And will the Government’s fumbling of the EU ventilator bulk-buy develop into a full-blown scandal? Plus special guest Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West, joins us to explain what the Keir Starmer’s Labour Party will look like. “We’ve seen a lot of self-defeating austerity in recent years, where things that were supposed to save money ended up costing vast amounts more elsewhere. That’s what we need to stop.” – Helen Lewis “Everyone’s talking about the Second World War, but we’re not trying to mobilise people. We’re trying to demobilise them.” – Arthur Snell We’re recording remotely and still working on our sound, so please excuse our audio quality for the moment. Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Helen Lewis and Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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

He advises on the BBC’s Horrible Histories and now he’s podcasting to keep kids from going stir-crazy on lockdown. Historian GREG JENNER tells Ian Dunt what the Plague in 17th Century Florence can tell us about public emergencies, why past crises are no guide to what could happen in this one, and his new book Dead Famous: An Unexpected History Of Celebrity From Bronze Age To Silver Screen. It seems political celebrity is 300 years old, and one Dr Henry Sacheverell was the incendiary Nigel Farage of 1709… “I’ve seen people on Twitter asking ‘Is this how socialism arrives?’ Are these the test conditions for things like Universal Basic Income? This is not a normal crash.” “As a historian I’m fascinated, but as a person I have no idea what’s going to happen next.” There’s a BUNKER DAILY every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and the main full-length panel show every Wednesday morning. Lockdown conditions mean we’re having to use available audio tech, so please bear with our variable sound quality. We’re working on it. Presented by Ian Dunt. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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

Guardian columnist ELLIE MAE O’HAGAN talks to Dorian Lynskey about how the Corona wrecking ball will reshape society, the big changes coming in the Labour Party, and her upcoming book The New Normal. What does Labour need to jettison from the Corbyn era and what should it keep? What will people want from politics after the end of the Crisis? Plus, why baking sourdough is the new “writing your King Lear”… “The material circumstances of this era show that we can’t go back to the supposed stability of the past.” – Ellie Mae O’Hagan Subscribe for a BUNKER DAILY every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday plus the main full-length panel show every Wednesday morning. Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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

“Corona has shown us that weakness anywhere is weakness everywhere.” Labour leadership candidate LISA NANDY tells Naomi Smith how the crisis has utterly transformed politics in Britain. Do we need a National COBRA drawing on talent from outside party politics? Plus this former opponent of a second EU referendum says refusal to extend transition will devastate British companies. And how did last night’s amazing national round of applause for the NHS feel in Wigan? “This is a moment when we could go either way as a country. We could pull together as a country or will we decide to go it alone?” – Lisa Nandy Presented by Naomi Smith. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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

NEW: A daily Bunker mini-cast for the duration of the lock-in, and maybe beyond. On today’s debut edition, the emergency Corona Bill changes our rights in ways unthinkable in normal times, with extra ministerial powers, suspension of protections for mental health patients and “huge, swingeing powers” for police to disperse gatherings and detain people for testing. Ros Taylor talks to human rights barrister ADAM WAGNER about the grave implications of this necessary but daunting legislation. “When we see major crises, societies tend to turn in and look for strong and decisive action. There’s often universal approval for restrictions on the way we live… For me, that rings alarm bells.” – Adam Wagner Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER DAILY 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’s your lockdown? What tipped Johnson and Cummings over the edge from “herd immunity” to total shutdown? Why is the Government that spent £100m on Brexit adverts not committing a penny to public health advertising on social media? And what is Rishi Sunak going to do now he’s Prime Minister? Plus, is Corona the unexpected reset moment we needed on climate change? Campaigner Natalie Fee has thoughts. And will culture and creativity be COVID-19’s collateral damage? “If any other party were in power it would not be getting off as lightly for their failure to get to grip with this.” – Naomi Smith We’re recording remotely and still knocking the kinks out of the system so please excuse our sound quality. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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

LO-FI REMOTE RECORDING, completed right before Sunak’s £330bn announcement… Corona bites harder. Can Boris Johnson persuade us to trust the science after so many years of telling us not to trust experts? What’s more likely to motivate people to self-isolate: a sense of duty or outright fear? Should the British government’s go-it-alone approach provoke confidence? And have we inadvertently trained people to stockpile? Plus, will the eventual reconstruction of the world economy mean the much-criticised Utopian ideal of Universal Basic Income will become mainstream policy? Campaigner Jonny Ross-Tatam of Basic Income North thinks so. “Johnson has abused and broken down people’s trust in him. And now he wants it, I’m not surprised that the reaction is, why the hell should we listen to you now?” – Ros “This is making us all nostalgic for Brexit. I’d kill for the Malthouse Compromise now, and not a real-life scene from ‘Contagion’.” – Ayesha Hazarika Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ayesha Hazarika and Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer: Jacob Archbold. Audio production: 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

If Keir Starmer’s victory is a done deal, what battlegrounds should Labour’s new leader choose? Standard/Buzzfeed/Telegraph journo Marie le Conte and former Labour MEP Rory Palmer debate the future of Starmerism. Plus Marie explains what the hell’s happening in France – and the don of football writing Philippe Auclair explains why despite a frenzy of busts and exposés, world football’s corruption problems are worse than ever. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with script and assistant production Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. 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

Wily virus comes in like a wrecking ball… Are poor leadership and bad information hampering the UK and US fight against the Coronavirus? Bernie, Biden, or Bloomberg on Super Tuesday. To beat Trump do you need someone as crazy as, well, Trump? Or will any shouty billionaire do? Priti Patel’s nasty regime. And was South Park the Nirvana to the alt.right’s Nickelback? Self-isolating in The Bunker this week with Dorian Lynskey are Ayesha Hazarika, Ian Dunt and special guest Brian Klass, political scientist at UCL, Washington Post columnist and host of the Power Corrupts podcast. “Most of the things America has gotten away with are simply because Trump’s own stupidity hadn’t caught up with him.” – Brian Klaas Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ayesha Hazarika and Ian Dunt. Audio production by Alex Rees. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. 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 Dom’n’Priti at the controls, is Britain’s failing justice system ready to be reformed within an inch of its life? Inside points-based immigration for the world’s unemployed Mandarin-speaking violinists. And with Starmer on course to lead Labour, we play Shadow Cabinet Fantasy Football to predict who’ll make the team – and who’s leaving on a free. Oh, and we have some exciting news from the live arena too… This week’s panel is Helen Lewis of The Atlantic (new book Difficult Women out this week) and Ros Taylor of LSE “B”-word blogs, with special guest Sashy Nathan of Commons Legal and 89Up. “If you want to get involved in men’s rights then get into prison reform. It is the biggest male-based injustice in the country.” – Helen Lewis Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with Ros Taylor and Helen Lewis. Audio production by Alex Rees. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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

“Here are we living in a tin can…” If NIMBY helped create Britain’s housing nightmare, is YIMBY the answer? We talk to the grassroots disrupters who are trying to turn Britain’s development-phobia on its head with the battlecry “yes in my backyard.” Plus: the Democrat Primaries. Is the party about to make the same mistake as Labour and nominate a kindly old grandpa who just can’t get the votes? And what the hell is TikTok? Why is every 12 year old in your life using it to hog the broadband? All this and more on the Brexit-free* podcast from the makers of Remainiacs. This week’s panel is comedian Ahir Shah (on tour now, fans of fun) and Best For Britain CEO Naomi Smith with special guest John Myers of London YIMBY. “The unfortunate truth is that if don’t build flats that bankers want to live in, then bankers are going to price YOU out of that affordable home YOU wanted to live in.” – John Myers * Mostly Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with Naomi Smith and Ahir Shah. Audio production by Alex Rees. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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 Michael Gove dumps the frictionless trade we were promised into the memory hole, will good old-fashioned belligerence get the Government the EU commerce settlement it wants? And what DOES it want anyway? Trade expert Dmitry Grozoubinski explains it all. Plus, Cath Haddon of the Institute for Government on Classic Dom’s preparations to reform the British Constitution (with an axe?). And why does the rest of Britain hate London? All on the (mostly) Brexit-free podcast from the makers of Remainiacs. “From the very moment Boris Johnson entered No.10 it’s been very hard to work out the objective truth on what’s going on. And that’s a strategy.” – Ian Dunt “No conversation that begins with ‘The thing about trade is…’ will ever get you a telephone number at the end of the night.” – Dmitry Grozoubinski Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with Ian Dunt. Audio production by Alex Rees. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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 week on the Brexit-free podcast from the makers of Remainiacs… What are Baby Boomers so angry about? And will they always hoard the lion’s share of political power? Vladimir Putin, Original Populist: how he remade Western democracies in his own image. Marie Stopes sends her poetry to Hitler. And when is it right to deprive someone of the most sacred right of all: a Twitter account? Crammed into the bunker this week are Helen Lewis of The Atlantic magazine, ex-diplomat and foreign policy expert Arthur Snell, and good old Ian Dunt of politics.co.uk. “Especially in America, populists’ argument is that private enterprise is great and government is useless. So by getting into government and being useless, they get to prove their own point.” – Helen Lewis Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with Ian Dunt, Helen Lewis and Arthur Snell. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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

Welcome to THE BUNKER, the new weekly politics podcast from the makers of Remainiacs. This week we’re joined by former Obama homeland security advisor Amy Pope to discuss the Trump Impeachment latest and the suddenly pivotal role of “Evil Ned Flanders” John Bolton. Plus: If Keir Starmer wins the Labour leadership, will his first big fight be with Boris Johnson or with Continuity Corbynism? And can the BBC survive a Dominic Cummings-inspired hit on the TV licence fee? “[The Senate Trial] suggests that America is so polarised that people are unwilling to look at the facts as they come in… There’s not even a pretence of a fair hearing here.” – Amy Pope Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with Ros Taylor and Ian Dunt. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. 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