The Bunker – News without the nonsense

As Johnson scuttles away from the Owen Paterson debacle and fresh sleaze oozes out, will new Commons regulations mean that MPs have to get by on just the one job like some sort of cave dwellers? Plus, brace yourself for trade war as Lord Frost (no doubt with great regret) prepares to trigger the Article 16 he’s been gagging for since December. And is your poppy leaf at the right angle? Alex Andreou flags up the week ahead. • “The entire Paterson mess is simply because Johnson hates people bothering his Brexiteer mates.” • “What is there to prevent paramilitary violence flaring up in Northern Ireland?” • “Triggering Article 16 will only show that trade power lies with Europe, because it’s seven times the size of the UK.” Presented and 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Orwell was a keen gardener, but did his love of nature influence his politics? Inspired by her encounter with the surviving roses planted at his Hertfordshire cottage, writer Rebecca Solnit talks to Dorian Lynskey about her new book Orwell’s Roses, which looks at how Orwell’s involvement with plants was a catalyst for his work as a writer and antifascist. “When I was young non-fiction was not treated as artwork… Orwell provided a great model for essayism” “Animal farm is a book that Orwell couldn’t have written if he wasn’t aware of their behaviours” “I found 1984 very different after discovering Orwell the gardener, Orwell the cheerful even” 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear all the music on our podcasts in full on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk The Wordsworth of Bury GUY GARVEY of Elbow joins us to talk about their transcendent new album ‘Flying Dream 1’, the remarkable story of how he and his wife nursed his mother-in-law Diana Rigg through her last months, and how music fixes everything. And JUDE ROGERS helps us examine that ABBA album, remarkable Netflix drama of racism and identity PASSING, and that weird Princess Di movie SPENCER. • “When people came back to our gigs, there was a sense of release.” – GUY GARVEY • “When I’m off to bed drunk, the band play Just A Gigolo and watch me spin on my heel.” – GUY GARVEY • “ABBA’s new album sounds like they’ve cleared out their hard drive.” – JUDE ROGERS Presented by Siân Pattenden and Alex Andreou. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The phrase ‘Net Zero’ has become increasingly prominent in our discourse around climate change, with most countries and businesses pledging to be carbon neutral by 2050. But what will a day in a net zero world look like? What sort of jobs will we be doing? What kind of food will we eat? And how will nights out change? Journalist Jonn Elledge, editor of New Food Magazine Bethan Grylls and Leeds University research fellow Andrew Sudmant join Naomi Smith for a look into our net-zero future. “The weekly big shop is dying out because of food waste” - Bethan Grylls “We’re in this post-pandemic moment where we don’t know how much we’ll be working from home” - Jonn Elledge “Lots of foods are in danger, we’re going to see a return to seasonality” - Bethan Grylls “We could witness the end of fridges” - Bethan Grylls https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Naomi Smith. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the world banks its hopes on COP26, we talk live from the conference to the FT’s SIMON MUNDY about his astonishing and sobering book ‘Race For Tomorrow’ – a tour of the frontline of the climate struggle that reads like a thriller. Meanwhile the UK Government concentrates on the far bigger issue of fighting France over FISH. Of course he does! And we watch the BBC’s shocking documentary about the Washington insurrection of Jan 6, ‘Four Hours At The Capitol’. • “For any reporter, this is the biggest story of the century” – SIMON MUNDY • “How do you fix a country’s climate when international travel is its biggest earner – and its biggest threat?” – ALEX ANDREOU • “If you’re Johnson you make it about the French, not the deal you signed that’s now falling apart.” – MIATTA FAHNBULLEH • “The old climate war was simply denying the science. The new climate war is subtly arguing against any measures to mitigate climate change.” – SIMON MUNDY Buy ‘Race For Tomorrow’: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Simon-Mundy/Race-for-Tomorrow--Survival-Innovation-and-Profit-on-the-/25601978 Watch ‘Four Hours At The Capitol’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010tff https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou with Miatta Fahnbulleh 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As climate change becomes a bigger issue, more companies are trying to prove they’re eco-friendly, but are they actually as green as they claim? Alice Bell, climate campaigner and author of Our Biggest Experiment: A History of the Climate Crisis, tells Yasmeen Serhan about the shady practice of greenwashing, where firms mislead consumers about their climate credentials. Which companies are the worst offenders? And what can we do about it? “Greenwashing has become a developed art… it’s all designed to make the consumer feel good.” “One person’s greenwash will be someone else’s acceptable strategy.” “The oil industry has to invest in PR because their reason to exist is in question.” “The phrase ‘Net-Zero’ has offered huge opportunities to greenwashers.” “Britain talks about how we’ve stopped using coal, but we import goods made using coal.” Presented by Yasmeen Serhan. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Climate change is the existential challenge of our time – but do we fully understand the depth and complexity of human influence over the planet’s temperature? In today’s COP26 special, Dr ELLA GILBERT, climate scientist from the University of Reading, takes Justin Quirk into the aspects of global heating that the media seldom foreground, from the cataclysmic impact of the cement industry to the strange and puzzling meaning of… clouds? “The non-CO2 impacts of aviation may be up to twice as harmful as the CO2 impacts.” “Ice is melting much more slowly in Antarctica than in the Arctic.” “Adding in climate pressures can cause tensions to boil over into conflict.” “Clouds at the tropics have a different impact to those in polar regions.” “If the cement industry was a country, it would be third biggest emitter of C02.” Presented by Justin Quirk. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As COP26 kicks off in Glasgow, what do you need to know about a summit that’s being described as the “last chance” for global action on climate change? New Scientist chief reporter Adam Vaughan joins Andrew Harrison to talk all about Britain’s biggest event since the Olympics, from the key players and attendees, to the thorny issues and major sticking points. “COP is very different from other diplomatic meetings like the G7, they are quite chaotic affairs” “We’re currently have pledges just under 3 degrees which is disastrous, we need around 1.5 degrees” “This is the biggest event the UK has hosted since the Olympics” “It would be good if Xi showed up, but the Chinese delegation will be huge, they’re taking it seriously” “Australia has become a huge outlier on climate change because it relies so heavily on fossil fuels” 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear all the music on our podcasts in full on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk Original Essex Man BILLY BRAGG joins us to discuss how the pandemic changed pop, politics and his haircut, on the very day his new album The Million Things That Never Happened comes out. Plus film critic Linda Marric joins us to look at Edgar Wright’s bizarre West End horrorfest LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, new music from THE WAR ON DRUGS, well-aged psychedelic pop from France, and more. Presented by Siân Pattenden Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the human race reaches new heights of scientific understanding, why then does it seem to be losing its mind? Are humans inherently irrational beings? Professor Steven Pinker, cognitive scientist and author of the new book Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters, talks to Alex Andreou about how irrationality occurs within our society, and why we need to embrace the notion that humans are naturally rational. “I wanted to explain why a species as rational as ours is vulnerable to so much nonsense” “There are stupid people who are rational and smart people who are irrational” “The reason that persuasion is still called for is that not everyone is a dyed-in-the-wool true believer” “The successful politicians are the ones that have ideas, but also know how to reach people” “If people are unaware progress has taken place, they could look to turn the clock back” 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The COVID pandemic has seen us bombarded with statistics like never before, - case numbers, excess deaths and vaccination rates. But behind the numbers, is there another story waiting to be told? Professor David Spiegelhalter joins Ros Taylor to talk about his new book COVID By Numbers, which shines a new light on the pandemic from the hardest hit countries, to the benefits of different vaccines, and the effect of lockdown on our mental health and the economy. “Statisticians try to make sense of what’s going on, and there is a lot of demand for that” “The perpetual daily updates have kept numbers in people’s minds” “There has been a systematic change in the pattern of deaths, people aren’t going to hospital to die” “COVID has shone light on big gaps on our knowledge of other people’s lives” “When the media call out u-turns, it stops people making changes based on new evidence” “Statistics have been incredibly important, the PHE dashboard had 76 million hits within 24 hours during the 3rd lockdown” 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Plan B really happening or what? Does the Government grasp the magnitude of the NHS crisis that’s coming? And is there any way to get the performatively unmasked to mask up again? Plus, as the wheels continue to fall off Facebook, is there any fixing social media? And we look at next year’s Unboxed event, the rebadged, don’t-mention-leaving-the-EU Festival of Brexit. Special guest ZOE WILLIAMS of The Guardian to dig into this week’s political misery. • “The row over GPs is completely confected… The problem isn’t of face-to-face appointments, it’s that they’re overworked and worn out.” – ZOE WILLIAMS • “Choosing social media villains and giving them a kicking in front of committees is not going to fix this.” – ZOE WILLIAMS • “Very politicised people don’t WANT the platforms fixed. They’re there for the fight.” – MARIE LE CONTE • “You can’t put a picture of yourself breastfeeding on Facebook, but fascist hate is fine?” – ZOE WILLIAMS https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Ros Taylor with Marie Le Conte and Ahir Shah. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Metaphor time! Rishi Sunak strains over a painful Budget while Conservative MPs are hammered for voting to allow raw sewage to be released into the sea. What’s coming in the Budget and will Johnson’s aversion to bad news push Plan B back – meaning that, yet again, the Government acts too late on a rising COVID wave? Alex Andreou starts your week. “Imagine if raw sewage became the defining issue of your government…” “Boris Johnson has become invisible, which indicates the Budget will not be a good one.” “This Budget includes straight-up bribe pots for Conservative Party donors.” “Sunak, Truss, and Barclay’s constituencies have all done very well from the Levelling Up Fund.” Presented and 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

t’s often said that the crisis in Western democracy is caused by those left-behind, but is the greatest threat to security actually a bored middle-class? University Professor and author of Our Own Worst Enemy Tom Nichols talks to Arthur Snell about why unchecked narcissism is to blame for rising illiberalism, which factors are accelerating our democratic demise, and why building coalitions is our only way out. “We’ve become used to being hyper-connected to each other, which turns out to be a pretty bad thing for maintaining democracy.” “The people who vote for populists are overwhelmingly white, middle-class and well-off.” “In the US anti-immigration feeling is sky-high in areas where there are no immigrants, it’s driven by television.” “We now have millions of people who have become so detached from reality that it’s impossible to have a rational conversation with them.” 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear all the music on our podcasts in full on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk This week: Snooker star turned cosmic DJ STEVE DAVIS tells about his love for out-there avant garde rock and the time he took Frank Warren to see Magma. We review spice’n’sandals epic DUNE and Wes Anderson’s paean to the golden age of magazines, THE FRENCH DISPATCH – and speak to star LÉA SEYDOUX. John Harris explains why ‘Let It Be’ is THE BEATLES’ least-understood record. And a thrilling new album from one-woman pop revolution SELF ESTEEM. Presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s COVID Groundhog Day with cases spiking, the Government dithering and the NHS under critical pressure all over again. As Sajid Javid warns of 100,000 cases a day soon, health commentator Roy Lilley tells us why the Government’s“ Plan B” is in disarray. How fast should they move to tighter restrictions? And can they make it stick with a population that believes the pandemic is done? “What is it going to take for someone in the cabinet to say ‘Yes, we need Plan B’?.” “Sajid Javid standing up and lecturing the nation with a Union Jack behind him was absolutely ridiculous.” “Who actually runs the NHS? Is it Sajid Javid or the Daily Mail?” “Let’s have that firebreak and let’s enjoy Christmas.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is gene-editing – replacing sections of DNA to make plants and animals more fertile or resistant to disease – really our escape route from the threats of climate change and population growth? Since Brexit the British Government has been tearing up tight EU legislation on the practice, with DEFRA now allowing it for crops. But do we really understand the difference between gene editing and modification (GMO), or its complex environmental and social implications? Alex Andreou chews over gene editing with two experts from both sides of the debate, agriculturalist and member of the Food Ethics Council Patrick Mulvany and Professor Nick Talbot, Executive Director of The Sainsbury Laboratory. “We need to do something about farming and food production in the face of the climate emergency.” - Professor Nick Talbot “The status quo in agriculture cannot be maintained.” - Professor Nick Talbot 17:00 “Gene editing should be part of our panoply of food innovations that we need to feed people by 2050.” - Professor Nick Talbot “We need smaller farmers to have access to these technologies. Agriculture is still dominated by the big multinationals.” - Professor Nick Talbot “There's no shortage of innovation. Placing all our emphasis on gene editing is not sustainable.” - Patrick Mulvany 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The horrific murder of Sir David Amess has put MPs’ personal security into sharp relief. But should the Government tighten rules for online speech which, however ugly, seems to have little to do with this outrage? Plus, climate change deniers the Global Warming Policy Forum rebrand as Net Zero Watch. Will claiming that carbon reduction is too expensive succeed where denying it outright failed? And why can’t Britain stop harping on about the Blitz Spirit? “Two MPs have been killed in last five years. We simply cannot say that MPs are safe to do their job.” – Justin Quirk “Prevent was never designed as a predictive programme… Just because this person was referred doesn’t mean their name would go straight to MI5.” – Arthur Snell Presented by Andrew Harrison with Yasmeen Serhan, Arthur Snell and Justin Quirk. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Children lost an average of 115 days of schooling under last year’s lockdowns, but that doesn’t capture the scale of trauma and dislocation caused to children by the Government’s bungled handling of the pandemic. Former Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield tells Ros Taylor about the hidden consequences of COVID policy for kids – how the pandemic was an opportunity to exploiters including county lines drug dealers – and why we have to stop seeing the pandemic through the adult-centric prism of shopping, holidays, offices and pubs. “These school closures will have an effect for years and decades – and for some kids, forever.” “After the pandemic, children’s mental health has plummeted.” “I never thought I’d ever have to say ‘Kids need to be in school’. But everything we knew crumbled in a very short time.” “We’re never going to have real levelling up until we get it right for kids.” “When you’ve only got a couple of crap phones to work on, that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what you need to learn.” Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A second MP in five years is killed during the performance of constituency duties. Will the death of Sir David Amess change the temperature of political debate? Plus Dominic Raab’s plan to overrule independent courts, the brewing PCR test scandal, and coal-funded senator Joe Manchin destroys Joe Biden’s clean energy programme. Ros Taylor starts your week. “Police protection at surgeries is all very well, but marginalised people can be very afraid of the police – with good reason.” “People will always exploit tragedies like these for their own political ends.” “Kids are still paying the price for adults' failure on COVID.” Presented and 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Anglo-Saxons represent one of the most vital and important periods in English history, but then why do we know so very little about them? Marc Morris, historian and author of The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England, takes Nick Cohen on a journey though one of England’s most fascinating chapters, and how their influence is still felt today. “We’re taught about the Anglo-Saxons as young children, which means we only learn about them in basic terms.” “Only by the 18th century was Alfred the Great idolised, but there was a lot of the original Alfred which is worthy of admiration.” “English counties are basically as they were in the 10th century, and a great many villages and towns were founded by the Anglo-Saxons.” 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve got a bit less music on this week’s podcast than we’d like but you can hear it in full on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk This week: As the third season of dynastic epic Succession begins on Sky, what makes it the most compelling thing on TV? After 40 years in the game, Duran Duran make a genuinely fantastic album: we listen to Future Past. And a real find on Netflix in unreal Chilean horror movie Fever Dream. Entertainment Weekly’s Clark Collis is our guest. Presented by Siân Pattenden, Alex Andreou and Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cities are slowly coming back to life after COVID. But has the pandemic permanently changed our urban spaces, and how we live within them? Co-author of Survival of the City and Harvard University Professor Edward L. Glaeser talks to Ros Taylor about how commuting has always been defined by class divides, whether fifteen minute cities could work…and why we need a “NATO of healthcare”. “Once we’re healthy again, there’s little chance cities will atomise.” “There's no Democratic or Republican way to clean the streets. The same should go for fighting pandemics.” “Teleworking makes cities up their game on cost and quality of life.” 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 https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/669805/survival-of-the-city-by-edward-glaeser-and-david-cutler/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enigmatic Californian tech investor and libertarian Peter Thiel is best known for his controversial ‘spy tech’ company Palantir and for enabling Hulk Hogan to sue gossip site Gawker out of business. But as new book The Contrarian shows, Thiel has always had bigger ambitions to use tech to sideline government itself. Author Max Chafkin tells Andrew Harrison about the Randian ideas that propelled Thiel from the “Paypal Mafia” to Trump’s White House – and why we should worry about ‘Thielism’. “Thiel is both a superhero and supervillain, like Ayn Rand crossed with… Ayn Rand.” “Thiel is the one person aside from Mark Zuckerberg who is responsible for Facebook’s success.” “He named Palantir after this all-seeing orb from Lord of the Rings. And Sauron is not the good guy.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Britain surges forward into the 1950s, the Prime Minister goes on holiday – again. Will fuel costs, supply chains, staff shortages and reskilling just, you know, sort themselves out? Or do we need to reacquaint ourselves with stagflation? Plus, can the fallout from the sentencing of Sarah Everard’s murderer and the increasing focus on misogyny in society really become a moment of change? Special guest Emma Kennedy joins us to gaze into this week’s political abyss. “We’re culling perfectly good pigs and importing pork from the EU? This is making Britain self-sufficient?” – Emma Kennedy “We’ve been expecting disaster for so long that if it doesn’t arrive, the government can fall back on, Hey, the doomsters were wrong again…” – Justin Quirk “If there was a shortage of baguettes in Paris, the French would burn the place to the ground. The British, sadly, are not like that.” – Emma Kennedy “The notion of rebalancing the economy by market shock is quite insane.” – Alex Andreou “Violence against women will never change until we make it as utterly unacceptable as drink-driving… Men have got to step up.” – Emma Kennedy https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Alex Andreou with Ayesha Hazarika and Justin Quirk. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unelected Brexit panjandrum David Frost gets ready to blow up the Northern Ireland deal that he and Johnson sold to the public. Is Poland really shaping up to leave the EU? The first ‘Covid: Lessons Learned’ report looms into view. Plus bizarre elections in the Czech Republic, Facebook in the dock and an old-fashioned nuclear spy scandal. Arthur Snell starts your week. “Frost and Johnson’s strategy has been to pretend it’s someone else’s deal and that it needs to be renegotiated." “From a very dark tactical perspective, the return of the threat of violence in Ireland would be to Johnson and Frost’s advantage.” “Facebook has run out of road, it doesn’t really have any political friends anymore.” Presented and 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DANGER, SPOILERS! James Bond finally returns to cinemas in a world where questions about sexism, racism and Britishness have seldom been more pointed. Is there a place for a suave, womanising emissary of British power in the modern world? Is it time to reassess the role of Bond in British culture? Regulars and Bond fiends Ros Taylor and Arthur Snell talk to Ian Kinane, editor of the International Journal of James Bond Studies and a senior lecturer in English literature, about their first Bonds and where 007 should go next. Do not listen unless you’ve seen the film. “Bond offers a parallel universe in which Britain always wins.” - Arthur Snell “Bond probably has many fatherless children all over the world.” - Ian Kinane “James Bond is so far from the boring reality of intelligence work, like people staring at databases.” - Arthur Snell “Shirley Bassey is seen as singing an anthem of Britain's glory days of Empire.” - Ian Kinane “Bond seems to embody what is properly British, but more often he’s played by actors who aren't British themselves.” - Ian Kinane Presented by Ros Taylor and 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remember you can hear the music from every Culture Bunker in full on our rolling playlist. Joining us for this week’s tour de pop culture are guests J. Willgoose, leader of avant pop band Public Service Broadcasting, and author Jenny Colgan. On the agenda: Could you play the Squid Game? We look at the Netflix breakout hit. Does new documentary The Beatles And India turn the tablas on our ideas of Western pop? And new music from Mancunian electro explorers W.H. Lung. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison and Alex Andreou. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Antisemitism remains one of the Labour Party’s most painful problems. It’s an issue with deep roots, dragged up by Corbyn, and left to Starmer to deal with. Trade unionist Daniel Randall, author of Confronting Antisemitism on the Left, and sociologist Keith Kahn-Harris, join Dorian Lynskey to discuss what distinguishes left from right wing anti-Jewish racism, and what can be done about it. “The 2007 financial crisis brought antisemitism on the left to the fore.” - Daniel Randall “Gaslighting and denial is just as harmful as antisemitism itself.” - Keith Kahn-Harris “In some analyses, capitalism is coded as a specifically Jewish endeavour.” - Daniel Randall “Antisemitism has a complicated ideology. It's not just, 'Jews bad, non-Jews good.'“ - Daniel Randall “There's a moralistic element to Corbyn's politics, and it's difficult to situate Jews within that.” - Daniel Randall “Anti-racism is a lifelong struggle. But Corbyn treated it like a journey where one could arrive.” - Keith Kahn-Harris 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 https://www.nopasaran.media/confronting-antisemitism-on-the-left/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should we feel more compassion towards men who are send to public schools? And what do boarding school books reveal about the emotions of society’s elites? With fellow students like Boris Johnson and David Cameron, Richard Beard’s latest book, Sad Little Men, explores his time at school. He tells Ros Taylor why private school only gives kids a partial education, how sexist attitudes linger beyond the school gates…and why years of emotional suppression makes private school boys very good spies. “You're supposed to leave your time at school behind and go on and be successful.” “When you arrive as a small child, your instinct is to run away back home.” “There is a conflict between what adults are telling you is good for you, and your emotional experience.” “This confidence applies to a limited area of life - but one where power resides.” “It was male opinion that mattered to us, and it remained so when we left school.” “Parents and children are drawn into this delusion that boarding school is for the best.” 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 https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Richard-Beard/Sad-Little-Men--Private-Schools-and-the-Ruin-of-England/25942336 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain staggers into another Winter of Discontent but the atmosphere in the Conservative Party Conference is serenely unworried, says our woman on the spot Marie le Conte. Can anything penetrate Boris Johnson’s reality-distortion field? Plus special guest Annette Dittert, London bureau chief of Germany’s TV channel ARD, explains what the German elections really mean – and how Germany thinks Brexit is going. And is the BBC’s schmaltzy Ridley Road really the best way to dramatise real political events? https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Andrew Harrison with Marie le Conte and Gavin Esler. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices