Inside the HGV Driver Shortage, plus Gavin Williamson’s unwieldy rise to Education Secretary, and Texans’ battle over abortion

PLUS: Ros Taylor eats crickets on air!

<p>Schools are back. Will the decision not to vaccinate 12-15 year olds turn classes into superspreader factories – or do we actually want school-age kids to catch COVID and build up immunity? Plus, why the Government won’t provide the catch-up funds that education needs. What the Pen Farthing episode tells us about sentimental Britain. And the shame of Afghanistan is just beginning. <strong>Ros Taylor</strong> starts your week. &nbsp;</p><p><br></p><ul><li><em>“It’s simple – the Government is pursuing </em><strong><em>de facto herd immunity</em></strong><em> by not vaccinating children.”</em></li><li><em>“The problem with education goes beyond our woeful Education Secretary… We have a </em><strong><em>perfect storm</em></strong><em> of public spending”</em></li><li><em>“It’s hard not conclude that some of the British public </em><strong><em>care more about a dog</em></strong><em> than they care about a brown person.”</em></li></ul><p><br></p><p><em>Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. </em><strong><em>THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production</em></strong></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>

For many he’s the great leader that Labour should have had. Now that he’s left frontline politics, Alan Johnson is trying his hand at writing fiction with his debut thriller The Late Train to Gipsy Hill out now.

British-Turkish novelist and academic Elif Shafak is an international feminist icon followed by legions of passionate readers. She tells Dorian Lynskey about her latest novel The Island of Missing Trees, a story of identity, belonging and love that takes place between Cyprus and London

Does the year we were born really shape us people? Are Gen X Snowflakes really battling Baby Boomers in an intergenerational war?

If we stopped trying to do everything, would we finally get chance to do what counts? Do to-do lists create anything but meaningless pressure?