The Bunker – News without the nonsense
News without the nonsense, every weekday morning. In episodes that fit your commute*, The Bunker cuts through the noise to make sense of what’s really going on in news, current affairs, politics, economics and culture. We bring you smart explainers, interviews, fresh perspectives and under-reported stories to as a refreshing alternative to repetitive Punch and Judy news coverage. It’s the only way to start the day. From the producers of Oh God, What Now?
Our regulars include: Gavin Esler • Ros Taylor • Alex von Tunzelmann • Andrew Harrison • Zing Tsjeng • Jacob Jarvis • Emma Kennedy • Rafael Behr • Seth Thévoz.
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(* Even if it’s just from the kitchen to the front room. )
The Bunker is a Podmasters production.
1301
VAXX AND SPEND: Start Your Week with Naomi Smith
As the fallout from the Lib Dems’ victory in Chesham and Amersham continues to descend, is Boris Johnson about to get mugged by the newly liberal shires – or old school nimby Toryism? Is the Sunak-Johnson confrontation over the PM’s free spend...
27 min
1302
Daily: Is MERITOCRACY a myth?
When people end up in a job or position they love, was it because they worked hard in school, or did they just get lucky? Why is the idea of progressing on merit under threat? Is there a way we can modernise it for the 21st century? Should we we even t...
28 min
1303
Daily: SHUT UP AND PLAY? Why sport is always po...
As footballers take the knee and culture warriors try to whip up a minority to boo, and the Tokyo Olympics teeter on the edge of cancellation, should we just accept that sport has always been inherently political? Jules Boykoff, former footballer, poli...
22 min
1304
Daily: PEACEBUILDERS – Fixing war zones by thin...
Repairing the damage of war and cementing peace is a huge challenge for countries and international organisations. So why are big players so bad at fixing the consequences of civil and national strife? Award-winning academic Séverine Autesserre has wor...
25 min
1305
Extra: “INSTITUTIONALLY CORRUPT” – The Daniel M...
A bonus Daily… The Met Police was “institutionally corrupt” and failed the family of Daniel Morgan, the private investigator killed with an axe outside a South London pub in 1987, an independent panel found today. In a follow-up to our podcast...
18 min
1306
Brillo Talk
Andrew Neil’s GB News launches in a blaze of technical problems. Is Britain really ready to watch Channel Brillo? Plus Northern Ireland and the Sausage Wars overshadow the G7, NHS Digital is about to sell your health data to private concerns… and how o...
51 min
1307
BORIS’S CORNISH PASTING: Start Your Week with A...
Whatever the triumphalist G7 headlines, the “Sausage War” fiasco left Global Britain looking as shifty, isolated and untrustworthy as its Prime Minister. How will the intractable Northern Ireland Protocol issue shake out? Plus unlocking gets put back (...
29 min
1308
Daily: CRUDE AWAKENING – How oil shaped Britain
From public transport to plastic and even the vinyl in your record collection, petrochemicals don’t just pervade our daily life. They’ve shaped our national culture. James Marriott, co-author of Crude Britannia: How Oil Shaped a Nation, tells Alex Andr...
26 min
1309
Daily: MAGIC MIC – Clive Tyldesley on football ...
The European Championships begin this week against a backdrop of more political turmoil than the game has seen in years, from taking the knee to fans booing England’s own black players to the reverberations of the Super League. Clive Tyldesley, ITV’s l...
28 min
1310
Daily: Taking down the Porn King
Adult video site Pornhub is the tenth most popular website in the world, with seven million clips uploaded every year. It’s also been accused of actively profiting from the abuse of women and young girls via its shady “amateur” videos. How can anyone h...
20 min
1311
This is a Global Britain, for Local People!
As the Government rushes to sign trade deals with some countries (just not our nearest neighbours), special guest Bridget Phillipson, Labour MP and Shadow Treasury Secretary, joins us to work out exactly what Global Britain really means. Have we left t...
51 min
1312
Rebels Without A Clause: START YOUR WEEK with A...
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 ta...
22 min
1313
Daily: How to CANCEL CANCEL CULTURE with Matthe...
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 populis...
26 min
1314
Daily: Why Labour needs to love our country, wi...
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 ...
28 min
1315
June’s Not Happening
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...
60 min
1316
DELTA SKELTER: Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
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 ...
20 min
1317
EXTRA: The DANIEL MORGAN murder scandal - with ...
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 Fina...
28 min
1318
Daily: HOW TO MAKE NOW BETTER with Ece Temelkuran
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 reb...
27 min
1319
Daily: How TRUMP’S BIG LIE could still destroy ...
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 ...
23 min
1320
Daily: THE NEW MEANING OF WORK – Ian Dunt meets...
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 Cr...
27 min
1321
Brexit Britain: Nul Points
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 gr...
55 min
1322
PrisonAir plus Dom’s Day Preppers – Start Your ...
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...
21 min
1323
Extra: WHAM, BAM, TANK YOUR LAMB – Australian t...
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? A...
21 min
1324
Daily: How to SAVE LABOUR — A blueprint for a w...
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 Lynsk...
27 min
1325
Daily: Why Jews don’t count – DAVID BADDIEL tal...
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 hi...
28 min