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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. • Sign up to support the podcast and get episodes ad-free and early: patreon.com/bunkercast • Apple users: Get all of our core shows ad-free and early with the Podmasters Originals super-subscription. The Bunker is a Podmasters production.
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- 3334 - Burnham takes on Putin’s lie machine — Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr
Looking back at the big stories from the past seven days…Andy Burnham has vowed to crack down on Russia’s “poisonous” slopaganda campaign. Can he really stop the Kremlin meddling in Britain’s affairs? Plus: Trump meets Xi (again) this time in Washington, D.C., a super El Niño is underway and could kill 450,000 by February and far-right yob Daniel Thomas has been arrested after he was filmed slashing a dinghy in the Channel. Rafael Behr and Andrew Harrison recap the biggest, weirdest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor: Andrew Harrison with Rafael Behr. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 25 Sep 2026 - 34min - 3333 - Crime is down – so why is everyone terrified in "Lawless Britain?"
Is Britain really the crime-ridden hellhole the right says it is? Well… no, not really. Crime has actually fallen over the past decade for most offences – ranging from phone snatching to murder. So why do people think it’s getting worse? Why are Reform voters particularly likely to buy some myths around crime? And what’s the knock-on effect for wider society?
Bobby Duffy, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute at King's College London, joins Zing Tsjeng to explain why public crime perceptions are wildly out of step with the facts.
• Read Bobby’s research in full
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 24 Sep 2026 - 31min - 3332 - The Amazing Spider-Myth – From Arachne to Spider-Man, how arachnids rule our imagination
Some people fear spiders so much they can barely stand to read the word. For others, these secretive eight-legged hunters are a source of fascination and mythic wonder. Why do some cultures loathe spiders and others love and revere them, even crediting them with creating the world? Harvard language professor and folklore and mythology expert Maria Tatar dives into the Spider-Verse with her book Arachnomania: Spiders and the Cultural Work They Do for Us.
She tells confirmed arachnophile Andrew Harrison how Arachne, the original main spider-character, got a raw deal; what spider stars like Charlotte, Shelob and the one who discomfited Miss Muffet mean; and why Peter Parker is oddly detached from the great web of spider-stories. “Are spiders our significant others,” she asks, “our second selves or sworn enemies?”
• Buy Arachnomania through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
Written and presented by Producer: Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 23 Sep 2026 - 24min - 3331 - Yes, your phone IS listening to you – with Alexis Conran
Alexis Conran, the broadcaster and consumer champion, gets asked one question more than any other: “Is my phone listening to me?” We’ve all had a conversation about a new duvet set or a kettle, only to be served an advert for exactly that moments later. Big Tech insists it isn’t listening in most of the time… So is this all a coincidence? Or is something more nefarious at play? Alexis joinsEmma Kennedy to explain what’s really going on.
• Read Alexis’ full article on his blog, Scam Proof Your Life
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 22 Sep 2026 - 31min - 3330 - Burnham’s Trump meet: Can he handle the heat? – Start Your Week with Alex von Tunzelmann
Andy Burnham is meeting Trump this week – how will he handle the increasingly erratic US president? Plus, more issues for the UN, Labour conference and more news to look out for, with author and historian Alex von Tunzelmann and Jacob Jarvis.
Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 21 Sep 2026 - 28min - 3329 - Farage’s fight back, A.I. fallout and a 'referendum' – Weekly Wrap-Up with Jonn Elledge
Farage is bracing for legal war over a potential challenge to Reform’s mega money donations. But is his brand terminally damaged already? Plus, A.I. is being debated again, a village has chosen to leave the UK, and a lot of people are mad at Ed Sheeran. Jonn Elledge joins Jacob Jarvis to pull together the biggest news stories from the last week.
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• Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Jonn Elledge. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Design by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 18 Sep 2026 - 30min - 3328 - Sex, secrets and the KGB – How a Cold War spy accidentally saved the world
Vladimir Kuzichkin may have changed the course of the Cold War – and it was all down to a very personal problem. The KGB agent was stationed in Tehran in 1981, less than two years after the Iranian Revolution, when he made the decision to defect to the British. Known to MI6 as “Redwood”, Kuzichkin demanded that the secret service smuggle him out of Iran in exchange for his secrets. But what intel did he provide MI6 and the CIA that was so explosive? And why was he so desperate to escape? Pre-eminent chronicler of espionage Ben Macintyrejoins Alex von Tunzelmann to reveal how the Soviet spy may have saved the world.
• Buy Ben’s book Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 17 Sep 2026 - 34min - 3327 - Depraved new world – How billionaires’ sci-fi dreams are wrecking the future
The future has arrived, and it’s starting to look suspiciously like something Elon Musk and his fellow tech billionaires dreamt about as nine-year-olds. Silicon Valley’s rulers promise a world run by artificial superintelligence where scientists and engineers replace politicians – or humans disappear from government altogether. So, are they really the superheroes of the modern age they claim to be? Will AI deliver the technological marvel they promise or is their vision of techno-utopia about as real as, er, Iron Man? Harvard historian and author Jill Leporejoins Emma Kennedy to discuss where we’re headed.
• Buy Jill’s book The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 16 Sep 2026 - 26min - 3326 - Is AOC really America's next president?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is constantly tipped as a potential Democratic contender for 2028. She is beloved by the left and loathed by Republicans with equal vigour for her progressive ideals. So, does she even want the White House – and if she does, could she defeat Gavin Newsom and other Democratic front-runners at the primaries? Is AOC really the antidote to Trump? And is America finally ready to accept a woman as president? The Guardian’s Washington Bureau Chief David Smith joins Jacob Jarvis to unpick what might happen.
• Read David’s full article in The Guardian
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 15 Sep 2026 - 24min - 3325 - Farage’s crackpot jackpot – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler
Reform and Farage have raked in mega donations the likes of which British politics has never seen before. What does this money mean for democracy? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the fallout and other news to look out for this week.
Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 14 Sep 2026 - 29min - 3324 - Trump’s ‘bribe’, Miliband’s sanctions, Met investigates Reform – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr and Zoë Grünewald
Looking back at the big stories of the past seven days…Nigel Farage faces yet another headache after the Met launched a criminal investigation into whether Reform broke party donation rules. Will he weather the storm? Plus: Ed Miliband denounces “settler terrorists” in Occupied Palestinian Territory. Trump pledges $5,000 to every adult American at his bizarre midterm convention. And an Anthropic staffer offers a cheery warning that AI will destroy humanity before the decade’s done. Zoë Grünewald and Rafael Behr recap the biggest, strangest and under-reported stories of the week.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Listen to Terror Century, our three-part mini-series marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 linktr.ee/bunker_pod
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Written and presented by Zoë Grünewald. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 11 Sep 2026 - 36min - 3323 - Terror Century – How the trauma of 9/11 made Trump and MAGA inevitable
A three-part mini-series from The Bunker… The horror of the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago this week led America into massive retaliation and ultimately national humiliation in Afghanistan and Iraq. In years to come, these failures and the lies used to sell them would breed a paranoid, isolationist, racist strain that ultimately took over American politics. Did 9/11 ultimately create Trump and Trumpism?
National security journalist Spencer Ackerman has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay and he’s the author of Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump. He talks to Andrew Harrison about the long road from Ground Zero to Mar-a-Lago.
• Worn out by the War on Terror? Buy Spencer Ackerman’s Iron Man books – there’s two! – through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Tom taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 10 Sep 2026 - 35min - 3322 - Terror Century – Did the War on Terror become a war on freedom?
A three-part mini-series from The Bunker… In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago, an enraged America stumbled into the quagmires of Afghanistan and Iraq. At home the Bush Administration created a new security culture which began to erode freedoms in America and around the world. Are we still living with the compromises Americans made during that feverish decade?
On this episode David Cole, author of Less Safe, Less Free: Why America Is Losing the War on Terror, explains how the USA PATRIOT Act and other measures ran out of control… what 9/11-era surveillance means in the age of Big Tech… and whether the freedoms Americans temporarily suspended ever fully came back.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Simon Williams and Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 09 Sep 2026 - 29min - 3321 - Terror Century – Are we living in the world that 9/11 created?
A new three-part mini-series from The Bunker… When terrorists murdered 2,977 people in the 9/11 attacks 25 years ago this week, al-Qaeda set America on a dark path which ultimately led to torture, brutal repression and finally national humiliation in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the War on Terror produced something else too: an anti-politics culture of fear and mistrust of leaders which proved fertile ground for the vicious populism of Donald Trump. Are we still living in the world that 9/11 created?
In our first episode, terror and insurgency expert Bruce Hoffman of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University, Washington explains the fevered atmosphere that created the War on Terror… why the US system failed to prevent the attacks in the first place… and how 9/11 still shapes our world.
• Buy God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America by Bruce Hoffman
through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Simon Williams and Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 08 Sep 2026 - 32min - 3320 - Farage: It wasn’t me! — Start Your Week with Alex von Tunzelmann
Nigel Farage is doing everything he can to deny having been in the wrong in those disastrous sting videos. Can his excuses work? Plus, Trump is going wild with AI slop, Kushner has visited Putin and the far-right are blocking ports in Kent… Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss what to look out for this week.
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 07 Sep 2026 - 30min - 3319 - Farage's candid camera calamity — Emergencycast from Oh God, What Now?
Quick-fire reaction with News Statesman’s associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe and Jacob Jarvis. Given the Farage fallout, we had to record something quickly, so we did an emergencycast! This was originally for Oh God, What Now?, but we thought you’d want to hear it too… The Reform conference is well underway and Nigel Farage is facing another huge crisis after two (now-ex) senior officials were filmed in an undercover investigation seemingly plotting how to bypass electoral law to bag a £500,000 foreign donation… Reform claims it’s all one big hoax, predictably… So can the party weather the storm? Is Farage absolutely done for? And what could happen next?
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
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Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis with Rachel Cunliffe. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Chris Jones. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 04 Sep 2026 - 23min - 3318 - Burnham-Badenoch bust-up, Reform's griftfest, RIP Gloria Steinem – Weekly Wrap-Up with Seth Thévoz
Looking back at the big stories of the past seven days…Burnham and Badenoch finally went head-to-head at PMQs. Who came out on top? Reform kicks off its conference, complete with £3,000 tickets for a champagne breakfast with Farage. Polanski eyes Starmer’s old seat in Holborn and St Pancras. And feminist icon Gloria Steinem dies aged 92. Seth ThévozandAndrew Harrison round up the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 04 Sep 2026 - 29min - 3317 - What's really going on in Britain’s dodgy “vape shops”
Is that mini-mart laundering money? Why have five barbershops opened on the same street? And how can suspiciously empty phone repair shops afford to run? For years, rumours have swirled about Britain’s high streets. Now Andy Burnham has decided he knows who the villain is. He’s declared war on “dodgy” vape shops, branding them a scourge of the high street that only his government can defeat.
So… Why are our town centres filling up with vape shops, candy stores and phone-repair shops in the first place? Who’s profiting from them? And can anything spark a high street renaissance? Jim Waterson, founder and editor of the London Centric, joins Zoë Grünewald to unveil the murky world behind Britain’s high streets.
• Read how London Centric’s investigation led to a Harry Potter gift shop raid.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Zoë Grünewald. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 03 Sep 2026 - 26min - 3316 - Roy Cohn – The monster who created Donald Trump
Amoral attack dog for Senator Joe McCarthy during America’s Red Scare of the ’50s. Corrupt mob lawyer, cruel swindler and powerbroker. Racist. Closeted but extremely sexually active gay man who in public spouted homophobic slurs and backed anti-gay legislation. Infamous New York lawyer Roy Cohn was all these things. He was also the man who taught Donald Trump everything he knows.
Kai Bird, co-author of riveting new biography American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump explains how Cohen’s vicious, win-at-all-costs methods created a monster – and what both men say about the darkness in American culture.
• Buy American Scoundrelby Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 02 Sep 2026 - 28min - 3315 - Burnham gets serious – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison
Setting up the stories for the week ahead… The carefree summer of announcing fun policies is over for Andy Burnham as Parliament returns with tricky questions on defence funding, prisoner release and the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields. Plus: Reshuffle time as Badenoch rearranges the deckchairs on the Torytanic. It’s Reform conference week. And was the Bayeux Tapestry the first-ever comic book? Ros TaylorandAndrew Harrison take you through the stories of the week ahead.
Get tomorrow’s Bunker today when you back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 01 Sep 2026 - 31min - 3314 - Parton is such sweet sorrow – Weekly Wrap-Up with Zoë Grünewald
Looking back at the big stories of the past seven days…Dolly Parton’s death leaves the world brokenhearted but reflecting on a true rarity: someone rich, famous and powerful who never stopped being a good human being. Plus: Meta caves in an $18bn settlement of claims that Facebook and Instagram harmed children. Andy Burnham visits Zelensky in Kyiv – and jams to The Smiths. And in Alaska… Dan Sullivan supports Dan Sullivan as he defeats Dan Sullivan in the Senate race. Zoë Grünewald and Andrew Harrison round up the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Listen as Gavin Esler explores the breakneck evolution of military technology in This Is Not A Drill’s brand new four-part mini-series
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 28 Aug 2026 - 28min - 3313 - Inside the clickbait storm – Hot Take Time Machine with Jonn Elledge and Miranda Sawyer
Hot Take Time Machine is back with Paper Cuts alumni Miranda Sawyer, Jonn Elledge and Jacob Jarvis sniffing out the strangest, worst – and occasionally best – opinions of the past month.
On this episode: Dolly Parton’s death shocks the world, Harry and Meghan’s media storm rages on, the treatment of Jason Arday comes under scrutiny and the Mail’s Liz Jones has another mega moan.
• Spotted a column we should talk about next time? Send it to info@bunkercast.co.uk
• Buy Jonn’s book 31 Inventions that Built our World: The Making of Modern Life from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 27 Aug 2026 - 37min - 3312 - Lightbulb moments – Jonn Elledge on the big ideas that created our world
We’re living through another technological revolution, but it’s easy to take for granted how much of the world around us was once a radical new invention. Author, columnist and Oh God, What Now? regularJonn Elledgejoins Alex von Tunzelmann to reveal the 31 inventions that made modern life possible. They answer questions such as: Before windows, did people just live in stinking darkness? Are trees really the “most useful technology” a city can invest in? And are buses slowly morphing into… crabs?
• Buy Jonn’s book 31 Inventions that Built our World: The Making of Modern Life from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
Get tickets for Origin Story Live! at Islington’s Union Chapel on Tuesday, September 1
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 26 Aug 2026 - 27min - 3311 - Churchill, JFK, Mao, Alex Ferguson… The “great leader” is a myth, says Jared Diamond
Do great leaders actually matter? Or are they just being carried along by bigger forces – from timing to sheer dumb luck? It’s the question that underpins almost every argument about politics, business and sport. And it’s one thatJared Diamond, the UCLA professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, has spent years trying to answer. He joins Emma Kennedy to reveal when leaders can – and cannot – bring about effective change.
• Buy Jared’s book Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter? from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Get tickets for Origin Story Live! at Islington’s Union Chapel on Tuesday, September 1
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, 25 Aug 2026 - 28min - 3310 - Burnham’s summer review – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler and Ros Taylor
Burnham’s summer is coming to an end, how has his start in office gone? And what problems does he have to look forward to? Plus, there are new hacking concerns for the UK and Trump is back on another tariff tirade… Gavin Esler and Ros Taylor discuss this as they look at the key stories to look out for in the coming days.
Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 24 Aug 2026 - 21min - 3309 - Trump’s emotional support dictator – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr
Looking back on the big stories of the past seven days… Donald Trump is once again cosying up to his dictator bestie Kim Jong Un – what’s he got up his sleeve? Plus: Burnham fleshes out plans to tackle homelessness and Zelenskyy’s former defence minister calls for Ukraine election… Rafael Behrand Jacob Jarvisdiscuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, 21 Aug 2026 - 39min - 3308 - How the Middle East was made — with Simon Sebag Montefiore
How did we get the modern Middle East? Who shaped it and does the term even make sense in our current era? Seth Thévoz speaks to Simon Sebag Montefiore author of The Cauldron: the Making of the Modern Middle East about how the region has been changed over time and what key players led us to what we know today.
• Buy Simon’s’s book The Cauldron: the Making of the Modern Middle Eastfrom our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Produced by: Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis and James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 20 Aug 2026 - 26min - 3307 - The Age of Surveillance is rewiring our minds
We live in a surveillance world, but what is it doing to us? To give one small example, hackers figured out Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s movements by tracking his bodyguard’s exercise data. From CCTV cameras on high streets to smart doorbells at home, surveillance has become an inescapable part of modern life – something we both demand and fear. How did we get this way? And what have we given up in exchange? Professor of social anthropology at the University of Oxford Ruben Andersson tells Zing Tsjenghow Big Security rose to power – and whether it’s failing to keep us out of harm’s way.
• Buy Ruben’s book Age of Security: The Rise of a Global Obsession from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor and Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 19 Aug 2026 - 32min - 3306 - The Nerd Reich – How tech billionaires went fascist
Silicon Valley’s overlords have completely lost their minds. Gil Durán, Kamala Harris’ former communications director and now a journalist, says Elon Musk,Peter Thiel and the rest of the tech oligarchs have a severe case of “billonaire psychosis” – where unchecked wealth and influence detach them from reality. Now democracy itself is getting in the way of their own bizarre, apocalyptic visions. Are we stuck with their vision of the future? Is pushing back against them futile? Will a vote for the Democrats make this all go away? And is money really the root of all evil? Gil joins Emma Kennedy to discuss his new book The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War on Democracy, and how we got here.
• Buy Gil’s book The Nerd Reich from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 18 Aug 2026 - 31min - 3305 - The Death of Jason Arday – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
Setting out the stories of the week ahead… The shocking death of Jason Arday reignites questions about the press’s relentless pursuit of the story, Cambridge University and Simon & Schuster’s failure to properly look into the academic’s life story, and the general public’s prurient curiosity. Was it a legitimate story investigation, a persecution or even more complex? Plus: as the heatwave breaks, what have we learned? Trump treats the Navy as a floating septic tank. And the Premier League is back, thank God.
Ros TaylorandAndrew Harrison look at the stories that will shape the next seven days.
Support us on Patreon - www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 17 Aug 2026 - 27min - 3304 - Trump off his trolley, Farage back in trouble – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr
Looking back on the big stories of the past week… Will all of Nigel Farage’s problems come back to haunt him now his Clacton distraction is over? Andy Burnham tries to solve the unsolveable problem of early prisoner release. Is Reform’s own prisons “fix” as unhinged as it sounds? And what the hell was going on with Donald Trump’s secret plane switch via catering truck?
Plus… Britons are dazzled by the solar eclipse, A-level results day breaks more records and Harry Potter fans save Dobby the House Elf’s “grave”. Andrew Harrison and Rafael Behr discuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Picture: Trump leaves Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall on July 8 after the NATO Summit in Turkey, after an extraordinary palaver involving a catering trolley and a suspected Iranian assassin. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, 14 Aug 2026 - 32min - 3303 - AI is finally going rogue. Here’s what it means
First an OpenAI artificial intelligence model hacked a tech start-up called Hugging Face. Then one of Anthropic’s creations escaped its testing environment and carried out cyberattacks on its own. Now Facebook owner Meta has reported a similar breach by its own AI. What is going on?!
Members of Congress and even AI workers are calling for an urgent slowdown, with Senator Bernie Sanders warning of “potentially cataclysmic results” if we can’t get a handle on the technology. Could escaped AI hack self-driving vehicles, erode the financial system, wreck utilities and worse? Are we genuinely on the cusp of an AI apocalypse or is this all just mass hysteria? Author and New Yorker contributor Stephen WittjoinsZing Tsjeng to separate what’s real from the science fiction.
• Buy Stephen’s latest book The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia and the World's Most Coveted Microchipfrom our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 13 Aug 2026 - 30min - 3302 - Al-Qaeda isn’t dead. It could be more dangerous than ever.
America’s hunt for al-Qaeda defined the 2000s in an epochal War on Terror that consumed $8 trillion. But the story didn’t end when Osama bin Laden and his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri were killed. The reconstituted terrorist organisation branched out into affiliate organisations, especially in Africa, and it now acts more like a criminal cartel. Has al-Qaeda evolved to become more resilient? And when terrorist groups go quiet, are they plotting under the radar or simply too weak to act? Graeme Wood,staff writer at The Atlantic and political science lecturer at Yale University, joins Alex von Tunzelmann to examine the threat it poses today.
• Read Graeme’s article in The Atlantic
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 12 Aug 2026 - 28min - 3301 - Lost in Translation – What happens when a language dies?
How do languages die? Who’s behind the death of languages from Ghana’s Dagbani to regional Italian dialects? And does it matter if they decay? Almost half of our 7,000 languages are expected to go extinct by the next century and “linguicide”, the death of a language, is to blame. It can be intentional, such as the Turkish government’s repression of Kurds or less intentional, due to simple neglect. So can anything be done to save languages from dying? Journalist, author and broadcasterSophia Smith Galerjoins Emma Kennedyto discuss the impending linguistic extinction.
• Buy Sophia’s book How To Kill a Language: Power, Resistance and the Race to Save Our Words from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 11 Aug 2026 - 30min - 3300 - Bin it to win it – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler
It’s Farage vs. Binface at this week’s Clacton by-election, what has this campaign taught us? Plus, Burnham is on tour and Trump finds himself in a new conundrum. Gavin Elser joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the news to look out for this week.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance atrefundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service.refundclub.co.uk/bunker
Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 10 Aug 2026 - 27min - 3299 - Badenoch’s neo-Nazi fiasco, the Farage-Lowe Love-In… and Welsh Star Wars – Weekly Wrap-Up with Jonn Elledge
Looking back on the big stories of the past week… Kemi Badenoch faces fury after defending a former neo-Nazi’s decision to stand as a Tory councillor. What was she thinking? Burnham amends his early prisoner release plan. Is he really a “soft-touch” on crime? Plus: Farage and Lowe’s enemies-to-lovers character arc deepens, Cambridge professor Jason Arday steps down over plagiarism concerns and a SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon… Andrew Harrison and Jonn Elledge discuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Read Rachel Cunliffe on the Joshua Bonehill-Paine affair.
• Read Jason Okundaye’s excellent piece on the Jason Arday takedown.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 07 Aug 2026 - 28min - 3298 - Downturn Abbey – Why wealth-obsessed US TV is finally discovering ordinary lives
Sick of watching Shiv Roy or Tanya McQuoid strut around luxury properties? You’re not alone. For years, depictions of extreme wealth have dominated the airwaves with shows like Succession and The White Lotus having a huge cultural impact. But lately watching rich people has started to feel a bit… mundane. Enter Beef, The Bear, DTF St Louis and Margo’s Got Money Troubles and, with it, TV’s sudden interest in seeing ordinary people just getting by. But why? And why has it taken so long? The New Yorker’s television critic Inkoo Kangjoins Dorian Lynskey to unpack the age of Broke TV.
• Read Inkoo’s New Yorker article here.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 06 Aug 2026 - 31min - 3297 - The wars growing in Europe’s secret battlegrounds
Europe is secretly at war – and it has been for a long time. Across the continent, 34 disputed territories remain with places where the conflicts of empire still linger and rival nations continue to claim the same land. Some of these borderlands have become strategic prizes for leaders likePutinand Erdoğan, revealing how wars can drag on in perpetuity and how states can exist without recognition. But how much do these unresolved conflicts shape European politics today? Veteran foreign correspondent Hannah Lucinda Smith joins Jonn Elledge to reveal why these forgotten frontiers may be far more important than most of us realise.
• Buy Hannah’s book Hinterlands: Journeys Through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiersfrom our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Buy Jonn’s bookA History of the World in 47 Borders and pre-order his upcoming 35 Inventions that Built Our World
• Back us on Patreon
Written and presented by Jonn Elledge. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music: Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 05 Aug 2026 - 33min - 3296 - The MAGA money tree – How Don Jr. is cashing in on Trump 2.0
Donald Trump is making more money than any sitting US president in history – and his eldest son isn’t about to let Dad have all the fun… Through his investment firm 1789 Capital, Donald Trump Jr is cashing in by backing companies that often stand to benefit from government policy.
So how is he turning political access into profit? What does it reveal about the financial ties between the White House and the president's inner circle? And is it blatant corruption or is he exploiting a system with few guardrails? The New York Times’ finance reporter Maureen Farrell joins Jacob Jarvis to unpack what’s going on.
• Back us on Patreon.
Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, 04 Aug 2026 - 24min - 3295 - The devolution will be televised – Start Your Week with Alex von Tunzelmann
Andy Burnham is pushing his new devolution agenda and suggested it could mean we need a written constitution. How might that work? Plus, there’s a new mayor in Manchester, what did the by-election show us? Alex von Tunzelmann talks Jacob Jarvis through the news to look out for in the next few days.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance atrefundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service.refundclub.co.uk/bunker
Support us onPatreon.
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, 03 Aug 2026 - 30min - 3294 - Burnham bamboozles the right and Trump goes rogue – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr
Looking back on the big stories of the past week…The Burnham bounce is driving the right completely bonkers. How long can his momentum last – and can anyone knock the PM off his pedestal? Plus: Donald Trumpheld talks with Zelensky and Netanyahu after delivering an unhinged eulogy for the late Senator Lindsey Graham. What did we learn from these meetings? Rafael Behrjoins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
Support us on Patreon.
Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, 31 Jul 2026 - 31min - 3293 - Russia is doomed
Putin thought his war on Ukraine would restore Russia to greatness in just ten days. Instead, after four and a half years of futile slaughter and almost half a million Russian soldiers killed, the unthinkable seems to be coming true. Could Russia lose in Ukraine? Could Putin go down with it? And could defeat break up the Russian Federation – the “last empire” – itself? Russian native and professor in the Department of International Relations at the Central European University in Vienna Alexander Etkind joins Alex von Tunzelmannto discuss what happens next.
• Buy Professor Etkind’s book Russia Against Modernity from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/bunker
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 30 Jul 2026 - 26min - 3292 - The bioweapons crisis moment is coming… and it could end the world
A lab accident, a bio-attack, a global pandemic. Is this how it all ends? If you weren’t worried enough about nuclear war, the next doomsday weapon is a sinister invisible threat – and it’s a living thing. After her astonishing book Nuclear War: A Scenario reignited the global conversation about the reality of nuclear weapons, Annie Jacobson’s new book Biological War: A Scenario charts how a fast-moving pathogen could bring humanity swiftly to its knees.
She spoke to US government officials, military advisers, virologists and trawled through a mountain of declassified material to build the scenario. Annie now joins Emma Kennedy to discuss the enormity of the threat.
• Buy Annie’s book Biological War: A Scenariofrom our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Annie speaks about her previous book Nuclear War: A Scenario on this vintage episode of The Bunker.
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Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music: Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 29 Jul 2026 - 27min - 3291 - “I spent 16 years in jail. Here’s how Burnham needs to change our prisons”
Steve Gallant knows what’s wrong with Britain's prisons. He spent over 16 years in jail for murder and then – on his very first day release – he helped stop the 2019 London Bridge terror attack, an act of bravery which won him the Queen’s Gallantry Medal and a Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
Now a writer, speaker and prison safety consultant, he talks to Zoë Grünewaldabout Britain’s prison crisis; the violence, self-harm, drug use and organised crime inside prison; the collapse of education and rehabilitation; and the jails which could run out of space by November. How quickly must the Burnham government act?
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Zoë Grünewald. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 28 Jul 2026 - 24min - 3290 - Europe in flames, Burnham floods the zone – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
Setting up the stories of the next seven days… France and Spain suffer apocalyptic fires and mass evacuations. Will this be the tipping point for European climate policy? Andy Burnham starts to tackle the big stuff in his second week as PM, starting with an issue that has defeated successive governments: social care. Plus the aftermath of the Berlin Pride terror attack, the Greater Manchester mayoral election, the Cockroach Protests in India… and who decided the Spider-Man movie was the standard bearer of anti-woke? Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison look at the stories that will shape the week ahead.
Support us on Patreon.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, 27 Jul 2026 - 25min - 3289 - Did Burnham’s first week go to plan? – Weekly Wrap-Up with Seth Thévoz
Looking back on the big stories of the past seven days…Did Andy Burnham’s first week as PM go as planned? A raging Elon Musk says he’s going to make his own Odyssey with A.I. and it’ll be better than Christopher Nolan’s and he’s not mad, OK?? (Plus bonus Musk interview from The Economist). Donald Trumpbrings back his election interference claims, this time pointing fingers at China. And an OpenAI model breaks out containment to hack another A.I. on its own – has artificial intelligence already started going rogue?
Seth Thévoz joins Jacob Jarvisto discuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Elon Musk interview with Economist editor in chief Zanny Minton Beddoes courtesy of The Economist. See the whole interview here.
• Hear The Bunker on Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey here.
Support us on Patreon.
Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, 24 Jul 2026 - 27min - 3288 - How The Odyssey conquered the culture war whiners
“You can’t have a black Helen of Troy!” “You can’t have trans actors as Greek warriors!” Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation of The Odyssey answered the far-right hecklers and Elon Musk fanboys with a colossal opening weekend and critical acclaim. But is it truly a masterpiece? Does it capture the essence of Homer’s epic poem or simplify and Hollywoodise it? And what does the movie leave out? Dedicated classicist Rachel Cunliffe of the New Statesman and Oh God, What Now? talks over the original hero’s journey with simple swineherd Andrew Harrison.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 23 Jul 2026 - 25min - 3287 - Turning France fascist? – Inside the Le Pen dynasty
Marine Le Pen is expected to make her fourth run at the French presidency sporting a unique accessory: an ankle tag. The scandal-plagued National Rally leader has gained ground with each attempt and the far-right may never have been so close to power. So how did we get here? From the Dreyfus affair and the collapse of the French military in WW2 to the rise of the Le Pen dynasty,Enda O’Doherty– author ofThe Dark Side of France: Thirteen Chapters in the History of the French Far Right – joins Alex von Tunzelmann to trace the country’s complicated political past.
• Buy Enda’s book The Dark Side of France: Thirteen Chapters in the History of the French Far Right from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 22 Jul 2026 - 32min - 3286 - The Clacton Job – Inside Farage’s “anti-establishment” con
Nigel Farage launched a “people versus establishment” by-election in Clacton – but which side is he REALLY on? The Reform leader claims to speak for ordinary people but the privately-educated former banker has pocketed over £2 million in outside earnings since becoming an MP, accepted a £5m gift from a crypto mega-donor and has taken more cash from “Posh” George Cottrell – a convicted fraudster. If that’s not the establishment, what is? Political scientist and lecturer at the University of Oxford Dr Vladimir Bortun joins Zoë Grünewald to decipher which side Farage is on.
• Back us on Patreon
Written and presented by Zoë Grünewald. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 21 Jul 2026 - 27min - 3285 - Burnham: Harder, better, faster, stronger? — Start Your Week with Gavin Esler
Burnham is finally going to become Prime Minister – but can he really move faster than his predecessor? And will simply communicating better make all that much difference? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and the other key stories to look out for this week.
www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: SimonWilliams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music byKenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 20 Jul 2026 - 27min - 3284 - England fail heroically, Reform stoke anger, Starmer’s farewell – Weekly Wrap-up with Zoë Grünewald
Looking back on the big stories of the past seven days… An astonishing World Cup rollercoaster ends in crushing disappointment for England against Argentina – but it all seems unimportant next to the repercussions from the horrific killing of Ann Widdecombe. Are Reform’s claims that rival parties and the media are “inciting” violence making a tense situation worse? Plus, Keir Starmer opens his farewell tour with his last-ever PMQs – how will he be remembered? And former DJ, nightclub owner and publicist for Pulp Anneliese Midgley is tipped for a top job under Andy Burnham. Zoë Grünewald joins Andrew Harrison to discuss the biggest, strangest and under-reported stories of the week.
• Back us on Patreon
Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, 17 Jul 2026 - 26min - 3283 - The truth about Palantir
It’s been branded “the scariest company on the planet” and it is busy weaving itself into the fabric of Britain’s NHS, defence establishment and beyond. Peter Thiel’s Palantir has a terrible reputation – but do its products even work as billed? As MPs call for Palantir’s £330m NHS contract to be scrapped and fears grow over Big Brother-style data sharing, we talk to Democracy for Sale founder Peter Geogheganwhoseinvestigation into Palantir reveals a company that’s a lot better at schmoozing than delivery – and how Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm helped land the NHS deal.
How did a controversial US tech firm – whose AI powers military strikes in Gaza and Iran and ICE’s immigration raids, and whose founder Peter Thiel thinks the NHS makes people sick – wheedle its way into Westminster? And what can we do about it?
• Read about Peter and Lucas Amin’s investigation on Democracy for Sale
• Read the full 7,000 word investigation on the London Review of Books
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music: Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 16 Jul 2026 - 31min - 3282 - Who’s really paying your MP?
Nigel Farage is under fire over his £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire – but does British politics have a wider money problem? MPs earn a salary of just shy of £100,000 but for many that's just a sliver of the total pay packet. Side hustles, political gifts and personal donations can add millions more a year. So how does it all work – and where’s the line? Dr. Sam Powerof the University of Bristol, one of the country’s leading experts on party political funding and corruption, joins Seth Thévoz to decipher who really pays your MP.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by SethThévoz. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 15 Jul 2026 - 27min - 3281 - Star Wars – Why our obsession with star ratings is ruining everything
“Please rate this book.” “What was your experience at Tesco like?” “Did this carrot meet your expectations?”… Star ratings are everywhere and they’re ruining the world. You can’t order a curry, watch a film or buy a kettle without having to check what others said about it – and being pestered to give your review.
We’ve turned the entire planet into a customer satisfaction survey, but how did it happen? With a limitless choice on offer, are star ratings more help or hindrance? Can we trust them – and how can you spot a scam write-up? Benji Wilson, author of Rate This Book: How Star Ratings Took Over the World, tells Emma Kennedy what the pressure to review and rate everything is doing to our minds.
• Buy Benji’s book Rate This Book: How Star Ratings Took Over the World from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon
Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 14 Jul 2026 - 26min - 3280 - Widdecombe murder, Burnham to become PM – Start Your Week with Rafael Behr
Setting up the stories of the next seven days…Police say there is no reason to suspect that the murder of Anne Widdecombe was politically motivated, but it’s not stopping Nigel Farage and Reform from trying to weaponise the killing. Plus, what’s on Andy Burnham’s plate as he prepares to move into No.10? The hard right lose their sense of humour over Count Binface. The US and Iran are at it again. And England are two games away from actually, possibly, really, genuinely winning the World Cup. The Guardian’s Rafael BehrandAndrew Harrison look at the stories that will shape the week ahead.
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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 13 Jul 2026 - 29min - 3279 - Farage’s farce, Trump's truce and Harry’s hacking loss – Weekly Wrap-up with Alex von Tunzelmann
Nigel Farage’s by-election stunt has blown up in his face – but could he really lose to Count Binface? Donald Trump has gone back to bombing and declared the Iran ceasefire “over”. Will this Groundhog Day ever end? And Prince Harry lost his landmark privacy case against the Daily Mail’s publisher – will more cases follow or is this it? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvisto discuss the biggest, strangest and under-reported stories of the week.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 10 Jul 2026 - 31min - 3278 - Hot Take Time Machine – Britpop Burnham, ‘eat the ponies!’ and kinky cruises with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge
Columnists need critics too… Hot Take Time Machine is back with Paper Cuts alumni Miranda Sawyer, Jonn Elledge and Jacob Jarvis picking apart the most bizarre takes in the op-edaverse.
On this episode: Andy Burnham’s wardrobe causes a stir, Kwasi Kwarteng – yes, the man who nearly exploded the economy – warns against “Red Ed” Miliband becoming chancellor, one Telegraph columnist has a solution for the Dartmoor ponies (eating them) and a Times writer takes a kinky cruise.
• Spotted a column we should talk about next time? Send it to info@bunkercast.co.uk
• Listen to Miranda’s sit-down with 5Live legend Elis James in the latest episode of Talk ‘90s to me.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis withMiranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 09 Jul 2026 - 35min - 3277 - Sleaze Nation – How to fight Britain’s corruption pandemic
Is Britain really as free of corruption as we think? This year the UK posted its lowest-ever score in a global corruption index. High-level scandals like Peter Mandelson’s Epstein ties and Peter Murrell embezzling from the SNP – and less conspicuous instances of fraud and backhanders – are eating into our self-image as rule-followers. And the man who might be Prime Minister keeps changing his explanation for a £5m gift from a crypto baron.
Are these isolated political crises, or does the rot in our system run deeper? Professor of anti-corruption practice at the University of Sussex Robert Barrington joins Zing Tsjeng to unpick how corruption manifests in Britain.
• Buy Robert's book Corrupted Kingdom: Britain's Disappearing Integrity – And How We Can Get It Back from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
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Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 08 Jul 2026 - 29min - 3276 - Dark side of the Genius Factory – How Stanford University creates the global elite
Tech shapes our world, and Stanford University is Silicon Valley’s training ground. But what really goes on in the place that gave us Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Peter Thiel – the richest university in human history? As a student reporter, Stanford undergraduate Theo Baker’s work forced Stanford’s president to resign. Now his new book How To Rule The World exposes the intense and amoral culture of a place where talent fights for access to untold funds; oligarchs mine the world’s sharpest young minds for talent; and ethical concerns dissolve in the light of money.
Seth Thévoz talks to Theo Baker about Stanford’s ruthless mindset, why most venture capitalists are actually very bad at their jobs, and what happens when you give teenagers money to burn and no responsibilities.
• Buy How To Rule The World: An Education in Power at Stanford University through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
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Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Produced by James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 07 Jul 2026 - 32min - 3275 - The Farage Funds Fiasco – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler
Setting up the stories of the next seven days… As England fans shake off their Mexico hangover, another cash scandal hits Farage, who denies “doing any wrongdoing” (?). How will Naughty Nigel handle new revelations about undeclared funding from convicted criminal “Posh George” Cottrell, while still dealing with the headache of his £5m gift from a crypto baron?
Plus: NATO’s conference in Ankara; crunch time for Marine le Pen; Trump names yet another thing after himself; and England face Norway on Saturday. Gavin EslerandAndrew Harrison cast the runes of the week ahead. (How come we never thought of “Orangemandias” before?)
• Hear Gavin Esler on This Is Not A Drill every week. Miniseries New Weapons for New Wars starts Thur 16 July.
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Written and presented by Producer: Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 06 Jul 2026 - 30min - 3274 - Burnham boxed in on budgets? – Weekly Wrap-up with Alex von Tunzelmann
Setting out the stories that matter from the past seven days… Andy Burnhamsets out his store before almost certainly taking the keys to Downing Street. But is Starmer leaving him a poison pill? Plus, more emerges on Farage and Trump’s mammoth paydays. And goodbye human delivery, hello delivery robots, apparently already causing “pavement overload” on Britain's streets. Alex von Tunzelmannjoins Andrew Harrison to dissect the week's biggest and weirdest stories – and the headlines you might have missed.
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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 03 Jul 2026 - 30min - 3273 - How to Fix the USA – Rewrite the Constitution, rein in the President?
Fables Of The Reconstruction: A Bunker mini-series for the 250th anniversary of the USA… When Trump is gone, should America take a long hard look at its system to prevent authoritarian government from coming back? We talk to experts about the pros and cons of a new Reconstruction.
Today: Can you make the pillars of American democracy President-proof without looking again at the Constitution itself? If not, is the US on a one-way path to vesting all power in one person? And how are the supposed firewalls against Presidential tyranny faring under assault from Trump? Professor of government at Bowdoin College and LSE visiting professor Andrew Rudalevige talks Andrew Harrison through the big ask of looking again at America’s most sacred document.
• Don’t miss the other episodes of this three-part miniseries.
• Want more on the politics of the USA? Don’t miss our brilliant podcast American Friction – out twice weekly.
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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 02 Jul 2026 - 32min - 3272 - How to Fix the USA – Does America need another Year Zero moment?
Fables Of The Reconstruction: A Bunker mini-series for the 250th anniversary of the USA… Trump won’t be around forever. When he goes, does America need a root and branch rethink? We look at the pros and cons of new Reconstruction.
Today: Rip it up and start again? The US system was supposed to be a bulletproof arrangement of checks and balances. Trump has shown how easy it can be for an authoritarian to blast through all of it. So what can America do about it? Political analyst and professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson University Dan Cassino talks to Andrew Harrison about the need for Congress to do its job of limiting the President’s powers; where and how the Supreme Court needs fixing; and what happens when the arms of government fall under the power of one man.
• Want more on the politics of the USA? Don’t miss our brilliant podcast American Friction – out twice weekly.
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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 01 Jul 2026 - 28min - 3271 - How to Fix the USA – Escaping the Two Party Trap
Fables Of The Reconstruction: A Bunker mini-series for the 250th anniversary of the USA… After Trump’s reign and his war on the pillars of American democracy are over, will America need a reboot, like after the Civil War? A new Reconstruction?
Today: Nothing reduces the America system to gridlock and vindictiveness like the polarised two-party system. And when Trump remade the Republicans into a self-radicalising personality cult, he made it worse. Is there any breaking out of the Democrat vs Republican vendetta? Casey Burgat, former congressional staffer turned politics professor at George Washington University, give Andrew Harrison a brisk education on what’s not working in US party politics… and what, surprisingly, is.
• Don’t miss the other episodes of this three-part miniseries.
• Want more on the politics of the USA? Don’t miss our brilliant podcast American Friction – out twice weekly.
• Special offer! Get 20% off any vehicle history check at carVertical.com/TheBunker.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 30 Jun 2026 - 28min - 3270 - The Race to be Burnham’s Best Mate – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
Setting out the stories of the next seven days… Andy Burnham is PM in waiting and the battle among Labour MPs for his attention is on. What’s going to bubble up from what the Guardian calls a “massive bunfight for influence”? Plus, Shabana Mahmood finds a way to make immigration even more contentious, Trump finds a way to make America’s 250th birthday horribly divisive… and Taylor Swift is getting married in New York. Ros TaylorandAndrew Harrison read the runes for the week ahead.
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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 29 Jun 2026 - 30min - 3269 - It’s Him Up North – Weekly Wrap-Up with Jonn Elledge
Burnham looks set to become PM, so how are his plans shaping up? Jonn Elledge joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss as they pull together the biggest news stories from the last week.
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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Jonn Elledge. Audio editor: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Design by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 26 Jun 2026 - 29min - 3268 - World War Trade – How tariffs became Trump’s weapon of economic destruction
The eye-watering “Liberation Day” trade tariffs that Trump unleashed on the world on April 2, 2025, are about to expire after the US Supreme Court ruled the President had overstepped his powers. But the damage they’ve caused continues to reverberate. For economists, Trump’s tariffs began World War Trade, a dangerous new era of predatory trade and protectionism. How did tariffs become Trump’s weapon of choice? And is his trade war a total bust? Professor of international economics at IMD Business School Richard Baldwin unpacks the truth about Trump’s tariff policy with Emma Kennedy.
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• Read Richard’s book World War Trade: Conflict, Containment and the Emergent World Trading Order
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Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 25 Jun 2026 - 28min - 3267 - North Korea's fragile future – What comes after Kim Jong Un?
Kim Jong Un has ruled North Korea with an iron fist since taking power in 2011. But if the dictator died tomorrow, what would happen? Would North Koreans finally taste freedom? Who’s in charge of the nuclear codes? And could his 13-year-old daughter Kim Ju Ae really be next in line to rule one of the world’s most dangerous regimes? Journalist, foreign affairs analyst, and author ofThe Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un Anna Fifield joins Seth Thévos to discuss succession scenarios and where the country – and world – might stand.
• Buy Anna’s book The Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
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Written and presented by Seth Thévos. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 24 Jun 2026 - 24min - 3266 - The Reality of Rejoin – Ten years after Brexit vote, can we go back?
It’s ten years to the day since Britain voted by an infamously thin margin to leave the EU – and after a decade of acrimony, most voters now recognise Brexit as a colossal mistake. Yet politicians refuse to reopen this radioactive topic. If so many people hate Brexit, why don’t we just reverse it? Could we even reverse it? And is now the right time?
Few people understand the reality of Rejoin more than Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London and director of UK in a Changing Europe. He talks to Emma Kennedy about the daunting reality behind the dream of reapplying for EU membership.
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Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 23 Jun 2026 - 30min - 3265 - The end is Keir — Start Your Week with Alex von Tunzelmann
Keir Starmer is expected to announce his departure from Downing Street, paving the way for Andy Burnham to become PM. But is a coronation the best thing for Labour or the country? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and the other key news stories to look out for this week.
Back us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast
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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 22 Jun 2026 - 28min - 3264 - Deal or no deal? – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr
Donald Trump has finally put pen to paper and signed an agreement to end the war he started. He quickly lashed out at the “bad people” criticising it – but is it even a deal or just a deal to try and get a deal? Plus: Lib Dem leader Ed Davey calls for a Brexit U-turn, Farage wants foreign nationals banned from social housing and archaeologists find a Stonehenge “prototype”.
Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to unpack the biggest, weirdest and most under-reported stories from the past week.
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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 19 Jun 2026 - 34min - 3263 - The Belfast race riots – The even uglier truth by a journalist who was there
What really triggered the horrific race riots in Northern Ireland earlier this month? Who were the agitators of the “modern-day pogrom” in which balaclava-clad rioters chased people from their homes and torched cars and buildings in overwhelmingly loyalist areas? Belfast-based journalist Amanda Ferguson was on the ground as the violence unfolded. She gives Gavin Esler her eyewitness account of the attacks, the aftermath and the mix of far-right agitation and experienced Loyalist paramilitaries behind these appalling scenes.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 18 Jun 2026 - 22min - 3262 - Musk will tear us apart? – The national security emergency we need to tackle
What connects violent anti-immigration protests with a defence secretary resigning over a funding row with Number 10? The answer is social cohesion – and Britain isn’t doing enough to protect it. A transnational campaign bringing together MAGA, Russian influence operations and the far right is actively targeting the very bonds that hold us together, says Dr Kate Ferguson, co-founder of Protection Approaches – a charity that campaigns against identity-based violence.
Is this just a community relations problem or is something far more serious at play? Do we need to treat social cohesion as a full-blown national security emergency? Kate joins Rafael Behr to discuss how malign actors are attacking British society – and what we can do about it.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 17 Jun 2026 - 34min - 3261 - Empire of Spies – An ex-CIA officer exposes Putin’s intelligence state
The West’s naivete towards Putin in the 2000s cost us dearly. Now Russia’s tyrant – a creature of the KGB/FSB who has returned his country to its roots as a repressive intelligence state – is attacking us with unprecedented ferocity and deviousness. Sean Wiswesser, ex-CIA station chief in the former Soviet Union, says the “reckless” activity of FSB and GRU agents has reached new heights. But can they be stopped – and can we win the intelligence war? He tells Andrew Harrison how intelligence and dirty tricks are inextricable from Putin’s power; how the old skills of “tradecraft” persist alongside new digital tactics; and what really makes Russian intelligence tick.
• Buy Sean’s book Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 16 Jun 2026 - 31min - 3260 - Labour’s anti-social behaviour – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
Setting out the stories of the next seven days… Labour announce far more draconian restrictions on social media for teens than anyone expected. Why are they being so hardcore now? And will the measures work? Plus: it’s Makerfield by-election week, at last. What will help Labour more: Restore splitting the far-right vote or an England victory against Croatia in the World Cup? And what does Trump’s Iran deal actually mean? Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison look into the stories of the week ahead.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 15 Jun 2026 - 28min - 3259 - Armed farces – Weekly Wrap-Up with Zoë Grünewald
Violence swept Belfast after a knife attack sparked days of unrest fuelled by right-wing agitators. With reports that many of those involved had travelled to the city from elsewhere, are we seeing the rise of riot tourism? Plus: John Healey resigns in breaking news, a leaked Makerfield poll puts Burnham ahead as the right-wing vote splits, and Swifties wager millions on Taylor’s wedding. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Zoë Grünewald to unpack the biggest stories from the past week.
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Zoë Grünewald. Producer: James Liddell and Jake Preston. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 12 Jun 2026 - 30min - 3258 - Will Trump ruin the World Cup?
Or will it arrive pre-ruined by FIFA’s oligarch-coddling sycophant president Gianni Infantino, creator of Trump’s ludicrous “FIFA Peace Prize”? The 2026 World Cup has already been called a “bonanza of sportwashing” by human rights groups. Now visiting fans fear harassment by ICE as well as the eye-watering cost of attending games at all. Politics professor, author of Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing and the FIFA Greed Machine and former footballer Jules BoykoffjoinsAndrew Harrison to look at the corrupt mess of international football… and what needs to happen to fix it.
• Buy Red Card through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Produced by James Liddell. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 11 Jun 2026 - 33min - 3257 - What if Putin dies?
What happens if Vladimir Putin suddenly dies – or is killed? Has the Russian dictator lined up a successor, or would a new leader rise up? And what sort of chaos would that bring? At 73, Putin is one of the longest-serving leaders in modern Russian history. No one appears likely to challenge him directly right now, but his time will have to run out eventually.
Historian, author and major Russia expert Mark Galeotti joins Gavin Eslerto discuss where Russia’s next leader might come from – and whether they would be anything more than Putin with a different face.
• Buy the updated edition of Mark’s book We Need to Talk about Putin from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 10 Jun 2026 - 24min - 3256 - How to stop the next Donald Trump – by a Mueller prosecutor
Can the damage Donald Trump has wrought on America be repaired? And if another Trump emerged, could anyone stop them? Ex-FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann is a former member of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s election interference. (Credentials: Trump labelled him “scum” and Stephen Miller called him “deranged” and a “moron”). In his new book Liar’s Kingdom: How To Stop Trump’s Deceit and Save Democracy, Weissmann offers a radical cure for America’s crisis: fight and punish political lying at every level. Would it work in a country addicted to lies and the anger they create?
• Buy Andrew Weissmann’s book Liar’s Kingdom: How To Stop Trump's Deceit and Save Democracy from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 09 Jun 2026 - 36min - 3255 - American idiots — Start Your Week with Rafael Behr
American politicians won’t stop wading in on British politics – what do they want and can we stop them? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss, plus the latest from Ukraine, the Middle East and the looming World Cup.
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 08 Jun 2026 - 34min - 3254 - Weaponising the Nowak Murder – Weekly Wrap-Up with Seth Thévoz
Summing up the key stories of the past seven days… Reform and the far-right seize on the murder of student Henry Nowak to foment violent protests and provoke a national political row. Has Farage’s opportunism pushed his luck too far? Plus: What was in that a fresh batch of Mandelson files; Putin’s “Russian Davos” goes wrong; notable deaths from the past week; and who should replace Churchill and Alan Turing on banknotes: dolphins, otters or the marsh fritillary? Andrew HarrisonandSeth Thévoz unpack the biggest stories from the past week.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Seth Thévoz. Producer: James Liddell and Jake Preston. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 05 Jun 2026 - 23min - 3253 - Hot Take Time Machine – Spoilt pigs, hen-dos and ‘alpine divorce’ with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge
Hot Take Time Machine is back and our crack squad of column critics are sniffing out the weirdest, worst and occasionally the best opinions from the last month.
Paper Cuts survivors Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge join Jacob Jarvis to pick apart The Telegraph’s terrible take on youth unemployment, The Mail’s Liz Jones having “one big moan” and one Times writer who is fed up with tasteful hen-dos – “bring back the strippers!”
Buy Jonn’s book 31 Inventions that Built Our World from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
Spotted a column we should talk about next time? Send it to info@bunkercast.co.uk
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 04 Jun 2026 - 33min - 3252 - The A.I. swindle – Why Sam Altman is lying to you
OpenAI chief Sam Altman once wrote that the most successful people don’t build companies, they “create religions”. Will artificial intelligence really solve humanity’s greatest problems and elevate humans to a heaven-like state like the tech bros claim – or just ruin our civilisation? Best-selling author and investigative journalist Karen Hao gained unprecedented access to OpenAI to unearth the story of what’s really going on inside a project that could transform humanity. She talks to Seth Thévoz about the disturbing story she discovered for her new book Empire of AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination.
• Buy Karen’s book Empire of AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 03 Jun 2026 - 27min - 3251 - Cash Rules Everything – Why do we always vote to keep oligarchs rich?
Democratic rights and freedoms have expanded for a century or more, yet the super-rich have never been richer and wealth has never been shared less fairly. And we keep on voting to prop up systems that make a bad situation worse. Why? Political scientist and author Jeffrey Winters has a theory – that oligarchic power isn’t an unforeseen product of democracies, it’s designed into the system. So how do we fix it? He talks to Andrew Harrison about how to make democracies more… democratic.
• Buy Jeffrey’s book The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 02 Jun 2026 - 30min - 3250 - Texts education — Start Your Week with Alex von Tunzelmann
A huge dump of messages linked to Peter Mandelson are about to drop – what can we expect and who’s the most nervous? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the news to look out for in the week ahead, from domestic news and Labour fallout to the consequences of conflict across the globe.
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 01 Jun 2026 - 27min - 3249 - Hot Blair balloon – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr
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Tony Blair has weighed in on Labour’s direction – but what does he actually want? Plus: Pope Leo warns about the rise of AI, a major review warns Britain risks creating a “lost generation” of young people, and a buffalo that resembles Donald Trump... Jacob Jarvisis joined by Rafael Behrto unpack the biggest stories from the past week.
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr. Producer: James Liddell and Jake Preston. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 28 May 2026 - 31min - 3248 - Iran's regime is fighting for survival – can it hold on?
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Iran’s hardline regime may have weathered Donald Trump’s onslaught for now – but behind Teheran’s defiance there are deep cracks in its hated, repressive system. They go right back to the genesis and betrayal of the 1979 Revolution, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini promised freedom, independence and prosperity only to deliver brutal Islamic law, political executions and a system of oppression that has endured for almost five decades. Award-winning journalists Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati tell the story of the Iranian people’s dogged struggle for freedom from the mullahs in Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran. They talk to Dorian Lynskeyabout what Iran’s future might hold.
• Buy Bozorgmehr and Yeganeh’s book Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 28 May 2026 - 31min - 3247 - The Wanna-Bibis — Will Israel’s opposition dethrone Netanyahu?
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Is time finally running out for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? The Knesset has voted to dissolve itself, the horrors of October 7th still haunt his coalition, and a newly united opposition is closing in. With right-wing Naftali Bennett and centre-left Yair Lapid joining forces and their Together party neck-and-neck with Netanyahu’s Likud in the polls, is the great survivor of Israeli politics about to meet his Waterloo? The Economist's Israel correspondent Anshel Pfeffer joinsRafael Behr to break it down.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 27 May 2026 - 29min - 3246 - Boiling Point – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
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Setting up the stories for the next seven… sorry, six days. As Britain suffers unprecedented May heatwaves, can Ed Miliband defend Net Zero from the denialists in Reform and the oil-funded PR greenwashers? Plus, Nigel Farage’s excuses for his £5m gift from a crypto baron start to catch up with him. Could Reform be outflanked in Makerfield by the even battier, Musk-funded Restore UK? The latest on social media bans for under-16s. And Richard Burgon, Labour leader? Ros TaylorandAndrew Harrison set out the week ahead.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 26 May 2026 - 30min - 3245 - Will the real Andy Burnham please stand up? – Weekly Wrap-Up with Alex von Tunzelmann
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The Makerfield by-election is heating up, with Andy Burnham officially entering the race. But what does he really stand for? As he pitches both locally and nationally, we’re a bit confused. Plus: Donald Trump granted tax immunity, the T-Rex arms race, and Keir Starmer waters down Russian oil sanctions. Jacob Jarvisis joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to unpack the biggest stories from the past week.
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex vonTunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell and Jake Preston. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 22 May 2026 - 31min - 3244 - The Doomsday People – Why the Right is so obsessed with End Times
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The Doomsday crowd was once confined to fringe congregations and rural survivalists stockpiling beans and ammunition. Now it’s gone mainstream, with one in three Americans believing the world will end in their lifetimes. So why do so many people think the end is nigh? Did Ruby Ridge start it all? And is the Trump administration adding fuel to the fire? Chris Jennings, author of End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America, joins Gavin Esler to explain.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 21 May 2026 - 22min - 3243 - He said, Xi said – What the Trump-China summit really means
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Donald Trump came, he saw, and left Beijing without much to show for his high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping. Behind the pomp and pageantry, tensions over trade, tech and Taiwan didn’t go away. So did two days of diplomacy actually achieve anything? And can Xi’s vision of “great rejuvenation” coexist with Trump’s “Make America Great Again”? William Hurst, Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development at the University of Cambridge, joins Gavin Eslerto break down the relationship.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 20 May 2026 - 28min - 3242 - White House down – Why Trump and the “aspiring autocrats” are tearing up their cities
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Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to Washington and rebuilding it in his own image. Is his architectural upheaval pure vanity, or is something more ominous at play?
Political philosopher, historian and author Professor Jan-Werner MüllerjoinsAlex von Tunzelmann to discusswhy remaking the capital is the signature move of the “aspiring autocrat” – and what they’re really trying to achieve.
• Buy Jan-Werner’s book Street, Palace, Square from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 19 May 2026 - 27min - 3241 - Makerfield or Breakerfield – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
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Setting up the stories of the next seven days… Has Andy Burnham set Labour up for a potential extinction event by forcing a by-election in the not-very-safe seat of Makerfield? By making the about rejoining the EU, has Streeting handed Reform a golden chance to turn the vote into Referendum 2.0? Plus Reeves’ cost of living nightmare, Musk in court, and the nerve-racking climax of the football season. Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison chart the week ahead.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 18 May 2026 - 29min - 3240 - Wild, wild Wes – Weekly Wrap-up with Rafael BehrIt’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing.
Early release as the news is moving fast…
Keir Starmer’s wild week is feeling more and more disastrous. As the PM clings on to power (by the time you hear this, that may have changed), who’s waiting in the wings? Wes Streeting resigned right after we recorded the episode, so who knows what’s next… Plus, Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for Donald Trump in Beijing – but what does each man want and will either walk away the winner? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to break down the biggest stories of the week.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 14 May 2026 - 32min - 3239 - Is PR finally coming? – Why electoral reform could be Labour’s last chance to save Britain
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Reform could well land a colossal freak victory and total power over the UK at the next General Election. Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system is struggling to cope with our new five-party system. As voters desert Labour and the Tories in droves, has proportional representation’s moment finally come? Should Labour finally embrace fair votes for fear of something worse? Who is relighting the debate and how could it happen? And would a new PM’s promise to make every vote count be big enough to convince Britain that Labour is serious about changing Britain for the better? The New Statesman’s associate political editor and Oh God, What Now? regular Rachel Cunliffe digs into the new electoral reform debate with Andrew Harrison.
• Read Rachel’s piece on proportional representation in the New Statesman here.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Thu, 14 May 2026 - 29min - 3238 - World War III could be brewing. Does history reveal how to stop it?
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Wars around the globe are drawing eerie comparisons with the late 19th and early 20th Century, when Great Powers clashed in an atmosphere of nationalist populism. Are we – like then – on an inevitable march toward world war, or already deep in a second Cold War?
Yale historian and Cold War expert Professor Odd Arne Westadjoins Seth Thévoz and suggests we may be looking at the wrong era entirely – and why it may “not be possible to turn back” from the next chapter of history.
• Buy Arne’s book The Coming Storm from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Wed, 13 May 2026 - 25min - 3237 - Beacon of culture, heart of darkness – What Weimar can tell us about holding back fascism
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The German town of Weimar exudes a dark fascination, and not just because Hitler loved to visit it. How did Germany’s cultural capital – home of the Bauhaus, Goethe, Schiller and the doomed inter-war experiment with democracy – also become one of Nazism’s earliest strongholds and the location for the Buchenwald concentration camp? Why did the Weimar Republic fall? And can it really teach us how to hold back fascism in our time?
Historian and journalist Katja Hoyer tells the story of the town and Germany through the lives of ordinary people in her riveting book Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe. She talks to Andrew Harrison about how Germany’s beacon of culture became its heart of darkness – and the lessons of Weimar for today.
• Buy Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Tue, 12 May 2026 - 33min - 3236 - Keir today, gone tomorrow? — Start Your Week with Gavin Esler
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Keir Starmer’s position looks more precarious than ever after the local elections. How will moves against him pan out? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and the other news to look out for in the week ahead.
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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Mon, 11 May 2026 - 29min - 3235 - The grift that keeps on giving – Weekly Wrap-Up with Zoë Grünewald
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Farage is under fire for pocketing a £5m “personal gift” from a crypto billionaire. What’s his excuse?
Plus, the Hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius is finally heading to port, but will the crisis really be over when it docks? And with Trump's “Project Freedom” on ice, what on earth is happening in the Strait of Hormuz? Jacob Jarvis and Zoë Grünewald dissect the biggest stories of the week.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
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Fri, 08 May 2026 - 27min
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