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The Bunker

The Bunker

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Your daily need to know on news and politics. Every weekday morning The Bunker cuts through the noise to make sense of what’s really going on, with smart explainers, interviews, fresh perspectives and under-reported stories to rescue you from everyday 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.• Hannah Fearn • Andrew Harrison • 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.

1455 Episodes
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The brand new podcast from the makers of The Bunker. Bewildered by the US Presidential Election? Don’t worry, American Friction has got you. Every Friday Chris Jones, Jacob Jarvis and Nikki McCann Ramírez of Rolling Stone join expert special guests to count down to America’s most rancorous election in generations.  Get the full episode and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major platforms.  Follow us on social media:  Twitter Instagram  TikTok Written and presented by Chris Jones, Jacob Jarvis and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
If you haven’t tried our new press review show PAPER CUTS yet, here’s a taster of today’s episode. This time it’s the Mail and Telegraph’s Johnson-related meltdown, the majesty of Glenda Jackson and much more as comedian Fin Taylor and writer-historian Alex von Tunzelmann join Andrew Harrison under a huge pile of newsprint. Hear the full episode here. We’re out mid-morning every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to look at the the day’s best headlines, wildest stories and weirdest opinions. Subscribe on your favourite app. It’s the perfect chaser to your daily Bunker… Illustrations by Modern Toss https://moderntoss.com/ Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Produced by Sophie Black. Design: James Parrett. Music: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Exec Producer: Martin Bojtos. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. PAPER CUTS is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Ukraine War is reshaping the world. Arthur Snell writes the first draft of its history. In this excerpt from Ep.1 of our new series: How Russia’s febrile history, Putin’s paranoid resentment and Western complacency led to an historic crime against a peaceful nation, the largest European land action since the Second World War… and a conflict of unprecedented brutality. Doomsday Watch: The Ukraine War is out now. Hear it wherever you listen to podcasts. Get every edition a week early and ad-free when you support the show on Patreon. Photo by Paul Conroy. Written and presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Doomsday Watch is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It’s that time of year when we look back over the last twelve months and ask… did that really happen? From Oasis giving the nation a brutal lesson in demand economics to the near-assassination of Donald Trump to the baffling rise of “Huak Tuah Girl”, 2024 has been a year of signs, wonders and bewilderment. In the first of a two-part Bunker special Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge of Paper Cuts join Andrew Harrison to choose the first ten of the twenty most bizarre moments of the year – and work out what they mean. Part Two is out on Monday 23 December, or sign up to Patreon to hear it right now – and support independent podcasting too. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! From enormous Tudor banquets to Fortnum & Mason’s luxury hampers, Christmas food has always been about showing off. But how did we leap from turducken and spiced pies to our roast potatoes and a turkey that barely fits in the oven?  Join Alex von Tunzelmann and Thomas Ntinas, host of The Delicious Legacy podcast, as they unravel how centuries of festive indulgence, and a brief detour through Cromwell’s joyless Puritanism, shaped the Christmas dinner we know today. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Our Cyber Monday sale is just about still on! Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker.  Yes, Die Hard IS a Christmas movie… but what about its politics? Is the Bruce Willis blockbuster a howl of anger from Reagan’s rustbelt, an attack on ’80s yuppie finance bros, an America First broadside against Japanese corporate raiders, or a diatribe against capitalism that Bernie Sanders would be proud of? And who’s the real villain? Conservative economist John Phelan joins wet liberal centrist Andrew Harrison to debate the politics that play out in Nakatomi Tower. Welcome to the podcast, pal!   Read John’s excellent analysis Die Hard here.   • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.    Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production  www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! Last week, a high-profile murder in broad daylight shocked the world, but it’s the reaction that has everyone talking. Why is the victim, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, met with scorn while the accused, Luigi Mangione, is hailed as a cult hero across the internet? Join Alex von Tunzelmann and Jessica Glenza, health reporter for The Guardian US, as they delve into the complexities of US healthcare, uncovering the confusion and fury behind the headlines and memes. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for!  The Chinese spy scandal lifts the lid on Prince Andrew’s murky world. What do the Chinese think the Prince can give him? Has the affair sealed Andrew’s fate as a Royal? And will we find out the identity of the mysterious “H6”? Plus: Why is Starmer cosying up to Italy’s far-right leader Giorgia Meloni? The US healthcare debate grows bitterer still after the arrest of Luigi Mangione. And are YOU ready for the Christmas Guinness Drought? Ros Taylor and Gavin Esler set out the major stories of the week ahead.  • This episode is sponsored by Proton Pass, to find out more visit https://proton.me/pass/thebunker • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Art: Jim Parrett. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Our Black Friday sale is still on! Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker. Beige against the machine – Mocked by left and right in the 2010s, Centrist Dad had the last laugh. Now he bestrides our politics like gilet-clad colossus – he’s even Prime Minister. But what makes him tick? How is he adjusting to power? What is Centrist Mum like? Authors of The Centrist Dad Handbook, friend of the pod Jason Hazeley and pal Nico Tatarowicz, talk to Andrew Harrison about the man at the centre of it all.  • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more - www.patreon.com/bunkercast • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Simon Williams and Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! It’s been a busy time in the USA – so you’d be forgiven for having missed the latest UFO hearings. To help you catch up, Jacob Jarvis spoke to Tom Phillips, co-author of Conspiracy: A History of B*llocks Theories, and How Not to Fall For Them, to discuss what was said and if any of it actually hinted at Alien life…    www.patreon.com/bunkercast     Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production https://www.podmasters.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• A special crossover with The Bunker’s geopolitics partner podcast This Is Not A Drill. Assad’s stunning fall ends a tyrannical 53-year rule in Syria, leaving monstrous crimes against human rights exposed, rocking both Iran and Russia on their heels, and handing the country’s future back to its people. Where next for Syria? Will the rebel fighters coalesce into a working government and avoid the factionalism which would jeopardise the Syrian people’s hopes? And what does it mean for an international community which had turned its back on the Syrian war? This Is Not A Drill regular Emma Beals explores an awe-inspiring week in the Middle East with Syria expert and open-source investigator Suhail al-Ghazi.  • No longer on Twitter? Follow TINAD and Emma Beals on BlueSky.  • Support This Is Not Drill on Patreon to continue by backing us on Patreon. You’ll get early, ad-free editions, merchandise and more.  Written and presented by Emma Beals. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! French politics is in turmoil at the moment with President Macron facing pressure over who he names as the nation’s next Prime Minister. Can the different factions in France be brought together? And can Macron fend off his enemies – or might someone else be better suited? Sophie Pedder, Paris bureau chief of The Economist, joins Ros Taylor to discuss the chaos and what might come of it.  We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   www.patreon.com/bunkercast     Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! The fall of the Assad regime in Syria is dominating headlines – what does it mean for the future of the country and the region more broadly? Ros Taylor discusses with Jacob Jarvis. Plus, they discuss domestic news including the fallout of Starmer’s reset and a war on NIMBYs. And – France, what’s going on and can Macron weather the political storm? We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   www.patreon.com/bunkercast     Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Ros Taylor. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! If you’re under 45 the only way you’ll buy a home is with help from the Bank of Mum and Dad. What is the increasing power of family wealth doing to Britain? Far from intergenerational inequality, is inTRAgenerational inequality creating a Britain of haves and never-will-haves? Are we entering a Jane Austen world where money marries money? And is it all the Boomers’ fault?  Eliza Filby, author of Inheritocracy: It’s Time to Talk About the Bank of Mum and Dad, joins regulars Hannah Fearn and Andrew Harrison to talk about Britain’s new Parent Trap. • Buy Inheritocracy through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund OGWN by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   www.patreon.com/bunkercast     Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production https://www.podmasters.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! How much impact would Musk giving $100 million to Farage and Reform UK have on British politics? And how would such a move be legal – and could it be blocked in any way? Ros Taylor is joined by Peter Geoghegan, author of the Democracy for Sale substack, to discuss how this sort of funding is regulated – and how analogue rules struggle to keep up in a digital world.  • “It’s both the money and the might of Musk behind Farage, we’ve never seen a tech oligarch involved in British politics like this.” • “We have very few rules on what you’d call third party campaigning. You can really run and do whatever you want.” • “There are no caps when it comes to donations to a political party – you can give them your house, you can give them everything if you like.” Read Peter’s recent piece on his Democracy for Sale Substack. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast     Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! Kamala Harris faced an uphill battle in her bid for the White House ending in a shock defeat which has left her party reeling. But, she’s suggested she wants to stay in the fight, and early polling hints that she could muster support to run in 2028. Would that be wise for her or the Democratic Party? Today on The Bunker, Jacob Jarvis is joined by David Smith, Washington DC bureau chief for The Guardian, to dissect the fallout from this historic loss and what Harris might do moving forward. Together, they explore what the campaign's failure reveals about the Democratic Party’s strategy – and whether Harris could run again in 2028. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for!  From inheritance tax to winter fuel to the early mini-scandal over ministerial freebies, it seems Labour just can’t take control of the news agenda. Is it down to a lack of killer journalistic instinct, Starmer’s own personality, or something deeper? Patrick Diamond was policy and strategy adviser to New Labour, and he’s now Professor of Public Policy at Queen Mary University London. He tells Andrew Harrison how Blair and Campbell took the media by the scruff of the neck… and what Labour can to do “roll the pitch” so the next four years aren’t as defensive as the last four months.  (This episode recorded before the forced resignation of Transport Minister Louise Haigh)   • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.    Support us on Patreon. Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Produced by Liam Tait. Audio production by Jade Bailey Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production    www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for!    Keir Starmer definitely isn’t doing a relaunch or a reset no matter what the papers say. But, he is doing something that looks a bit like one, so Gavin Esler and Jacob Jarvis unpack what the Labour leader is up to. And, Trump’s making everyone go see him at Mar a Lago, what can we make of his initial interactions on the world stage? Plus, the latest from Russia and conflict in the Middle East.    • This episode is sponsored by Proton Pass, to find out more visit https://proton.me/pass/thebunker • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.     www.patreon.com/bunkercast       Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! Britain's high streets are shadows of their former selves. Over the last decade, 40,000 shops have closed. But in the past high streets were more than places to shop – they were the heart of communities, hubs for activism, and even spots for a bit of drama to unfold. Today on The Bunker, Alex von Tunzelmann sits down with Annie Gray, author of The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street, to delve into the rich past of these spaces – and why we shouldn’t rush to mourn them just yet. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   Support us on Patreon. Buy The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street 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 Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
• Get 20% off annual Patreon support for The Bunker in our Black Friday sale. The perfect gift to ask for! Back by popular demand: The Bunker panel edition where we talk about multiple topics with regulars and guests. This time: The Telegraph thinks Jeremy Clarkson could lead a new populist party. Stranger things have happened… haven’t they? The intense debate on assisted dying reaches its climax. And the big future news stories we should watch out for. ITV News’s UK Editor Paul Brand and Paper Cuts/Pod Save The UK regular Coco Khan talk all it over with Andrew Harrison. The Bunker Panel will return at the end of every month. • This episode is sponsored by Proton Pass, to find out more visit https://proton.me/pass/thebunker • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.   www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Produced by Liam Tait. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Comments (43)

Jason Lamont

Great episode…we’re off to see DH on the big screen on 23rd 👍🎉

Dec 19th
Reply

Slaven Krznaric

eloquent guest

Dec 4th
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steve garner

nonsense

Nov 13th
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Marj

I think you should see a doctor , you sound really wheezy. Please take care!

Nov 11th
Reply

azumah carol dennis

it's a shame you have been si dishonest in your account of the violence in Amsterdam. what did the Israeli fans do? People responded to their initial violence. a real shame you replicate the worst of what telly tells you. What's the point if you can't tell basic truths?

Nov 11th
Reply

Dean Morrison

Sorry have to disagree that Bluesky is a poor experience on the phone. It's absolutely fine and improvements are being rolled out all the time. The main benefit of it is that it's a lively forum for civilised debate. Not a mad hellscape of paid for far right blue ticks. Twitter is in a tailspin while Bluesky is undergoing steady organic growth.

Oct 14th
Reply

azumah carol dennis

violence from the left is irritating, but genocide is OK. Yeah. Got it. if only they'd stop going on about those dead babies.

Aug 19th
Reply

azumah carol dennis

These people do not want to stop fascism. They are more comfortable with fascists than they are with the left. I do not support the right of Nazis to exist.

Aug 13th
Reply

Jason Lamont

Excellent edition, thank you both 👍

Nov 21st
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Jason Lamont

Eugene… very clever!

Nov 20th
Reply

Tristram

Chasing shadows… Great title, we were going to call our book that, but eventually went for the War on Dirty Money instead. This sounds like a well researched piece of writing. Congratulations!

Aug 13th
Reply

Lazerguided _

What an unnecessary spoiler at the beginning.

Aug 1st
Reply

forward slash

20 hours of Fox news !! FUCKING HELL

May 27th
Reply

Tristram

TV news is still the most trusted source of information. Now that BBC has been captured, we’re doomed.

Mar 9th
Reply

jack massie

Marie lost me on this one! Not sure what saving has to do with government

Jan 19th
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Jason Lamont

Is Alex a Spurs fan 🤣

Nov 7th
Reply

Dean Morrison

Fantastic! Noone better than Danny to explain the sh*tshow Truss has descended on the country. and precisely the market reaction he predicted would happen if she ever enacted her policies.

Oct 1st
Reply

Jason Lamont

Helter Skelter is grunge 👍🤘

Sep 17th
Reply

Richard Williams

lll

Jun 12th
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Jason Lamont

Bridgen is the gift that keeps on giving!

Apr 19th
Reply