The Bunker – News without the nonsense
Podmasters 1 840 episodes Nov 12, 2026
The Bunker is a daily news podcast that cuts through the noise to explain what's really happening in politics, current affairs, economics, and culture. It features smart explainers, interviews, and under-reported stories, offering a refreshing alternative to typical news coverage. The show is hosted by a rotating team of journalists and commentators including Gavin Esler, Ros Taylor, and Andrew Harrison. It is produced by Podmasters, the same team behind Oh God, What Now?
Episodes
Can Abdul El-Sayed take down MAGA? – Deep Dive with The New Yorker’s Jason Zengerle
Abdul El-Sayed romped to victory in Michigan and is set to become America’s first Muslim senator. He’s become a key target of Trump’s attacks, but thus far they haven’t worked. Is he the Democrat who can take down MAGA? Jason Zengerle, staff writer for The New Yorker, has recently interviewed the incoming congressman and joins Zing Tsjeng to discuss who he is, what he stands for and what he might
Fighting Putin’s Ukraine lies – Deep Dive with Illia Ponomarenko
Vladimir Putin is trying to erase Ukraine’s past and impose a Kremlin-approved history. Can anything stop him? Veteran war correspondent Illia Ponomarenko explores the long struggle over Ukrainian identity, from the Slavic tribes and the Vikings to Soviet rule and Russia’s full-scale invasion. Illia and Seth Thévoz discuss how Ukrainians are determined to hold on to their history and – how they’re
The Roman Empire still rules the world – Deep Dive with Alex von Tunzelmann
If men really do think about the Roman Empire once a day, there’s a good reason. From Niccolò Machiavelli to Thomas Jefferson, generations of revolutionary thinkers have looked to ancient Rome for lessons in how to do politics – with mixed results. So how do the Roman Republic and Empire still provide a blueprint for democratic governments today? Are there any leaders today who seem to be trying t
Trump’s identity crisis – Start Your Week with Rafael Behr
Trump is scrambling after his midterm wipeout and it’s unclear if he even knows what he really thinks anymore. Plus, COP31, a G7 meeting and a potential row over crisps. Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to outline the week ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and wa
Donald Trump: Tangled up in Blue – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr and Zoë Grünewald
Looking back at the past seven days… Donald Trump is scrambling to shift the blame for the Republicans’ calamitous set of midterm results – and failing miserably. What happens now that Trump has lost his grip on Congress? And has the blue wave dealt a mortal blow to MAGA? Plus: King Charles and Andy Burnham visit Antigua and Barbuda for a Commonwealth summit. And Burnham is reportedly preparing to
The end of The Telegraph, the world and Halloween – Hot Take Time Machine with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge
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: The Telegraph has been taken over by new owners and none of its staff seem safe. Plus, we’re all been told to be doomsday preppers, tragedy for Liz Jones and the weird new Halloween trends. • Spott
What the $6.3bn crypto heist tells us – Deep Dive with tech journo Molly White
It’s the biggest theft in human history. Shadowy North Korean hackers drained $6.3bn in digital assets from the world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance, and it took only 20 minutes. How did they get in so easily? If crypto exchanges are so porous, why do Trump and Farage want to turn the US and UK into havens for digital money? And if crypto is the international currency of terror, porn and crime
Meta’s “perv glasses” are worse than you thought – Deep Dive with James Ball
“Perv glasses”? “Nonce goggles”? The backlash against Meta’s smart glasses is so severe that early adopters are frightened to wear them outdoors. Even visually impaired people who could really use a digital assistant are worried they’ll look like voyeuristic creeps. But are camera-equipped glasses really making sexual harassment on the streets worse? And is the bigger problem the one behind all bi
Is the Trump show coming to an end? – Start Your Week with Rafael Behr
Trump’s GOP faces a stern test in the US midterms this week. Could his grip on power be about to weaken? And is the cult of Trump slowly faltering? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and the other news to look out for in the week ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION p
No Country for Bold Men – Wrap-Up with Jonn Elledge
Looking back at the past seven days… John Healey’s Budget has divided opinion as you might expect, but much criticism has suggested it was not bold enough. Why didn’t he go further than what he has? Plus: Netanyahu’s coalition has lost its far-right majority as Israel’s elections deadlock drags on. And it’s crunch time for the Republicans as they fight to cling on to both chambers of Congress. Jon
Life inside Putin’s empire of fear – Deep Dive with Åsne Seierstad
What is daily life like inside Putin’s Russia? Censorship is rife, elections are rigged, the media serves the regime, protests are banned, and young men are dragged to the front lines in Ukraine – but how do ordinary Russians cope with everyday life? Is civil society dead or just “sleeping”? And can Russians ever really be free?Veteran journalist Åsne Seierstad – bestselling author of The Booksell
What happens if France goes fascist? – Deep Dive with Rafael Behr
After near-miss second places in the Presidential run-off elections of 2017 and 2022, could France’s extreme right National Rally be about to take power? And what happens if they do? Over five decades the party has detoxified its image if not its vociferous racist nationalism, moving from a fringe far-right concern to a power in French politics. Now the centre is imploding and polls indicate that
Bad Fellers? Killing the Sycamore Gap tree – Deep Dive with author Andrew Hankinson
The wanton destruction of the Sycamore Gap tree in 2023 provoked a wave of anger against two men accused and eventually convicted of the crime. There was a search for answers: was it a thrill-seeking stunt, a bid for notoriety or maybe just driven by a grudge against the National Trust? But as award-winning writer Andrew Hankinson found in his new book Felled: The Killing at the Sycamore Gap, the
Crunch time for the War on Populists – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
Setting out the stories of the week to come… A crunch week in the global battle against far-right populists gets off to a surprisingly encouraging start as Lula beats far-right nepo baby Flávio Bolsonaro to Brazil’s presidency, and Serbia’s corrupt authoritarian Aleksandar Vučić is ousted by student-led protestors. Will the Israeli elections and US mid-terms provide similar cheer? Plus: Budget wee
Burnham drills, Putin the “humanitarian”, skeletons in Westminster? – Weekly Wrap-up with Seth and Zoë
Looking back on the past seven days… Andy Burnham has finally given the Jackdaw gas field the green light – four years and six energy secretaries after it was first approved. Is the left right to call him a “climate vandal”? Or should he have sided with the right and gone further? Plus: Trump’s Ukraine envoy Steve Witkoff calls Putin a “humanitarian” despite Russia’s alleged war crimes, France’s p
Can Trump rig the midterms? – Deep Dive with The Atlantic’s David Graham
The stakes in the US midterm elections could not be higher – and Donald Trump has had six years to learn from his failure to overturn the 2020 presidential vote. Democrats are likely to take control of Congress but Trump has intensified his rhetoric, warning this week that the US will “burn” like France if the House and Senate flip on November 3.Can Trump do anything to stop the expected “blue wav
The BIG wellness con – Deep Dive with Dr Xand van Tulleken
We’re obsessed with health and wellness, from fixating on last night’s sleep score to swallowing a cocktail of supplements to stave off every ailment. But is there any real evidence behind the health hacks we’re sold? Are we being very professionally ripped off by Big Wellness – now four times larger than Big Pharma? British doctor and BBC broadcastert Dr Xand van Tulleken spent three years invest
Was Rishi Sunak… not that bad? – Deep Dive with Sir Anthony Seldon
Was Rishi Sunak not actually as bad as we remember? No, we haven’t hit our heads… Yes, he led the Conservatives to their worst ever defeat and pandered to the far right with the hopeless Rwanda detention scheme. But he also inherited the wreckage of Liz Truss’s 49 days in power. Was Sunak really doomed from the start? Could a better politician have steadied the ship? And might he be the last ever
Paris is Burning, Again – Start Your Week with Rafael Behr
Setting out the stories of the next seven days… France wakes to scenes of urban destruction straight out of wartime. Are the “cost of living protests” even protests any more, and can lame duck president Emmanuel Macron prevent them from running out of control? Also: Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine deepens, but he’s also supposed to be in court for his case against the BBC. Will he turn up? Plus: A dec
Trump fuels Putin’s war machine, Reform caught out again – Weekly Wrap-Up with Zoë Grünewald
Looking back at the past seven days… Donald Trump pumps billions of dollars into Putin’s war chest by easing sanctions on Russian diesel. Is the world’s most hateful bromance back on, or is it a desperate attempt to sway America before the midterms? Plus: Reform sacks more councillors for making sickening remarks on camera. And Nigel Farage steps in as Robert Jenrick vows to use “lethal force” aga
“Putin jailed me for 500 days. This is how I survived.” – Deep Dive with US journalist Evan Gershkovich
Few people jailed in Russia on charges of spying for the CIA live to tell the tale. Evan Gershkovich is one of them. Just over two years after his release in a Cold War-style prisoner swap, the Wall Street Journal reporter tells his story for the first time: how moving to Russia “on a whim” led to him being snatched by the FSB and jailed in the first espionage conviction of a US journalist in Russ
Margaret Hodge: “We need to be a LOT tougher on dirty money” – Deep Dive with Labour’s “battleaxe”
Margaret Hodge has never been one to bite her tongue. The veteran Labour politician served as a minister under Blair then Brown, saw off the BNP in Barking, and told Jeremy Corbyn exactly what she thought of him. It’s why she’s a self-styled “Battleaxe” – and why it’s the title of her new memoir. She tells Zoë Grünewald what she’s learned about fighting the far-right and anti-semites; where Burnha
Nazi nightmares – The strange dream life of Hitler’s Germany – Deep Dive with Amanda Rubin and Andrew Harrison
The hidden story of a nation sleepwalking into evil. After Adolf Hitler took power in 1933 the German Jewish journalist Charlotte Beradt found herself tormented by dreams of persecution and torture. Realising she could not be the only German who was processing Nazism through their dream life, she began secretly recording the dreams of her friends and neighbours, both Jewish and non-Jewish.Beradt e
Russia DID push Brexit, Trump sells out Ukraine – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
Setting out the stories that will shape the next seven days… Andy Burnham confirms what everyone suspected, that Russia interfered in the UK to push the Leave vote over the line. How will the revelations affect the reopened Brexit debate? Plus, Will Trump’s sordid diesel deal with Putin stave off a kicking in the mid-terms? The Houthis cause chaos in Saudi Arabia, and more. Ros Taylor and Andrew H
Russian plague, death penalty horror, French riots – Weekly Wrap-Up with Seth Thévoz
Looking back at the past seven days… After two botched attempts by the State of Tennessee to execute her by lethal injection, convicted murderer Christa Pike is now reportedly awake and able to walk. Will this horrorshow of cruel incompetence shift opinions on the Death Penalty? Plus: the Kremlin insists Russia hasn’t unleashed the plague on the world, riots engulf France over its crumbling school
How to survive “Information Armageddon” – Deep Dive with HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur
We’re in an information crisis and in the battle with tech giants, fake news merchants and spreaders of hostile disinformation, legitimate journalism is coming off worst. How do we fight it? And does the BBC’s impartiality mean anything when journalism is drowning in disinformation? Stephen Sackur is the longtime host of the BBC’s HARDtalk strand and he says we can fight “information armageddon” –
“A.I. WILL destroy jobs and democracy will be next” – Deep Dive with Anthropic chief researcher Matthew Botvinick
A.I. is already a five-alarm fire for job losses – but the consequences for democracy could be even worse, according to Matthew Botvinick, who leads Anthropic’s research on AI and the rule of law. If economic worthlessness makes us politically powerless, what happens to democracy when fewer people have a stake in the economy? And are the tech bros’ apocalyptic warnings really about public safety –
Trump, Musk and the ‘End Times Fascists’ – Deep Dive with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
What unites radicalised techbros, religious fanatics and ethnonationalists? According to Naomi Klein of No Logo/Shock Doctrine fame and co-author Astra Taylor, it’s an apocalyptic worldview that’s bad news for the rest of us. The award-winning writers call this bizarre march of the far-right “End Times Fascism” – but is there anything we can do to counter their attempts at a man-made Armageddon? N
A Kemi for your thoughts? – Start Your Week with Rafael Behr
The Conservative Party conference is here and Kemi Badenoch seems to think she can save the Tories single-handedly. Can she? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the news to look out for in the week ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast 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
Burnham’s big moment and the return of Musk – Weekly Wrap-Up with Alex von Tunzelmann
Looking back at the past week... Burnham has set out his vision and was praised for delivering Labour’s “best conference speech since Tony Blair”. What did he actually announce – and can his ideas stick? Plus: Donald Trump gathers the tech billionaires at the White House and brings former “first buddy” Elon Musk back into the fold. And what’s the latest on the RAF Fairford incident? Alex von Tunze
Burnham ‘channels Oprah’ and iced coffee outrage – Hot Take Time Machine with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge
Paper Cuts survivors Miranda Sawyer, Jonn Elledge and Jacob Jarvis are back to pick apart the strangest takes from the op-edverse over the past month. This week: Andy Burnham has been accused of channelling his inner Oprah, and his Labour conference speech compared to a “Beatles granny song”. Sofa Socialism is on the rise, apparently, and iced coffee sparks an inter-generational rift. • Back us on
Europe's “firewall” against the far-right is holding. But for how long?
The far-right is reshaping politics across Europe. So what is driving its rise? What do these movements have in common? How did we get here – and what might happen next? Steven Erlanger, The New York Times’ chief diplomatic correspondent for Europe, joins Rafael Behr to discuss whether Europe’s political firewall can hold. • Read Steven’s recent analysis in The New York Times • Back us on Patreon
Two world wars and one long grudge — will Britain and Germany ever be pals?
Once, Britain and Germany were the closest of friends. But over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, relations spectacularly unravelled – culminating in two world wars fought on opposite sides. So how did two countries with so much in common become bitter enemies? How did they find their way back to a more cordial relationship? And with Britain outside the EU, what does the future
Sabotage at RAF Fairford, Labour’s second chance – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
Setting out the stories of the next seven days… Five men are arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack on RAF Fairford. It has all the hallmarks of state-sponsored action – who would escalate their conflict with the UK so seriously? Plus: Labour seizes its second chance with promises on social care, first-time buyers and devolution in Liverpool. Manchester City at the centre of the biggest
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 slash
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 Polic
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 Ar
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 joins Emma K
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. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes,
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. Back us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast&
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
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
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 t
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. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exis
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
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 T
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
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 fertil
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.www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ja
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
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 Thévoz and Andrew Harrison round up the biggest, stran
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.
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 Bir
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
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 Sull
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. &n
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? regular Jonn Elledge joins 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 tree
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 that Jared 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 – br
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.c
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 Behr and Jacob Jarvis discuss the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week.&n
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 East from
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 w
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. A
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 bre
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
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 warnin
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 wh
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.
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 at refundclub.co.uk/bunker • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law L
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 S
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 i
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 like Putin and Erdoğan, revealing how wars can drag on in perpetuity and how states can exist without recognition
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
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 at refundclub.co.uk/bunk
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 Trump held talks with Zelensky and Netanyahu after delivering an unhinged eulogy for the late Senator Lindsey Graham. What did we learn from these meetings? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss
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
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-
“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 Grünewald about Britain’s prison crisi
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 mayo
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 Trump brings back his election interference claims, this time pointing fingers at China. And an OpenA
