The Bunker – News without the nonsense
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
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 Jar
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,
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
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 Dec
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.
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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harriso
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 A
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-do
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 st
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
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.
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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelman
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 Jarvis is joined by Rafael Behr to unpack t
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 t
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 nec
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.
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
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 adm
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 “Mak
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 Müller joins Alex von Tunzelmann to discuss why remaking the capital is the sign
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 o
Wild, wild Wes – Weekly Wrap-up with Rafael Behr
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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
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
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 Arn
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 conc
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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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?
Weight-loss drugs are booming. What do we really know about them?
GLP-1s like Wegovy and Ozempic have become a huge deal. But how much do we actually know about what they do? And what pros and cons do we need to balance? Natasha Devon is joined by nutrition coach and fitness expert Michael Ulloa to discuss.
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The Scottish Elections – Why voters are “pure scunnered”
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Our double-header on everything you need to know about this week’s devolved elections… In Scotland voters are gearing up for what’s being dubbed the “meh election” and the so-called “scunner factor” is well and truly sinking in. With Reform’s English nationalists eyeing up Holyrood, the SNP faces a fight to keep Sco
The Welsh Elections – Why defeat could be “the Ghost of Labour’s Future”
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A double-header on what you need to know about this week’s national elections: In Wales Labour could face an historic annihilation that will reverberate through the whole country. Should they blame Starmer or their own poor government? Will Plaid Cymru have to choose between the Greens and what’s left of Labour as c
Labour’s Small Votes Crisis – Start Your Week with Alex von Tunzelmann
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Setting out the stories of the week ahead… As Labour braces itself for a battering in the local, Scottish and Welsh elections, Reform have an idea to liven things up: punishing anyone who votes Green by putting migrant detention centres in their constituency. Plus: What Russia’s scaled-down, tank-and-missile-free ‘V
How the Secret Service protects the president – An ex-agent reveals all
They wear suits, sport shades and say almost nothing. The Secret Service deliberately operates in the shadows but a third assassination attempt on Donald Trump has suddenly put them in the spotlight. So what exactly do they do all day? And what does it take to protect the president? Former agent Mike de Gues, who previously guarded Trump, gives Gavin Esler the insider story.
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The King and lies – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr
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King Charles’ US state visit has gone well so far — but what does it really mean for the UK’s increasingly strained “special relationship” ? Plus: we discuss the horrific attack in Golders Green, Keir Starmer dodges a parliamentary enquiry into the Peter Mandelson appointment, and finally, the end of
Hot Take Time Machine – Crossover special with American Friction!
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Our op-ed obsessives are back tackling the brilliant, the baffling, and every take in between. This month’s edition is extra special: it's an American Friction takeover to mark Podmasters’ 10th birthday with Jacob Jarvis, Chris Jones and Nikki McCann Ramirez wading knee-deep into this month’s weirdest columns. On t
Grand Theft UK – How the Far-Right took over our politics
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Far-right politics used to mean street thugs, secretive meeting and the ever-present threat of violence. Now the far-right is in Westminster, suited, booted and hungrier than ever for power. How did a fringe ideology move to the mainstream? Author, journalist and expert on the far-right Daniel Trilling joins Zoë Grün
Trump, Farage and the Infinite Money Machine – Will crypto wreck politics and the world economy?
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Cryptocurrency has come a long way since it was a fringe enthusiasm for get-rich-quick bros and anti-state libertarian fantasists. Now “stablecoins” like Tether are on the verge of becoming a parallel banking system in the US, except much less regulated. And the moneymaking opportunities that crypto affords are corru
Assassination Nation – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
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Setting up the events of the next seven days… Another day, another assassination attempt. Will the attack on Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner overshadow King Charles’s visit to the US? Will the gun attack change anything apart from making conspiracy nutters crazier? And what were journos doing at an ev
Tenth birthday special! Our very first podcast BIGMOUTH is back for one week only
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Our original podcast is back for one week only! Bigmouth AKA The Culture Bunker, the pop culture chatpod that birthed The Bunker, Oh God, What Now? and more, returns for our tenth birthday. On the agenda: Kneecap’s new album ‘Fenian’, Apple TV’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles, hot new tunes from the panel… and all the s
Bad-Man and Robbins – Weekly Wrap-Up with Jonn Elledge
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Starmer has had another tumultuous week amid the Peter Mandelson and Olly Robbins drama. Is there a route back and who’s really benefiting from the fallout?
Plus: The Onion buys Alex Jones’s InfoWars, Donald Trump’s administration shows fresh signs of strain as the Iran ceasefire is extended, and ho
Magyar Mystery – Is Hungary’s new PM really a dream for liberals?
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Péter Magyar’s stunning victory over Hungary’s arch-populist Viktor Orbán put progressives around the world into raptures. Was this the beginning of the end for the European far-right? But behind the energy and charisma, Magyar is a complex figure – driven, ruthless, a traditional conservative and graduate of Orbán’
Navigating the Misinformation Minefield – with Bellingcat’s Eliot Higgins
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The news is no longer what people in power want to hide – it’s what algorithms say will keep you clicking. And it’s become a breeding ground for misinformation. As powerful, politically-connected people tighten their grip on what we read and hear, how do you know what to trust? Eliot Higgins of the investigative jou
How to Fight the Populists – Liam Byrne MP on ending the Age of Rage
The far-right “Unite The Kingdom” march in London in September 2025 was an unprecedented display of populist, xenophobic anger. It shocked the country – but it didn’t surprise Liam Byrne, the Labour MP and former minister who dissects the Age of Rage in his book, Why Populists Are Winning – And How To Beat Them. He talks to Zoe Grünewald about how mainstream politics took away ordinary people’s ce
Starmer and Mandelson 2: Judgement Day – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler
The Mandelson scandal is back and all eyes are on Starmer as he looks to once again justify the baffling and increasingly disastrous appointment. Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss what could happen and what it all means, plus the latest from Trump’s war in Iran, political change in Hungary and more.
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The Dope vs. The Pope – Weekly Wrap-Up with Alex von Tunzelmann
Labour and Reform battle over women’s votes – but what are either of the parties actually talking about? Plus: Tucker Carlson launches a publishing house with Russell Brand on board, Donald Trump starts a feud with the Pope, and US–Iran conflict rumbles on. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to unpack the biggest stories from the past week.
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Populism Will Eat Itself? – How Orbán’s defeat changes the game
The stunning defeat of Viktor Orbán and his “illiberal democracy” project in Hungary appears to be a humiliating blow to Trump, Vance, Putin, Farage, and populists across the world. (Who will host their get-togethers now?) But is it really the beginning of the end for far-right authoritarianism, or something more complex? Jason Pack – host of the Disorder podcast and Associate Fellow at the Royal
“Newsomania” – Can Governor Gavin undo the Age of Trump?
Who is Gavin Newsom and what does he want? Does the California Governor have the right stuff to put the Democrats back in power and wrest America back from its ruinous MAGA direction? Or is he a bit too slick and slippery to fulfil the hopes of beleaguered progressives?
The Independent’s Washington Correspondent Eric Garcia talks to Dorian Lynskey about “Newsomania”, the Governor’s merciless soci
Sick Boy – How RFK’s crank health agenda is making America ill again
When Trump appointed the crankish Robert F Kennedy Jr to head America’s Department of Health and Human Services, he brought paranoid, anti-science “do your own research” thinking to the centre of US health policy. Kennedy has since promoted extreme anti-vaxxers, cut cancer and vaccine research, and spread dangerous lies about autism and vaccination. Now measles is surging in the US and trust in pu
Hungary Like The Wolf – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor
Setting out the news stories of the week ahead… Today, good news for once as far-right poster boy Viktor Orbán takes a crushing defeat in Hungary. Plus, Starmer takes UK closer to EU using the tools the Brexiters forged, and they do NOT like it. Trump is bored of Iran and looking for something else to wreck. And the Southport murders and COVID vaccine inquiries both report. Ros Taylor and Andrew H
You're ceasefired! Trump's Iran meltdown – Weekly Wrap-Up with Zoë Grünewald
Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal in Iran has left everyone confused. Does anyone know what’s actually happening? Plus: Kanye West being banned from the UK, Viktor Orbán faces election defeat and a £4 million donation to Reform from a crypto billionaire. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Zoë Grunewald to round up the biggest stories from the past week.
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Radioactive Ghosts – The lessons of Chernobyl 40 years on
A culture of fear, blame, obedience and corner-cutting sets in chain a devastating course of events. Millions are displaced, many die and the effects last for decades. Sounds familiar? On 26 April 1986, reactor no.4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat in modern Ukraine exploded, spreading radioactive contaminants across the Soviet Union and Europe. The disaster would eventually cost
Profits of Rage – Why the Manosphere is a pyramid scheme
The toxic stew of grievance, misogyny and self-pity known as the Manosphere isn’t just warping young men’s minds and legitimising contempt for women. It’s become big business for influencers like Andrew Tate, HSTikkyTokky and others. If disaffected young men pay enough into their “Universities” they can ascend to ever-higher levels with names like “the War Room”. There they learn that women and wo
You can't handle the Truth Social – Start Your Week with Alex von Tunzelmann
Trump is making increasingly intense threats against Iran and coming off as more and more unhinged. Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss how out of the ordinary all of this is, why it’s not being stopped and how it could unfold.
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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarv
Trump's Iran solution: War crimes! – Weekly Wrap-Up with Zoë Grünewald
Donald Trump declares the war will be over soon and rambles violently in the process. Again. But should we take this seriously or is this just another wild claim? Plus: ‘bimbofication’, yes we’re not sure either, Keir Starmer calls for closer EU ties and Artemis 2 launches. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Zoë Grunewald to discuss another busy week.
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The Man who Built God – Meet the Oppenheimer of artificial superintelligence
The creation of Artificial General Intelligence could be the greatest gamble mankind has ever undertaken. And one of its unlikely prime movers is a working class north Londoner and chess prodigy, the son of immigrant parents, who founded the groundbreaking company DeepMind to create machine superintelligence – a goal which if achieved could transform or destroy our world. Unlike the Altmans and th
It’s P.C. gone mad – 50 years of Apple Computer
The Golden Apple… From the boxy, upstart Apple II computer to the world-changing iPod and iPhone and beyond, Apple Inc. has shaped both the digital world and our own reality since it was founded on 1 April, 1976. Steve Jobs and creators like Jony Ive brought sleek consumer design to the masses, saved the music business, and created the app industry – but Apple has also grown into a corporate behe
CrashGPT – Will A.I. trigger a 2008-style financial crisis?
Artificial Intelligence is being touted as civilisational game-changer – and a miracle cure for Britain’s ailing economy. So far it’s all promise and no real achievement. But investors are still piling vast sums of money into a very few companies. Could that concentrated investment lay the world open to another financial crisis? Joshua Roberts, Capital Markets Correspondent for The Economist, talk
Some Boots on Some Ground? – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler
Setting up the big stories of the next seven days… As Trump runs out of options will he take the biggest step of all: a ground invasion of at least part of Iran? And can he do it while convincing that it’s not really “boots on the ground”? Plus: The financial consequences of the Iran War land in the UK right at the start of the local, Scottish and Welsh election campaigns. Apple Computer’s 50th bi
Starmer finds Farage's Crypto-nite – Weekly Wrap-Up with Seth Thévoz
The government is placing new limits on crypto and overseas donations — but is this about national security or is Starmer just worried about Farage’s fundraising power? Plus: Boris Johnson dubs himself the “Napoleon of Notting Hill”, and Trump’s 15-point peace plan falls flat. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Seth Thévoz to round up the biggest stories from the past week.
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Hot Take Time Machine – March’s weirdest columns with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge
Every day we’re swamped with weird takes on everything from the Iran war to the malevolence of pigeons. Now Paper Cuts survivors Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge join Jacob Jarvis to discuss the weirdest (and occasionally best) columns of the month… so you don’t have to.
This time: Terrible Iran takes, energy bill nightmares and a loving look at Adrian Chiles’ latest offerings.
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A picture of the future – A new movie captures what George Orwell knew about 2026
George Orwell’s vision of a world of constant surveillance, where authoritarians rule by destroying the very concept of objective truth, is coming true in ways the author never predicted – and many ways he did. A new documentary film, Orwell: 2+2=5 by the acclaimed Haitian director Raoul Peck, connects the dots between 1984, Animal Farm, Big Data and mass manipulation in the digital age.
Our own
MAGA’s new plan to take Canada without firing a shot
Canada slapped down Trump’s bizarre fantasy of taking over the country when it elected Mark Carney as PM, and Canadians are still boycotting travel to the USA. But MAGA has not given up on its ambition of annexing the North. And they’re targeting the province of Alberta, known as “The Texas of the North” – a place that’s innately right-wing, suspicious of government, resentful of the rest of the c
Has Iran won the Iran War? – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler
Setting out the stories of the next seven days… Trump’s directionless assault on Iran reaches a decisive moment. Does the President declare arbitrary victory or press on? And with its regime renewed, its grip on the world economy tightening, and the US now abandoning oil sanctions, is Iran actually winning? Plus: the new BBC Director General, a possible antisemitic hate crime in Golders Green, and
Here comes the Rayner again – Weekly Wrap-Up with Alex von Tunzelmann
Angela Rayner sparked speculation this week after warning Labour is “running out of time”. Is this the first sign of a leadership bid, or media overexcitement? Plus: a meningitis outbreak in Kent raises fresh public health concerns, and as the conflict in Iran enters its fourth week, is Donald Trump losing control of the narrative? Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to unpack a packed w
Back the Future? – What is Europe for in the 21st Century?
With war in Ukraine, the US almost our enemy, Brexit Britain now semi-detached and Putin waiting in the wings, the continent that rebuilt itself from the ruins of two world wars now finds its founding settlement under unprecedented pressure. Does Europe need to go back to find its future? Historian Roderick Beaton, author of Europe: A New History, joins Alex von Tunzelmann to trace how Europe was
The rise of “Muskism” – Will we live in Elon Musk’s nightmare future?
Elon Musk wants much more than just a radicalised far-right population, a hotline to political power and a civil war in Britain. As Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of Muskism: A Guide For The Perplexed explain, he’s building no less than a dark new way for society to function. Under ‘Muskism’, technology envelopes every aspect of life, states and corporations are indistinguishable, and hu
The secret history of nuclear weapons
With Trump’s war to (he claims) end Iran’s nuclear programme pushing the world to the brink, the question of who has the Bomb and why feels more urgent than ever. But the untold story of how nuclear weaponry proliferated and shaped our world is even stranger than most of us know. Historian David Holloway, author of Nuclear Weapons: An International History, explores how the Bomb reshaped global po
Dire Straits – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison
Setting up the stories of the next seven days… As Iran blockades the Straits of Hormuz and 20% of the world’s oil supply, can Trump cajole/bully other nations into clearing up the mess he caused? Including Britain? Plus: Ed Davey goes full Oppenheimer and calls for Britain to build its own nukes. Rachel Reeves tries to kickstart the economy (again). And the last word on the bitter “Should we repla
The Mandelson Files: What do they tell us about Starmer? – Weekly Wrap-Up with Zoë Grūnewald
Lord Mandelson is back in the spotlight after newly released documents revealed Keir Starmer was warned about his links to Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him ambassador. Plus: we unpack Donald Trump’s U-turn on Iran, Zoë Grünewald explains why Kemi Badenoch is her loser of the week, and finally Jacob Jarvis asks what removal of hereditary peers in the House of Lords will change about UK politic
Law & Order: Artificial Intelligence Unit – How do we police A.I.?
As artificial intelligence systems become more powerful, what crimes should we prepare for it to commit? Can the law keep up with code? And when A.I. is misused, who’s actually responsible?
Today on The Bunker, Kate Devlin is joined by Dr Federica Fedorczyk, Research Fellow at University of Oxford and an A.I. ethics specialist, to unpack how artificial intelligence is already challenging the cri
Is Trump vs Iran just a re-run of Bush’s war on Iraq?
A shock-and-awe attack on a Middle East country based on a faulty premise. No clear rationale, no exit strategy and a premature declaration of victory. Thousands of deaths with no clear end in sight. By attacking Iran, is Trump just re-running America’s disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq? Or is this time even more poorly-planned and even worse? Dr Renad Mansour of Chatham House’s Middle East and Nor
Inheritance Tax – Is everything we know about “Britain’s most hated tax” wrong?
Read any paper to the right of The Guardian and you’ll see furious condemnation of “tax raids” on “grieving families”, and a Labour plot to destroy the Middle Class and farmers via the “hated” inheritance tax “trap”. Yet IHT makes up only 0.7% of Government revenue and fewer than 5% of people leave enough to be subject to it. Why is Britain neurotic about a tax that so few pay? And with huge inher
Don't mention the war! – Start Your Week with Rafael Behr and Jacob Jarvis
Trump’s war in Iran continues and Britain’s right wing gang are desperate for Starmer to get more involved despite the obvious reasons not to. Why are they cheerleading what could be another disastrous and drawn out conflict in the Middle East? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss what’s going on and how the UK may or may not get further involved.
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Stuck In The Middle East With You – Weekly Wrap-Up with Jonn Elledge
Rounding up the stories of the last seven days… Trump shatters international law, triggers a conflagration across the Middle East and insults Keir Starmer into the bargain. Also: Shabana Mahmood doubles down on immigration harshness after the Gorton & Denton disaster. The Fall of the House of Brewdog. And who’s been visiting Salford Lads’ Club? Jonn Elledge revisits the week just gone with Andrew
Elon Musk's A.I. gamble – Could it destroy him?
Elon Musk is betting big on artificial intelligence. But is this a visionary leap forward, or a high-stakes gamble? His latest move is to merge SpaceX with his A.I. lab xAI, consolidating his companies’ finances and laying the groundwork for something even more ambitious: satellite data centres designed to push A.I. development into space.Zoë Grünewald is joined by The Economist’s US technology ed
Reform’s “British ICE” — Why it would never work
Last week Zia Yusuf, floated a headline-grabbing idea: a British version of America’s deeply unpopular ICE. Today on The Bunker, Zoë Grünewald speaks to Sunder Katwala, director of British Future and author of How to be a Patriot, to unpack what a “British ICE” would actually mean in practice and how the politics of deportation are fast becoming a race to the bottom.
• Buy Sunder’s book How to Be
Will Trump turn America’s 250th birthday into a MAGA-fest?
Is Trump using America’s 250th anniversary to rebrand the USA in his own gaudy, aggressive, white nationalist image? There’ll be a “Patriot Games” high school athletics tournament, quickly dubbed America’s Hunger Games. Commemorative quarter coins have been scrubbed of any “woke” content. There’ll be mixed martial arts on the White House lawn. And Trump’s organisers of the celebrations are chargin
Trump, Iran and a world on the brink – Start Your Week with Rafael Behr
Trump’s attacks on Iran have thrown the Middle East into chaos and left the world on the brink of what feels like an existential crisis. What is he doing and why now? And how will this situation develop and worsen in the coming days? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and the latest British politics updates in Start Your Week.
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The absolute State of the Union – Weekly Wrap-Up with Rafael Behr and Jacob Jarvis
Donald Trump delivered a record-length State of the Union address this week, in a marathon rant that has become the new normal. Plus, we explore the looming special educational needs reforms in the UK and check in on Kim Jong Un. And also, the weird story of an army of robot vacuum cleaners… Jacob Jarvis is joined by The Guardian’s Rafael Behr to comb over another wild week.
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Hot Take Time Machine – February’s weirdest opinion columns with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge
We read the columns and the pundits so you don’t have to… On this month’s round-up of the weirdest, worst and occasionally best opinion columns: Brutal takes on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from Camilla Long (Sunday Times) and Sophie Money-Coutts (Telegraph) while Brendan O’Neill (who else?). Plus: The Telegraph defends child labour, the Mail rages against fare-dodgers, and why the I’s Kate Lister i
Obama says aliens are real. What more does he know?
Barack Obama set the internet alight when he declared on a podcast that aliens are “real”. However, the former US president later insisted that, while in office, he saw no evidence of this and that he was just answering a speed round question.
Once the preserve of late-night radio and fringe forums, UFOs are now discussed in Congress, scrutinised by the Pentagon and casually referenced by preside
China's military crisis – Is Beijing's army on the brink of collapse?
The sudden ousting of two of China’s top military leaders has sparked intense speculation about what it says about Xi Jinping’s grip on power. From Mao to today, the Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly removed senior figures accused of corruption, incompetence, or simply becoming inconvenient. What’s going on this time? Today on The Bunker, Gavin Esler is joined by Daria Impiombato, Senior Anal
I shot the tariffs – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler and Jacob Jarvis
Trump is causing chaos again with a tariff tantrum while Starmer’s Labour faces a major test at the upcoming Gorton and Denton byelection. Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the news to look out for in the week ahead.
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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor:
