The Bunker

Nov 20 2024 1432 ep. 34 mins 7.5k
The Bunker Podcast artwork

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.

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The Bunker is a Podmasters production.

  News  Society & Culture  Government
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Why Elon Musk’s ‘DOGE’ plan is doomed to fail

Nov 20 2024 37 mins  
Elon Musk is the new head of DOGE – the Department of Government Efficiency – alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, because two people doing one job is very efficient. But despite its fancy name, which bolsters its status immensely, is this idea actually anything new? And will this pitch to run the US government like a business work this time out? Zing Tsjeng speaks to Andrew Rudalevige,

Emission control: Does carbon capture really work?

Nov 19 2024 33 mins  
Carbon capture is a highly controversial technology – but that hasn’t stopped governments ploughing huge sums of money into it. How does it work – and how effective is it? Does it do little more than let major polluters carry on as normal, by saying this will offset their emissions? And, even if it isn’t a cure, can we hit Net Zero targets without it? Ros Taylor is joined b

Can London become the AI capital of the world?

Nov 18 2024 28 mins  
Keir Starmer has vowed to make London the AI capital of the world. But is that truly possible? Silicon Valley continues to dominate the rapidly growing industry and with Trump promising to repeal Biden's AI regulations, the UK could struggle to keep up. In today’s episode of The Bunker, Dr. Kate Devlin speaks with Sana Khareghani, former Chair of the UK’s Office for AI, to expl

Shout out to my X – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler and Jacob Jarvis

Nov 18 2024 34 mins  
As people flee X, or Twitter for the rest of us, what is Musk up to – and how’s his bromance (sorry) with Trump going? Then in world news – what will be happening at the G20, and how is the incoming US president already warping discussions? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to talk through the stories to watch out for this week. We’re on BlueSky! – follow us here. We are

MAGA Bing! How The Sopranos explains Donald Trump

Nov 14 2024 39 mins  
Donald Trump feels like a TV character – and if you’re a Sopranos fan, you might have noticed a similarity with Tony Soprano. Both are imposing egomaniacs, desperate to control their families, get more power and indulge themselves along the way. Jacob Jarvis is joined by former Obama speechwriter and fellow Sopranos superfan David Litt to discuss the comparisons and what the HB

Freeports: saviours of trade or political smoke and mirrors? – with Dmitry Grozoubinski

Nov 13 2024 31 mins  
Freeports! They were going to be a huge Brexit benefit (they weren’t). Boris Johnson said we couldn’t have them while we were in the EU (he was lying). Labour was going to announce more in the latest Budget and then… didn’t (“cock up in the comms,” it says here). But what are they? Do tax-free zones really benefit deprived areas? Or are they havens for money-laundering

Why don't men eat fruit? – The strange politics of food

Nov 12 2024 33 mins  
How did the food we eat get so political? Are men really refusing to eat strawberries because they’re too ‘girly’? From avocados to artisan coffee – our taste in food can reveal more than we might realise. Today on The Bunker, Emma Kennedy sits down with Pen Vogler, author of Stuffed: A Political History of What We Eat and Why It Matters, to explore how class, innovation, a

Will the Chris Kaba verdict change armed policing? – Ex-Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe on a crisis in the Met

Nov 11 2024 42 mins  
When a jury cleared a firearms officer of murdering Black Londoner Chris Kaba, it triggered protests and intense scrutiny of the Met. Should charges ever have been brought? Was the killing a product of racist policing? Did Kaba’s gangland connections – concealed during the trial – change the picture of the case? And will officers stop volunteering for firearms duty if they co

Revengers Assemble – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison

Nov 11 2024 36 mins  
Donald Trump starts building his cabinet, only sycophants need apply and score-settling is on the agenda. Will Britain need to choose between the EU and Trump’s Orange Empire in the trade wars that are coming? Plus, antisemitic football violence in Amsterdam, the slow-motion collapse of Germany’s government, and Manchester United’s new manager is the latest victim of the end

What’s it like to move into the White House?

Nov 09 2024 29 mins  
Recorded before we knew the election result would come so quickly – we wondered: what is it actually like to move into the White House? Moving is always a nightmare. In January, a new president – we now know will be Trump – will head into the White House – what will the big move be like? Alex von Tunzelmann speaks to Matthew Costello, chief education officer at the White