The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Keir Starmer is expected to announce his departure from Downing Street, paving the way for Andy Burnham to become PM. But is a coronation the best thing for Labour or the country? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and the other key news stories to look out for this week.  

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio produ...

Donald Trump has finally put pen to paper and signed an agreement to end the war he started. He quickly lashed out at the “bad people” criticising it – but is it even a deal or just a deal to try and get a deal? Plus: Lib Dem leader Ed Davey calls for a Brexit U-turn, Farage wants foreign nationals banned from social housing and archaeologists find a Stonehenge “prototype”.  

Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to unpack the biggest, weirdest and most under-reported stories from the past week.  

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What really triggered the horrific race riots in Northern Ireland earlier this month? Who were the agitators of the “modern-day pogrom” in which balaclava-clad rioters chased people from their homes and torched cars and buildings in overwhelmingly loyalist areas? Belfast-based journalist Amanda Ferguson was on the ground as the violence unfolded. She gives Gavin Esler her eyewitness account of the attacks, the aftermath and the mix of far-right agitation and experienced Loyalist paramilitaries behind these appalling scenes.  

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Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: James Liddell. Audio produ...

What connects violent anti-immigration protests with a defence secretary resigning over a funding row with Number 10? The answer is social cohesion – and Britain isn’t doing enough to protect it. A transnational campaign bringing together MAGA, Russian influence operations and the far right is actively targeting the very bonds that hold us together, says Dr Kate Ferguson, co-founder of Protection Approaches – a charity that campaigns against identity-based violence.  

Is this just a community relations problem or is something far more serious at play? Do we need to treat social cohesion as a full-blown national security emergency? Kate joins Rafae...

The West’s naivete towards Putin in the 2000s cost us dearly. Now Russia’s tyrant – a creature of the KGB/FSB who has returned his country to its roots as a repressive intelligence state – is attacking us with unprecedented ferocity and deviousness. Sean Wiswesser, ex-CIA station chief in the former Soviet Union, says the “reckless” activity of FSB and GRU agents has reached new heights. But can they be stopped – and can we win the intelligence war? He tells Andrew Harrison how intelligence and dirty tricks are inextricable from Putin’s power; how the old skills of “tradecraft” persist alongside new di...

Setting out the stories of the next seven days… Labour announce far more draconian restrictions on social media for teens than anyone expected. Why are they being so hardcore now? And will the measures work? Plus: it’s Makerfield by-election week, at last. What will help Labour more: Restore splitting the far-right vote or an England victory against Croatia in the World Cup? And what does Trump’s Iran deal actually mean? Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison look into the stories of the week ahead.  

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Written and presented by Andrew H...

Violence swept Belfast after a knife attack sparked days of unrest fuelled by right-wing agitators. With reports that many of those involved had travelled to the city from elsewhere, are we seeing the rise of riot tourism? Plus: John Healey resigns in breaking news, a leaked Makerfield poll puts Burnham ahead as the right-wing vote splits, and Swifties wager millions on Taylor’s wedding. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Zoë Grünewald to unpack the biggest stories from the past week. 

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Zoë Grünewald...

Violence swept Belfast after a knife attack sparked days of unrest fuelled by right-wing agitators. With reports that many of those involved had travelled to the city from elsewhere, are we seeing the rise of riot tourism? Plus: John Healey resigns in breaking news, a leaked Makerfield poll puts Burnham ahead as the right-wing vote splits, and Swifties wager millions on Taylor’s wedding. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Zoë Grünewald to unpack the biggest stories from the past week.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Zoë G...

Or will it arrive pre-ruined by FIFA’s oligarch-coddling sycophant president Gianni Infantino, creator of Trump’s ludicrous “FIFA Peace Prize”? The 2026 World Cup has already been called a “bonanza of sportwashing” by human rights groups. Now visiting fans fear harassment by ICE as well as the eye-watering cost of attending games at all. Politics professor, author of Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing and the FIFA Greed Machine and former footballer Jules Boykoff joins Andrew Harrison to look at the corrupt mess of international football… and what needs to happen to fix it. 

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Or will it arrive pre-ruined by FIFA’s oligarch-coddling sycophant president Gianni Infantino, creator of Trump’s ludicrous “FIFA Peace Prize”? The 2026 World Cup has already been called a “bonanza of sportwashing” by human rights groups. Now visiting fans fear harassment by ICE as well as the eye-watering cost of attending games at all. Politics professor, author of Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing and the FIFA Greed Machine and former footballer Jules Boykoff joins Andrew Harrison to look at the corrupt mess of international football… and what needs to happen to fix it. 

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What happens if Vladimir Putin suddenly dies – or is killed? Has the Russian dictator lined up a successor, or would a new leader rise up? And what sort of chaos would that bring? At 73, Putin is one of the longest-serving leaders in modern Russian history. No one appears likely to challenge him directly right now, but his time will have to run out eventually. 

Historian, author and major Russia expert Mark Galeotti joins Gavin Esler to discuss where Russia’s next leader might come from – and whether they would be anything more than Putin with a different face. <...

What happens if Vladimir Putin suddenly dies – or is killed? Has the Russian dictator lined up a successor, or would a new leader rise up? And what sort of chaos would that bring? At 73, Putin is one of the longest-serving leaders in modern Russian history. No one appears likely to challenge him directly right now, but his time will have to run out eventually. 

Historian, author and major Russia expert Mark Galeotti joins Gavin Esler to discuss where Russia’s next leader might come from – and whether they would be anything more than Putin with a different face. <...

Can the damage Donald Trump has wrought on America be repaired? And if another Trump emerged, could anyone stop them? Ex-FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann is a former member of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s election interference. (Credentials: Trump labelled him “scum” and Stephen Miller called him “deranged” and a “moron”). In his new book Liar’s Kingdom: How To Stop Trump’s Deceit and Save Democracy, Weissmann offers a radical cure for America’s crisis: fight and punish political lying at every level. Would it work in a country addicted to lies and the anger they create? 

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Can the damage Donald Trump has wrought on America be repaired? And if another Trump emerged, could anyone stop them? Ex-FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann is a former member of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s election interference. (Credentials: Trump labelled him “scum” and Stephen Miller called him “deranged” and a “moron”). In his new book Liar’s Kingdom: How To Stop Trump’s Deceit and Save Democracy, Weissmann offers a radical cure for America’s crisis: fight and punish political lying at every level. Would it work in a country addicted to lies and the anger they create? 

 • Buy...

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. 

www.patreon.com/bunkercast    

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  

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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. 

www.patreon.com/bunkercast    

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summing up the key stories of the past seven days… Reform and the far-right seize on the murder of student Henry Nowak to foment violent protests and provoke a national political row. Has Farage’s opportunism pushed his luck too far? Plus: What was in that a fresh batch of Mandelson files; Putin’s “Russian Davos” goes wrong; notable deaths from the past week; and who should replace Churchill and Alan Turing on banknotes: dolphins, otters or the marsh fritillary? Andrew Harrison and Seth Thévoz unpack the biggest stories from the past week.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast <...

Summing up the key stories of the past seven days… Reform and the far-right seize on the murder of student Henry Nowak to foment violent protests and provoke a national political row. Has Farage’s opportunism pushed his luck too far? Plus: What was in that a fresh batch of Mandelson files; Putin’s “Russian Davos” goes wrong; notable deaths from the past week; and who should replace Churchill and Alan Turing on banknotes: dolphins, otters or the marsh fritillary? Andrew Harrison and Seth Thévoz unpack the biggest stories from the past week.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast <...

Hot Take Time Machine is back and our crack squad of column critics are sniffing out the weirdest, worst and occasionally the best opinions from the last month.  

Paper Cuts survivors Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge join Jacob Jarvis to pick apart The Telegraph’s terrible take on youth unemployment, The Mail’s Liz Jones having “one big moan” and one Times writer who is fed up with tasteful hen-dos – “bring back the strippers!” 

Buy Jonn’s book 31 Inventions that Built Our World from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small c...

Hot Take Time Machine is back and our crack squad of column critics are sniffing out the weirdest, worst and occasionally the best opinions from the last month.  

Paper Cuts survivors Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge join Jacob Jarvis to pick apart The Telegraph’s terrible take on youth unemployment, The Mail’s Liz Jones having “one big moan” and one Times writer who is fed up with tasteful hen-dos – “bring back the strippers!” 

Buy Jonn’s book 31 Inventions that Built Our World from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small c...

OpenAI chief Sam Altman once wrote that the most successful people don’t build companies, they “create religions”. Will artificial intelligence really solve humanity’s greatest problems and elevate humans to a heaven-like state like the tech bros claim – or just ruin our civilisation? Best-selling author and investigative journalist Karen Hao gained unprecedented access to OpenAI to unearth the story of what’s really going on inside a project that could transform humanity. She talks to Seth Thévoz about the disturbing story she discovered for her new book Empire of AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination. 

  • Buy Ka...

OpenAI chief Sam Altman once wrote that the most successful people don’t build companies, they “create religions”. Will artificial intelligence really solve humanity’s greatest problems and elevate humans to a heaven-like state like the tech bros claim – or just ruin our civilisation? Best-selling author and investigative journalist Karen Hao gained unprecedented access to OpenAI to unearth the story of what’s really going on inside a project that could transform humanity. She talks to Seth Thévoz about the disturbing story she discovered for her new book Empire of AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination. 

  • Buy K...

Democratic rights and freedoms have expanded for a century or more, yet the super-rich have never been richer and wealth has never been shared less fairly. And we keep on voting to prop up systems that make a bad situation worse. Why? Political scientist and author Jeffrey Winters has a theory – that oligarchic power isn’t an unforeseen product of democracies, it’s designed into the system. So how do we fix it? He talks to Andrew Harrison about how to make democracies more… democratic. 

• Buy Jeffrey’s book The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies from our affili...

Democratic rights and freedoms have expanded for a century or more, yet the super-rich have never been richer and wealth has never been shared less fairly. And we keep on voting to prop up systems that make a bad situation worse. Why? Political scientist and author Jeffrey Winters has a theory – that oligarchic power isn’t an unforeseen product of democracies, it’s designed into the system. So how do we fix it? He talks to Andrew Harrison about how to make democracies more… democratic. 

• Buy Jeffrey’s book The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies from our affili...

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.   

www.patreon.com/bunkercast    

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

Learn...

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.   

www.patreon.com/bunkercast    

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

Learn...

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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 the biggest stories from the past week.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr.  Producer: James Lidd...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing for The Bunker. 

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 the biggest stories from the past week.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr.  Producer: James Lidd...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing.

Iran’s hardline regime may have weathered Donald Trump’s onslaught for now – but behind Teheran’s defiance there are deep cracks in its hated, repressive system. They go right back to the genesis and betrayal of the 1979 Revolution, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini promised freedom, independence and prosperity only to deliver brutal Islamic law, political executions and a system of oppression that has endured for almost five decades. Award-winning journalists Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati tell the story of the Iranian people’s dogged struggle for...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing.

Iran’s hardline regime may have weathered Donald Trump’s onslaught for now – but behind Teheran’s defiance there are deep cracks in its hated, repressive system. They go right back to the genesis and betrayal of the 1979 Revolution, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini promised freedom, independence and prosperity only to deliver brutal Islamic law, political executions and a system of oppression that has endured for almost five decades. Award-winning journalists Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati tell the story of the Iranian people’s dogged struggle for...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing.

Is time finally running out for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? The Knesset has voted to dissolve itself, the horrors of October 7th still haunt his coalition, and a newly united opposition is closing in. With right-wing Naftali Bennett and centre-left Yair Lapid joining forces and their Together party neck-and-neck with Netanyahu’s Likud in the polls, is the great survivor of Israeli politics about to meet his Waterloo? The Economist's Israel correspondent Anshel Pfeffer joins Rafael Behr to break it down. 

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Is time finally running out for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? The Knesset has voted to dissolve itself, the horrors of October 7th still haunt his coalition, and a newly united opposition is closing in. With right-wing Naftali Bennett and centre-left Yair Lapid joining forces and their Together party neck-and-neck with Netanyahu’s Likud in the polls, is the great survivor of Israeli politics about to meet his Waterloo? The Economist's Israel correspondent Anshel Pfeffer joins Rafael Behr to break it down. 

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Setting up the stories for the next seven… sorry, six days. As Britain suffers unprecedented May heatwaves, can Ed Miliband defend Net Zero from the denialists in Reform and the oil-funded PR greenwashers? Plus, Nigel Farage’s excuses for his £5m gift from a crypto baron start to catch up with him. Could Reform be outflanked in Makerfield by the even battier, Musk-funded Restore UK? The latest on social media bans for under-16s. And Richard Burgon, Labour leader...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Last chance to get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. 

Setting up the stories for the next seven… sorry, six days. As Britain suffers unprecedented May heatwaves, can Ed Miliband defend Net Zero from the denialists in Reform and the oil-funded PR greenwashers? Plus, Nigel Farage’s excuses for his £5m gift from a crypto baron start to catch up with him. Could Reform be outflanked in Makerfield by the even battier, Musk-funded Restore UK? The latest on social media bans for under-16s. And Richard Burgon, Labour leader...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing for The Bunker. 

The Makerfield by-election is heating up, with Andy Burnham officially entering the race. But what does he really stand for? As he pitches both locally and nationally, we’re a bit confused. Plus: Donald Trump granted tax immunity, the T-Rex arms race, and Keir Starmer waters down Russian oil sanctions. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to unpack the biggest stories from the past week.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with A...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing for The Bunker. 

The Makerfield by-election is heating up, with Andy Burnham officially entering the race. But what does he really stand for? As he pitches both locally and nationally, we’re a bit confused. Plus: Donald Trump granted tax immunity, the T-Rex arms race, and Keir Starmer waters down Russian oil sanctions. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to unpack the biggest stories from the past week.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with A...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing.

The Doomsday crowd was once confined to fringe congregations and rural survivalists stockpiling beans and ammunition. Now it’s gone mainstream, with one in three Americans believing the world will end in their lifetimes. So why do so many people think the end is nigh? Did Ruby Ridge start it all? And is the Trump administration adding fuel to the fire? Chris Jennings, author of End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America, joins Gavin Esler to explain.  

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The Doomsday crowd was once confined to fringe congregations and rural survivalists stockpiling beans and ammunition. Now it’s gone mainstream, with one in three Americans believing the world will end in their lifetimes. So why do so many people think the end is nigh? Did Ruby Ridge start it all? And is the Trump administration adding fuel to the fire? Chris Jennings, author of End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America, joins Gavin Esler to explain.  

• Back us...

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing.

Donald Trump came, he saw, and left Beijing without much to show for his high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping. Behind the pomp and pageantry, tensions over trade, tech and Taiwan didn’t go away. So did two days of diplomacy actually achieve anything? And can Xi’s vision of “great rejuvenation” coexist with Trump’s “Make America Great Again”? William Hurst, Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development at the University of Cambridge, joins Gavin Esler to break down the relationship. 

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• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing.

Donald Trump came, he saw, and left Beijing without much to show for his high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping. Behind the pomp and pageantry, tensions over trade, tech and Taiwan didn’t go away. So did two days of diplomacy actually achieve anything? And can Xi’s vision of “great rejuvenation” coexist with Trump’s “Make America Great Again”? William Hurst, Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development at the University of Cambridge, joins Gavin Esler to break down the relationship. 

• Back us on Patreon – www.patreo...