The Bunker – News without the nonsense

The Government has been bounced into doing more for Ukrainian refugees, but are new plans just shifting responsibility? Plus, we discuss how Russia is trying to win the information war – and dissect the facts from fiction. And finally, we take a look at what’s going on with Spotify, after a major outage and dip in subscribers. Mathilda Mallinson, of the Media Storm podcast and co-founder of Refugee Media Centre, is this week’s guest.  "There's such a bad faith approach in the right-wing media reporting on refugees." – Arthur Snell "This is a very racist lesson as to why we haven't been treating other populations as refugees." – Mathilda Mallinson “What we have in Calais now is a two-tiered system.” — Mathilda Mallinson “I imagine a lot won’t be able to go home… for many it will be because the lives that they had are not available for them to return to.” — Arthur Snell  "For all Russia's craziness inside Ukraine, I still don’t think they're crazy enough to do something inside a NATO country." — Arthur Snell  Find resources to help the Ukrainian people here: https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Andrew Harrison with Arthur Snell and Ahir Shah. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The horror of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to shock the world. Is more involvement from the West inevitable? What might that look like? Meanwhile, the UK’s position on refugees is shifting, while sanctions have also been bolstered. But is the Government doing enough? Alex Andreou is joined by Gavin Esler to look at the week ahead.  “One stray missile lands in Poland and who knows where we’ll be.” – Gavin Esler “Putin must be asking what success looks like now, and I don’t know the answer to that.” – Gavin Esler “The Government is hamstrung by its own rhetoric over migrants and channel crossings.” – Gavin Esler “Russia is a country of incredible cultural riches, and it’s become a money making machine for certain people.” – Gavin Esler “It seems to be that Putin has lost the international information battle.” – Alex Andreou  Find resources to help the Ukrainian people here: https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Alex Andreou with Gavin Esler. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nuclear war is back in people’s minds after Vladimir Putin put Russia’s deterrent on high alert. How real is the threat? And if an atomic conflict did break out, what would it look like? Dr Matthew Harries, Senior Research Fellow in Nuclear Policy at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), joins Ros Taylor to discuss the likelihood of atomic warfare, and what Putin’s threat really means. “Russia is a nuclear armed state, so we have to take escalation very seriously.” “Vladimir Putin knows nuclear weapons are scary, and talking about them is a tactic designed to intimidate.” “A no-fly zone would NATO in direct conflict with Russia. They would respond.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Ros Taylor. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Audio production by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our pop culture review: Dancefloor existentialists Electribe 101, Microdisney mastermind returns with Telefís, Netflix comedy sci-fi The Adam Project and more with guest Grant Nicholas of Feeder.Journalist and author of Leaving the Building: The Lucrative Afterlife of Music Estates Eamonn Forde joins Grant of skate-surf rock-punk survivors Feeder to discuss a great lost album of British dance music, “theocratic electropop from the Irish diaspora”, Netflix’s attempt to do Spielberg… and much much more. Hear all the music on our rolling playlists.Spotify: https://bit.ly/CultBunkTidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/1aea7525-7891-4a88-8474-a08c45ea064b“Not only did the Catholic Church control the country, but so too did RTÉ…” – Eamonn Forde on Telefís Written and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We often hear that laughter is the best medicine. But healthcare providers in Bristol have taken the message seriously and are now prescribing comedy courses to help people recover from PTSD. It’s just one case of “social prescribing” that’s sweeping throughout practices across the country. Jelena Sofronijevic talks to Professor Gurch Randhawa and former service user Debs Teale about what constitutes “social medication,” why there’s no magic pill for long-term problems in politics and big pharma, and how housing and education impact health today.   “Social prescribing will only be successful when it is rolled out in a consistent way.” - Gurch Randhawa “The beauty of social prescribing is that it can be anything creative.” - Debs Teale “I get nervous when systems privilege the medical model of becoming unwell and receiving a prescription to manage it.” - Gurch Randhawa  “It's not a National Health Service, it's a National Sickness Service.” - Gurch Randhawa https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented and produced by Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Western coverage of the bloody civil war in Syria might indicate that the conflict is over. But in the northwest, rebels are still fighting back against Bashar al-Assad, and the war crimes against civilians committed by his deadly regime. Ammar al Selmo is a member of the White Helmets. He dials in from northwest Syria to tell Arthur Snell about the organisation’s humanitarian efforts, how working as a first-responder is “like a drug”…and why continued Western support is critical for the region. This edition recorded before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Now that the regime is using drones and laser targeting, they can't claim that attacks on civilian targets like hospitals and schools are accidental.” “What's happening in Syria affects what's happening in Ukraine. We are connected.” “Those who physically survive the war in Syria still have psychological rubble.” “We must remember these war crimes to keep history alive, and hold people accountable.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Arthur Snell. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Productionhttps://www.whitehelmets.org/en/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Among Putin’s missteps has been underestimating the support Ukraine would muster. Why is he losing the information war? Meanwhile, Russia faces a raft of sanctions from the West. We analyse the wider impact of those actions, and the moves taken by our Government. Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, of King’s Russia Institute, and Tatton Spiller, the founder of Simple Politics, are this week’s guests.  “Zelenskyy is the most media trained President in history.” - Tatton Spiller  “Since 2014, Putin has portrayed Ukraine as having a fascist government.” - Gulnaz Sharafutdinova  “Where the UK is falling short is sanctions that target individuals.” - Miatta Fahnbulleh  “In Russia, prices on electronics have risen by 30% due to sanctions.” - Gulnaz Sharafutdinova  “Putin is fighting two wars, one in Ukraine and one in Russia.” - Gulnaz Sharafutdinova Find resources to help the Ukrainian people here: https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Ros Taylor with Miatta Fahnbulleh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harrowing scenes of families fleeing Ukraine have seen the Government pressured to do more for them. Will it? As Russia’s bombardment persists, it emerged the UK had only issued 50 visas to refugees escaping the invasion. Home Secretary Priti Patel has faced pointed criticism – are there any excuses? Will new proposals be enough? Alex Andreou is joined by Yasmeen Serhan to look at the week ahead.  “Kyiv is still standing, it’s still Ukrainian, but it’s an incredibly dire situation.” – Yasmeen Serhan  “People don’t want to leave their homes, people want to go home… but they also want to be safe, they also want to live.” – Yasmeen Serhan  "The resolve of the Ukrainian people and government has been incredible to witness." – Yasmeen Serhan  "The government is underestimating the extent to which Brits would be willing to help." – Yasmeen Serhan Find resources to help the Ukrainian people here: https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Alex Andreou with Yasmeen Serhan. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Alex Rees. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine an app able to dictate social media trends at the click of a button. Digital researcher Ayushman Kaul talks to Alex Andreou about ‘Tek Fog’ – software he reports can do exactly that. They discuss corrosive impacts already seen in India, tracked in a nearly two-year long investigation for The Wire, and worrying implications for democracies the world over.  “Operators who use this app can manipulate social media trends en-mass, including on Facebook and Twitter.” “There is a global industry emerging in this grey space between tech and politics, where disinformation for profit services are being offered.” “Using platforms like Tek Fog, you can target people in a way that you could never target them before.” “I wish there was a silver bullet to cure this disinformation epidemic that we’re facing.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Alex Andreou. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear all the music on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunkAfter a sneaky single drop from their new album A Bit of Previous, Scottish indie pop megastar Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian joins us to talk about making floating music festivals and his Sundance Award-winning film.Crime writer par excellence William Shaw speaks to Siân and Jelena about The Dropout on Disney Star starring Amanda Siegfried as disgraced biotech billionaire Elizabeth Holmes, and The Weather Station’s latest album, How is It That I Should Look at the Stars, and Andrew Harrison and Linda Marric go to see The Batman.Plus, we listen to the the new Butcher Boy anthology 'You Had A Kind Face'. It’s available to order at https://needlemythology.tmstor.es/ - and the first ones in get a limited edition postcard set. “Songwriting is moaning to music - and I've been doing it for 26 years now.” - Stuart Murdoch “We're in the age of the newsroom drama. It's a new kind of history-making.”- Jelena Sofronijevic  “My Buddhist nun appeared to me in a dream, and helped me pick the songs from the album to turn into singles.” - Stuart Murdoch “This Weather Station album sounds like it's recorded in a room where's she afraid of waking the neighbours.” - William Shaw Written and presented by Siân Pattenden and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices