The Bunker – News without the nonsense

With Russia accused of massacring civilians in Ukraine, we look at the world’s reaction, and what will come next. How can nations push harder to punish Putin? Plus, we unpack the Hungarian election results, with Viktor Orbán having won a fourth term. And back home, partygate continues to rumble on. Alex Andreou and Arthur Snell look at the week ahead.  "Billions of Euros are sent to Russia for gas. Banning it would have a huge impact on Russia’s economy in the medium term.” – Arthur Snell  “One hoped that Orban’s closeness to Putin might have changed the outcome of the election.” – Arthur Snell  “If you’re in a town which doesn’t vote for Orban, then you’ll find yourself starved of resources.” – Arthur Snell  “I don’t think the British public have moved on over partygate.” – Arthur Snell Find resources to help the Ukrainian people here: https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Alex Andreou with Arthur Snell. 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

What is life like for Hong Kong activists detained then forced into exile after daring to defy Beijing? Simon Cheng was imprisoned in 2019, and fled to Britain later that year, establishing the expat group Hongkongers in Britain. He talks to Ros Taylor about his brutal experience in detention, his new life and the threat to democracy in his home city. “Increasingly the younger generation in Hong Kong don’t think they are Chinese.” “Provided the regime isn’t changed, I have no chance of going back to Hong Kong.” “I miss my hometown, my friends and my family, but I need to be able speak out freely.” “One day if the regime changes, we could be back in Hong Kong with democracy and freedom.” “I will continue to speak out for those people who can’t speak in Hong Kong.” 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

We welcome indie-rockin’ winger Pat Nevin (Chelsea, Everton, the Camden Falcon) to talk music and his new book The Accidental Footballer. Plus Wet Leg’s long-awaited debut album, Marvel’s Egyptological psycho-drama Moon Knight, Oscar-winning deaf family dramady Coda, an erotically-charged Ruth Wilson in True Things AKA 9½ Weeks In Ramsgate… 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“I once managed to fit four Camera Obscura references into one sentence of commentary.” – Pat Nevin“Ruth Wilson’s character feels like a real woman… If not yourself then definitely someone you know.” – Anna Smith“The truly ignorant person is the one that thinks they know everything.” – Pat NevinPresented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic with Elina Ganatra. Audio production by Jade Bailey. 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

Jacques Peretti’s mother, Alina, survived World War Two in Poland, Siberia, and finally, Auschwitz. They talk to Siân Pattenden about their book, Little Bird of Auschwitz, coming to terms with how Alina understood the Holocaust as a child, finding the courage to put harrowing memories to paper …and how the investigative journalist learned more about the woman who would never let him call her “Mum”. “My mum took a Zhivago-esque Odyssey across Europe.” - Jacques Peretti “I wasn't brave enough to write this book myself, but my son gave me the opportunity.” - Alina Peretti “People assume that the Holocaust was a Jewish experience. But the degenerate category extended to anyone the Nazis didn't like.” - Jacques Peretti “The debate between Hitler and his officers happened right in front of my mum.” - Alina Peretti https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Siân Pattenden. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Productionhttps://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/jacques-peretti/little-bird-of-auschwitz/9781473646438/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loneliness is something we’ve all felt at some point in our lives, particularly throughout COVID. But it can also have great value for society. Philosopher and social human rights expert Professor Kimberley Brownlee guides Ros Taylor through the important questions about being alone. Is solitary confinement an effective form of punishment? Have isolation policies been effective during the pandemic, or have they exposed care homes as “warehouses” for the elderly? And is loneliness really a moral injustice?  “Our social needs are needs with a capital N. We thirst for connection.” “In China, children have a legal duty to visit and engage with their elderly parents.”  “We risk becoming socially malnourished without even being aware of it.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 What a difference a week makes. Rishi Sunak’s stock has plummeted dramatically, how far can it fall? We unpick the Chancellor’s sorry Spring Statement. Plus, while COVID cases are rising, free tests are being ditched in England. What could possibly go wrong? And with three-time grand slam champ Ash Barty retiring from tennis, we weigh up the pros and cons of quitting while you’re ahead. “Sunak had an absolute shocker. Day one the headlines were awful from both sides.” – Miatta Fahnbulleh “I don’t think Sunak expected this backlash, which shows how out of step with the country he is.” – Miatta Fahnbulleh “I think this is worse than the Osborne years.” – Miatta Fahnbulleh “It’s very easy to get popular shoving money into people’s mouths.” – Ahir Shah “We’re seeing the real Rishi Sunak, and people are horrified.” – Ahir Shah “Hospital workers having to pay for their own tests to make sure they’re safe to work is insane.” – Justin Quirk Presented by Andrew Harrison with Ahir Shah, Justin Quirk and 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

As fallout from Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement boosts tensions in Government, we look at how this might unravel further. And with Zelenskyy suggesting Ukraine could consider Russia’s neutrality demands, is there hope for an end to the war? Plus, rising COVID cases, Prince William’s reflections on his Caribbean tour and a controversial night at the Oscars. Ros Taylor and Alex Andreou look at the week ahead.  “This seems like a very slow-moving war of attrition, that Russia is losing." – Alex Andreou  "Even allies on the same side of a war have different objectives." – Alex Andreou  "The UK still sees itself as the dominant entity in the Commonwealth." – Alex Andreou  "Will Smith's actions have overshadowed the achievements of other people." – Alex Andreou Find resources to help the Ukrainian people here: https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Ros Taylor with Alex Andreou. 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

Just 9% of all the plastic ever produced on planet Earth has been recycled. So where does the other 91% go? Despite our demand for disposable goods, the UK is hardly a plastic mountain. From litter on the Turkish littoral, to the second-hand textiles that flood Africa’s markets and South America’s deserts, there’s a chasm between where environmental damage is created, and where its impact is most destructively felt. Istanbul-based journalist Ruth Michaelson tells Jelena Sofronijevic about how we can tackle the West’s problem with waste, without simply outsourcing the climate crisis overseas… “There is a whole global chain of underpaid labour that suffers when you put your plastic bottle in the recycling bin.” “If we were not exporting our plastic waste, we would have to think about what we are doing with it.”  “There's a whack-a-mole quest to find new destinations for plastic waste.”  “The countries that claim to recycle the most also export the most waste.” “Environmental responsibility should fall on individual companies, not countries.” 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

This week’s pop culture review: Aldous Harding’s couture cocoon-pop, bizarre Betamax horror in new movie Broadcast Signal Intrusion, and Sky doc Super Greed charts the fiasco that was the European Super League. Journo, DJ and football fiend Anthony Teasdale helps Siân and Andrew run the VAR van of entertainment. Hear all the music on our rolling playlists.Spotify: https://bit.ly/CultBunkTidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/1aea7525-7891-4a88-8474-a08c45ea064b “Somehow the horror is more horrifying because it taps into childhood fears.” – Sian on Broadcast Signal Intrusion “What’s more rebellious and punk rock than building a warm and furry barrier against the outside world?” – Andrew on Aldous Harding Written and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Jade Bailey. 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

How can historical fiction be relevant to today’s society but faithful to the facts of the past? Author Laura Shepherd-Robinson joins Nick Cohen to discuss her approach, as she talks us through her novel Daughters of Night, a crime thriller set in the brothels of Georgian London. “When writing my books I choose to focus on issues that still have great resonance today.” “Many MPs declared that their main reason for going in Parliament was to defend slavery and those who practiced it.” “An average prostitute in Georgian London could make in one night what a housemaid made in a year.” “The Georgian period was a time when we were turning our minds towards liberal democracy.” “Working in politics you see power dynamics close up, and that helped when writing this book.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Nick Cohen. 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