The Bunker – News without the nonsense

What does 2022 have in store? It’s crunch year for three massive British institutions that have defined our lives: the BBC, the NHS and the Monarchy. Putin seems determined to exploit the West’s disarray to invade Ukraine. And if Donald Trump makes a comeback, could American democracy itself fall? Ros Taylor and Gavin Esler look ahead to a nerve-wracking year. • “The challenge for BBC News is, how do you balance people who simply won’t tell the truth?”• “Russia and Ukraine could mean a ground war in Europe for the first time since 1945.” • “We’ve underestimated the way that Putinism and the lies have infected our own democracies… Trump and Trumpism are still here.”Presented by Ros Taylor and Gavin Esler. Assistant producers Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From 1970s Westminster, to the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? scandal, James Graham is one of the UK’s most successful playwrights today. As Best of Enemies opens at the Young Vic, he talks to Dorian Lynskey about dramatising the brutal Buckley vs. Vidal debates of the 1968 US presidential elections, how art engages audiences and tackles polarization, composing playlists in the pub after rehearsals …and why COVID-threatened theatres have to work even harder to “drag people” away from TV, Netflix and Disney Plus. “I feel a personal responsibility to the story to make it as meaningful and impactful as possible.” “I don't know what it's like to be in 1960s America, but I do know what it's like to get into an argument on live TV.” “Queer and Nazi weren't slurs politician had used before on US television.” “The most radical thing a playwright can do is celebrate the idea of empathy towards different points of view.” “I was surprised by the resistance from the progressive left to showing Dominic Cummings on TV.” “Democracy depends on theatre. The Greeks made sense of difficult things by putting people in a theatre and telling stories.” Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. 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

Anyone for cheese and whine? The noble Lord Frost scuttles away from his Brexit mess as it emerges that real hardworking meetings require a chilled Chablis and an agreeable Comte in an exclusive garden. Plus, as 2021 staggers to its ignominious end, we pinpoint the lasting images and a few rays of hope in a year of misgovernance – and highlight what to look out for in 2022. Marie le Conte, Ahir Shah and Gavin Esler are your panel. Have a fantastic Christmas and thanks for your support. We’ll be back in the first week of January. Until then, have a safe and a happy one. Hear our new series DOOMSDAY WATCH here: https://kite.link/doomsday “There’s nothing funnier in the Nadine Dorries story than Steve Baker sending his Bitmoji as he kicked her out.” – Marie le Conte “The big surprise of the yer was rediscovering that most of us, most of the time, just want to get on with our neighbours.” – Gavin Esler “Boris Johnson is a person who loves actions, but not their consequences.” – Marie le Conte “The French presidential elections are currently a bin on fire - but Frenchly.” – Marie le Conte Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Marie le Conte, Ahir Shah and Gavin Esler. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. The Bunker is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s going to be a cold Christmas at No 10, as Lord Frost resigns as Brexit Minister, Simon Case recuses himself over Christmas party investigations - and Nadine Dorries gets booted out of WhatsApp chats. Is jetsetter Liz Truss ready to take up her new position? And what will all this mean for popular compliance with new COVID rules? Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou look at the week ahead, in the last SYW of 2021. “Is this what purgatory feels like?” - Naomi Smith “The bookies still have Sunak as favourite to replace Johnson. The bookies don't know their history.” - Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou “Frost's resignation has strong Steve Baker energy.” - Naomi Smith “Truss is trying to style herself as a modern day Margaret Thatcher.” - Naomi Smith “2022 might give you a nasty populist treat in the US midterms.” - Naomi Smith Presented by Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. 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

A festive homage to the fromage… Nothing says Christmas like cheese, so in a sequel to Ros’s insect-eating special she goes for something a little more festive. Cheesemonger Ned Palmer of the Cheese Tasting Company joins her in the studio to chew over Britain’s long history of dairy production, what constituted the “metropolitan elite” cheeses of the 18th century, why a little blue mould goes a long way… plus a live tasting from his festive dinner table. “We've been making cheese for 6,000 years. We've got lots to be proud of.” “Philadelphia is the most authentic cheese in the world.” “Eating this cheddar is like licking the cool stone of an old country church.” “This cheese is even older than COVID…” “We were at war with the French when Stilton and Port became trendy.” The cheeses that Ned and Ros tried were:Edmund Tew. Made by Dave Holton and his team in Kent. Unpasteurised cow’s milk, animal rennet. Baron Bigod. Made by Jonny Crickmore and his team in Norfolk, England. Unpasteurised cow’s milk, animal rennet.Westcombe Cheddar. Made by Tom Calver and his team in Somerset, England. Unpasteurised cow’s milk, animal rennet.Stichelton. Made by Joe Schneider and his team in Nottinghamshire, England. Unpasteurised cow’s milk, animal rennet.Support your local cheesemongers by buying these cheeses here:England: Neal’s Yard Dairy, The Courtyard Dairy and The Fine Cheese CoWales: The Welsh Cheese CompanyScotland: I.J. MellisNorthern Ireland: Indie FüdeIreland: Sheridan’s CheesemongersWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Robin Leebrun. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. 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/CultBunkWe round off 2021 with more picks of the best of the year. Entertainment journalists Laura Barton of The Guardian and Ted Kessler of indispensable music newsletter The New Cue join Siân and Andrew to choose the best albums, TV, films, tracks and ones that got away.Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We treat TV as the most disposable art form – but for decades it has shaped our world more than we know. From Big Brother to Shameless to Little Britain and Benefit Street, television chose the winners and losers of consumer capitalism, made it OK to sneer at the underclass, and then allowed that underclass a token comeback or two. Author Phil Harrison explores television’s innate cruelty, class dynamics and political subtext in The Age Of Static: How TV Explains Modern Britain. Has TV made our politics worse? And should it just give up on live political interviews altogether? “A show called Britain’s Hardest Worker pitted benefit claimants against one another. You wouldn’t have written that in a dystopian fantasy.” “Maybe the BBC needs to be in that permanent state of conflict or it’s not doing its job of challenging what we think.” “When Mentorn took over Question Time they promised ‘adrenaline-fuelled Thursday nights’. Is that the purpose of a serious news show?” “Nadine Dorries as a kamikaze Culture Secretary scares the hell out of me.” Written and presented by Justin Quirk. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve all heard of the placebo effect, but what about the Expectation Effect? What we think will happen can change what does happen. David Robson, science journalist and author of The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World, talks to Alex Andreou about how our way of thinking shapes our everyday lives. Does believing stress is beneficial make you more creative under pressure? And can associating ageing with wisdom really add seven years to your life? “There’s a lot of pseudoscience that says positivity can solve your problems. This is not that at all.” “The expectation of becoming ill can actually increase your chances of becoming ill.” “People who have a positive view of ageing are more likely to live longer than those who have a negative view.” “Our expectations can shape our perceptions of food.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees and Robin Leeburn. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the leaks about illicit parties and quizzes pile up, and the Tory right wing fly into a rage about COVID passports, is Boris Johnson finally running out of road? And is the Torysphere getting bored with their boy? Plus we talk to Jolyon Maugham of the Good Law Project about the many deep-running scandals behind the day-to-day headlines. And what’s worse, the pressure to be happy all the time – or performative negativity from professional cynics? Hear our new series DOOMSDAY WATCH here: https://kite.link/doomsday• “The Government wants to do with the judiciary what it’s done with the BBC. It wants to keep them frit – and remind them of where they are in the hierarchy.” – Jolyon Maugham• “You can never tell if Johnson’s close to physical collapse or if he’s just spent ten minutes backstage mussing up the outfit.” – Justin Quirk• “Social media is a negative space. You don't exist on there until you say something.” - Alex Andreou• “The Met’s refusal to investigate has nothing to do with evidence, and everything to do with avoiding an embarrassing confrontation with Number 10.” – Jolyon Maugham https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou with Marie le Conte and Justin “Buff Nuff” Quirk. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. The Bunker is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Crunch Week (again) for Boris Johnson as he tries to get Plan B Corona restrictions past a mob of increasingly rebellious and COVID-sceptic Tory MPs. Meanwhile the party-that-wasn’t and the world’s most unwise Christmas quiz continue to dog our unfortunate PM. Oh, and there’s the North Shropshire by-election on Thursday too. New PM by Christmas? Ros Taylor alerts you to what’s coming in the week ahead. • “Johnson can’t bring himself to cancel Christmas – even though for lots of people, Christmas is cancelled already.”• “If you see a pack of LFTs around, I would grab it now.”• “Johnson isn't in immediate trouble but honestly, who would want to take over at this point?” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices