The Bunker – News without the nonsense

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

Cryptocurrencies have boomed in recent years, but are they here to stay? Amy Castor, an independent journalist whose work focuses on cryptocurrency and financial fraud, talks to Justin Quirk to explain some of the myths around crypto, if e-currencies really can work as an alternative to the normal financial system, and the strange world of NFTs. “Crypto was designed as an e-currency, but it’s mainly used for speculation.” “There is mind-boggling amounts of money going into this space, in the hope more will come in.” “Bitcoin is a cult, there are those who believe it will save people in Argentina.” “The people that will lose in this are the unsophisticated investors who join the game too late.” “Those who invested in Bitcoin in November have already lost half of their investment.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Justin Quirk. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What’s the situation like on the ground in Ukraine? Nearly a week after Russia invaded, veteran war correspondent John Sweeney dials in from Kyiv to give Arthur Snell the lowdown on Europe’s first ground war since 1945, and why Putin’s gamble might have backfired. “From day one I thought Putin had made a mistake, and this invasion is not going well.”  “This feels to me like Twilight of the Gods, Putin has made a miscalculation.” “Putin is pulling the military levers and they’re not working.” “Putin is a rational actor, blundering around in a dark bunker of his own making.” “It feels like this war is very 20th century. Putin is a Tsar, entirely out of touch with his people.” “I think Putin is finished. His regime has reached the beginning of the end.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Arthur Snell. 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

Is a humiliated Putin even more dangerous than a victorious Putin? Can the incredible bravery of the Ukraine and President Zelensky win out? And how many fronts can Putin fight on, at home, globally and in the economic sphere?In a week where Russia tried to pin a potential nuclear war on Liz Truss, ex-diplomat and security expert Arthur Snell, The Atlantic’s Yasmeen Serhan and former Labour spin doctor Ayesha Hazarika join Alex Andreou to get the latest on the most serious crisis in Europe since the Second World War. Find resources to help the Ukrainian people here: https://ukrainewar.carrd.co/ “It’s being widely said that Putin can’t win this war without committing atrocities.” – Arthur Snell “Putin is acting on emotion and that’s really worrying.” – Yasmeen Serhan “Ironically for someone who funded the Brexit movement, Putin has done wonders for EU integration.” – Arthur Snell “Liz Truss looking like she’s got under the Russia’s skin will be a huge help for her leadership campaign.” – Ayesha Hazarika https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Alex Andreou with Ayesha Hazarika, Yasmeen Serhan and Arthur Snell. 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