The Bunker – News without the nonsense

The COVID pandemic has seen us bombarded with statistics like never before, - case numbers, excess deaths and vaccination rates. But behind the numbers, is there another story waiting to be told? Professor David Spiegelhalter joins Ros Taylor to talk about his new book COVID By Numbers, which shines a new light on the pandemic from the hardest hit countries, to the benefits of different vaccines, and the effect of lockdown on our mental health and the economy. “Statisticians try to make sense of what’s going on, and there is a lot of demand for that” “The perpetual daily updates have kept numbers in people’s minds” “There has been a systematic change in the pattern of deaths, people aren’t going to hospital to die” “COVID has shone light on big gaps on our knowledge of other people’s lives” “When the media call out u-turns, it stops people making changes based on new evidence” “Statistics have been incredibly important, the PHE dashboard had 76 million hits within 24 hours during the 3rd lockdown” Presented by Ros Taylor. 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

Is Plan B really happening or what? Does the Government grasp the magnitude of the NHS crisis that’s coming? And is there any way to get the performatively unmasked to mask up again? Plus, as the wheels continue to fall off Facebook, is there any fixing social media? And we look at next year’s Unboxed event, the rebadged, don’t-mention-leaving-the-EU Festival of Brexit. Special guest ZOE WILLIAMS of The Guardian to dig into this week’s political misery.  • “The row over GPs is completely confected… The problem isn’t of face-to-face appointments, it’s that they’re overworked and worn out.” – ZOE WILLIAMS• “Choosing social media villains and giving them a kicking in front of committees is not going to fix this.” – ZOE WILLIAMS• “Very politicised people don’t WANT the platforms fixed. They’re there for the fight.” – MARIE LE CONTE• “You can’t put a picture of yourself breastfeeding on Facebook, but fascist hate is fine?” – ZOE WILLIAMShttps://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Ros Taylor with Marie Le Conte and Ahir Shah. 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

Metaphor time! Rishi Sunak strains over a painful Budget while Conservative MPs are hammered for voting to allow raw sewage to be released into the sea. What’s coming in the Budget and will Johnson’s aversion to bad news push Plan B back – meaning that, yet again, the Government acts too late on a rising COVID wave? Alex Andreou starts your week.  “Imagine if raw sewage became the defining issue of your government…”  “Boris Johnson has become invisible, which indicates the Budget will not be a good one.” “This Budget includes straight-up bribe pots for Conservative Party donors.” “Sunak, Truss, and Barclay’s constituencies have all done very well from the Levelling Up Fund.” Presented and 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

t’s often said that the crisis in Western democracy is caused by those left-behind, but is the greatest threat to security actually a bored middle-class? University Professor and author of Our Own Worst Enemy Tom Nichols talks to Arthur Snell about why unchecked narcissism is to blame for rising illiberalism, which factors are accelerating our democratic demise, and why building coalitions is our only way out.  “We’ve become used to being hyper-connected to each other, which turns out to be a pretty bad thing for maintaining democracy.” “The people who vote for populists are overwhelmingly white, middle-class and well-off.” “In the US anti-immigration feeling is sky-high in areas where there are no immigrants, it’s driven by television.” “We now have millions of people who have become so detached from reality that it’s impossible to have a rational conversation with them.” Presented by Arthur Snell. 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

Hear all the music on our podcasts in full on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunkThis week: Snooker star turned cosmic DJ STEVE DAVIS tells about his love for out-there avant garde rock and the time he took Frank Warren to see Magma. We review spice’n’sandals epic DUNE and Wes Anderson’s paean to the golden age of magazines, THE FRENCH DISPATCH – and speak to star LÉA SEYDOUX. John Harris explains why ‘Let It Be’ is THE BEATLES’ least-understood record. And a thrilling new album from one-woman pop revolution SELF ESTEEM. Presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s COVID Groundhog Day with cases spiking, the Government dithering and the NHS under critical pressure all over again. As Sajid Javid warns of 100,000 cases a day soon, health commentator Roy Lilley tells us why the Government’s“ Plan B” is in disarray. How fast should they move to tighter restrictions? And can they make it stick with a population that believes the pandemic is done? “What is it going to take for someone in the cabinet to say ‘Yes, we need Plan B’?.” “Sajid Javid standing up and lecturing the nation with a Union Jack behind him was absolutely ridiculous.” “Who actually runs the NHS? Is it Sajid Javid or the Daily Mail?” “Let’s have that firebreak and let’s enjoy Christmas.”  Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is gene-editing – replacing sections of DNA to make plants and animals more fertile or resistant to disease – really our escape route from the threats of climate change and population growth? Since Brexit the British Government has been tearing up tight EU legislation on the practice, with DEFRA now allowing it for crops. But do we really understand the difference between gene editing and modification (GMO), or its complex environmental and social implications? Alex Andreou chews over gene editing with two experts from both sides of the debate, agriculturalist and member of the Food Ethics Council Patrick Mulvany and Professor Nick Talbot, Executive Director of The Sainsbury Laboratory. “We need to do something about farming and food production in the face of the climate emergency.” - Professor Nick Talbot “The status quo in agriculture cannot be maintained.” - Professor Nick Talbot 17:00 “Gene editing should be part of our panoply of food innovations that we need to feed people by 2050.” - Professor Nick Talbot “We need smaller farmers to have access to these technologies. Agriculture is still dominated by the big multinationals.” - Professor Nick Talbot “There's no shortage of innovation. Placing all our emphasis on gene editing is not sustainable.” - Patrick Mulvany Presented by Alex Andreou. 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

The horrific murder of Sir David Amess has put MPs’ personal security into sharp relief. But should the Government tighten rules for online speech which, however ugly, seems to have little to do with this outrage? Plus, climate change deniers the Global Warming Policy Forum rebrand as Net Zero Watch. Will claiming that carbon reduction is too expensive succeed where denying it outright failed? And why can’t Britain stop harping on about the Blitz Spirit? “Two MPs have been killed in last five years. We simply cannot say that MPs are safe to do their job.” – Justin Quirk “Prevent was never designed as a predictive programme… Just because this person was referred doesn’t mean their name would go straight to MI5.” – Arthur Snell Presented by Andrew Harrison with Yasmeen Serhan, Arthur Snell and Justin Quirk. 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

Children lost an average of 115 days of schooling under last year’s lockdowns, but that doesn’t capture the scale of trauma and dislocation caused to children by the Government’s bungled handling of the pandemic. Former Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield tells Ros Taylor about the hidden consequences of COVID policy for kids – how the pandemic was an opportunity to exploiters including county lines drug dealers – and why we have to stop seeing the pandemic through the adult-centric prism of shopping, holidays, offices and pubs.   “These school closures will have an effect for years and decades – and for some kids, forever.”  “After the pandemic, children’s mental health has plummeted.”  “I never thought I’d ever have to say ‘Kids need to be in school’. But everything we knew crumbled in a very short time.” “We’re never going to have real levelling up until we get it right for kids.” “When you’ve only got a couple of crap phones to work on, that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what you need to learn.”  Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A second MP in five years is killed during the performance of constituency duties. Will the death of Sir David Amess change the temperature of political debate? Plus Dominic Raab’s plan to overrule independent courts, the brewing PCR test scandal, and coal-funded senator Joe Manchin destroys Joe Biden’s clean energy programme. Ros Taylor starts your week. “Police protection at surgeries is all very well, but marginalised people can be very afraid of the police – with good reason.” “People will always exploit tragedies like these for their own political ends.” “Kids are still paying the price for adults' failure on COVID.” Presented and 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