The Bunker – News without the nonsense

As we await Sue Gray’s report, the scandals continue to pile up for the Government. With allegations of blackmail and Islamophobia over the weekend, how will this play out for Number 10? Also, as Russian troops amass on the Ukrainian border, are we about to see the first ground war in Europe since 1945? And with Jeff Bezos ploughing money into a new anti-ageing start up, does our panel really want to be forever young? “Nadine Dorries, who has eaten ostrich anus on TV, has accused Wragg of attention-seeking. The jokes write themselves.” – Alex Andreou “The 2019 intake have been compared to untrained puppies pissing on the carpet.” – Marie Le Conte “I was speaking to someone connected to the ERG today, and they said Johnson will be gone by the end of the week.” – Emma Kennedy “There are shades of Trump with Boris Johnson.” – Emma Kennedy Presented by Alex Andreou with Gavin Esler and Marie Le Conte. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. 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

As Russia is accused of plotting to install a pro-Kremlin government in Ukraine, what will NATO’s next move be amid the ongoing standoff? And with the results of Sue Gray’s inquiry looming, will Boris Johnson face a tangible reckoning over the myriad scandals surrounding Downing Street? Or will he persist in clinging on? Ros Taylor and Arthur Snell set up the week ahead.  "No NATO alliance, even the most hawkish, wants to get into Ukraine."  "The EU still has some sanctions on Russia. The question is whether they are effective?"  "I'm not sure how much space there is in the public consciousness for the huge number of scandals around Boris Johnson."  "If aid doesn't flow in major quantities, we're looking at a major famine in Afghanistan."  Presented by Ros Taylor with Arthur Snell. Producers: Jacob Archbold and 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

If you’ve been on Twitter in the past month, you might have heard of ‘Wordle’, the new Mastermind meets Scrabble game taking the world by storm. Over 300,000 now play everyday, but how did it become such a phenomenon? C. Thi Nguyen, philosophy professor at the University of Utah and author of Games: Agency as Art, talks Alex Andreou about why Wordle has proven such a hit, from its simple design to the joy of shareability. “A lot of the most interesting games are confined.” “The thing that makes Wordle so unique is the shareablility.” “I was seeing people sharing these square stacks and wondered what it was.” “Games are an activity and a struggle, but they’re a struggle that we shape for our own enjoyment.” “The real effect of the ‘one-puzzle-a-day’ is the social effect. You can see and feel how others found the puzzle.” Presented by Alex Andreou. The group editor is Andrew Harrison. The Lead Producer is Jacob Jarvis. 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

Hear all the music on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunkAs Yard Act Overload us with new tunes, Jim Butler and Linda Marric join us to unpack the post-punk rockers’ latest album. Disney’s charming animation, Encanto, has Alex Andreou in a spell, but what will the panel make of it? Plus, Linda shares her top films of 2022, and we unpack Netflix’s new Japanese newsroom thriller, The Journalist. “Nightmare Alley is del Toro's best film since Pan's Labyrinth.” - Linda Marric “If you come from a large family with a strong female lead, you will love Encanto.” - Alex Andreou “Yard Act don't have to paint themselves into a post-punk corner. They could go down an LCD Soundsystem route.” - Jim Butler “The lyrics on Rich are worthy of Edward Lear.” - Alex Andreou “You're hammered over the head from the opening scene that The Journalist is important.” - Jim Butler Written and presented by Siân Pattenden and Alex Andreou. Producer: Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production: Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Arab Spring rippled across the Middle East, many looked to the relative calm of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates for a roadmap to stability. But how much of a moderniser is Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE? Matthew Hedges was arrested, interrogated and sentenced to life imprisonment whilst studying for his PhD in the UAE. He tells Arthur Snell about his harrowing experience, and new book, Reinvented the Sheikhdom, on MBZ’s authoritarian regime and security strategy. “Sheikh Zayed lived in a world rife in internal conflict. He made the UAE's tribes work together, at the expense of their autonomy.”  “MBZ has an illiberal, undemocratic, and socially conservative worldview that puts the state first and foremost.”  “MBZ and MBS are more similar than they are dissimilar.”  “Your SIM card is linked to your ID, and they have the money to watch you at all times. These are tools of social control.” “The UAE wants to be seen as forward-looking, not a Bedouin tribe stuck in the past.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Arthur Snell. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Productionhttps://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/reinventing-the-sheikhdom/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hungary’s election on April 3rd is seen by many as the last chance to rid the country of autocratic leader Viktor Orbán, and to reverse the democratic backsliding seen during his time in office. Péter Krekó, senior researcher for the Center for European Policy Analysis, and Dávid Dorozs, Atlantic Council fellow and former MP, join Yasmeen Serhan to discuss Orban’s eroding of democracy, and the opposition alliance seeking to usurp him. “We are into the last minute before midnight for Hungarian democracy.” - Peter Kreko “If Orban wins again, you can expect an even stronger crackdown on democratic institutions.” - Peter Kreko “Orban’s media team will use every smear in the book to bring us down.” - David Dorosz https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Yasmeen Serhan. 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

What will be sacrificed to protect self-designated Big Dog Boris Johnson: the BBC, migrants, a swathe of civil servants or our God-given right to get drunk at work? On the anniversary of Joe Biden’s accession to the US Presidency, has he already blown it? And is Russia really going to invade Ukraine? Special guest and legend of investigative journalism John Sweeney – of Panorama, Newsnight and the Hunting Ghislaine podcast fame – explains it all… and tells us about the time he ate kebabs in a mammoth museum with Vladimir Putin. “Having a Royal Family puts a lot of dead-end, right wing rubbish in the cul-de-sac. All they need to do is keep their noses clean.” – John Sweeney  “You should throw the red meat to the dog, not the other way around.” – Marie le Conte “The worst thing about the BBC is that faced with the Bullingdon approach they go straight into pre-cringe, cowering mode.” – John Sweeney  “We’re seeing the Bullingdonisation of British society – where you never get caught and you never pay the consequences.” – Arthur Snell “When I met Putin his face was plastic, like one of the Autons from Doctor Who.” – John Sweeney “I thought, Oh God, I’m going to projectile vomit over Vladimir Putin.” – John Sweeney Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Marie le Conte 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

So much for Veganuary. It’s Red Meat Week, apparently, as the Government throws the BBC, migrants and their own staff under a hard right bus in order to save Boris Johnson’s flea-bitten skin. Can you pull a workable plan to slash the BBC’s funding out of Nadine Dorries’ ear and expect it to work? Will Red Wall and Blue Shires alike see through Johnson’s desperate pandering? Alex Andreou sets up the week ahead.  “Once the Emperor is naked, it’s very hard to clothe him again.” “The Conservative Party has already decided that Johnson can't go to the next elections. The only debates are who replaces him, and when?”  “I’ve never seen legislation give such a wide remit to the police. It effectively gives them carte blanche to break up any protest, of any size, anywhere.” “If we have a system that puts our politicians up for sale, then we can’t get picky about who buys influence.” Presented by Andrew Harrison. Producers: Jacob Archbold and 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

Robots make our cars, deliver our food, and soon they’ll be commonplace in our homes and at work, but what will this future look like? How will the robot-human dynamic play out? MIT researcher, expert on robot ethics and author of The New Breed Dr Kate Darling talks to Andrew Harrison about the emotional connection between human beings and life-life machines, if we’re going to face a robot rebellion, and why robots will need rights, just like animals…  “People tend to treat robots as if they’re alive, even though we know they aren’t.” “Robots pull on our heart-strings because we project ourselves and our emotions onto them.” “Sci-fi loves to create robots that look and act just like humans, but we are not at the stage that yet.” “We’re gradually starting to see robots come into our workplace and homes which is really exciting.” “I see lots of problems with integrating robots into our society, but they don’t come from robots rising up against us.” “There are videos online of robots being treated badly, and quite a strong backlash came from that.” “R2D2 is this glorified trashcan on wheels and yet they are the most loved robot ever.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercasthttps://www.penguin.co.uk/books/309/309409/the-new-breed/9780241352991.html Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. 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

Hear all the music on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunkGuitar hero, super-producer and long-suffering Arsenal fan Bernard Butler tells us about updating his People Move On album and the secret of producing bands. And TV’s Katie Puckrik joins us to talk over the BBC’s marathon Andy Warhol documentary, Years And Years’ bid for the big pop moment, and internet shaming in the remarkable Indonesian movie Photocopier.  “Football managers’ fashion sense has gone rapidly downhill…” — Bernard Butler “Andy Warhol predicted people as brands and influencers… He invented reality TV.” — Katie Puckrik “Warhol used to call his tape recorder his wife.” — Katie Puckrik “Night Call is a pop music panini: bland, smushed together and probably not that good for you.” — Katie Puckrik 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. Rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices