The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Are humans really driven by desire for power, money, sex and comfort – or is something even deeper at play? Beneath greed, acquisitiveness, and even altruism and self-sacrifice is an even more fundamental motivation, says science writer Will Storr: the scramble for status. He tells Andrew Harrison about his new book The Status Game: On Social Position And How We Use It, and the hidden social systems that program us to perform acts of great benefit to our fellows, deeds of heroism… and some of the most infamous crimes in human history.  “We're a tribal animal. And once we’ve connected with our tribe, the jostling for position begins.” “The brain’s basic rule is ‘connect with people and go for status’.” “Morality is just a way we play for status.” “Humans are at their worst when they’re deprived of status.” “Even people who complain about virtue signalling are virtue signalling themselves.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercasthttps://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Will-Storr/The-Status-Game--On-Social-Position-and-How-We-Use-it/25325652 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

COVID has transformed the way we work. But not everyone’s a winner, especially women, with many in jobs that make working from home is impossible, undertaking twice as much unpaid overtime, or being pushed back into the office at risk of potential pay cuts. So what can be done to support working women? Naomi Smith talks to Maya Jeyabraba and Rose Lasko-Skinner from DEMOS, who have just published Distanced Revolution, a report all about how COVID caused a revolution in home working - and what needs to happen next. “Lots of people were excited about the flexibility without recognising the risks of working from home.” - Rose Lasko-Skinner “Flexible working can help with levelling up. But that too needs a legislative framework.” - Rose Lasko-Skinner “Even before the pandemic, women were taking on the second shift at home.” - Maya Jeyabraba Presented by Naomi Smith. 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 https://demos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Distanced-Revolution.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As gas prices soar and energy providers go out of business, is Britain heading for another winter of discontent? Plus, how is the Republic of Ireland finding Brexit? Is there any sympathy for the UK in Brussels? Tony Connelly, Europe editor for Irish state broadcaster RTE, joins us to discuss. And are the French right to be angry about the new AUKUS alliance? “On gas providers the Government sounds like Lord Farquaad, ‘some of you may die”' - Marie Le Conte “Europe is worryingly dependent on Russian Gas, and that is all part of a big geopolitical game” - Tony Connelly “It doesn’t matter how political you are, if the pound in your pocket gets you less, people will be angry” - Marie Le Conte “The entire UK political system did not understand the gravity of leaving the single market” - Tony Connelly “There is little sympathy in Brussels and Dublin for this idea that the UK was bullied” - Tony Connelly Presented by Alex Andreou with Marie Le Conte and Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. 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

As Johnson and Truss head stateside, what will their New York trip mean for the UK’s environment strategy? Could AUKUS prove awkward at the international dinner table? And: why have so many people stopped wearing their COVID face coverings? Ros Taylor and Yasmeen Serhan chew on the new cabinet appointments, gas shortages, and the Great British Bake Off stars to watch. •  “A lot of Johnson's New York trip is about making COP26 a success.” - Yasmeen Serhan•  “The AUKUS is a direct challenge to China, but it seems to have angered the French the most.” – Yasmeen Serhan•  “Wearing masks is such a small thing that we can all do to cut transmission.” - Yasmeen Serhan Presented by Ros Taylor and Yasmeen Serhan. 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

Nuclear anxiety was an everyday emotion in the 1980s, sparking atomic pop culture and peace camps across the world. September 2021 marks 40 years since the RAF Greenham Common protests, when a handful of Welsh women left their homes to march against the arrival of US nuclear warheads at the base in Berkshire. Professor Jane Holgate and Stephanie Davies, author of Other Girls Like Me, are both former Greenham women. They tell Ros Taylor about their time at the camp, why Greenham was a vital space for women, and what’s next for the anti-nuclear movement.   “We came for the peace, and we stayed for the feminism.” - Stephanie Davies “You could break UK law to prevent a greater crime. I was trying to protest apartheid in another country,” - Stephanie Davies “Horrible, smelly lesbians was a phrase used against Greenham women.” - Jane Holgate “People supported the peace movement and getting rid of the missiles. But as women, we were seen as part of the threat.” - Stephanie Davies “A lot of women left the camp because they feared losing custody of their children.” - Jane Holgate 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 http://binkbooks.bedazzledink.com/books/books-n/other-girls-like-me/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear the music from every edition on our rolling playlist. Welcome to the debut of our new weekend pop culture roundtable, as the podcast formerly known as Bigmouth joins The Bunker. This week, special guest Dan Gillespie Sells, composer of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie joins us to talk over the musical’s transition to Amazon Prime film. Critic Michael Hann helps us unpack Sex Education Series 3 on Netflix, and The North Water. Plus friend of the podcast Naomi Smith joins to share her pick of the horror flicks out in cinemas now.  "Pop music is something you have on when you're dropping the kids off swimming. Writing for musical theatre is very different." - Dan Gillespie Sells. "Drag queens are superheroes." - Alex Andreou. "When I came out, I wore a white wedding dress and sang Don't Cry for Me, Argentina in the town square." - Alex Andreou. "Sex Education is for people to reminisce about the sex they didn't have as teenagers." - Michael Hann. Because of licensing issues we’ll have to use fewer music clips than usual in the main release – but Patreon people, rest assured you’ll get “a few extras” in this version. And all the music is on The Culture Bunker’s rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunkProduced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Alex Andreou. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickenson. Bigmouth is a Podmasters production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If Apple Inc. was an economy, it would be the eighth largest in the world. But facing huge lawsuits across the world, it is finally starting to encounter the weight of its success. Has the company abused its market monopoly position in tightening its technological grip? Alex Andreou talks to Brooke Masters, Chief Business Correspondent at the FT, and Reuters Tokyo’s Tim Kelly about big tech battles in India, Japan, and South Korea…and why Epic has merely taken a byte out of the Apple Store. “Apple generally has a principle that whatever it does applies globally.” - Brooke Masters “The revenue from Apple's App Store is a huge source of revenue for the company.” - Brooke Masters “Technology has moved on, but the law hasn't moved as fast.” - Tim Kelly “Apple's business model is to keep people in their universe and buying stuff.” - Brooke Masters “If Apple is the subject of anti-trust action, then what does that mean for Google?” - Tim Kelly 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

Parties are the engines of democratic politics. But they also pit us apart as people and polities. So what are the new ways of political polarization, and what can we do to tackle them? Alison Goldsworthy, CEO of the Depolarization Project and former Lib Dem deputy chair, and behavioural scientist Alexandra Chesterfield are two of the authors of Poles Apart and the brains behind the Changed My Mind podcast. They talk to Ros Taylor about deconstructing confirmation bias, why facts and stats can cause unintentional polarization - and how Jewish family dinners helped deradicalize a member of the KKK… “Polarisation isn't always about the extremes. It's about how radically you hold on to your identity.” - Alison Goldsworthy. “It makes us feel psychologically uncomfortable, even pained, to change our minds.” – Alexandra Chesterfield. “Reputationally, it doesn't fit the perception of a leader to be inconsistent.” – Alexandra Chesterfield. “In this government, people are promoted on the basis of loyalty, not talent.” - Alison Goldsworthy. “The odds are that you change your opinions based on feelings and allegiances, not facts.” - Alison Goldsworthy. “There's an awful lot you can hold Nick Clegg and the coalition government responsible for. The decision to hold a referendum is not one of them.” - Alison Goldsworthy. “We saw a member of the KKK, exposed to so-called scientific education, changed his mind.” – Alexandra Chesterfield. 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 https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1119814/poles-apart/9781847942951.html https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/changed-my-mind-a-republicans-journey-to-backing-criminal-justice-reform/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we brace ourselves for “permanent” shop shortages and price hikes, we hear from lorry driver and transport expert Tom Reddy and Food and Drink Scotland’s James Withers on what’s behind the HGV driver shortages. Plus: how did hapless Education Secretary Gavin Williamson get to where he is today, and what does it take to make a sporting hero? And from the States, Joanna Walters unpacks Texas’ constitutional battle over abortion. "The margins in hauling are next to nothing." - Tom Reddy "I'm only 36, and I'm already tired of lorry driving. Nothing is changing in the conditions of the job." - Tom Reddy "Eastern European lorry drivers work a lot harder than we do." – Tom Reddy "It suits Boris Johnson to have an Education Secretary like Gavin Williamson - someone who won't slag him off, or make him look incompetent." - Ayesha Hazarika "We always think of Texas as being solidly Republican. But the game is still in play." - Justin Quirk "I still think Gareth Southgate should be Prime Minister." - Ayesha Hazarika "Women's sports is only now coming anywhere near gender parity." - Ayesha Hazarika https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Ros Taylor with Justin Quirk and Ayesha Hazarika. 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

As the Government pushes ahead with plans to vaccinate children, is their COVID strategy only guided by the science when convenient? Plus: could Emma Raducanu’s stunning US Open success strike back against Priti Patel’s oppressive immigration policies? Alex Andreou and Arthur Snell unpack Afghanistan’s new cabinet, whether the latest lobbying scandals will affect Johnson’s rumoured cabinet reshuffle, and what Westminster will do to quell Sturgeon’s demands for Scottish independence. “We may be vaccinating people to protect them from catching COVID, not to stop them getting seriously ill from it.” - Alex Andreou. “If you've already clearly broken the ministerial code and gotten away with it, it will give you a green light to go ahead with it.” - Arthur Snell.  “17 out of the 33 members of the Taliban cabinet are on the UN Sanctions list.” - Arthur Snell.  Presented by Alex Andreou and 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