The Bunker – News without the nonsense

When award-winning author and journalist Evan Osnos returned home to America after a decade away, he found a nation gripped by fear and anger, with democratic norms under attack. But how did this happen? Evan talks to Dorian Lynskey about his latest book, Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury, which chronicles two decades of political fury and disfunction, from the September 11th attacks right up to the January 6th Capitol Siege, by following ordinary people in the places he grew up, as they navigate 21st century America. “There has been so much deception in U.S. politics, people discount the truth of anything.” “For most of American history, people were disadvantaged because of who they were. We’re talking about that more now.” “The effect of the pandemic has been to make more Americans at the top of society aware of those at the bottom.” “Donald Trump has not been banished from the system by any means, in fact he still holds huge sway over it.” “In trying to be bipartisan, Biden is appealing to Republican’s interests, not their sensibility.” “January 6th felt like the inevitable result of cynicism at the top of the GOP, and Trump’s time in charge.” 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

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 Sarah Cracknell of pop couturiers Saint Etienne joins us to talk over their new album I’ve Been Trying To Tell You. Plus critic John Mullen helps us dissect the new Steve Martin/Selena Gomez/Martin Short crime caper Only Murders In The Building plus new albums from Antipodean punks Amyl & The Sniffers and Art School Girlfriend, the ambient sound of Wrexham. 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 Andrew Harrison. 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

The book index might be an unassuming tool, yet it has a remarkable history - not least because it has shaped the modern world. Author, English professor and book historian Dennis Duncan talks to Alex Andreou about his latest novel Index, A History of the, which tells the remarkable story of our first search engine, from its invention (twice) in the 14th century, to preventing someone from becoming Speaker of the House, right up to our current love for Ctrl-F. “When we started to use books rather than read them, we needed to navigate them in a different way. that’s where the index came in” “An index actually prevented someone from being Speaker of the House of Commons” “It’s an unwritten rule that fiction books don’t have an index, but it hasn’t always been that way” 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 Productionhttps://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dennis-Duncan/Index-A-History-of-the/25605199 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chances are you haven’t willingly eaten an insect. But two billion people are already bugging out on this sustainable source of protein. Could insects offer the perfect solution for our post-Brexit and pandemic supply chain problems?Entomologist Brian Fisher and Imperial College London’s Dr. Tilly Collins join Ros Taylor to chew on how we can change perceptions about insects in the West, how health clinics are battling for cricket powder, and why Welsh schools are already using mealworm mince in their insect bolognaise….plus Ros and Tilly snack on crickets live in the studio.  “With big animals, we only eat a bit of them. With insects, you eat the whole thing…” – Tilly Collins “Insects are the glue that holds the world together… If we could introduce the Bacon Bug, everyone would love it.” – Brian Fisher  “Do you eat prawns? Why not eat a woodlouse?” – Tilly Collins “Eating sushi was a huge cultural change. But now it's a popular component of easy, fast food.” – Tilly Collins 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

You couldn’t make it up: the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks coincides almost perfectly with the fall of Afghanistan and the West is left wondering what it was all for. Gavin Esler, former diplomat Arthur Snell and terrorism expert Dr Maria Norris recall where they were on the day the world changed, and ask if we’ve learned the right lessons. Plus, will climate change plus conflict create a new kind of crisis in Afghanistan? And how did 9/11 change pop culture.  “We were told we’d seen the end of history. Then 9/11 happened.” – Gavin Esler “All war is about resources.” – Maria Norris “You can draw the cynical politics of the Trump era right back to 9/11.” – Arthur Snell https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Andrew Harrison with Gavin Esler and Arthur Snell. 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

Parliament returns to a family-sized party pack of Government cruelty and ineptitude: a National Insurance hike that hits the lowest-paid the hardest, an end to the £20 Universal Credit bonus for the neediest families, and an Elections Bill that makes it harder for us to vote them out. Business as usual, then. Plus: the Texas Taliban’s war on abortion, the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and where in the world is Andrew Neil? Alex Andreou starts your week.  “The message to backbenchers is, stop opposing us and we might just cancel those vaccine passports you hate.” “Cancelling the extra Universal Credit isn’t just unjust, it’s economically illiterate.”  “If I'd have said 'drink bleach, it's good for acne', I'd have been bundled into the back of a van. So why are the police ignoring COVID sceptics?” Presented and 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

What stopped Heseltine, Ken Clarke, Dennis Healey and Kinnock from taking the top slot? Why didn’t Barbara Castle become Britain’s first female PM? The Observer’s Nick Cohen talks to the political columnist and podcaster Steve Richards about his new book The Prime Ministers We Never Had… the intriguing factors that prevented these politicians from reaching power… the tragedy of the Miliband Brothers… and the alternate futures we could have seen if these flawed talents had won.  “Those with a formidable past tend not to take the crown BECAUSE of that past.” “If Heseltine had won the leadership contest in 1990, he would have redefined the Tories as a pro-EU party.”  “The Dennis Healeys and RAB Butlers were TOO good. They alienated their own parties.” “Ken Clarke used to say ‘My hobby is standing in Tory leadership contests and losing.’”  “Ed Miliband destroyed David – but David destroyed Ed too. Because Ed then lost all sense of who he was.”  https://www.patreon.com/bunkercasthttps://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Steve-Richards/The-Prime-Ministers-We-Never-Had--Success-and-Failure-from-Butler-to-Corbyn/26113646 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Middle Ages are an unloved tract of history, by turns alien and baffling – but these thousand years of violence, crisis and conquest set the foundations for our modern world in the most unexpected ways. Historian, TV presenter and journalist Dan Jones tells Alex Andreou how his new book Powers and Thrones unveils a medieval world few of us understand, the parallels between Millwall and the Middle Ages, and why Dick Whittington deserves more than his panto fame… “The real Dick Whittington was an oligarch – and a mayor in France.”  “We treat ‘medieval’ as an insult but the medieval world is not that different to our own.” “The things that animated people in the Middle Ages like climate change and plagues still animate us now.” “Unlike Empress Theodora, Dominic Cummings won't be that important in twenty years.” “The Crusades was more than a clash of civilisations – and you don’t learn that at school.”  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 https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dan-Jones/Powers-and-Thrones--A-New-History-of-the-Middle-Ages/25535694  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The sight of Michael Gove getting his rave on in Aberdeen is the only cheering moment in a week of unremitting grimness. As the collapse of Afghanistan gives way to a growing refugee crisis, why is the UK Government doing the bare minimum for those who helped us? And what will the debacle mean for relations between government and military? Plus the Pen Farthing fiasco and the tyranny of TripAdvisor.  “I am a Dog Fiend, but this Pen Farthing story made me so angry.” – Marie Le Conte “The Taliban don’t want the world looking too closely. Then they can start their culture war.” – Arthur Snell Presented by Andrew Harrison with Marie Le Conte, Yasmeen Serhan and Arthur Snell. 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

Schools are back. Will the decision not to vaccinate 12-15 year olds turn classes into superspreader factories – or do we actually want school-age kids to catch COVID and build up immunity? Plus, why the Government won’t provide the catch-up funds that education needs. What the Pen Farthing episode tells us about sentimental Britain. And the shame of Afghanistan is just beginning. Ros Taylor starts your week.  “It’s simple – the Government is pursuing de facto herd immunity by not vaccinating children.” “The problem with education goes beyond our woeful Education Secretary… We have a perfect storm of public spending” “It’s hard not conclude that some of the British public care more about a dog than they care about a brown person.” Presented and 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 ProductionSee acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices