The Bunker – News without the nonsense

From Bermondsey to Zimbabwe to Moscow and beyond, PETER TATCHELL has been fighting for human rights for over 50 years… and the LGBT rights that got him pilloried by the tabloids in 1983 are now the stuff of the mainstream. As we enter the most dangerous moment for democracies since the end of WWII, what should we be fighting for – and how? Peter talks to Andrew Harrison about populism’s crisis moment, the failure of Corbynism, and how we can still follow the COVID crisis with a once-in-a-century renewal. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recorded before the Government’s announcement on support for the arts… Last Friday Naomi Smith talked to stand-up comedian and host of the Two Vegan Idiots podcast CARL DONNELLY about the battered state of comedy and the arts under the COVID onslaught. Then on Sunday Rishi Sunak announces £1.57bn of aid to the arts. Who says The Bunker doesn’t get things done, eh? Listen in as Naomi and Carl discuss what’s needed to fix crisis that has cost the arts £74bn and threatens 400,000 jobs. “The arts isn’t just left-wing comedians banging on about Nigel Farage… These venues employ thousands of people.”Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Extended culture upgrade special! Like all live music, opera has been floored by COVID-19. Can an art form that thrives on crowds and projecting your voice (and your breath) survive this game-changing crisis? Will opera houses face bankruptcy? How is the industry negotiating the nightmares of rescheduling, social distancing and insurance companies that won’t pay up? And when will audiences finally get to experience the thrill of live opera again? Alex Andreou raises the curtains on an all-star Corona Crisis special from the opera world, featuring Michael Moody, co-founder of the Grange Festival, Hampshire; Australian lyric soprano and multiple competition winner Kiandra Howarth; and National Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor John Andrews (whose Very Brief History of Opera on YouTube has been a blessing on lockdown). The music for this special edition is Kiandra performing Crepusculo at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.  “As sins go, bringing a respiratory disease to an opera festival is right up there.” “As opera buffs, we’re always dealing with tragedy…” Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GRAVE RESERVATIONS: Britain’s restaurants will unlock this weekend in a life or death moment for an industry that employs almost a million people. Will diners embrace their freedom or will FOGO keep them away? How has the COVID lockdown changed our relationship with eating out? Which restaurants will innovate their way out of trouble? And if a No Deal Brexit happens, will it all have been for nothing? The Observer’s renowned food critic JAY RAYNER joins Andrew Harrison to talk about the most momentous meals we may ever eat. Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Was Keir Starmer right to defenestrate Rebecca Long-Bailey and will this reset the DAYS SINCE LABOUR BUST-UP clock to zero? Special guest Philip Seargeant, author of The Art of Political Storytelling, explains how narrative crowded out truth in politics and what we can do about it. And what can everyone learn from Liverpool FC’s Jürgen Klopp – even if they hate football? Helen Lewis and Ahir Shah join Andrew Harrison for this week’s full-length Bunker podcast.  “The thing about the Labour Left’s anger on social media is, Twitter is what they’ve got left.” – Helen Lewis “It's hard to find models of masculinity that aren’t brittle or blokey. But Klopp is authoritative and also quite caring too.” – Helen Lewis Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is there a real free speech crisis in universities or is it just another confected Culture War squabble? With people like Amber Rudd banned from speaking simply for having been in government, is No Platform overreaching itself? And how did a bunch of defrocked Marxists end up the main advocates of a very conservative vision of free speech? British-Australian academic EVAN SMITH, author of No Platform, talks to Dorian Lynskey about the tangled roots and “mission creep” inherent in the practice of shutting people up. “Nigel Farage was exposed to the sunlight of debate pretty regularly. How well did that work out?”Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the pandemic an extinction event for news media, or a strange opportunity? Is trust in journalism really collapsing in the age of populism? And is the BBC still top of Dominic Cummings’ To Destroy list? Don of media analysts RAYMOND SNODDY – ex media editor at the Times and FT – talks to Andrew Harrison about the media’s COVID-born existential crisis.Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Immigration is the topic most guaranteed to drive good sense out of the room. Will opinions be changed by COVID’s sobering reminder of the irreplaceable work that immigrants do? Has Black Lives Matter shown us the progress we’ve made – or the progress we haven’t? And will the Government use COVID quarantine as cover for even more repressive immigration rules? MINNIE RAHMAN of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants talks to Alex Andreou about the myth of the immigrant freeloader and the unforeseen cruelties of the Hostile Environment. “Let’s face it, any migrant is just one lost document away from becoming a victim of the Hostile Environment.”  “You can’t have a two-tier system where some people can access services and some can’t. We’re only as healthy as our neighbours.” Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If shops and pubs can reopen, why can’t pools? Swimming saves the NHS and social care some £357m a year, yet the Government’s mishandling of community sport is a microcosm of its muddled approach across Coronavirus. How badly will this affect young swimmers? And how does COVID-19 fare in chlorinated water anyway? Swim England chief exec JANE NICKERSON explains as enthusiast swim fan Ros Taylor goes off the deep end.  “If we’re working on science, what makes a cinema or a pub better to open than a swimming pool?” “The children who are missing swimming lessons now could become a lost generation.” “We talk about protecting the NHS. Well keeping people fit and healthy IS protecting the NHS.”  Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you wearing your facemask? If not, WHY NOT? Plus: Has Britain’s shambolic response to COVID exposed something worse than bad leadership: a deep-seated rot in the British state itself? What’s going to happen when mass unemployment hits the sharp-elbowed, politically-engaged middle classes? And most importantly, when can we finally, finally get our highlights done? Ros Taylor welcomes Ayesha Hazarika, Nina Schick and Alex Andreou into our specially-hardened Bunker for this week’s panel show. Stay tuned for Alex’s deep-dive on anti-COVID “moustache and beard snoods” and PPE niche porn…  “There are people now who’ve only heard of older people as a burden… We wheel out our veterans and then let them drown with COVID.” – Alex Andreou “The infamous Red Wall is a blessing and a curse for Boris Johnson.” – Ayesha Hazarika “Britain needs to complain more and whinge less.” – Alex Andreou Presented by Ros Taylor. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Alex Rees. Produced by Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices