The Bunker – News without the nonsense

It’s the local elections this week – just how bad does it look for Rishi Sunak? As general election rumours swirl, he’s going to be crossing everything in the coming days… And there was the no confidence vote in Scotland lined up – but it’s been reported Humza Yousaf will quit before it happens. Plus, Trump’s trial continues – will he contain his rage as it rolls on? Then finally we turn to Gaza and look at the latest in terms of ceasefire talks. All that and more in Start Your Week, with Ros Taylor and Jacob Jarvis.   • “Sunak wants to give the impression that the Rwanda deportations will happen and that no legal issues will get in the way” – Ros Taylor  • “Calling an election for July might actually be advantageous for Sunak.” – Ros Taylor  We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.  Support us on Patreon. Written and Presented by Jacob Jarvis with Ros Taylor. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. ENDS  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Silicon Valley presents itself as a haven for tech start-ups wanting to change the world for the better. But, beneath the facade, it has a serious fraud problem. Why do tricksters thrive among the geniuses? Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX crypto exchange is the latest high-profile example – but he’s far from being the first tech start-up founder to wind up in jail. Erin Griffith is a reporter for the New York Times specialising in tech and finance – and joins Chris Jones in The Bunker to discuss this dark phenomenon. • “When there’s a lot of free money going around, that’s going to attract a lot of people to exploit that.” – Erin Griffith• “The venture capital investors who are backing these companies are sophisticated… but there’s also an element of FOMO because there are only so many startups that might be the next Facebook.” – Erin Griffith• “I’m not sure anything is changing apart from some of these charges for fraud that are now being prosecuted in criminal court.” – Erin GriffithWe are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored creditSupport us on Patreon.Written, presented and produced by Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Conservative Party was once a unified force, able to steadily maintain power. But today’s Tories are in constant turmoil. How did they become the party of chaos? Since Brexit there’s been a revolving door of leaders, the rise of tribalism within the party and a series of humiliating byelection losses. Alex Andreou is joined by professor of politics at Queen Mary University Tim Bale to try and understand this shift in conservative politics.   • “Everything that top Tories say needs to be considered as part of their future leadership contest.” – Tim Bale • “Without Brexit, we wouldn't have seen the turmoil that we've seen over the last decade.”  – Tim Bale  We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.  Support us on Patreon. Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Instagram | Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The prospect of a new Civil War in the United States is increasingly discussed as political turmoil rips through America. How could such a conflict actually break out? Rob Hutton is joined by The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future author Stephen Marche to discuss the terrifying new film Civil War – and how the reality could be even worse.   • “Civil wars when they come are the very worst things that can happen to a country. In England, the civil war demonstrated a level of brutality that is now unthinkable to us.” – Stephen Marche  • “It’s so dangerous right now, not because the people are inherently violent, but because for those people to get power, they need hatred to get them there.” – Stephen Marche  Buy The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.  We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.  Support us on Patreon.    Written and presented by Rob Hutton. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson and artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Union Jack represents many things for many people, linked to historical pride – but also shame. And, unfortunately, it’s become somewhat synonymous with the political Right. So what is Labour’s relationship with the flag? Andrew Harrison asks The People's Flag and the Union Jack: An Alternative History of Britain and the Labour Party co-author Gerry Hassan if Labour can reclaim Britishness.   • “I don’t think anyone in the UK can be completely objective about the Union Jack. Flags are things we have emotional connections with. The Union Jack’s meaning has evolved over centuries.” – Gerry Hassan • “Lots of people say we have to either identify and feel pride in it, or loathe it – but it’s important we allow for a polarity of meanings.” – Gerry Hassan • “In our current age of culture wars, symbols really matter. And symbols like national flags are highly contested.” – Gerry Hassan • “Flags are part of who we are as human beings.” – Gerry Hassan   Buy The People's Flag and the Union Jack: An Alternative History of Britain and the Labour Party through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.  We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.  Support us on Patreon   Written and presented by Podmasters Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson and artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sunak has lost another MP after Mark Menzies announced he’s leaving the Tories and won’t stand at the next election. What issues does this raise for the PM? Meanwhile, the Tory leader is set to head to Poland to discuss the Ukraine war with Donald Tusk. What will they talk about? Plus, will Israel go ahead with further strikes on Rafah? And can Donald Trump manage to stay awake during his hush money trial this week? Alex Andreou joins Ros Taylor to discuss the week ahead.   • “They were happy to comment on an ongoing investigation last week, life comes at you fast.” – Alex Andreou  • “The lack of any kind of compromise is part of the reason why the Lords have dug their heels in. The government has made absolutely no moves to meet them even 2% of the way, they’ve just flatly turned everything down.” – Alex Andreou • “The legislative process shouldn’t be one of trying to ram things through a House that dislikes them.” – Alex Andreou   We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit  Support us on Patreon Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Alex Andreou. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We know what happened the last time Donald Trump lost – and Joe Biden wants to make sure he’s prepared for more shenanigans this time out. If Trump doesn’t win “he is willing to cheat and steal it,'' writes today’s guest Adam Rawnsley, reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. He joins Jacob Jarvis in The Bunker to discuss how President Biden is preparing for an electoral tussle with the GOP.• “The one message we keep seeing from the polls is that no one is excited for this race.” – Adam Rawnsley• “We have a uniquely dim system … the electoral college.” – Adam RawnsleyWe are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored creditwww.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vladimir Putin has a tight grip on information in Russia. How does he shape how his nation sees the rest of the world? And how does he actually perceive other countries? Chris Jones asks Dr. Ivan Grigoriev, lecturer in Russian politics at the King’s Russia Institute.   • “Propaganda in Russia is like a steamroller that keeps rolling over and over the population.” - Dr. Ivan Grigoriev • “Russia’s election went just how we thought it would: It was an 87% landslide election for Vladimir Putin. And the primary goal of this election was to show that if Putin wants 87%, he will get 87%.” - Dr. Ivan Grigoriev   We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast   Written and presented by Chris Jones. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paris is like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it. But it’s changing. Physically, through massive expansions in social housing and transport and a €40bn shot of investment, but also politically and psychologically. People are even smiling in the streets these days. Ros Taylor talks to Simon Kuper, Financial Times columnist and author of Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century, about how the French capital is transforming in the lead up to this year’s Olympics. • “One thing that globalisation does is it removes these weird localities – and in Paris, that locality was rudeness.” – Simon Kuper• “Paris is trying to become London with the bad bits left out.” - Simon Kuper Buy Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.www.patreon.com/bunkercast   Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson and artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Instagram | Twitter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Political drama can be tedious but we can all enjoy watching a bitter rivalry unfold. What have been the greatest personal beefs in British politics? Before Starmer and Sunak there was Thatcher and Heath, Blair and Brown, Cameron and Johnson. Seth Thévoz talks Andrew Harrison through some of the ultimate Westminster head-to-heads.  • “When the personal overrides the principle, that’s when it becomes a problem. It’s a weak spot if you’re trying to bring down a person and not forward a cause.”  • “There are tales of Brown yelling at Blair, ‘You ruined my life!’”  We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit .Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices