The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Russian Oligarchs routinely use a process in English courts to silence their critics. It’s called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation or SLAPPs for short. David Hooper is a veteran lawyer and author of Buying Silence How oligarchs, corporations and plutocrats use the law to gag their critics. He’s no stranger to this expensive process and says it makes it too easy for billionaires to launder their reputation. He joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker.https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/buying-silence  “The courts seem to take the view that it’s not their fault they’re oligarchs.” – David Hooper. “The whole court process is pretty scandalous, it needs resetting.” – David Hooper. “Once the roubles were put on the table, people were perfectly happy to act for Prigozhin.” – David Hooper. Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon is so dominant that the US government wants to break it up. Jeff Bezos’s empire has been described as an e-commerce monopoly – that harms consumers, sellers and the retail landscape. Senior lecturer at Lancaster University, Dr. Renaud Foucart, joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker to find out how a US court decision could impact online shopping around the world.  “You cannot open a small business and compete with Amazon. You would need billions to even consider it.” – Dr. Renaud Foucart “There is an agreement across the US political spectrum that they need to deal with big tech monopolies.” – Dr. Renaud Foucart “Arguably, Amazon is the thing that saved the unique traditional bookshop.” – Dr. Renaud Foucart www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn. 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 UK’s housing crisis will be a pivotal issue at the next election. Labour Party politicians have laid out their plans to solve it – but can they be trusted to deliver? And what makes their policies different to the current government? Harry Scoffin is a prominent campaigner on housing and the co-founder of Commonhold Now. He joins Hannah Fearn in the Bunker. “Housebuilders are not necessarily going to get us to the promised land and if they do – it’ll come at a price.” – Harry Scoffin “If Labour gets into power and they want to do something with the greenbelt they need to act on it straight away.” – Harry Scoffin www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Hannah Fearn. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rishi Sunak has had prank calls and wake-up calls in recent days. How will he try to turn things around in the coming days? And just how badly are the Tories reacting to the by-election results? It’s a year into the PM’s tenure, could it be much worse? Plus, we look at the latest from Israel and Gaza, and concerns of wider conflict in the Middle East. Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex Andreou. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s Bunker Gold, let us take you back to August 2022…With workers on strike and services cancelled, why are Britain’s railways such a mess? And how can they be fixed? Tom Haines-Doran, research fellow at Leeds University and author of Derailed: How to Fix Britain’s Broken Railways, joins Ros Taylor to discuss the problems with the UK’s train system, and what needs to happen for our railways to get back on track.• “Once a new Prime Minister is in place we could see a lot more strike action take place.”• “The Government has deliberately shifted the cost of running the railways onto passengers.”• “It’s extraordinary the Government would put up prices 13% after a year of turmoil on the railways.”• “Railway workers really do have some power.”https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Additional sound effects from www.zapsplat.com and AlienXXX via Freesound.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the Romans to 9/11, fear has been used to influence our political landscape. But, what makes fear so potent and how does it continue to shape the world? Alex Andreou speaks to Robert Peckham, author of Fear: An Alternative History of the World, to find out if we can ever move beyond horror politics.  “Fear has been weaponized throughout history since records began.” – Robert Peckham “Fear can be used motivationally and can quickly turn into stigmatising politics.” – Robert Peckham “Liberalism became fearful. Instead of espousing a positive future, it turned defensive.” – Robert Peckham BOOK LINKhttps://profilebooks.com/work/fear/www.patreon.com/bunkercast 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

President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel was a clear indication of US support for Netanyahu's war with Hamas – but he also signalled a need for caution in the region. With the possibility of a second Trump presidency on the horizon, is the US’s hands-on approach to the Middle East sustainable? Associate professor of politics and international relations at UCL, Dr. Julie Norman, joins Chris Jones in The Bunker to look at Biden’s visit and the future of conflict in the middle east.  “The Israel Palestine is the epicentre for regional conflicts in the Middle East.” – Dr. Julie Norman “As a statesman, Trump is seen as unpredictable and that’s difficult in times of crisis.” – Dr. Julie Norman “This conflict has reaffirmed the need for stable global leadership.” – Dr. Julie Norman www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Chris Jones. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Simon Williams. 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

Russian propaganda has evolved since the invasion of Ukraine. Dr. Ian Garner, historian and author of Z Generation: Into the heart of Russia's fascist youth, joins Andrew Harrison in The Bunker to discuss Putin’s propaganda, how it has changed and why it works so well.  “They are the pioneers of multiplatform large scale disinformation.” – Ian Garner “That metaphor of ‘firehose of falsehoods’ doesn’t quite explain the scale of what Russia is doing.” – Ian Garner Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producers: Alex Rees and Liam Tait. Production Assistant: Adam Wright. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Money talks – and that’s particularly true in politics. Will we ever know where the cash that influences our politicians comes from? Seth Thévoz speaks to Peter Geoghegan, writer of the popular substack Democracy for Sale, about the shadowy organisations and flows of cash that influence our political institutions in The Bunker.  “The Tufton Street crowd is very influenced by what’s happening in the states.” – Peter Geoghegan “Labour promises to crack down on dark money have been watered down time and again.” – Peter Geoghegan Check out Peter's Substack here:https://democracyforsale.substack.comSupport us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. 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

How important is your identity to your political beliefs? Yascha Mounk, the author of The Identity Trap argues that over the past decades, a healthy appreciation for the culture has transformed into an obsession. He joins Ros Taylor in the Bunker to explain why he thinks we need to move beyond individuality for the collective good.  “I don’t think woke is a useful term.” - Yascha Mounk “There's a set of new ideas that are largely untested, but have taken on tremendous power very quickly,” - Yascha Mounk “There have been some very prominent stories of people paying high and unfair prices for speaking their mind.” - Yascha Mounk  BOOK LINKhttps://www.penguin.co.uk/books/456408/the-identity-trap-by-mounk-yascha/9780241638293 Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Liam Tait. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright Audio editor: Simon Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices