The Bunker – News without the nonsense

The United Nations was founded to help maintain international peace and security. The Security Council in particular is supposed to uphold those pledges. But its power and influence is dwindling. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a looming war over Taiwan and unrest in Africa is some proof of that. So what can it do to regain the power it has lost, and is there still a place in the world for the UN? Richard Gowan is the UN Director of Crisis Group in New York. He sits down in The Bunker with Ros Taylor.  “I don’t think it's fair to say the UN as a whole has failed Ukrainians, but the Security Council certainly has.” – Richard Gowan “Taiwan is the potential crisis that could blow up the Security Council that no one ever talks of.” – Richard Gowan “The general assembly is a great big circus.” – Richard Gowan Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. 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

Following a weekend of brutal attacks on Israel, the prospect of a ground invasion of Gaza looms. We take a look at Hamas’s actions, how Netanyahu will respond, and the international reaction to the violence. Plus, we preview the Labour Conference as Starmer and his team present their views for the future of the country. How will Starmer’s speech stand up to Sunak’s?Jacob Jarvis is joined in The Bunker by Alex Andreou to get you prepped for the week ahead.   “It will be tricky for Netenyahu to balance the calls for revenge with international pressure to be measured.” – Alex Andreou “It’s impossible to predict how this situation will play out.” – Jacob Jarvis “Starmers speech will not be a barrage of promises, it will be about his values.” – Alex Andreou “Bring back boring politics.” – Jacob Jarvis Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis and 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

In this week’s Bunker Gold we revisit an out of this world episode from May 2022…As scientists seek extraterrestrial life, what would we do if we actually found it? How would we manage first contact, and could we even communicate with aliens? Franck Marchis, a senior planetary astronomer from the SETI Institute, unpacks the prospect with Andrew Harrison – and the idea aliens might already know we’re here, but we’re too boring for them to care. “The most important question is intelligent life.” “This discovery will not be a big surprise for a lot of humans on this planet.” “If we find a civilisation slightly more advanced to us, maybe 100 years, they may be much more intelligent in terms of technology.” “We may not see them because perhaps their technology is invisible to us.” Support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Assistant Producer: Elina Ganatra. Audio production by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From PM’s holidaying at Chequers to the salacious escapades of Downton Abbey, country houses hold a special place in the public imagination. While these very big houses in the country are often considered to be relics of the past, their influence looms over modern politics. Dr. Kasia Tomasiewicz speaks to Professor Kate Retford, head of school of historic studies at Birbeck University, to find out how these country homes guide our political climate.  “The relationship between the country house and politics goes back for centuries.”  “I'm not sure how many people would really like to live in one of these places.” "We can use these properties to tell some of the stories from history that they may not know."   Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Kasia Tomasiewicz . 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

Country music and political statements often go hand in hand. And many artists find success by charging their songs with political messages – Jason Aldean’s controversial single ‘Try That in a Small Town’ being a recent example. Jonathan Bernstein is a senior research editor at Rolling Stone and joins Dorian Lynskey in The Bunker to discuss the complicated relationship between country music and politics. “It’s never a good sign when an artist is accused of releasing a pro-lynching song.” – Jon Bernstein “I think Oliver Anthony was thrown into a whirlwind of craziness.” – Jon Bernstein “The history of it is very complex … but certainly country music is tied to Southern Whiteness in this country.” – Jon Bernstein Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. 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

In this week’s Bunker Global, Seth Thévoz is joined by Bradley Hope, the author of The Rebel and The Kingdom, to discuss the totalitarian state of North Korea and the unlikely rebels leading the charge against Kim Jong Un.  “North Korea can publicly strike and kill people in the most bone chilling way.”  “We should be grateful that people take risks to show us the truth. Some just go too far.” "Pyongyang feels like an alien world compared to London or New York."  BOOK LINK: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690147/the-rebel-and-the-kingdom-by-bradley-hope/Support 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

Funding for Ukraine has become a point of contention among the GOP. The Freedom Caucus, led by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, has pushed against money to help the nation’s war effort – and this was excluded in a recent budget bill, in order to facilitate a deal. How did the Republican caucus get here, and how far are they willing to go?Andrew Harrison is joined by associate professor of politics and international relations at UCL, Dr. Julie Norman, to explain the complicated situation unfolding in the US. “This won’t make or break things for Ukraine in the coming weeks” – Julie Norman “It’s hard to read into what Trump would do with foreign aid if he gets back into power." – Julie Norman “There are many Republicans who are not only supporting Ukraine, but think Biden should be doing more” – Julie Norman Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast This week's sponsor is the Disorder Podcast - listen here: https://linktr.ee/disorderpodWritten and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producers: Liam Tait and Jade Bailey. Production assistant: Adam Wright. 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 is no stranger to getting political decisions wrong – especially in foreign policy. Broadcaster and author Steve Richards, of Rock & Roll Politics, writes in his new book Turning Points that the decisions made by post-war leaders are often bewildering but also intensely complicated. He joins Gavin Esler in The Bunker for a very honest discussion on why that is. “It seems to me with Britain – it reaches turning points and fails to turn.” – Steve Richards “Eden went mad almost over Suez… the attacks he got were far more intense than Blair over Iraq.” – Steve Richards “The UK is in as much of a mess now as it was post-Suez… it’s deeply depressing.” – Steve Richards Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. 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 infected blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s saw almost 5,000 people in the UK contract HIV or hepatitis C due to contaminated NHS blood products. Over 2,800 have died and tens of thousands of lives have been affected, yet no organisation or individual has ever been held to account. Ros Taylor is joined by Caroline Wheeler, the political editor of the Sunday Times and author of the new book Death in the Blood: The inside story of the NHS infected blood scandal.Death in the Blood: https://www.hachette.com.au/caroline-wheeler/death-in-the-blood-the-most-shocking-scandal-in-nhs-history-from-the-journalist-who-has-followed-the-story-for-over-two-decades “This all happened at a time when HIV was poorly understood, there was no effective treatment. It was extremely taboo.” – Ros Taylor “At the very moment this family needed all the support and all the care they deserved, they only received ridicule and mockery.” – Caroline Wheeler “It wasn’t until the late 80s until the general public were educated about how AIDS was spread.” – Caroline Wheeler “People are still dying, at the rate of one every four days. Two of the ten characters in this book died as it was being written.” – Caroline Wheeler Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Liam Tait. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright. 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

Rishi Sunak is having a grim time up north as the Tories gather in Manchester for their annual conference. As the PM attempts to put crowd pleasing policies forward (and not mention HS2), the race to replace him has already started. In world news, we look at the U.S. after it narrowly avoided a government shutdown, the latest on Ukraine — and finally, a slow burning financial crisis in China. Jacob Jarvis is joined in The Bunker by Alex Andreou to get you prepped for the week ahead.   “Sunak was chancellor for two years before he was PM, he only looked at HS2 now?” – Alex Andreou “Labour basically have to look a bit less shi*t than the Tories to win conference season.” – Jacob Jarvis  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis and 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