The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Despite all odds, Goths have continued to thrive and evolve from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Wednesday Adams. But what political and social conditions created the Goth movement? And how has the extravagant subculture survived all this time? Frontman of The Membranes and author of The Art of Darkness, John Robb, joins Alex Andreou in our extra spooky early Halloween edition of The Bunker.  “You can't create a culture darker than the way the people in power run it already.” – John Robb “Goths read books. The punk period in the late 70s nobody read books!” – John Robb “Goth was influenced by a lot of black music: disco, dub, funk is all there in goth rock.” – John Robb BOOK LINKhttps://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526173201/Support us on Patreon: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

Chinese President Xi Jinping says the future destiny of mankind relies on how well the US and China get along. But with growing tensions rising around Taiwan and military exercises becoming more frequent in the Indo-Pacific, is war just on the horizon? Oriana Skylar Mastro is a Center Fellow of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University And the author of “Upstart: How China Became a Great Power.” She joins Chris Jones in The Bunker.https://global.oup.com/academic/product/upstart-9780197695067?cc=us&lang=en&  “Beijing is unhappy with the status quo and America wants things to stay exactly the same now, forever.” – Oriana Skylar Mastro. “Beijing likes to do dangerous things, to rock the boat.” – Oriana Skylar Mastro “I think the military power the US needs to avoid war is so awesome that we might not be able to achieve it.” – Oriana Skylar Mastro. Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written, presented and produced by Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since its conception in 1993, the European Union has faced multiple political attacks and crises. But it has prevailed through it all… so far. With a convergence to right-wing populism happening around the world, can its fight to uphold democracy continue? Dermot Hodson is the author of Circle of Stars: A History of the EU and the People Who Made It and a Professor of Political Economy and Digital Technologies at Loughborough University London. He joins Alex Andreou in The Bunker to discuss how the EU endures, and of course, Brexit. “As soon as the Maastricht Treaty was signed, it was clear something was different.” – Dermot Hodson. “With every crisis we’re told it’s about to collapse.” – Dermot Hodson. “If we look at Donald Tusk’s elections it’s a minor miracle… because by many standards that was not a free and fair election.” – Dermot Hodson Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Alex Rees and 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

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