The Bunker – News without the nonsense

This week on Bunker Global: After Vladimir Putin meets with Kim Jong Un – should we be worried? Plus, a series of catastrophes hit North Africa, including the earthquake in Morocco and devastating flooding in Libya. And finally, Britain is frozen out of an EU-world trade agreement.Laura Makin-Isherwood, formerly London bureau chief of Feature Story News, and Abdulkader Assad, senior political editor for The Libya Observer, join Chris Jones this week. Listen in for your need-to-know on news and politics from across the world. “Kim Jong Un is pushing a ballistic agenda.” – Laura Makin-Isherwood “The two governments in Libya have made international aid slower, there are no open communication channels.” – Abdulkader Assad “The G20 agreed on a religious paragraph, condemning acts of hatred against religion, which is a global first.” – Laura Makin-Isherwood www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Chris Jones with Laura Makin-Isherwood. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Production assistant: Adam Wright. 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

We’ve built machines to help us make decisions in all sectors of our lives – especially in government. But we don’t understand exactly what they’re capable of and how they may evolve. David Runciman is author of The Handover: How We Gave Control of Our Lives to Corporations, States and AIs. He joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker to discuss “the machinery of states” and whether AI could learn to outgrow humanity. “We’re still unsure whether these machines are going to be good for us, or kill us all.” – David Runciman “What happens if we lose control of these things?” – David Runciman “We’ve turned these machines into vast, bureaucratic engines … taking in almost every aspect of our lives.” – David Runciman “AI has been completely transformative, for better and for worse.” – David Runciman www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Being mistaken for Naomi Wolf was once a joke for acclaimed author Naomi Klein. But following the global pandemic, her doppelgänger embraced conspiracy theories and was welcomed into alt-right spheres. In an effort to understand the woman she was often mistaken for — Naomi Klein journeyed down the rabbit hole into a world of misinformation, emotional manipulation and a mirror world not quite like our own. Jude Rogers speaks to Naomi Klein, the author of No Logo, The Shock Doctrine and her latest book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World in The Bunker.  “Social media is like reading the graffiti about you on the bathroom wall. And I've read a lot of that graffiti confusing me with Naomi Wolf.”  “The corporate world has produced a playing field so rigged against consumers that mistrust and paranoia have flourished.” "My friends ask: why am I listening to Steve Bannon? And I say because he's listening to us."  BOOK LINKhttps://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453962/doppelganger-by-klein-naomi/9780241621301 www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jude Rogers. Producer: Liam Tait and Kasia Tomasiewicz. 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

Covid-19 caused chaos for a lot of us. For children and young people it completely disrupted their personal growth, in education and social settings too. Dr. Lauren Andres is a professor of planning and urban transformation at UCL. She’s studying the impact that pandemic policies put in place by governments around the world have had on young people.She joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker to discuss whether we’re dealing with a lost generation.PANEX-Youth is a two-year project, led by Prof. Andres: https://panexyouth.com/home-2/resources/  “The word we keep coming back to is trauma.” – Dr. Lauren Andres. “We need to recognise that they suffered, they were ignored, they were not the priority.” – Dr. Lauren Andres. “A lot of the play and socialisation and play moved online, and this raises a lot of issues.” – Dr. Lauren Andres. “We need to remember that pubs were opened before playgrounds… we need to think about what our priorities were here.” – Dr. Lauren Andres. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain’s prisons are under the spotlight following Daniel Khalife’s escape from HMP Wandsworth. Alex Chalk did the damage control rounds over the weekend – but does the justice secretary have more problems than this high profile debacle?Meanwhile, a parliamentary researcher was arrested under suspicion of sharing official secrets with China. What does this mean for the UK’s relationship with Beijing? Plus we look back at the key developments from the G20 conference, the latest on Ukraine — and we examine the international aid efforts following the devastating earthquake in Morocco.Jacob Jarvis is joined in The Bunker by Alex Andreou to get you prepped for the week ahead.  “Wandsworth prison is built to hold 900 inmates and it currently hosts 1600. What did they think was going to happen?” – Alex Andreou “The government is managing the country like I tidy my bedroom, putting things vaguely out of sight and not actually dealing with them.” – Jacob Jarvis  “The government is just warehousing people, whether they’re asylum seekers, students or prisoners.” – Alex Andreou www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis and Alex Andreou. 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

Following Brexit, performers are consistently losing out on opportunities to perform. How has it gotten so bad – and can the situation be resolved? Alex Andreou is joined in The Bunker by Deborah Annetts, the CEO of the Independent Society of Musicians to find out how the government could save the music industry and why they have no desire to do so. “Various select committees have begged the government to sort this mess out.”  “We won't see the results immediately but in five years time, are we going to have a thriving music industry? I very much doubt it.” "I’ve heard off the record: Why should we help you? Musicians don’t vote Tory."  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

One of Tucker Carlson’s recent interviews is with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán. In the interview Orbán called for Trump to return to the U.S. presidency, among numerous other inflammatory statements. Why is Tucker so obsessed with Hungarian politics – and how does Orbán use the media to bolster his narrative? Chris Jones is joined by journalist for 24.HU, Zsolt Kerner. “It’s ironic to see Orbán, who often says other nations shouldn’t comment on domestic politics, calling for a change in U.S. President” – Zsolt Kerner “It’s a usual play in hungarian politics, to play with preconceptions about the U.S.” – Zsolt Kerner www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written, presented and produced by Chris Jones, with special thanks to Balint Bardi. 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.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Biden is 80 and his main Republican rival Donald Trump is 77. Opponents of each are ready to use their ages against them – but will this debate matter come 2024? Writer for Vanity Fair and host of the Fast Politics podcast, Molly Jong-Fast says the age argument is a classic GOP tactic, but questions how well it will work. She joins Gavin Esler in the Bunker. “One of the things we’re not talking about enough is the power of incumbency.” – Molly Jong-Fast. “I don’t think Biden would’ve run again if he didn’t know he was the person most likely to win.” – Molly Jong-Fast. “This could be the last ever American election – can you see Trump ever leaving?” –Molly Jong-Fast. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bunker Global: The G20 is assembling in India this weekend, what can we expect from this year’s summit? Plus, we take a look at Victor Orbán’s interview with Tucker Carlson and the UAE is looking to loosen ‘gaming’ laws in their country. Could Dubai become the Las Vegas of the middle east? Chris Jones is joined by associate professor of politics and international relations at UCL, Julie Norman, and Hungary-based journalist Zsolt Kerner, to get you up to speed on the biggest stories from around the world. "A large proportion of the UAE's population are not citizens. The teachings of the Quran aren’t a priority to them.” —Julie Norman "Most Hungarians believe that the US can do whatever it wants for its own gain.” — Zsolt Kerner "India is uniquely placed to bring other countries in the G20 together.” — Chris Jones  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Chris Jones with Julie Norman and Zsolt Kerner. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Production Assistant: Adam Wright. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Special thanks to Balint Bardi. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inflation is one of the hot political topics at the moment. Jeremy Hunt says that keeping inflation at five per cent is putting money in the pocket of the average Brit... So we figured it was time to provide a cheat-sheet on inflation knowledge, just in case the Chancellor of the Exchequer needs a judgement-free refresher. Alex Andreou sits down with Giles Wilkes, senior fellow at the Institute for Government, to explain everything you need to know about inflation. “High inflation is the clearest sign that you've got something really wrong.” “The BoE thinks they need to raise interest rates in order to cut purchasing power.” “Inflation is all of the prices going up at once rather than some for their own idiosyncratic reasons.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou. 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