The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Ekaterina Pravilova, author of "The Ruble: A Political History," joins Seth Thévoz in The Bunker to explore what the ruble tells us about Russia. They discuss its significance in maintaining the autocratic regime, the tension between the ruble as a symbol of the state and liberty, contrasting views on the gold standard, the impact of the Russian currency crisis on the revolutions and trust, and the lessons we can learn from Russia's currency, politics, and culture.

The Bunker Panel discusses the role of museums in society, corruption in political office, and the allure of scandals. The panel explores the disappearance of artifacts from museums, the lack of security measures, and the need for repatriation. They also recommend crime thriller novel 'Ordinary Human Failings' and delve into the life of James Gilray, a renowned artist known for political satire.

Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appears to have been killed in a fatal plane crash. Just two months ago, Prigozhin was seen as a contender to Putin’s empire. What next for his forces, his legacy and the future of Russia? Chris Jones is joined in the Bunker by Dr Ian Garner, analyst of Russian culture and war propaganda to cut through the smoke and mirrors to try and work out just what has happened.  “We only know one thing for sure — a plane went down.“ "Prigozhin was trying to overturn the country, however in death he can become a war hero.” “We’ve just come to expect these wild events when discussing Russia.” 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

The race to become the leading GOP candidate has officially kicked off….or has it? Inmate P01135809, better known as Donald Trump, is already way ahead in the polls and he wasn’t even there. Instead, he opted for a half-arsed interview with Tucker Carlson hosted on Twitter. So does anything that was said during the debate matter? What were the main takeaways? And why does finishing second matter so much? Alex Andreou joins Sarah Isgur, senior editor for The Dispatch and host of the Advisory Opinions podcast, in The Bunker. “Because there was no gamechanger in this debate, it really felt like a debate where the prize was second place.” – Sarah Isgur. “If you’re a guy like Ramaswamy, who has zero name ID, people talking about you IS success.” – Sarah Isgur. “If an asteroid hits Trump tomorrow, then we’re in a totally different ball game and we almost have to start from scratch.” – Sarah Isgur. “Even though Trump wasn’t there, he absolutely defined the debate.” – Alex Andreou. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou. 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: Qur’an burnings have pushed Sweden’s terror threat to ‘high’, and we bring you the latest of Prigozhin’s plane crash. Plus, Justin Trudeau is taking on Meta and Britain owes £18 trillion in reparations for their role in the slave trade. Laura Makin-Isherwood is joined in The Bunker by Dipo Faloyin, senior editor of Global news at Vice and author of Africa is not a Country to get you up to speed on the biggest stories from around the world.  “Everyone is surprised that it took two months for Putin to ‘get’ his man.” – Dipo Faloyin “This could be an attempt by far-right groups to portray Sweden as an anti-Islamic country to delay their NATO membership.” – Dipo Faloyin “As a society we don’t understand the scale of the harm done by slavery.” – Dipo Faloyin www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Laura Makin-Isherwood with Dipo Faloyin. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Simon Williams. 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

China has big global plans – from large infrastructure projects to new economic zones across the globe. How are they funding these projects? Dipo Faloyin is joined by Zongyuan Zoe Liu, author of Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances Its Global Ambitions to follow the money behind China’s infrastructure plans and to find out what the West gets wrong.  “China’s economic success has been presented as an alternative to the Washington consensus.” “I would caution against the idea that African countries do not have the agency to make their own choices.” “Xi is very focused on self-sufficiency, which isn’t always the concern of the population.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Book link:https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674271913 Written and presented by Dipo Faloyin. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you look at the data, this government has been dreadful. But take a closer look and there’s still a chance they might turn the polls on its head. Thankfully, that chance is tiny, but it’s still a chance nonetheless. Ben Walker is a journalist for the New Statesman and has analysed the numbers to work out the reality of a Tory turnaround. He joins Marie Le Conte in The Bunker.  “There’s been elections worse than this and parties have recovered.” – Ben Walker. “The data doesn’t take into account the sentiment of the nation.” – Ben Walker. “If you look at history it’s probably 1 in 4… lower than Biden vs Trump.” – Ben Walker. “Is now the time for Labour to start pulling out its policies? Because it still has credibility issues.” – Ben Walker. “The best thing I think the Conservatives can do is lose the election now, so they can recover quicker.” – Ben Walker. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Marie Le Conte. 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.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over 1.5k Russian people and entities have been sanctioned by the UK over its illegal invasion of Ukraine. A year on, are they actually working? And could there be more to come? Mark Harrison is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick. He joins Alex Andreou in The Bunker. “Historically the difficulty of sanctions has been that the prediction of the impact of them are always overestimated.” – Mark Harrison. “Sanctions can do very little on their own, except push Russia towards more adventurism.” – Mark Harrison. “Russia will find workarounds, but we have to work to make that as costly as possible.” – Mark Harrison. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou. 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

The Lionesses didn’t manage to win the women’s world cup. Were our heads of state right not to attend? Lucy Letby has been charged with murder, how will she be sentenced? Plus, with Hurricane Hilary in the Los Angeles and wild fires in Canada, who are the tourists photographing this extreme weather?We also have an update on Donald Trump’s candidacy, the latest from the violent election in Ecuador, and the news stories you may have missed. Ros Taylor is joined by Yasmeen Serhan to give you the stories to look out for in the week ahead. “If it was a men’s tournament, wouldn’t important members of state attend?”– Yasmeen Serhan “Letby is only one of three women to get an entire life sentencing.” – Yasmeen Serhan “Trump has never played by the rules, so he doesn’t think he needs to go on Fox.” –Yasmeen Serhan Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor and Yasmeen Serhan. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. 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

Creaky pub signs, animal skulls, and empty church yards. The British countryside can be a scary place, but what does the popularity of ‘folk horror’ tell us about our politics? Writer Jude Rogers is joined by John Doran, co-founder of music website The Quietus and presenter of BBC Radio 4 New Weird Britain series, to explore the effects of films like The Wicker Man on our national psyche and what the continued appetite for eerie renderings of the countryside says about us.  “Folk horror creates an uneasy clash between the modern and the ancient.” “The unstable times we are living through are quite magical in their own horror.” “Folk horror symbology is easily co-opted by the far right.” “It’s often very conservative in suggesting that female sexuality shouldn’t be trusted.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jude Rogers. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices