The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside. Don’t we? Places like Blackpool, Jaywick and Skegness are among the poorest areas of the UK. Yet other resorts are so desirable that property-owners can afford to keep them empty for most of the year and rake in the profit from renting them out in summer. Madeleine Bunting, author of The Seaside: England’s Love Affair, tells Ros Taylor about her odyssey around the English coast, the threat posed by sewage discharges, and the special affection she holds for Brighton — a town where anything can seem possible. “There are still huge reserves of affection for seaside towns.” “People flock to seaside towns because they think that is where they can start again.” “There’s a hedonism to the seaside. It has always been about indulging fantasy.’ “The Essex coastline is fascinating, and often gets overlooked.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Producer and 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

Labour’s attack ads against Sunak put targeted political advertising back in the spotlight. But the Tories have done more than their fair share of online attack ads too – not least to win over the public to *cough* Brexit. Have they gone too far? And how do we moderate what goes online? Alex Andreou talks to Kyle Taylor, founder of Fair Vote UK and author of The Little Black Book of Data and Democracy. “When social media emerged we thought it would be this public town square. The reason it’s been so successful is because it’s the exact opposite.” - Kyle Taylor “The thing about political ads is you do want more people to vote for you, but you only want to tell each box what they want to hear.” - Kyle Taylor “Taking things for granted in the digital age is a fool's errand.” - Kyle Taylor. Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been a bit of a week over in the US. First, after Fox News paid out almost $1 billion to Dominion, Tucker Carlson left the network. After that Biden announced he’d be running for president again, albeit slowly. And then if that wasn’t enough, Carlson released a pretty profound statement about his departure on Twitter. Hoping to unpack it all is Julie Norman, co-director of UCL’s Centre on US Politics. She joined Jacob Jarvis in the Bunker. “Tucker Carlson has been controversial for a while but through all of that his viewings were super high, the highest in cable news.” “One person that would maybe challenge Trump would be Tucker Carlson.” “Biden knows he’s going to get hit from the right as a big spender.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis Producer: Chris Jones. Music and Audio production: Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

China’s relationship with Europe is…difficult. But some leaders, like Emmanuel Macron, see China as a conduit for peace in Ukraine. But can Europe really trust China to negotiate with Russia? Philippe Le Corre, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, sat down with Alex Andreou to discuss just that.  “The current situation, which is close to a cold war you might say, will not bring China closer to the West.”  “Whenever you talk to Chinese officials they will tell you that China is growing; you better get used to it.”  “It’s unacceptable for China to say this is not our war, we have nothing to do with this.”  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Producers: Liam Tait and Chris Jones. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Public trust in the Met Police is at a nadir – with a raft of scandals and crimes involving serving officers having shook faith in the force. What’s gone wrong and can it ever win back the confidence of those it is meant to serve? Ros Taylor spoke to Kathryn Farrow, a doctoral student at Oxford University, who has studied the way British police forces work, to find out. “Officers do need to have a certain amount of discretion but the flip side of that is there’s often a lack of accountability.” “Especially in frontline policing, it’s not rare for officers to be off with stress.”  “I'm not sure to what point they will be able to recover that trust, they will have to show that they’ve changed.”  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NHS reels from crisis to crisis, with a waiting list of seven million and chronic workforce shortages. Why is it so hard to change a service that clearly isn’t working? David Haslam, a former GP who has chaired NICE and the BMA and is the author of Side Effects, tells Ros Taylor that a focus on hospital treatment means that public health and end-of-life care are shamefully neglected.  “It’s almost as if we’ve designed the health service based on the interests of specialists.’ “If you stay with the same GP over many years you have fewer hospital admissions, reduced out of hours care and a lower rate of early death. If that was a drug, we’d have invested in it massively.” “I find it completely extraordinary that hospices are generally funded as charities. We’d be up in arms if our maternity units were only funded by charity shops.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer and audio editor: Jade Bailey. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. 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

The Kremlin has convinced many of Russia’s young people that its invasion of Ukraine is just. In fact, about 62 percent of Russians between the ages of 18 and 24 have shown approval, according to the Levada Center. But how has Putin curated this young generation of fascists? Dr Ian Garner, author of Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia's Fascist Youth, speaks to Arthur Snell to dig into exactly that.  “What you’re going to find is that you have a generation of children that believe violence is normal.” “These are teenagers, like what you may know at home, who are just teeangers who want to fit in.”  “What the state does is punt out certain materials into the social media world and then just lets people run with them.”  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Arthur Snell. Producer: Chris Jones. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dominic Raab finally resigned (definitely all his own choice) – what does it mean next for Sunak’s clown car Government? In Labour, Diane Abbott has had the whip removed – will she stand as an independent? Plus we bring international news from Sudan and Ukraine. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Arthur Snell to give you the stories to look out for this week. “Johnson didn’t believe in any standards, whereas you could argue Sunak has a miniscule level.” “The Tories are quickly resembling a clown car.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Jacob Jarvis with Arthur Snell. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luke Turner, author of "Men at War: Loving, Lusting, Fighting, Remembering 1939-1945," joins Kasia Tomasiewicz to discuss the sexual revolution during WWII. They explore the overlooked experiences of queer men and the importance of understanding the complexities of love and sexuality during wartime. They also touch on the repression of sexuality in Britain and the need to embrace historical figures in their depth and complexity.

Lobbying is a key way in which politicians and pieces of legislation are influenced in the United States. But who exactly are these mysterious figures trying to manipulate people in power? How do they work – and what do they want? Jacob Jarvis joined by Amy McKay, associate professor of political science at the University of Exeter, whose work focuses on the influence of outside interests on public policy.www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented and produced by Jacob Jarvis. Music by Jade Bailey. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices