The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Sunak has a brand new immigration policy which looks just like the old one. Does anyone support it? With train strikes looming and an NHS staffing crisis, looks like we’re in for another summer of discontent. In international news, following a weekend of riots across France, we ask if President Macron has lost control. Plus updates on attacks on the Westbank and the latest on Ukraine. Arthur Snell joins Alex Andreou to map out the week ahead. “Sunak’s immigration policy is headline grabbing but won’t reduce numbers.” – Arthur Snell “The Tories immigration plan is a very simple solution to a very complex problem." – Alex Andreou  “Macron's problem is he is from the elite, so he lacks a deep understanding of social problems." – Arthur Snell  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou and Arthur Snell. Producers: Kasia Tomasiewicz and 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

Psychedelic drugs are regularly in the news as a fresh generation of scientists researches them. Who knows how they might be used in future – but, historically, how have they shaped the world already? The negatives of substance use are obvious – but what other impacts are there? From ceremonial plant medicines to the war on drugs; their cultural significance cannot be understated. Dr Kasia Tomasiewicz is joined in The Bunker by Mike Jay to discuss his new book Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind.  “If you want to know how drugs change your own perception, there’s only one way of doing it.” “Pharmacies would sell products called ‘Mrs Winslow's Soothing Syrup’ which would be full of morphine and opium.” “Magic Mushrooms were ancient and sacred, people used them for spiritual experiences for millennia.” www.patreon.com/bunkercastBook Linkhttps://yalebooks.co.uk/page/detail/psychonauts/?k=9780300257946Written 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

Washington, DC is home to the American political elite. Hordes of staff looking to make their names. Lobbyists and think tanks, all chasing a shot at success.The Trump years only intensified the culture - but has that changed the city for good or for worse?Ben Terris is a journalist for the Washington Post and the author of The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind. He joins Arthur Snell in The Bunker to discuss why DC is unlike any other American city.Find Ben Terris’ book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ben-terris/the-big-break/9781538708057/?lens=twelve “The Trump years in DC were very disorientating for everyone in DC.” – Ben Terris. “Even with Trump gone, Trumpism is here to stay.” – Ben Terris. “There are a lot of people who treat Washington DC like the new frontier, to find fame, influence, and riches.” – Ben Terris. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Arthur Snell. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. 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

The Bunker panel show returns to mark our ONE THOUSANDTH edition. Can voters wean themselves off the dark thrills of our political Age of Chaos? And what’s the long view on Trump’s legal troubles? The Guardian’s Raf Behr and US politics expert Julie Norman join Jacob Jarvis and Andrew Harrison for a special celebration edition.Exciting changes are coming in The Bunker: a new look plus new strands and music coming soon. There’s never been a better time to back us on Patreon, so sign up now for special extras: https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast/posts  “Brexit was both a revolution and a massive fraud. You only get one of those moments of energy and upheaval every generation.” – Raf Behr “This destroys all of Trump's plausible defenses.” – Julie Norman “People like to feel a sense of agency, that what they’re living through is meaningful in some kind of way.” – Raf Behr Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producers Kasia Tomasiewicz, Chris Jones and Liam Tait. Art by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The news media is driven by clicks more than ever before. Who is winning the war for online attention? Brands like Vice and Gawker initially won the race – but are old-school papers dominating the online space again now? Ben Smith is the former editor-in-chief for Buzzfeed News, runs the news outlet Semafor, and is author of Traffic: Genius, rivalry, and delusion in the billion-dollar race to go viral. He joins Jacob Jarvis in The Bunker. “If you were a journalist covering politics in the mid-’00s, the online space was really exciting.” – Ben Smith “I don’t think you were doing anything called ‘going viral’ until Twitter came along.” – Ben Smith “The NY Times really absorbed a lot of the lessons and the culture of the internet.” – Ben Smith www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by managing editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NHS has been squeezed by successive Governments. The Covid-19 pandemic only worsened the crisis, highlighting the need for Parliament to focus on fixing our health service. Dr. Julia Grace Patterson is the author of Critical: Why the NHS is Being Betrayed and How We Can Fight for it – and says that politicians are doing nowhere near enough to fix the issue. She joins Hannah Fearn in The Bunker.Find a copy of the book here: ​​https://harpercollins.co.uk/pages/critical  “Health care is, unfortunately, a deeply political area and that comes with a lot of problems.” – Dr. Julia Grace Patterson. “The way that Jeremy Hunt spoke about us in the press, we found that extremely difficult.” – Dr. Julia Grace Patterson. “It started with junior doctors, but now the government has tried to scapegoat GPs.” – Dr. Julia Grace Patterson. “Politicians approach the NHS in a very short-term-ish way.” – Dr. Julia Grace Patterson. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Hannah Fearn. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. 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

Patriotism could be the antidote to the divisions created by Brexit. Can you be a proud patriot even when you don’t agree with your country? Will patriotism ever cast off it’s sinister connotations of nationalism? Ros Taylor is joined in The Bunker by Sunder Katwala, author of How to Be a Patriot: Why love of country can end our very British culture war, to explore what British patriotism means in an increasingly globalised age.  “Dangerous patriotism is the version that says it's them or us.” “The European Identity sounds like a Whiter concept than British identity.” “People on the left have less problems with civic patriotism of cities over national identity.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Book Linkhttps://harpercollins.co.uk/products/how-to-be-a-patriot-why-love-of-country-can-end-our-very-british-culture-war-sunder-katwala?variant=40133746294862Written and presented by Ros Taylor. 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 Russian revolution ended as quickly as it started, where does this leave Putin and the war in Ukraine? Rishi Sunak’s failure to deliver his 5 key pledges could prove to be his downfall as byelections loom. Plus we’ve got the results from the Greek election, an update on Britain’s cat pupil hysteria and a review of Boris Johnson’s latest rant for the Daily Mail. Hannah Fearn joins Alex Andreou to map out the week ahead.  “If Putin can’t control the people and media what does he have left?” - Hannah Fearn “People aren’t expecting that Prigozhin will go to Belarus for a nice retirement.” - Hannah Fearn “Long mortgage rates up to retirement are worryingly common.” - Hannah Fearn "Saying 'we're not the other guys' might work to get Labour into power but won't create a mandate." - Alex Andreou  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex Andreou with Hannah Fearn. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz and 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

Edmund Burke’s principles have influenced generations of conservative thinkers and politicians. But who was this architect of modern day conservatism? Joining Seth Thévoz in The Bunker to reflect on Burke’s legacy is Richard Bourke, Professor of the History of Political Thought and author of Empire and Revolution: The Political Life of Edmund Burke.  “Burke was a defender of the right to rebel against a despotic government.” “Modern radical conservative movement looks nothing like Burke’s conservatism.” “He was a critic of the depredations of Empires, including the British Empire.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz & 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

There are more guns than people in America. How does this obsession shape US society? Gavin Esler is joined by Jennifer Carlson, author of new book Merchants of the Right: Gun Sellers and the Crisis of American Democracy, to explore the US fascination with guns, the people who are selling them, and how they shape a right -wing ideology. “There’s a feeling that you can’t rely on collective security so you need a gun.” “Gun policy is made at the state level, meaning it is very hard to regulate.”  “People compare not having a gun to not having a cell phone – it’s unimaginable.”  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Book link:https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691230399/merchants-of-the-right Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio editor: Simon Williams. 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