The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Andy Burnham has thrived after switching Westminster for Manchester as a mayor. And he has high hopes for the North harnessing its voice more in the future. The Labour mayor of Greater Manchester spoke with Andrew Harrison about boosting regions outside of London, and dealing with names and not numbers in his role.  “You look at things through different eyes. You can deal with names not numbers.”  “Before these mayors in regions, where did people complain? People at least have one person to complain to.”  “Having made all these promises to the north, they were very quickly in default mode.”  “If you go with the rules of Westminster, in the end people don’t know who you are.”  “We’re building the answer for more places to set their own course.”  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Andrew Harrison. 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

Strikes are going to go on and on as the Government continues not to strike deals with unions. Will this situation ever be resolved? And further afield, fatal clashes continue to break out in Sudan – what’s unfolding? Hannah Fearn joins Ros Taylor to lay out the news for the week ahead.  “The way people feel about the strikes is not following the usual pattern at this point.” – Hannah Fearn “For anyone who hoped the strikes were going away, we are moving to a summer and autumn of discontent.” – Ros Taylor Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Ros Taylor with Hannah Fearn. Produced by Jacob Jarvis with Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. 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

Space – the final frontier, and the next political battleground? As nations compete for dominance and resources, Andrew Harrison is joined by Tim Marshall, author of The Future of Geography: How Power and Politics in Space Will Change Our World, to discuss how this might go beyond the confines of earth. “I was going to say the world is our oyster, but the universe is.” “If one country controls low earth orbit… they would be the gatekeeper of who could go out into space and beyond.” “The space industry will be worth a trillion dollars before 2030.” Pre-order The Future Of Geography here. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producers: Kasia Tomasiewicz and Liam Tait. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Alex Rees. 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

The Federal Reserve has a huge sway over the US economy – and therefore the world’s. But as well as financial clout, it also has a massive political impact. How does it run – and how do its actions impact us all? Alex Andreou is joined by Larry Jacobs, co-author of Fed Power: How Finance Wins and professor at the University of Minnesota, to discuss for The Bunker USA.  “It’s serving the interests of finance and working separate from democratic accountability.”  “The key thing to remember is it is its own operation. It stands alone with its autonomy.”  “It is not beholden to Congress. It doesn’t rely on Congress for any appropriation. Its officials have tremendous latitude.”  “The magnitude of its intervention is quite remarkable.”  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Alex Andreou. Music by Jade Bailey. Audio production: Alex Rees. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When did we all start wanting to invest in stock and shares? And who were the winners and losers of the investment boom? Dr Amy Edwards, senior lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Bristol and author of Are We Rich Yet?: The Rise of Mass Investment Culture in Contemporary Britain, tells Ahir Shah about how our lives changed forever in the 1980s as investment became a way of life rather than something you do. “Investment culture didn’t begin with Thatcher, but it really took off in the 1980s.” “Our entire culture changed with privatisation.” “There was a huge explosion in investment cowboys.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercasthttps://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520385467/are-we-rich-yetPresented and written by Ahir Shah. Audio production by Alex Rees. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The KGB is one of the most notorious intelligence agencies of all time. Though long defunct, how did this Soviet network warp the world we live in today? Seth Thévoz is joined by Mark Hollingsworth, author of Agents of Influence: How the KGB Subverted Western Democracies. “The myth of the KGB being brilliant intelligence gatherers is largely exaggerated.”  “There was a game between the KGB and MI5 over what was really happening.”  “It was about planting doubt, sowing seeds of doubt, to weaken the United States.”  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Seth Thévoz. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Birmingham plays a key role in the Tory imagination – something that might shock some of its 1.1 million inhabitants. So what is the relationship between the Conservatives and Britain’s Second City? Marie Le Conte is joined by Richard Vinen, professor of history at King’s College London and author of Second City: Birmingham and the Forging of Modern Britain, to unpack the myth and memory behind this Tory spiritual home.   “You don’t have to like it to recognise how important Birmingham is.”  “Birmingham grew the most under Tony Blair – it’s a very New Labour city.” “The Tories have far less of a relationship with Birmingham than they think.”  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Marie Le Conte. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer: Jacob Jarvis. Bunker music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keir Starmer is staying on the attack while Sunak faces more strike conundrums with junior doctors staging a mass walkout. Is the Government going to resolve these issues – or just try to distract? Plus, we discuss the latest from Ukraine, protests in Georgia and Xi’s posturing over Taiwan. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex Andreou to tee up the week ahead.  “If [the right] can character assassinate you online, why should you have to play nice?” – Alex Andreou “Junior doctors came out of the pandemic and the government said ‘sorry, applause is all you get’” – Alex Andreou  “I can’t see Steve Barclay being the person qualified to fix this” – Jacob Jarvis “Leaked documents of any kind tend to be glorified as the definitive position, and they are often not” - Alex Andreou  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex Andreou. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Bank Holiday, enjoy a Bunker from the archives… We all want control over our lives. But as we make more decisions digitally, the impact of algorithms on our choices grows. They help to sort the information presented to us and limit the options we see – shaping the products we buy, films we watch and even the partners we end up with. Andrew Harrison discusses the future of such technology with Kartik Hosanagar, author of A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control.  “Many people believe that algorithms are just providing us information and we comb through that and make our own choices… research shows otherwise.” – Kartik Hosanagar “They are not just helping us make the decisions that we would have anyway made… they are also influencing the decisions themselves.” – Kartik Hosanagar “These algorithms could be making choices in more personal and more important aspects of our lives, and also they could be making them autonomously.” – Kartik Hosanagar “Let’s make sure that for high stakes decisions, they are made by human beings.” – Kartik Hosanagar “Individually, it’s hard for us to stop this algorithmic tsunami.” – Kartik Hosanagar Support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain has hundreds of abandoned villages. How did they fall victim to history? And how are the communities that once called these places home remembered? With more than 4000 villages at risk of flooding over the coming decades, these question feels more pertinent than ever. Hannah Fearn is joined by historian Matthew Green, author of Shadowlands: A journey through lost Britain, to dig up the ruins of our gone but not (quite) forgotten lands.   Matthew’s book is out in paperback from Faber and can be bought here: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571338030-shadowlands/  “The black death led to over 3000 disappeared villages.”  “It’s hard not to see an uncanny foreshadowing of our destruction from climate change.” “When we remember and tell the stories of our lost lands we never lose them.” “The more you meditate on ruins, the less of a ruin you become yourself.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Hannah Fearn. Audio production by Alex Rees. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer: Jacob Jarvis. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices