The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Austerity is a staple fixture of our political system. How did it become such a dominant economic policy? And is it really a ‘prudent’ and ‘realistic’ way of organising our economics? Philosopher and historian Clara Mattei, author of The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism joins Ahir Shah to explore how austerity came to become the water we swim in and why we can’t imagine a world without it. “Austerity has become the water we swim in.”  “We use very specific economic models from the 1900s, in which the worker loses agency while the entrepreneur is championed.” “The purpose isn’t to ‘trickledown’, it is to incentivise those at the top.” “In the US the richest 400 families pay the lowest tax.” “Even Lenin had to accept austerity.”  Support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ahir Shah. Producers: Jet Gerbertson, Alex Rees. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer: Jacob Jarvis. Bunker music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb has enabled people to earn more by letting second houses as holiday lets than to families. What does this mean for locals in tourist areas? With housing provision at an all time low, the Welsh Government is looking at a system of carrots and sticks to incentivise landlords to prioritise locals. Can this problem be fixed? Dr Steffan Evans from the Bevan Foundation talks to Hannah Fearn about the communities facing an Airbnb boom.  “In every single Welsh local authority bar one a property owner could make as much money in 10 weeks as letting out the house to the housing authority for an entire year.” “Properties that were down as holiday homes decided to flip to Airbnbs to get out of having to pay extra council tax.” “Don’t think about the maximum amount you can make, maybe yes, get your money back, but think about the community's needs more broadly.” www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Hannah Fearn. Producer: Jet Gerbertson. Assistant 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

Fasten your seatbelts, because it’s going to be a rocky week in UK politics as sleaze comes back with a vengeance. How will Sunak handle backlash to his car misdemeanour, Johnson’s loan scandal and Zahawi’s ongoing tax quagmire. Plus, we look at the latest news on strikes. Alex Andreou talks to Jacob Jarvis to outline the week ahead. “Part of the government is so incestuous, it doesn’t even realise it has a problem.” “Sunak’s made an idiot of himself by getting a fine and messing up gaining ground.”  “The public perception is that the government always has money for their mates, so the strikes will soon succeed.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex Andreou. Producers: Jet Gerbertson and Alex Rees. Assistant Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. 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

Emmanuel Macron feels firmly like an elder statesman of Europe – but while his global prowess grows, how is he doing at home? With his power held together by coalition, can he be the reformer he wants to be? Sophie Pedder, Paris bureau chief for The Economist, speaks to Ros Taylor to discuss the French president’s changes in tack and the future of his nation’s politics.  “It has been forced on him to govern differently and that's no bad thing.”  “Macron has reassessed and changed his judgement of the risks and seen it is important to back Ukraine all the way.” “There are a number of ambitious, would-be successors to Macron, but it’s too early to see who might come through.”  “Macron is incredibly engaging, he doesn’t try to duck questions – but he has failed to project that in public.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Ros Taylor. Producers: Jet Gerbertson and Alex Rees. Assistant Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Alex Rees. 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

As Donald Trump bleeds out politically, a new generation of paranoid and conspiracy-minded MAGA Republicans has captured the party. A nightmare hardcore Freedom Caucus holds House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hostage, and nationally, the GOP just gets crazier. Do we have to steel ourselves for MAGA 2.0 – a deTrumpified extreme right in America? UCL politics professor Brian Klaas tells Andrew Harrison what they stand for and why they’ll be so hard to beat.  “This wasn’t about principles. It was a personal vendetta. Kevin McCarthy just isn’t a true believer in the Trump camp.” “If enough crazies vote against raising the debt ceiling you will have a self-imposed global recession which will make Liz Truss look like a blip”.  “The Democrats need define the Republicans as the crazy party… These are some actual lunatics in charge there.” Support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer Jet Gerburtson. Assistant 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

As the right to roam is eroded, Caroline Lucas, MP and former leader of the Green Party, joins Ros Taylor to discuss what we can do about it. In the wake of the high court decision to support landowners over wild campers, are we being excluded from our green and pleasant land?  “Landowners are creating an atmosphere of intimidation.”  “In the South Downs a quarter of the land is owned privately”  “It was found that access to green space could save the NHS £2 billion” “People want to step away from the footpath and feel the wildness of nature.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer Jet Gerbertson. Assistant producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer Jacob Jarvis. Bunker music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s hard to plan for the future when the present seems so grim. But is a nihilistic attitude to pensions creating a ticking time bomb for millennials? And have scandals and corporate embezzlement meant we have all lost faith in the safety net of our twilight years? Disillusioned Bunker host Marie Le Conte is joined by Dr. Hayley James, senior research fellow in the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing at Aston University, to ask what (if anything) can restore trust in the pensions system. “ We often hark back to a ‘golden age’ of pensions that hasn’t always existed.” “The gender pension gap is huge, bigger than the gender pay gap.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Marie Le Conte. Producer Jet Gerbertson. Assistant producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer Jacob Jarvis. Bunker music by Kenny Dickinson. 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

A special taster of our new series. Search for Jam Tomorrow in your favourite podcast app or visit https://kite.link/JTS1How did Britain’s dreams of a new postwar world go unfulfilled? And what does that mean for us today? In the first of a new documentary series from the makers of Oh God, What Now?, Ros Taylor looks at the legacy of the War itself. Ιdeals of the Blitz Spirit and dreams of wartime heroism still shape everything from pop culture and entertainment to the Brexit debate. But the truth of the War is more complex and less comforting. What will it take for us to see the Second World War – and ourselves – clearly?•  “If you’re going to have a foundation myth it might as well be one where you destroy Nazism.” – Al Murray•  “If the response to air raid wasn’t stoicism there was a fear that morale would break down.” – Lucy Noakes•  “The Keep Calm And Carry On poster was designed for a type of war that never arrived.” – Henry Irvine•  “Britain went into the war not alone but at the head of the world’s biggest empire… When Britain went to war, so did vast part of the world.” – Lucy NoakesWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Jade Bailey. Voiceovers by Imogen Robertson. Original music by Dubstar. Lead producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Jam Tomorrow is a Podmasters production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clean, safe power from nuclear fusion is the Holy Grail of energy research – but how close is it to reality? A breakthrough in December, when a fusion reaction produced more energy than went into the experiment, suggests it could be. Dr. Sharon Ann Holgate, author of Nuclear Fusion: The Race to Build a Mini-Sun on Earth, joins Andrew Harrison to unpack the science and ask whether this science fiction staple could become fact.  “A Tokamak reactor? Imagine you’ve gone to the bakers, bought yourself a doughnut, and for reasons best known for yourself you’ve decided to have it gold plated.” “Some of us call the fusion reaction ‘inherently safe’ because it doesn’t have the ability to run away with itself in the way a fission reactor can.” Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer Jet Gerbertson. Assistant producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer Jacob Jarvis. Bunker music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor Andrew Harrison.THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anyone who uses Britain’s railways can see things aren’t running smoothly. How do we solve this mess? From cancelled trains and driver shortages, to the rolling series of strikes, a nation that once prided itself on its railway appears to have let services go off the rails, as it were. Christian Wolmar, author of British Rail: A New History, joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker to find out what needs fixing.  “It’s absolutely ideological…it wouldn’t cost anything to take these franchises back”. “The department of transport is demanding productivity increases along with a pay rise. That is a mistake.” “It’s a ‘nobody gives a damn' railway. There’s nobody in charge and everybody has given up.”  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer Jet Gerbertson. Assistant producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer Jacob Jarvis. Bunker music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices