The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Nikki Haley has come forward as Trump’s first major challenger for the GOP nomination in 2024. Who is she – and why does she want to challenge him? Jacob Jarvis is joined by Danielle Vinson, professor of politics and international affairs at Furman University, South Carolina, to discuss.www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer Jacob Jarvis. Bunker music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Giorgia Meloni was elected PM of Italy, many considered her the spiritual heir to Mussolini. Grappling with the energy crisis, she’s toned down much of her rhetoric - but is she just biding her time? John Hooper, author of The Italians, joins Ros Taylor to look at what we know about this enigmatic leader.  “Does she still hanker after neo-fascism? She denies that absolutely… but it’s still an unresolved question.” “She's anything but consistent, but she’s managed to convince people that she’s somebody who sticks to her principles.”  “She’s been pushed into a second class in the EU whilst people figure out if she’s really become the conservative that she claims to be.” www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnowWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Jet Gerbertson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Stu Hennigan took up a job as a council food parcel delivery driver during lockdown, he realised he had a “front row seat to the end of the world”. Every day he kept a diary as he witnessed families struggling with isolation, poverty, and the worst impacts of austerity. He joins Hannah Fearn to talk about his book Ghost Signs. “This is literally like front row seats to the end of the world.” “There was a little girl one day who started dancing when she saw all of the food. You’d have thought I was Father Christmas when I showed up at her house.” “To me the book is about austerity as much as it’s about the pandemic. The pandemic is just the framing story.” Support us on Patreon: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 Jade Bailey. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rishi Sunak believes everyone should learn maths until the age of 18, but not everyone agrees. Tim Oates, director of research at Cambridge University Assessment, talks to Ros Taylor about why some of us find maths so hard, why girls still underestimate their ability, and how good teaching makes a difference.  “Some research says that we should see maths as a language, a foreign language. If you come to that learning late it becomes harder. “In the economy we have a gross shortage of technician level applicants which are vital for the future of our society. I’m afraid a lot of those [jobs] are numerate and require mathematics and science. [Rishi Sunak] is on to something.”  “I think we need to be honest about maths and say it is tough to learn another language, but it’s worth doing - in terms of financial management… how to unlock occupations by showing to employers that you’re capable.” 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 Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Activists have demanded the return of contentious museum objects for decades – why are museums now starting to listen? Arthur Snell is joined by Dan Hicks, professor of contemporary archaeology and author of The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution, to bring some much needed clarity to a debate beset by culture war clashes.  “Museums are moving with the time, but some on the hard right are weaponising the debate.” “In the 19th century, museums were put to work towards cultural supremacy – we now recognise this as wrong, so we have to move forward.” “You wouldn’t tell a biologist the latest developments in their field.” “There is so much ‘whataboutism’ in this debate – and time's up.” For 20% off the book add the code BUNKER20 here: https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745341767/the-brutish-museums/ Written and presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your guide to news in the week ahead. Does Gove’s country house meeting indicate that the Brexit edifice is cracking? Civil service spending on government “credit cards” explodes by 70%. The Turkish earthquake exposes colossal corruption and corner-cutting in the country’s construction industry. Will Erdoğan finally pay a price? And in Ukraine, things take a turn for the worse in Bakhmut. Arthur Snell sets out the week ahead with Jacob Jarvis.  “Apparently one civil spent £2,500 on home brew equipment disguised as ‘I.T.’”  “Whether a sensible Brexit workaround survives first contact with David Frost or the ERG remains to be seen.” “Are these giant objects Chinese balloons or alien invasion? We just don’t know yet.” Support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by lead producer Jacob Jarvis. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Producer: Jet Gerbertson. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Extra Edition: What can a bloody, violent, horribly funny comic book cop tell us about policing in the real world? 2000AD comic’s Judge Dredd began in 1977 as a brutal satire on law and order for delinquent kids – and then Dredd’s world of militarised police started to come true. Is Dredd a warning of the future or a manual for how to oppress a society?Lifelong Dredd fan Andrew Harrison talks to Michael Molcher, author of I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, about Hayek, Voltaire, the Apocalypse War, policing by consent, Crime Blitzes, Stuart Hall, and Judge Death as a model for policing.(Yes, this episode’s not for everyone. But what’s the point of having a podcast company if you can’t talk about what you love, eh?)Image by Mike McMahon. “Dredd’s a Rorschach test. You can tell a lot about someone if they’re saying ‘yes, we need Dredd on our streets’.” “Dredd arrived at the time of Dirty Harry and The Sweeney, a time of copaganda… He’s an incredible predictive warning of the law and order endgame.” “The Judges are the culmination of a police state… The administer everything from welfare to warfare.” “The steamroller of law and order is reaching its destination… The last of those pesky rights are being eroded.” 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. “Hic! It’s Jedge Drudd!” THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Palace of Westminster is crumbling. There are risks of fires, floods and the walls are stacked with asbestos. Will Parliament ever get fixed? And will it take someone being hurt for movement to happen? Marie Le Conte is joined by Dr. Alexandra Meakin, a lecturer at the University of Leeds whose PhD thesis was titled Understanding the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster, to discuss the issues.  “Fire is a big risk, a huge one you can’t ignore.” “Behind the ornate beauty of the building, it’s in a bad state.”  “MPs believe there must be a cheaper or quicker way to do the work, and that’s why they keep asking for reviews.”  “Catastrophe really has only not happened out of luck so far.”  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Marie Le Conte. 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

Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union this week and focused on wanting to “finish the job”. Can he achieve his goals despite a split Congress? Julie Norman, co-director of UCL’s Centre on US Politics, joins Alex Andreou to discuss the US president’s standing, hopes and the limits to his power in the second half of his first term – and whether he’ll run for a second…  “Biden knows the political reality and he knows what’s going to win over independents as he looks to 2024.”  “Joe Biden seemed comfortable with the back and forth and he made Republicans look rather silly, if nothing else.”  “We can see the State of the Union as a mini launching and a set piece for what a Biden campaign would look like.”  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Alex Andreou. Music and audio production: Jade Bailey. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Artwork: James Parrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During China’s Cultural Revolution, pupils murdered their teachers, children betrayed their parents and society was torn apart in the name of progress. Decades on, it inspires both horror and nostalgia — but is rarely mentioned in public. Tania Branigan, author of Red Memory, tells Ros Taylor how China’s citizens deal with the Revolution’s violent legacy – and what it can teach us about China today.  “There was a kind of idealism there, the inevitable joy and excitement that young people would feel in an upheaval of that kind”.  “Many people in China regard the Cultural Revolution with a certain nostalgia, a time when people were somehow purer and there was more meaning.” “I certainly don’t know how I would have behaved if I lived through that era, and I don’t think many of us can.”  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 Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices