The Bunker – News without the nonsense

The interviews behind Nelson Mandela’s epic memoir The Long Walk To Freedom are out now as the podcast Mandela: The Lost Tapes. Here, South Africa’s first Black president explains himself in his own words – always inspiring, often funny too. Co-writer Richard Stengel, former Time editor and Obama Undersecretary of State, tells Alex Andreou of his affection for Mandela, how they came to collaborate on books and more, the charm of Mandela’s secretly oversized ego, and what it’s like to work with a giant of history. Hear Mandela: The Lost Tapes exclusively on Audible: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Mandela-The-Lost-Tapes-Podcast/B0BKMQ8GX8 “This took me back 30 years. I felt like I was back in the room with Mandela again.”  “Mandela was very good at flattery. And people who are good at it are susceptible to it…” “He was an incredibly charming, sunny man and the listener can now feel a little of that.” Written and presented by Alex Andreou. 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 Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boris Johnson’s endgame was a gripping spectacle of hubris, betrayal, power struggles and bare-faced self-interest. But what went down behind the scenes? Sebastian Payne lays out the drama in his new book The Fall of Boris Johnson: The Full Story. The former Financial Times’s Whitehall Editor tells Ros Taylor about the contradictions that drove Johnson’s career, the truth about his relationship with Zelenskyy… and how parties at No.10 helped bring down a man who doesn’t even like parties.  “Johnson is gone but his domestic policies still shape Westminster.”  “In Kyiv they can’t understand why we got rid of Johnson.” “Johnson never had the right people around him.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Alex Rees and Jet Gerbertson. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon’s cheap products and one-click purchasing has changed how we shop forever. But just how did the shopping behemoth alter shopper’s minds? From Black Friday to Cyber Monday and Christmas the opportunities to spend money on the internet are never ending. Consumer psychologist Dr Gareth Harvey joins Ahir Shah in the Bunker to tell us the ways Amazon influences our decision making. “You may not buy through Amazon, but their algorithms influence what’s ‘hot or not’. All of those things will influence your purchasing habits even though you’re never using it.”  “When we look at what people buy in a bricks and mortar store, 70% of people buy the leading product. When you’re buying it online, 70% of people go for the own brand. You don’t want to look cheap” “Social consciousness, awareness of ethical issues are really on the up, but when we look at sustainable products it doesn’t balance out.”  Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Ahir Shah. 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 Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Iron Curtain marked the Cold War divide in Europe. What is its legacy and how does this split remain today? Timothy Philips discusses his book The Curtain and the Wall: A Modern Journey Along Europe's Cold War Border with Ros Taylor. After travelling along the border, he explains what it represented and how it is remembered by those who lived along it.  “It was a border developed to stop people in the east from leaving. It got stronger because regimes in the east were frightened young people would flee if they could to the west.”  “People didn’t expect the societies they lived in to collapse so quickly… people were promised a lot of things that perhaps didn’t come true.” Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Ros Taylor. Producers: Jelena Sofronijevic 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 Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rail, nursing and Border Force workers strike during sudden extreme cold weather, but their public support seems solid. Will the Government’s “Union Barons” attacks stick? Plus, James Cleverly ditches human rights priorities in a desperate search for any post-Brexit upside. Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its deep winter phase. And the last legislation to get squeezed through Parliament before Christmas. Alex Andreou takes Andrew Harrison through the week ahead.  “The Tories are fudging the economy because they know Labour will win the next election.” – Alex Andreou “Thank God It's too cold for drunken England fans to go out and smash up Delice de France.” – Andrew Harrison “There’s public support for rail strikes because Mick Lynch is a media superstar.” – Alex Andreou “Doing business with autocratic regimes is a high-risk activity.” – Alex Andreou Support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve got a Star Wars fan in No.10 – Sunak collects lightsabers – but is there real political meaning to the tale of empires and rebels? Chris Kempshall, historian and author of The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy, talks to Andrew Harrison about Star Wars’ roots as a Vietnam allegory; what the Empire can tell us about fascism; why the Republic is a bad advert for democracy; and why Andor is the best political drama on TV right now. For 25% off the book, use the code HPSW25 here: https://www.routledge.com/The-History-and-Politics-of-Star-Wars-Death-Stars-and-Democracy/Kempshall/p/book/9781032318875 “Sunak’s story of a multimillionaire who moves sideways isn’t in the Star Wars universe.” “Sadly for Lucas the audience didn’t get that it’s about the Vietnam War.” “No one would watch a film about the government leaping to work.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Jet Gerbertson. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music: Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The tech explosion has transformed the spy game. Are intelligence agencies fit to face new threats from terror groups, disinformation gangs, and even teenagers in bedrooms? In a fascinating conversation intelligence expert Amy B. Zegart – author of Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence – tells Andrew Harrison how too much “spytainment” has warped US intelligence policy; the truth about the CIA blunders that led to 9/11 and the Iraq quagmire; and why modern spying isn’t what you think it is.  “The intelligence game isn’t about secrets. It’s about piecing together information.”  “George Washington even used fake French bakeries to deceive the British about American troop numbers.” “The more spy-themed TV you watch, the more likely you are to support questionable practices.” “The truth is, there has never been a ticking time bomb situation.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producers: Jet Gerbertson and Alex Rees. Assistant Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. 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

Putin’s war has triggered a food supply crisis in Africa. Arthur Snell travels to Ghana and Nigeria with Ukrainian campaigners who are forging alliances with Africans against Russia’s criminality. In a special crossover edition with Doomsday Watch, Arthur discovers how Africa is suffering for Putin’s war, why some African countries are still siding with the Russian tyrant, and how it feels to defend your country when you’re a refugee.Donate to help the Ukrainian human rights campaigners Zmina at zmina.ua/en “In the 21st Century all countries are interconnected… We all depend on one another.” – Oleg Nivievskyi“Think about the cost of living crisis in Western Europe then multiply it maybe five times… That’s the magnitude of the food supply crisis in Africa.” – Arthur Snell“Every tonne of grain from Ukraine counts… The more food instability we have, the more we will see riots, criminality and worse.” – Oleg Nivievskyi “The Netherlands, Belgium, France, the UK all had empires, but you do not pretend to restore your empires. But that is Russia’s political culture. To restore its empire.” – Olexiy HaranReported and presented by Arthur Snell. Producer Jet Gerburtson. Assistant producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Lead producer Jacob Jarvis. Bunker music by Kenny Dickinson, Doomsday Watch music by Paul Hartnoll. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The horrors of austerity make for grim statistics. But what are the stories behind those numbers? The Mirror’s Real Britain columnist Ros Wynne-Jones joins Ros Taylor to discuss the exhaustion, pain and spirit of those feeling the brunt of Tory cuts.  “There are always new levels and layers of cuts.”  “There’s just an assumption now that the system is brutalised and cruel.”  “Disabled people have been at the front of these cuts, but they’ve also been at the vanguard of resistance.”  “The level of exhaustion people are at after 12 years is profound.” “Every year this Government is in power is wasted life opportunities for a new generation.”  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 Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The House of Lords is constantly embattled – but what value does it have and what really goes on there? Various governments have wanted to reform the chamber – with limited success. Can it be done? Marie Le Conte speaks to Politico’s senior UK correspondent Esther Webber about the good, the bad and the… unusual.  “It was where a deeper scrutiny happened, which you wouldn’t always see in the Commons.”  “A big barrier to reform is it has to go through the Lords.”  “I feel slightly weary of the idea of a second elected chamber. It means peers would be subject to the same kind of electoral tug of war of MPs.”  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 Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices