The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

Was Rishi Sunak not actually as bad as we remember? No, we haven’t hit our heads… Yes, he led the Conservatives to their worst ever defeat and pandered to the far right with the hopeless Rwanda detention scheme. But he also inherited the wreckage of Liz Truss’s 49 days in power.
Was Sunak really doomed from the start? Could a better politician have steadied the ship? And might he be the last ever Tory prime minister? Sir Anthony Seldon, the leading political biographer, joins Seth Thévoz in an attempt to make the case for Sunak.

• Buy Anthony’s book Sunak at 10: The Last Conservative Prime Minister? from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
www.podmasters.co.uk
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Setting out the stories of the next seven days… France wakes to scenes of urban destruction straight out of wartime. Are the “cost of living protests” even protests any more, and can lame duck president Emmanuel Macron prevent them from running out of control? Also: Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine deepens, but he’s also supposed to be in court for his case against the BBC. Will he turn up? Plus: A decision on the Jackdaw gas field, Brazil on the verge of electing another Bolsonaro, and the iPhone Duo arrives. Rafael Behr looks at the week ahead with Andrew Harrison.
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Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Produced by James Lidell. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
www.podmasters.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back at the past seven days… Donald Trump pumps billions of dollars into Putin’s war chest by easing sanctions on Russian diesel. Is the world’s most hateful bromance back on, or is it a desperate attempt to sway America before the midterms? Plus: Reform sacks more councillors for making sickening remarks on camera. And Nigel Farage steps in as Robert Jenrick vows to use “lethal force” against small boats crossing the Channel. Zoë Grünewald and Jacob Jarvis recap the biggest, weirdest and most under-reported stories of the week.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
www.podmasters.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few people jailed in Russia on charges of spying for the CIA live to tell the tale. Evan Gershkovich is one of them. Just over two years after his release in a Cold War-style prisoner swap, the Wall Street Journal reporter tells his story for the first time: how moving to Russia “on a whim” led to him being snatched by the FSB and jailed in the first espionage conviction of a US journalist in Russia since the end of the Cold War.
Evan tells Dorian Lynskey about the violence and interrogation during his 500 days behind bars, how he was freed, the lasting effects of his incarceration, and why despute his ordeal, he hopes to return to Russia one day.
• Buy Evan’s book This Cursed Beautiful Land from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast

Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
www.podmasters.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Margaret Hodge has never been one to bite her tongue. The veteran Labour politician served as a minister under Blair then Brown, saw off the BNP in Barking, and told Jeremy Corbyn exactly what she thought of him. It’s why she’s a self-styled “Battleaxe” – and why it’s the title of her new memoir.
She tells Zoë Grünewald what she’s learned about fighting the far-right and anti-semites; where Burnham is getting it right and wrong; and why the need to get dirty money out of politics is more urgent than ever.
• Buy Margaret’s book Battleaxe: A Memoir from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.
• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast
Written and presented by Zoë Grünewald. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
www.podmasters.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.