The Bunker – News without the nonsense

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Cryptocurrency has come a long way since it was a fringe enthusiasm for get-rich-quick bros and anti-state libertarian fantasists. Now “stablecoins” like Tether are on the verge of becoming a parallel banking system in the US, except much less regulated. And the moneymaking opportunities that crypto affords are corrupting American politics to a staggering degree.

Why is stablecoin more potent than regular crypto? Is the Trump Administration’s crypto boosterism essentially an enrichment scheme for the Trump family? WTF is going on with “Trumpcoin” and “Melaniacoin”? How deeply are Nigel Farage and Reform UK committed to bringing all this to Britain? And what happens if a mega stablecoin falls over? The FT’s Katie Martin takes Rafael Behr on an enthralling nightmare tour of “the biggest conflict of interest in history.”

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Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Producer: Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Chris Jones. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Setting up the events of the next seven days… Another day, another assassination attempt. Will the attack on Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner overshadow King Charles’s visit to the US? Will the gun attack change anything apart from making conspiracy nutters crazier? And what were journos doing at an event to celebrate a man who hates them and says they’re enemies of the people?

Plus: It’s Groundhog Day all over again as Labour agonises over Starmer’s leadership. Morgan McSweeney to be seen in public at last. And it’s Forest vs Villa in a Europa League semi-final that’s straight from 1979! Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison read the runes for the week ahead.

• Don’t miss the Oh God, What Now? vs Origin Story Patreons’ Podclash this Thursday 30 April. 

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Our original podcast is back for one week only! Bigmouth AKA The Culture Bunker, the pop culture chatpod that birthed The Bunker, Oh God, What Now? and more, returns for our tenth birthday. On the agenda: Kneecap’s new album ‘Fenian’, Apple TV’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles, hot new tunes from the panel… and all the stuff we missed when we were off air, including Project Hail Mary and The Lowdown.

With regulars Andrew Harrison and Siân Pattenden plus returning guests, The Guardian’s Jude Rogers (who was on the very first Bigmouth on 24 April 2016) and writer and music tech guru Michael Moran… who reveals an astonishing secret.

• Hear the tunes we talk about today on the Bigmouth rolling playlist… still going! 

• Hear Boots On The Ground by Massive Attack & Tom Waits, which isn’t on streaming.

• And neither are The Shashashanimals. 

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison and Siân Pattenden. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing for The Bunker. 

Starmer has had another tumultuous week amid the Peter Mandelson and Olly Robbins drama. Is there a route back and who’s really benefiting from the fallout?

Plus: The Onion buys Alex Jones’s InfoWars, Donald Trump’s administration shows fresh signs of strain as the Iran ceasefire is extended, and how worried should we be about Anthropic’s new model Mythos? Jacob Jarvis is joined by Jonn Elledge to unpack the biggest stories from the past week.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Jonn Elledge.  Producer: Kathleen Johnston. Production Assistant: Jake Preston. Audio production: Simon Williams.  Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

www.podmasters.co.uk 

Written and presented by: Jacob Jarvis with Jonn Elledge.  Producer: Kathleen Johnston. Production Assistant: Jake Preston. Audio production: Simon Williams.  Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Péter Magyar’s stunning victory over Hungary’s arch-populist Viktor Orbán put progressives around the world into raptures. Was this the beginning of the end for the European far-right? But behind the energy and charisma, Magyar is a complex figure – driven, ruthless, a traditional conservative and graduate of Orbán’s Fidesz movement, and maybe not exactly the centre-left’s dream date. Euronews EU Correspondent Sandor Zsiros takes Andrew Harrison on a tour of the formative years and astonishing scandals that put Péter Magyar on course to Make Hungary Sane Again.  

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Robin Leeburn and Chris Jones. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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