The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Setting out the stories of the next seven days… Trump’s directionless assault on Iran reaches a decisive moment. Does the President declare arbitrary victory or press on? And with its regime renewed, its grip on the world economy tightening, and the US now abandoning oil sanctions, is Iran actually winning? Plus: the new BBC Director General, a possible antisemitic hate crime in Golders Green, and everybody get ready for the annual “they’re banning Easter” squabblefest. Gavin Esler and Andrew Harrison set out the week ahead. 

• The Together Against The Far Right demonstration is on Sat 28 March. 

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

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Angela Rayner sparked speculation this week after warning Labour is “running out of time”. Is this the first sign of a leadership bid, or media overexcitement? Plus: a meningitis outbreak in Kent raises fresh public health concerns, and as the conflict in Iran enters its fourth week, is Donald Trump losing control of the narrative? Jacob Jarvis is joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to unpack a packed week. 

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Written and presented by: Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: Liam Tait and Kathleen Johnston. Production Assistant: Jake Preston. 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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With war in Ukraine, the US almost our enemy, Brexit Britain now semi-detached and Putin waiting in the wings, the continent that rebuilt itself from the ruins of two world wars now finds its founding settlement under unprecedented pressure. Does Europe need to go back to find its future? Historian Roderick Beaton, author of Europe: A New History, joins Alex von Tunzelmann to trace how Europe was forged, how it has weathered cycles of integration and disintegration, and what its future might look like in this new era of uncertainty.

•  Pre-order Europe: A New History through 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.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann.  Producer: Andrew Harrison. 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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Elon Musk wants much more than just a radicalised far-right population, a hotline to political power and a civil war in Britain. As Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of Muskism: A Guide For The Perplexed explain, he’s building no less than a dark new way for society to function. Under ‘Muskism’, technology envelopes every aspect of life, states and corporations are indistinguishable, and humans who disagree are just bugs in the code. But will Muskism survive its creator? 

Andrew Harrison talks to the authors about the state subsidies that built Musk’s empire, the real reasons he went over the edge, and why Musk keeps drawing all the wrong conclusions from the science fiction he claims to love.

• Buy Muskism: A Guide For The Perplexed through 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.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by  Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. 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 
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With Trump’s war to (he claims) end Iran’s nuclear programme pushing the world to the brink, the question of who has the Bomb and why feels more urgent than ever. But the untold story of how nuclear weaponry proliferated and shaped our world is even stranger than most of us know. Historian David Holloway, author of Nuclear Weapons: An International History, explores how the Bomb reshaped global politics with Dorian Lynskey. From the US-Soviet arms race to the rise of “Mutual Assured Destruction”, we came closer to destruction that we knew. How did we avoid it – and will we always be as lucky?

• Buy David’s book Nuclear Weapons: An International History through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll be helping the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. 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 

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