The Bunker – News without the nonsense

After being jeered over the Jubilee weekend, will Johnson now be jilted by his party in a no confidence vote? With this due to be held on Monday evening, how will the results play out? Ros Taylor and Arthur Snell give their thoughts as they tee up the week ahead. Plus, they ask what’s next for the monarchy after the weekend’s celebrations, discuss the Ukraine latest and cast an eye over the Atlantic.  “We will know by the end of today whether or not Boris Johnson has survived this round of attempts to get him.” – Arthur Snell "Surviving a no confidence vote doesn't mean surviving as PM, as Theresa May can tell us." – Arthur Snell  "It wasn't breaking the law in Downing Street, or any other scandals, but being booed at the Jubilee." – Arthur Snell  “Johnson is somebody who will cling on to the absolutely last moment possible.” – Arthur Snell  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Ros Taylor with Arthur Snell. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. 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

Pulitzer Prize-winner Margo Jefferson tells Dorian Lynskey about her wide-ranging career as a critic. She discusses shedding light on the lives of everyone from Tina Turner to Michael Jackson, being the first Black woman book critic at Newsweek, and writing on race, class and gender at the New York Times. They also discuss her new book, Constructing a Nervous System, and ask can you ever separate art from the artist?  “We're all curating our personal cultures.” "I felt I had to be impeccable to brilliant... there's a certain high standard you don't slip beneath." "I realised I could bring the critics tools of questioning and probing to myself." https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Productionhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602237/constructing-a-nervous-system-by-margo-jefferson/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we move into virtual surroundings able to be anywhere, anyone or anything, how will that affect our minds? As the line between online and offline fades further, we look at how our personalities could shift across spaces. Dr. Alison Attrill-Smith, head of psychology online at the University of Wolverhampton, joins Alex Andreou to discuss the potential psychological impact of the metaverse.  “We've had iterations such as second life, and every time something new establishes itself there seems to be a flocking to it.” “Who goes online will depend on what they're wanting to achieve.” “Everything in psychology is about goals and what people want to achieve.” “There's loads of research that shows that people project online the persona that they aspire to.”  “Whether we'll be able to replicate real life interaction in the digital landscape is really debatable.” “The Proteus effect happens when people project their online persona offline.” “We’re already moving towards a world where digital access is a right, whether that becomes a human right, I'm not sure.” “To some extent we are already living in this virtual world and the metaverse is just an extension of that.” “I like to think that virtually reality has actually increased acceptance of who we really are.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Alex Andreou. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Alex Rees, Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Assistant Producer: Elina Ganatra. Audio production and original music by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you know the world is real? How do I know I’m real? As virtual worlds expand, our concepts of reality warp. NYU philosopher David Chalmers – author of Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy – talks to Ros Taylor about the etiquette of virtual living, why video game characters deserve moral rights, and how we can know what we think we know.  “Simulated beings could end up outnumbering non-simulated beings. So the odds that YOU are simulated could be high…” “If we’re living in a simulation, all this is still real – and our lives are still full of meaning.” https://uk.bookshop.org/books/reality-virtual-worlds-and-the-problems-of-philosophy-9780241320716/9780241320716https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ros Taylor. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic, and Alex Rees. Assistant producer: Elina Ganatra. Lead producer: Jacob Jarvis. Audio production and original music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can you enforce laws in cyberspace like you can in the real world? Facebook, now Meta, has struggled to moderate its massive platforms for over a decade, battling with national governments over how it should be regulated. Now, it's preparing to be the biggest player in a new arena - the Metaverse. Lorna Woods, professor of Internet Law, joins Ros Taylor: “The one thing we can say about the metaverse, is that it won't be what we think it is.” “Have we thought about how this service can be misused? Rather than sitting in a phase of techno-optimism about the whole thing.” “The transient nature of the content might be good, as you won't have those long shadows cast over you.” “If we want to see this freeing capacity of the metaverse then we don't want to be tied to one identity.” “We're going to have to think more broadly about how we're going to safeguard.” Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Assistant Producer: Elina Ganatra. Audio production by Alex Rees. Original music by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What would a normal day look like inside the metaverse? When would we plug in, and would we ever switch off? Charles Arthur, former technology editor of The Guardian and author of Social Warming: The Dangerous and Polarising Effects of Social Media, joins Ahir Shah to talk about the upsides, downsides and the practicalities of striking a virtual to real-world balance. “The day in the metaverse will be a lot of meetings, a bit like zoom.”  “Travel might be a lot better than slogging through a train and people generously giving you their colds.”  “Well, everything gets used for work and porn in the end.” “We’ve all been on Twitter, everyone's all mouth and no trousers.”  “Maybe everyone will want to wear their headset all day long and sit in little cubes.” “Where we start to blend the real world and cyber, is augmented reality, which is where you put on glasses and you have an overlay for the real world.” “How much extra value will you get from a metaverse meeting over a zoom meeting? If that gets unlocked, then it'll all start happening.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ahir Shah. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Assistant Producer: Elina Ganatra. Audio production by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We explore whether Rishi Sunak’s cost of living package is enough to address the long term hardship faced by millions. Or was it yet another political manoeuvre amid Tory turmoil? Plus, we unpack the issues faced by democracies across the globe with our guest Yascha Mounk, political scientist and author of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure.  “If Johnson can make it to the long summer break, where MPs have weeks away, that might allow people to calm down a little.” – Arthur Snell  “I think the really difficult economic stuff is going to be next winter. It goes from something you worry about to something that fundamentally changes the way you live your life.” – Arthur Snell  "The government has a tendency to respond too late." - Yasmeen Serhan “A lot of discourse would be improved if people were forced to watch one focus group per week.” – Yascha Mounk  “You make better arguments when you know what your opponent means as well.” – Yasmeen Serhan  “I would distinguish between the angry minority and the majority of people.” – Yascha Mounk  https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Ros Taylor with Arthur Snell and Yasmeen Serhan. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees, with research by Elina Ganatra. 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

With yet another party allegation, how will the PM deal with another twist in this neverending scandal? With a further inquiry being called for – how might this play out in the coming days? Plus, America’s gun debate remains at the fore across the Atlantic. And in Northern Ireland, can Stormont break the deadlock and nominate a speaker? Alex Andreou talks to Naomi Smith about what we can expect to happen this week.  “Apparently people are beyond accountability now.” – Naomi Smith "It doesn’t look like we’re heading anywhere to where the gun lobby doesn’t have a vice-like grip on American politics.” – Naomi Smith  “People are suffering from all sorts of things other than Brexit in Northern Ireland.” – Naomi Smith  “Businesses are crying out for visas to be handed out to people with all skills and none.” – Naomi Smith www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Alex Andreou with Naomi Smith. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. 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

Africa is made up of 54 different countries – so why is it so often talked about as one singular place? Dipo Faloyin, a senior editor at Vice and author of Africa is Not a Country, joins Jelena Sofronijevic to discuss the continent’s diversity and how that’s been erased in everyday discussions. What led to the condensed view of today and how can we properly engage with the region? “People would rather see the entire region as a singular monolith, instead of a region that can be anything.” “Too many people have grown up with this idea of Africa as a singular monolith.” “Often when we talk about Africa we look at it from 1,000 miles up in the air or we look at it through the lens of safari, and that isn’t the reality for people on the ground.” “It’s always just so sad to hear that people when they think of Africa they see it as a problem.” “It’s hard to get people to see Africa in a different way when they’re still bombarded with images of babies with flies around their head.” “The most important thing is that we start to see vast stories of success, failure, love. That’s something that’s really missing across the pop culture landscape.” “The history of Africa is also the history of the UK.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Jelena Sofronijevic. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Assistant Producer: Elina Ganatra. Audio production by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

36 years after the original, Tom Cruise returns for Top Gun: Maverick, plus we don our parkas as we listen to the new album from Liam Gallagher, Come On You Know. Legendary music writer and broadcaster Paul Morley, joins us to talk Island Records, Factory Records, and ALL records, and we get comfy in our nests, to watch the latest major Sky adaptation of The Midwich Cuckoos. And Jelena heads out to the Southbank Centre to speak to International Booker Prize shortlister, Mieko Kawakami. Hear all the music on our rolling playlists.Spotify: https://bit.ly/CultBunkTidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/1aea7525-7891-4a88-8474-a08c45ea064bPresented and produced by Siân Pattenden and Alex Andreou. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. Co-produced by Jelena Sofronijevic and Elina Ganatra. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Islander/Chris-Blackwell/9781982172695  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices