The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Eugenics might be considered a horrific relic of the past, but the concept still has its advocates today. Dr Adam Rutherford, science writer and author of Control, talks to Dorian Lynskey about efforts by the powerful to dictate reproduction throughout history, the legacy of eugenics in our language and literature, and present day conversations about tinkering with the DNA of unborn children. “Winston Churchill drafted numerous bills which included mass sterilisation.” “If you only engage in science to the point where your political views are reinforced, then you’re not doing science right.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercasthttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Faster-Stronger-Smarter-Troubling-Eugenics/dp/1474622380 Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s pop culture review: Untold tales of British metal, the star of the National Theatre’s astonishing Wuthering Heights, new Johnny Marr and more.Journalist and author of Denim And Leather: The Rise And Fall Of The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal Michael Hann tells untold tales of rock’s most unfairly despised genre. Actor and cabaret phenomenon Lucy McCormick on her stunning role as Emily Brontë’s original riot grrrl of the moors Cathy in Wuthering Heights. And what’s Johnny Marr’s new album like?Hear all the music on our rolling playlists.Spotify: https://bit.ly/CultBunkTidal: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/1aea7525-7891-4a88-8474-a08c45ea064b"All extreme metal comes from Venom." - Michael Hann"I love haunting the stage. It feels so goth." - Lucy McCormick"These metal bands did it all for themselves right up until the record labels signed them." - Michael Hann"Death and comedy is basically my thing." - Lucy McCormickWritten and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We live in a world of chaos, with Western democracies facing overlapping geopolitical, economic, and political crises. How did we get here? Professor Helen Thompson is co-host of the Talking Politics podcast – and she was Ahir Shah’s Director of Studies at University. They unpack her new book Disorder, how the fault lines in the Sino-American relationship, NATO, and the EU have all been decades in the making, and the “crisi-tunities” for years to come. “Most of the commentary on Brexit and Trump was far too superficial.” “So long as oil has a place in our energy supply, then the geopolitics of oil come with it.” “There's a genuine political fear in Washington that the geopolitical winner of green energy will be China.” “We're living in a world where supply and demand is much more complicated.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Ahir Shah. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by 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

Beijing 2022 was the first Winter Olympics to rely almost exclusively on fake snow – at great cost to the environment. But is it possible to make sports more sustainable, and will we even be able to have the Winter Olympics in the future? Dr. Madeleine Orr is a sports ecologist at Loughborough University London, and the founder of The Sport Ecology Group. She tells Jelena Sofronijevic about why pollution impacts competition, how international organisations exercise total control over local laws and taxes…and whether 2022 was really the “greenest and cleanest” Games yet.  “When we think about sports, we’re not thinking about the environments where they take place.” “The more we use artificial spaces, the more original biodiversity loss.”  Written and presented by Jelena Sofronijevic. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition recorded before Putin’s speech and the Russian incursion into Ukraine. “Levelling up” is a mantra for Boris Johnson, but what is his government actually doing about it? Our special guest Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire and former MP, joins us to discuss tackling inequalities between regions. Plus, we discuss moves to tackle “legal but harmful” content online. What does that mean? And what career best prepares you for politics? Spoiler alert: it isn’t being a Telegraph columnist. “The government must stop putting metro mayors into beauty competitions to bid for small pots of money.” – Tracy Brabin “Michael Gove is a bit of a disruptor who wants to deliver. But his levelling up plan has no new money and the same old story.” – Tracy Brabin “MPs are completely in the thick of online abuse on every form of social media… they get the worst of the internet every day in their inbox.” – Marie Le Conte https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Andrew Harrison with Justin Quirk and Marie Le Conte. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Recorded by Jade Bailey, 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 threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is still looming. Can further diplomacy prevent war? There are reports of a summit between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden. What could it achieve? Plus, COVID restrictions are due to be ditched in England, and MPs return to Parliament after a recess. Where will their focus be? Alex Andreou is joined by Yasmeen Serhan to discuss the week ahead. “It feels like we’re waiting for someone to blink. There’s a lot of mixed narratives.” – Yasmeen Serhan “Any diplomacy is better than the alternative.” – Yasmeen Serhan “If you are serious about living with COVID, the monitoring aspect of it is key.” – Alex Andreou "Johnson has squashed the scandal sombrero by stretching out these inquiries." – Alex Andreou "The government has to focus on crises closer to home – like the weather." – Yasmeen Serhan www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Alex Andreou with Yasmeen Serhan. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. 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

What will China do in 2022? Cindy Yu, The Spectator’s broadcast editor and host of the Chinese Whispers podcast, joins Alex Andreou to take a look at the direction of travel for the world’s most populous nation. What does a policy of ‘zero-covid’ mean for China? How will relations with America and Russia turn out? And is Xi Jinping lumbering up for conflict with Taiwan? “Sport has always been a good way for a controversial government in China to build bridges.” “Zero-covid is another barrier between China and the rest of the world.” “Putin and Xi share values when it come to how they run their countries.” “If China is going to invade Taiwan, what’s happening in Ukraine will not affect that.” “The idea of China overtaking America is too simplistic. Very rarely do you have a unipolar world.” “The more the West bashes China, the more the Chinese media whip that up into an anti-China narrative.” Presented by Alex Andreou. The Group Editor is Andrew Harrison. The Lead Producer is Jacob Jarvis. The producers are Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Audio production by Jade Bailey. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hear all the music on our rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunkLakeland poets of “high church rock’n’roll” Sea Power play songs from their magnificent new album Everything Was Forever and explain how it felt when they dropped the word “British” from their name, to the ire of GB News. And Mojo magazine’s Ian Harrison joins us to discuss new waxings from Half Man Half Biscuit and Metronomy plus new Apple TV+ series Severance – what The Office would be like if created by Aldous Huxley.  “People are pretty sceptical of any band that puts too much thinking into their lyrics…” – Yan from Sea Power Written and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production. Our rolling playlist on Spotify: https://bit.ly/CultBunkAnd now Tidal too: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/1aea7525-7891-4a88-8474-a08c45ea064b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did a Christian movement, founded at the turn of the century, become the fastest growing religion today? Pentecostal Christianity has 600 million followers, with 35,000 new adherents a day. So what’s behind the remarkable rise of this religious movement? Elle Hardy, author of Beyond Belief, tells Arthur Snell about her mission to report its rise across twelve different countries, from South America to Africa and Australia, how Pentecostalism provides community to the rootless and marginalised in a fragmenting world…and its toxic connection to populist authoritarianism. “There will be more Pentecostals than Catholics in Brazil in the next ten years.” “Anyone can become a prophet in Pentecostalism.” “You can fit six Vaticans in the biggest Pentecostal church in Nigeria.” “Pentecostalism is the ideology of the new right in America.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Arthur Snell. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Productionhttps://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/beyond-belief/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A strong accent can lead us to make many assumptions about a person. We ask why, and the impact of these judgements. Linguistics experts Dr. Alex Baratta and Dr. Dominic Watt join Jelena Sofronijevic to explore whether RP has been replaced with a new “standard” accent, why some professions are still demanding flat accents…and if the Queen’s English is really dead.  “Your accent is a flag or badge of your social standing." - Dominic Watt  "We exist in an accentist society." - Dominic Watt “Right at the top of the social pinnacle we have people who more or less speak the same as each other. - Dominic Watt “Accent bias is more of an issue in certain professions, the reason is it goes back to certain perceptions.” - Alex Baratta “I think there’ll always be a perceived need to have a standard accent.” - Alex Baratta https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented and produced by Jelena Sofronijevic. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices