The Bunker – News without the nonsense

What sort of psychological shock with the fall of Afghanistan cause to the British establishment’s self-image? Will the country again became an incubator of terrorism? And how the hell is Dominic “Sun Lounger” Raab still in a job? Special guest SHIRAZ MAHER is the world authority on militant jihadism. He joins us to explain what the Taliban conquest of Afghanistan means.  “We have a culture from the top down where nothing is a resignable offence.” – Justin Quirk “A belief set in that the US was the head of the snake. That is when jihad goes global.” – Shiraz Maher “America is edging away. We have burnt our bridges with Europe. There is no rabbit to pull out of a hat.” – Justin Quirk https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Andrew Harrison with Marie Le Conte and Justin Quirk. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . 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

Recriminations worsen over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the UK’s indolent response to the refugee crisis. Can Dominic Raab survive as Foreign Secretary – and what does the debacle mean for Joe Biden’s presidency? Plus, get ready for COVID at the centre of healthcare forever. And does the Brexit-COVID logistics crisis mean that Christmas is already cancelled? Naomi Smith starts your week.  “Johnson doesn't want to hold Raab to any standards that he might have to face himself.” “Afghanistan is an enormous dent in Biden's ability to hold the anti-Trump coalition together.” “A quick glance at Farage's Twitter feed shows he's thrilled with the refugee situation.” Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. 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

Journalist, filmmaker and author Sarfraz Manzoor grew up in two worlds, a son of working-class Pakistani immigrants who told him he’d never be accepted by the white English – yet he immersed himself in Western pop culture and built a life in it. By 2016 he’d become anxious that the multicultural Britain that made him was falling apart. He talks to Alex Andreou about his powerful new book THEY: What Muslims and Non-Muslims Get Wrong About Each Other, and how to dispel the fears that divide us. “I was expected to have an arranged marriage and stay in Luton. I didn’t end up doing either of those things” “I don’t want my kids to feel relaxed with their white mum’s heritage but uncomfortable with their Muslim dad’s heritage.” “In 2016 I got really low. I thought, this doesn’t feel like the country I want to live in.”  “If dating apps existed, I might have married someone that didn’t mean my family boycotted my wedding” “I might not live like a working class Muslim now, but it will never stop being part of me” Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Intern: Nat Amos. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Productionhttps://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Sarfraz-Manzoor/They--What-Muslims-and-Non-Muslims-Get-Wrong-About-Each-Other/25681127 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is the situation really like on the ground in Afghanistan, after the Taliban’s astonishingly swift takeover? Our panelist Arthur Snell talks to one of his contacts, presently in hiding in Kabul. We have chosen not identify them for their own safety. https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast “Kabul has been left without anything.”  “Everything is closed down. You would think it is the Stone Age in Kabul. You wouldn't have seen this a week ago.” “This was a win-win for Russia.”  “The Taliban have made fake promises to the international community. Of course they have not changed.” Presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

World War II seemed to mark the end of American conservatism, and a new liberal age. Then Reagan came along – and we’re still living with the consequences. What explains the dominance of conservatism in modern American politics? Historian Rick Perlstein talks to Dorian Lynskey about his new book, Reaganland, the finale of a three-part saga about the cutthroat strategies of the conservatives behind America’s rightwards shift… “Reagan’s inauguration was a hinge in American history.” “Before Reagan, conservatism was seen as irrelevant in America.”  1970s America was looking for a hero. They were looking for Superman, not moral ambiguity.”  “Reagan wanted to write a book about how he fought the Reds of Hollywood…he was living a fantasy in his own head.” “It’s the difference between the dog whistle and the train whistle.” Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Rick-Perlstein/Reaganland--Americas-Right-Turn-1976-1980/25991906 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The fall of Kabul to the Taliban has placed thousands of people in mortal danger and traumatised the entire Western security establishment. How did we get it so wrong, and what happens next? Also, the future of COVID: Leeds University Global Health Professor Garrett W. Brown joins us to set out the next pandemic and why the “Pasteurian Paradigm” won’t save us. Plus Labour expels Ken Loach, what would Immanuel Kant make of Brexit Britain… and should we stop referring to curry as “curry”? Apologies for the all-male panel this week, which is down to late changes of circumstance. We do all we can to avoid the “manel” and will restore a more reasonable gender ratio next time.  “There’s a 100% chance we’ll see another pandemic in the next ten to twenty years.” – Prof. Garrett Brown “It’s as black and white as ‘These people helped us and if we don’t help them they will be killed’.” – Ahir Shah “Afghanistan shows what happens when we concentrate on the wrong things… We’ve poured all our energy into self-made disputes.” – Justin Quirk “The selfish nature of the international order today will be its own demise.” – Prof. Garrett Brown “As an Englishman, they can prise my mild korma from my cold dead hands.” – Justin Quirk Presented by Alex Andreou with Ahir Shah and Justin Quirk. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Produced by Andrew Harrison. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Afghan Government’s sudden collapse and the return of Taliban rule have both shocked the international community. What happens next? What can Afghan civilians and women especially expect from their new rulers? And just how big a catastrophe is this for the Biden administration? Arthur Snell, who has spent time in Helmand Province himself, lays out the consequences of a day of brutal reverse for the West – and shame for Britain. Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. 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

Will it take a satirist to fix Britain’s busted politics? Armando Iannucci – writer of The Thick Of It, The Day Today and Veep – is looking for emergency fixes in the new podcast series Westminster Reimagined. He and producer Anoosh Chakelian talk to former SPAD Ayesha Hazarika about the forces that are breaking our politics. Why are things so bad? What will it take to fix them? And does Malcolm Tucker seem like an idealist by today’s standards? https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast “The Thick Of It charted the rise of the SPAD – now it’s all about the rise of the NEDs, the Non-Executive Director” “Malcolm Tucker was the control freak at the centre of Government… but at least he had a plan.” “Cummings proclaimed that the Civil Service were idiots and had to be replaced by freaks and weirdoes… But all he can do it tear things down.” “All the mockery is inside politics now. The fake news, the lies… In The Thick Of It we show rules being bent. But what if there are no rules?” Presented by Ayesha Hazarika. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aegean neighbours Greece and Turkey have been rivals for centuries – and both countries are prone to forgetting the “unfortunate episodes” in their relations with the other. Can they ever get past their infamous regional enmity? Alex Andreou talks to Turkish author and columnist Defne Suman – whose latest novel, The Silence of Scheherazade, looks at a flashpoint of the Greek-Turkish relationship, the Great Fire of Smyrna – about historical silences, lost cultures and the way forward.  “It's hard to remove the word ‘invasion’ from the heads of Turkish people.”  “I talk about the Greek ‘administration’, not the Greek invasion.” “Turkey today is actually not as cosmopolitan as it was during the Ottoman period.”  “Nationalism is the disease of our century.” “If you don't talk about the past, that wound will kill you.”  “Turkey needs a lot of healing. And culture and storytelling lets us heal ourselves from the wounds of the past.”  Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. 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

For many of us, the warm light of the fridge was one of the few consolations of lockdown. But now we’re living in a harsh new reality of intermittently empty supermarket shelves and farms that are struggling to adapt to Brexit, COVID, and climate change. So how do we make our food supply chains healthier and more secure? Sarah K Mock, agriculture journalist and author of Farm: And Other F Words, and Cambridge University researcher Dolly Theis join Ros Taylor to chew on the myth of conscious consumerism, why climate change means less healthy crops, and how to sweeten the deal of cutting sugar and meat. •  “The whole idea of conscious consumerism has been boiled down to a marketing ploy.” – Sarah K Mock.•  “It's code red for humanity right now…our crops are less nutritious because of climate change.” – Sarah K Mock.•  “We live in a world where being healthy is hard.” – Dolly Theis.•  “The pandemic has showed how vulnerable having poor food has made our country.” – Dolly Theis.•  “The fact that food is making us sick should serious alarm bells.” – Dolly Theis. Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices