The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Pity about Matt Hancock. He was a real hands-on Minister. But the story isn’t the hapless ex-Health Secretary’s office affair, it’s the serious implications of leaked CCTV, off-books emails to “collaborators” and Boris Johnson’s self-serving role in this mess. Plus: How do we future-proof the economy? Lib Dem treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine is our special guest.• “You can't be a Health Secretary in a pandemic if everyone's making knob jokes about you.” – Marie le Conte• “You cannot level on up on the cheap.” – Miatta Fahnbulleh• “This government keeps coming up with sticking plasters, not long-term solutions to get away from low wages and fossil fuels.” – Christine Jardinehttps://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Andrew Harrison with Miatta Fahnbulleh and Marie le Concte. 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we clear away the bunting and empty bottles after Hancock Humiliation Weekend, how will the story — of leaked CCTV, secret email addresses and backhanders — develop? What sort of Health Sec will Sajid Javid be, and will he give Dido Harding the NHS job? And the small matter of England vs Germany. Ros Taylor joins Andrew Harrison to set out the week ahead. • “Boris Johnson doesn’t have to pretend to have moral standards. He doesn’t have them, and lots of voters like him for that.”• “Hancock said he was resigning to focus on his family life, after leaving his wife and kids in the middle of the night.”• “Whoever wins Batley and Spen, nobody is going to be happy with the result.” 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your opponents are lower than vermin. Politics is a righteous battle of absolute good against absolute evil. A secret cabal controls everything. And only a return to a past Eden can solve our problems. Why do these simplistic myths grip the Left so strongly, and can Labour ever free itself from them? Nick Cohen talks to Chris Clarke, author of The Dark Knight And The Puppet Master, about these fantasies of hidden power and betrayal are not just a Corbynist trait, how they lead Labour zealots to look for traitors not converts, and what the paranoid style on the Left shares with the populist far Right.  “The Dark Knight myth stops you understanding other people. The Puppet Master myth stops you understanding power. And the Golden Age myth stops you understanding change.” “Both right- and left-wing populists depend on these myths of golden ages and puppet masters.” “The idea of a glorious socialist past of banners and brass bands that was usurped by evil men in shiny suits is just not true.”  “When you talk about never kissing a Tory, you’re writing off huge swathes of the voters you need.” Presented by Nick Cohen. 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband has reinvented himself since 2015 as a podcaster with his hit series Reasons To Be Cheerful, and re-entered frontbencher politics as Shadow Business Secretary. But he has big ideas. He talks to Dorian Lynskey about his new book Go Big: How To Fix Our World, why the real issues that shape the future are bigger than Westminster, plus the “Preston Revolution”, the future roads that Labour should take… and his encyclopaedic knowledge of (wait for it) Dallas.  “COVID showed that our institutions and the way our country is run is so at odds with who we are as a people.” “As Labour leader you’re constantly thinking, is what I say going to blow up into a story? I think I was too cautious.”  “Brexit was a big idea. You can say it wasn’t the RIGHT idea. But people responded to it. People do want big change.”  Presented by Dorian Lynskey. 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Press freedom is under attack from Priti Patel’s draconian plans to tighten the Official Secrets Act, which would criminalise the “onward disclosure” of leaked material, putting journalists at increased risk of imprisonment. Meanwhile the Government routinely stonewalls Freedom of Information requests – making it harder to hold them to account. How did our rights to freedom of information become so eroded, with government able to skirt the law by simply blacklisting journalists? Former BBC journalist and FOI expert Martin Rosenbaum tells Alex Andreou about the need for strong FOI rights, the infamous ‘Clearing House’ where FoI requests go to die – and the dangers of “outsourcing” scrutiny of government to hard-up pressure groups. “Blair introduced the FOI Act and later said he was a complete idiot for doing so.” “There's no enthusiasm for Freedom of Information in central government at all.”  “There's no law saying you have to appear on the Today Programme. But there is a law that you have to respond to an FOI request.” 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Biden’s frosty first summit with Putin was designed to put the Russian leader on notice that the days of manipulating America are over. But are they? Special guest Luke Harding – former Guardian Moscow Correspondent and author of Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem and Russia’s Remaking of the West – tells us what Bad Vlad really wants and if Biden can stop him getting it. Plus as we get deeper into the Euros, how will the results shape politics in England, Scotland and Wales? And why we should ensure that everyone lives no more than 15 minutes away from the things they need. Luke Harding from today’s podcast: • “Whatever Biden says, Putin will do what he’s always done: meddling, hacking, and sometimes murdering his enemies.” • “We’ve been in a new cold war since 2008… Russia has effectively chewed up a chunk of Eastern Europe.” • “Putin is now this venerated figure with the Republican base, simply because he was Trump’s buddy.” https://www.patreon.com/bunkercastPresented by Andrew Harrison with Yasmeen Serhan and Arthur Snell. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Produced by Andrew Harrison. 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

As the fallout from the Lib Dems’ victory in Chesham and Amersham continues to descend, is Boris Johnson about to get mugged by the newly liberal shires – or old school nimby Toryism? Is the Sunak-Johnson confrontation over the PM’s free spending finally on? Plus more Classic Dom internet fan exclusives, the DUP in a mess, and how will England and Scotland’s final Euro group games shape politics? Naomi Smith joins Andrew Harrison to set out the week ahead. • “The test for Sunak will be when he has to stop spending.”• “At every door I knocked in Chesham, they mentioned HS2…”• “The Lib Dems are good at winning by-elections, but not necessarily holding them” Presented and 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When people end up in a job or position they love, was it because they worked hard in school, or did they just get lucky? Why is the idea of progressing on merit under threat? Is there a way we can modernise it for the 21st century? Should we we even try?Adrian Wooldridge, Political Editor of the Economist and author of its Bagehot column, talks to Ros Taylor about his new book The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World, why Britain is becoming less meritocratic… and how we can make meritocracy work in today’s world.  “While America claims to be the ultimate meritocracy, they are fascinated by our own aristocracy” “You need competent people to do the work of the world, and aristocrats are quite often born stupid and lazy” “The Davos class of people at the top are divorced from the rest of society, floating above our meritocratic mechanisms” Presented by Ros Taylor. 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As footballers take the knee and culture warriors try to whip up a minority to boo, and the Tokyo Olympics teeter on the edge of cancellation, should we just accept that sport has always been inherently political? Jules Boykoff, former footballer, politics lecturer at Pacific University in Oregon and author of four books on the history of the Olympics, talks to Alex Andreou about the politics of sport’s showpiece event, whether the Tokyo Games will happen… and if it’s right to contact out politics to inexperience sportspeople. “Rule 50 outlaws expressions of politics at the Olympics… it’s a rule rooted in both power and hypocrisy” “The IOC are totally happy to have a made-for-TV event with no fans, as long as money heads into their coffers” “In major sports leagues 45-60% of the revenues to go to the athletes. At the Olympics it’s just 4.1%” “I don’t believe that every athlete should be an activist… but when it comes to athlete activism, now is a really exciting time to be alive” “The Olympic Committee is a profit-gobbling cartel… and one of the least accountable sports bodies in the world. Presented by Alex Andreou. 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Repairing the damage of war and cementing peace is a huge challenge for countries and international organisations. So why are big players so bad at fixing the consequences of civil and national strife? Award-winning academic Séverine Autesserre has worked as a “peacebuilder” in Kosovo, Afghanistan and the DR Congo. She talks to Arthur Snell about her book The Frontlines of Peace, why the typical “trickle-down” approach to repairing war damage doesn’t work – and how lasting peace comes from thinking outside the box.  “Handshakes between presidents and abstract peace agreements make no difference on the ground.”  “I started reading my first book about the Balkans on my flight to Kosovo.”  “I was the outsider, so I was in charge.”  “I found pockets of peace in even the most violent places.”  “In post-conflict zones only 2.1% of aid goes to local organisations who know the area.”  Presented by Arthur Snell. 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices