The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Why do people who consider themselves anti-racist have a blind spot when it comes to antisemitism? Why don’t we automatically think of antisemitism as racism, or Jews as an ethnic minority? Writer and comedian David Baddiel talks to Nick Cohen about his new book ‘Jews Don’t Count’, how social media nourished a new antisemitism among some progressives… and why British Jews shouldn’t have to answer for Benjamin Netanyahu.• “Israel-Palestine is a situation that most Jews are not responsible for… It’s racist to imagine that all Jews have to have an opinion either way” • “The idea that there would be no anti-Semitism without the State of Israel is a myth.” • “Our notion of identity politics just doesn’t apply to Jews.”• “My atheism has no bearing on whether or not I would have been killed by the Nazis. It’s racism. I don’t have a choice to be Jewish.” Presented by Nick Cohen. 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

Peace in Northern Ireland has not looked this fragile in decades. Violence erupted in Belfast and elsewhere with both Brexit and resurgent gangs to blame. The duped DUP have replaced their leader with a creationist evangelical. And it’s all happening against the backdrop of increasing support for a United Ireland. In a Two Naomis special, leader of the Alliance Party and MLA for East Belfast Naomi Long talks to Naomi Smith about Northern Ireland’s precarious peace – and how it might fall apart.• “Boris Johnson never listened to Northern Ireland as a collective. He only listened to the DUP”• “A United Ireland is more likely than at any point in my lifetime, and Brexit has been a big driver in that”• “Northern Ireland is like a child caught up in a very difficult divorce”• “Poots is in the soul of Paisley’s DUP… whoever leads the party, it will not be moving forwards”Presented by Naomi Smith. 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

As the Indian coronavirus variant takes a foothold, is the UK’s grand unlocking on June 21st under threat? And as foreign holidays return, will Brits head for the airports or stay grounded? Plus, we speak to solicitor and human rights activist Tawseef Khan about his new book The Muslim Problem: Why We’re Wrong About Islam and Why It Matters. Plus: Could a one-off wealth tax pay the world’s hefty COVID bill? “I hope the red list delay was for a trade deal, because at least that makes Johnson cynical rather than hopelessly incompetent.” - Ian Dunt “The crisis in India proves we need action right now, and the most obvious way is for rich countries to donate vaccines.” - Yasmeen Serhan “There is no Islam aside from the one that we choose to interpret.” - Tawseef Khan Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ian Dunt and Yasmeen Serhan. The producer is 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

Britain greets the latest milestone of indoor pubs and restaurants with trepidation, not celebration. Is Boris Johnson preparing to shift the blame for another surge – possibly from the India Variant – onto the public? Plus, what’s driving the terrifying violence in Israel and Palestine, and how will that play out? ARTHUR SNELL is here to start your week. • “People who gave the Government a chance will be a LOT more critical now we’re near the end of this.”• “A lot of long-term trends in Israel and Palestine have come together in this moment of combustion.”• “I’ll be holding back on going to the pub. It’s Monday. You’ve got to pace yourself…” 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

Infamous anonymous blogger FLEET STREET FOX lifted the lid on the seedy world of tabloid journalism in the Leveson years – then in 2013 unmasked herself as Mirror columnist Susie Boniface. She tells Ian Dunt how being a total pain in the arse is the way to get into journalism, where the loathing of hacks really comes from… and why the credibility of print goes all the way back to Babylonian tax inspectors. Audio note: features guest appearance by a dog.• “I started in journalism because I couldn’t stand the idea of other people doing it and getting it wrong”• “Is journalism a dying industry? It’s been dying since the first newspaper was printed!”• “The human mind has been bred to think that if something is in black and white print, it’s fact”https://www.susieboniface.comPresented by Ian Dunt. 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

The vastly wealthy Sackler family are known as respectable patrons of the arts, but the story behind their philanthropy is a dark one. The Sacklers made their billions from OxyContin or “Hillbilly Heroin”, the $35m prescription drug that precipitated America’s opioid crisis – an epidemic that has killed half a million people.Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, tells Ros Taylor about the corruption and influence that turned a deadly addictive drug into a medical staple, how the Sacklers insulated themselves from what they’d done, and how racism in medicine – surprisingly – spared many African Americans while devastating poor whites.• “The truth has caught up with the Sacklers. I don’t know that justice ever will.”• “This story is a slow-moving disaster. It took a quarter of a century to get to a quarter of a million deaths.” • “Many people hooked on OxyContin just switched to heroin when they reformulated it in 2010.” • “The question is, What did the Sacklers know about the harm OxyContin caused? And evidence shows that they DID know.” 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 the dust settles, what are these bizarre elections really telling us about how British politics work? Electoral consultant Kenny Campbell, a former journalist and editor of the Metro newspaper, goes deep into the entrails of Elections ’21 with Alex Andreou. Does Labour have to wean itself off its attachment to the shattered Red Wall? Might levelling up the North provoke a backlash in vulnerable southern Conservative seats? And do we have to face up to the fact that England is becoming a one-party democracy? • “The pandemic has come good for Johnson at exactly the right time… If anything, voters were voting simply not to mess things up.”• “We know what Johnson, Sturgeon and Drakeford stand for. Starmer is struggling to articulate what Labour stands for.”• “When Johnson does blow up, it will be because of a monumental catastrophe.” 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

As Labour find a way to make a bad week worse, we look at the long-term consequences of Starmer vs. Rayner. Plus, we might be on the eve of the biggest economic boom since 1948 but will the boom play in Hartlepool? The Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance in trouble. And would it be better for Britain if we stopped worrying and let London balloon until it becomes Mega-City N1 (and other postcodes)? “Mark my words, the person who’ll undo Boris Johnson will be Boris Johnson.” – Alex Andreou “Starmer’s main selling point has been competence, but this reshuffle has been a total mess.” – Miatta Fahnbulleh “Global Britain is trying to find its place in the world and for Brexiters, the Anglosphere is their happy place.” – Arthur Snell Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Arthur Snell, Miatta Fahnbulleh and Alex Andreou. 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

How will Labour’s post-election Hell Weekend and the sacking-not-sacking of Angela Rayner play out this week? How badly is Starmer damaged? And what sort of a Queen’s Speech can we expect from a Government that has no reason to fear opposition? IAN DUNT ruins… sorry, starts your week. • “Starmer has come out of these elections absolutely savaged.” • “If you’re an urban voter, it looks like Labour is almost embarrassed of your support.” • “Voter ID is pure voter suppression. There are many problems in this country, but voter fraud is not one of them.” 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

Tax havens aren’t all desert islands with palm trees. One of the worst offenders is rainy Britain. So are we wrong focus on offshore tax chicanery? And what can we do about it at home as well as away? Chair of the Tax Justice Network Alex Cobham tells Arthur Snell about how tax injustice goes beyond beaches and palm trees – and the implications for businesses in post-Brexit Britain. www.taxjustice.ukwww.taxwatchuk.orghttps://fairtaxmark.net/• “When it comes to tax havenry, Britain is the biggest actor out there.” • “We think we know what tax haven means… but it’s actually quite slippery.” • “You can avoid tax on a sunny beach with a palm tree, but you can also do it in London and Amsterdam.”• “The UK and its network is the biggest single actor in tax avoidance.” • “Every single second, one nurse’s salary is lost to tax havens – mostly to multinational companies.” Presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. Music: 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