The Bunker – News without the nonsense

After an initial COVID response that was lauded as an example to the world, Germany has experienced an unexpectedly harsh second wave. What will that mean for the twilight of the Merkel Era? Is Germany’s strange opposition coalition of libertarians, alt.rightists and anti-vaxxers just fringe politics or something more serious? And what comes after Merkel? The Economist’s Berlin bureau chief Tom Nuttall explains all to Justin Quirk.  “When the COVID numbers are totted up, Germany will still turn out to be one of the places in Europe where you wanted to be” “When the pandemic hit, support for Merkel’s Christian Democrats shot up.” “The Green Party in Germany really wants power. It craves it. And it’s positioned itself very much as a centrist party.” “The big question is, how big is the Merkel Bonus for the CDU?” Presented by 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Was the Trump Presidency just a publicity stunt that got out of hand? Film-maker James Fletcher’s new documentary on the 2016 campaign The Accidental President is streaming now on Amazon and Apple TV. He talks to Dorian Lynskey about what fed the Black Swan event of the Trump presidency, how Trump’s freestyle campaign left his Republican rivals with nothing to say, and how it could be that – even after four years of chaos and corruption – Trump increased his popular vote in 2020.  “This was an insane conflagration of events” “The Republicans slept-walked into the 2016 election and a complacent Hillary Clinton thought it was in the bag.” “This was a freestyle, open-mic campaign… Any professional campaign advisor would have told Trump to do exactly the opposite of what he did.”  “Hillary Clinton just could never convincingly explain why she wanted to be President.” “Democrats just laughed at Trump without understanding what a serious danger he posed.” “Has Trump really changed the system forever? Are we really that shallow and ridiculous?” 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

Our 250th edition! In the Thatcher governments of the 80s Michael Heseltine was the loudest voice for embattled One Nation Toryism. In later years he’s become a hero to Remainers, eventually paying for his Europhilia with expulsion from the party. Ian Dunt talks to him about the future of Toryism, what it was like to work with Margaret Thatcher, what he makes of Keir Starmer… and whether circumstances will force Boris Johnson back to the One Nation Toryism we thought he’d driven out of the party.   “The most sensible thing for Britain is to reapply to join the EU. It won’t happen soon – but it should.” “Yes, Margaret Thatcher would have pandered to popular opinion. She was a politician. But she would never do anything as reckless as leaving the Single Market.”  “The words of the Levelling Up agenda are fine. What’s completely missing is the deeds.”  Presented by Ian Dunt. 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

As the Roadmap to Unlocking is unveiled, are Johnson’s plans over-cautious, reckless, unrealistic or maybe… reasonable? Special guest former Home Secretary David Blunkett joins us to explain what it’s like to make decisions in a crisis, what he thinks of Keir Starmer’s performance so far, and whether he rates Priti Patel. Plus, do we need a deradicalisation programme for angry white males? “If opposition leaders are constantly calling for people to resign and then they don’t, it tends to make them look a bit weak.” – Ayesha Hazarika “If Governments want to show how tough they are, they should choose opponents their own size – and maybe not misguided young women.” – David Blunkett on the Shamima Begum case “One type of extremism breeds another. You can’t counter one extreme group by creating another.” – Ayesha Hazarika “On 9/11 there wasn’t a single person in Cabinet that panicked. I was amazed.” – David Blunkett “Starmer’s got a nightmare job because Labour can’t get a hearing… and because the Government are being forced to enact a social democratic programme.” – David Blunkett Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ayesha Hazarika and Arthur Snell. 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

Will Boris Johnson’s “schools first” plan for unlocking England placate the headbangers of the CRG? What about those desperate for a beer that’s not from a can? Can Keir Starmer out-caution the PM? And what’s going on with Johnson’s latest wheeze, a subterranean roundabout under the Isle of Man? Ros Taylor sets up the week ahead.  “This is bad news if you’re a pub landlord – and good news if you’re an off-license flogging cheap tinnies.”  “Starmer’s moment is not now. He’ll never prosper in the middle of a successful vaccine rollout.” Presented and 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

After decades of feminist thought, why is history still a parade of men and the things they’ve done? The writers, poets and teachers behind the Twitter initiative @OnThisDayShe are putting women back into history, one day at a time – and they’re not leaving out the serial killers. Jo Bell, Tania Hershman and Ailsa Holland of @OnThisDayShe talk to Jude Rogers about why history leaves women out, their new book, why women don’t have to be heroes… and how your best ideas can come on a day out at the local treacle market.  “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.” – Tania Hershman  “The way we talk about history is revealing. A man is said to have done something. A women is always ‘reputed’ to have done something.” – Jo Bell “Even if women are recognised in their own time, they’ll often be forgotten by history afterwards.” – Ailsa Holland “Women’s history is always expected to be somehow uplifting. But it’s not history’s job to be inspiring.” – Jo Bell “If I’d know at school about some of the women we’ve featured it would have changed my whole outlook on life.” – Tania Hershman “This isn’t women’s history. It’s everyone’s history, with women put back in.” – Jo Bell Presented by Jude Rogers. 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

What does it mean to be indispensable? From Major through New Labour to the Coalition, the late Civil Service giant Jeremy Heywood was to a key advisor to four Prime Ministers, and Cabinet Secretary to two. Theresa May described him as “the greatest public servant of our age”. His widow Suzanne tells Ros Taylor about her new book What Does Jeremy Think?, what it took for Jeremy Heywood to manage crises from Black Wednesday to Brexit, and how he handled the duty of pushing through policies he himself feared were wrong.   “Jeremy had been in training to get the best result out of Brexit for Britain for almost all his professional life…” “It was only while writing the book that I realised how close the UK came to a total banking collapse during the Financial Crisis.” Presented by Ros Taylor. 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

From the ownership of Manchester City and Paris St. Germain to motor sport in the Middle East to the Beijing Olympics, questionable regimes are laundering their reputations by association with elite sport. Does “sportswashing” work, and what can fans do about it? Murad Ahmed, Sports Editor of the FT and host of their Business of Football Summit, gives Andrew Harrison the inside track on sport’s dirty secrets.   “No fan of a sports team thinks of themselves as a consumer of a global brand. But that’s exactly what marketing directors think.” “The sports market has been completely distorted by ownership by Middle Eastern states.” “The weaponising of fans to go after critics of your country is really worrying.” Presented and 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

Britain’s COVID policy has failed women so badly that organisations from Amnesty to the Fawcett Society have called for the EHRC to intervene. Why can’t our blokey-bloke Cabinet understand that more than half the population is being hit harder by the virus – and getting less help? Plus special guest Caroline Lucas MP explains the radical, cross-party Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. And as Samira Ahmed (possibly) takes over Mastermind, what are our panel’s specialist subjects and starters for ten? “Three million and more people have had no support since March. That’s unforgivable. And it hits women disproportionately.” – Caroline Lucas  “We need a lot more bolshy, aggressive, assertive policies if we’re going to get gender parity around COVID and beyond.” – Miatta Fahnbulleh “To be fair to the Government’s sense of imagination, they have found imaginative ways to spread COVID” – Ahir Shah “When you have a PM who uses terms like ‘girly swot’ and ‘big girl’s blouse’, that’s not someone who’s very interested in gender equality.” – Caroline Lucas Presented by Naomi Smith with Miatta Fahnbulleh and Ahir Shah. 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 enforced hotel quarantine kicks in, will closed borders mollify the increasingly restive Covid Recovery Group? And brace yourself for an entirely unnecessary War on Woke as the Government invents the Free Speech Champion – the worst superhero ever. Ian Dunt sets out the coming week for Andrew Harrison. “You’d imagine that closed borders and quarantine would be exactly what the CRG want.” “We won’t see much of Labour on the war on woke. But we haven’t seen much of Labour on anything lately.”  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