The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Will the demise of Dominic Cummings clear the air in No.10? How can you stop QAnon and 5G anti-maskers from radicalising your auntie? Is the BBC really in danger from the Government’s public sector broadcasting review? And what is the true meaning of that Mary Woolstonecraft statue – sexist monstrosity, artistic vision, crowdfunding disaster or a bit of all three? Yasmeen Serhan, Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith join Andrew Harrison to sort it all out.  “The BBC overcompensates its liberal bias by overplatforming right-wingers” -– Alex Andreou  Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Yasmeen Serhan, Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. 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 disposing of Dom enable Johnson to reset as a kindler, gentler government? Will Deal Week turn into Deferment Week yet again? And what will the next seven days mean for the next steps on lockdown? Alex Andreou sets out your week ahead.  “The Government frittered away their post-election honeymoon, and set a tone of snideness and nastiness” “I’m willing to bet Hancock has threatened to resign multiple times over lockdown in the last few months” “Carrie Symonds reflects the school of Conservatives who want the old Boris back, not this joyless apparatchik.” 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 ProductionSee acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

COVID19 has caused the biggest shake-up in transport in over thirty years – with huge bailouts, U-Turns and financial crunches piling up as passenger numbers plummet. Transport writer and broadcaster Christian Wolmar spoke to Justin Quirk what state the sector will be in after the pandemic, and if we can afford the investment we used to take for granted. “Transport has been forced into a completely new world” “I can’t see the public transport network reaching 2019 heights for 20 years” “When you look at the detail of HS2, it’s really not worth it” “It is the less-sexy, smaller schemes that make the biggest difference to our transport system” “The idea you could let TFL go bust is fanciful, Sadiq Khan has the Government over a barrel” Presented by Justin Quirk. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofrenijevic 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

Broadcasting legend and former Question Time host DAVID DIMBLEBY dives into the undiscovered weeds of the Iraq War on his new podcast The Fault Line. He talks to Ian Dunt about the fatal relationship between Bush and Blair, how Iraq began the poisoning of western politics – plus what it’s like presenting election nights, and whether the QT audience really was biased. “When the facts turn against you as a politician, it’s very difficult to abandon the course you’ve set yourself.” “Fatally, Bush and Blair accepted the evidence of a charlatan.” “Social media provides the megaphone, and you have to speak up all the time…doubt, hesitation, and moderation aren’t relevant” Presented by Ian Dunt. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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 Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill known as SpyCops is one of the most controversial pieces of legislation before Parliament – and the Labour Party is only timidly opposing it. Is a bill that permits state agents to break the law defensible? Where do we draw the line? Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay explains why he’s campaigning against the CHIS Bill, where Keir Starmer is falling short, and the deeper background of the Undercover Policing Inquiry into 40 years of undercover surveillance.  “We’ve seen appalling crimes committed against ordinary people by agents of the state… ” “There’s no fascist groups on the list, no extreme right groups. Everyone investigated is on the Left.” “In Scotland we had the police investigating the police. Surprise surprise, they found there’s nothing to see here, guv.” “To raise a child and then discover that the father wasn’t who you thought they were… Some of these women consider that they’d been raped by the State.”  “How did a union activist know their phone was being tapped? They wouldn’t pay the bill for two years and never got cut off…” Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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

Where were you when the Don went down? And what does Trump’s end mean for Britain? Plus, as COVID, No Deal and general incompetence drive Scotland further away from Westminster, could independence really happen? SNP MP Alyn Smith and pro-union (OR IS SHE?) Scot Ayesha Hazarika thrash it out. And who would our panel most like to spend lockdown with? “The left is good at laughing at the right – but not at winning power from them.” – Ayesha Hazarika “This groundswell for Scottish independence is not about Boris Johnson.” – Alyn Smith MP “The European Parliament is set up to be productive.  Westminster is showbiz for ugly people” -– Alyn Smith MP  Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison with Ros Taylor and Ayesha Hazarika. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. 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 Trump concede and what happens if he won’t? Can Boris “Britain Trump” make amends to a new President who remembers his “slavish devotion” to his predecessor? Plus: Dido Harding up before the beak in Parliamentary Committee and the small matter of a new civil war in Ethiopia. Arthur Snell sets up the week ahead.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

A weekend bonus edition: Since 1935 the American Legion has organised summer camps for high school students to learn about US Government, by forming their own political parties and state legislatures. Filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine documented the programme in Austin, Texas, and the resulting film Boys State won a prize at the Sundance Film Festival. They told Dorian Lynskey what they learned about America’s next generation of leaders. Is this really a “conservative indoctrination camp”?  “The American Legion feels like it has one foot in the 1950s and one foot in the 21st century” – Jesse Moss “We had an incredible window into boyhood and masculinity” – Amanda McBaine “Some people see politics as a game, win at all costs” – Jesse Moss “This polarisation we have is not going anywhere” – Amanda McBaine Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers are Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Theme tune 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 Biden slowly erodes Donald Trump’s leads in the final swing states, we convene our favourite expert regulars for an all-star postmortem of Election 2020. Former Obama staffer Amy Pope, UCL politics professor Brian Klaas and Steve Schmidt of never-Trump Republican political action committee The Lincoln Project look at what Trump has done to American democracy – and how Biden could fix it. “Democracy doesn’t function in societies where there is no ability to distinguish between the truth and lies” – Steve Schmidt “There were two elections – one moral, and one political emergency, to remove Trump. We only had the latter” – Brian Klaas “Trump has already lost. We just have to wait this out.” – Steve Schmidt 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

Was Guy Fawkes really “the last honest man to enter Parliament”, as we keep hearing on Twitter? Or a fore-runner of today’s religiously radicalised terrorists? Why is a villain of the Gunpowder Plot acclaimed as a hero by some in 2020? Nick Holland, author of The Real Guy Fawkes, tells Jude Rogers why Guy Fawkes persists as a symbol… and what we misunderstand about a man who almost murdered thousands in a 17th century atrocity. “Guy Fawkes is a complicated figure – so both political sides can claim him” “It’s estimated he’d gathered enough gunpowder to destroy Parliament 25 times over” Presented by Jude Rogers. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer 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