The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Is Wales really setting the COVID agenda for the rest of the UK? As the “firebreak” comes down, former special advisor to First Minister Mark Drakeford turned political consultant Cathy Owens talks to Jude Rogers. Is Wales responding better to lockdowns than England? What is the pandemic doing to support for Welsh nationalism? And why it’s not all about trying to keep English tourists out.Audio note: Includes sound effects live from Cardiff! “This is a time for boring competent leadership, not Churchillian speeches and promising the moon.” “We don’t want Boris and his chums to be in charge of Wales.” “Wales leading Westminster? That’s the opposite of what we see happening here.” “People in Wales voted for Ukip just like the English. We do get the Daily Mail here…” 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

Recorded before No.10 imposed a solution on Manchester. With Manchester refusing to accept Government terms to enter Tier 3, and Wales heading for a ‘circuit-breaker’, what does rebellion in the regions mean for the Government’s lockdown strategy? Have Senate Republicans left it too late to stop themselves going down with the Donald? And our panelists travel back in time to discuss their formative political experiences. “The Government doesn’t understand the needs of these communities and the people there” - Minnie Rahman “Westminster is an old boys club, and even a pandemic doesn’t seem to have changed that” - Minnie Rahman “People don’t trust Westminster to get COVID right” - Arthur Snell “Ever since Brexit, London has been out-of-kilter with the people in power” - Arthur Snell “Trump has destroyed the traditional Republican Party” - Arthur Snell Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with Nina Schick, Arthur Snell and Minnie Rahman. 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

Are progressives right to get so excited about Jacinda Ardern? She’s won admiration for her handling of the COVID crisis and the massacre in a Christchurch mosque – and for crushing New Zealand’s equivalent of Ukip. Toby Manhire, editor of The Spin-Off in NZ and former Guardian comment editor, joins us from Auckland to explain what New Zealand has got right and wrong – and what Britain can learn from Ardern’s “relentlessly positive” Kiwi revolution. 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

As Boris Johnson falls out with everyone – Manchester, Brussels, scientists, his own Northern MPs – what can we expect for the biggest crisis week since last week. Alex Andreou tells us what to expect from the EU talks-that-aren’t talks, Westminster’s stand-off with the North, and Donald Trump’s last stand. Presented and 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

A poisonous online culture of misogyny is radicalising young men to hate women – producing terrifying consequences from routine rape and death threats against female politicians to actual violence and murder. Author of Men Who Hate Women and founder of the Everyday Sexism project Laura Bates posed as a young boy to infiltrate these online worlds and discover how they groom kids as young as 11 into misogyny. She tells Naomi Smith how the paranoid worlds of Men’s Rights Activists, Incels and “MGTOW”s create a conveyor belt to the extreme right – and what we have to do about this growing threat. “This is terrorism. We just don’t call it that because the victims are women” “You can trace the paths of men who made their name through GamerGate to the extreme right.” “We need to give young men a sense of purpose and value in the real world so they don’t get it from these extremist digital communities.” Presented by Naomi Smith. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. Music is "Systematic" by Lee Rosevere. 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

More bikes and fewer cars on the road has turned out to be one of the unexpected dividends of COVID. But can Britain ever get to an Amsterdam-style paradise of bikes? And will Britons ever stop raging about cyclists? Coventry’s Cycling Mayor Adam Tranter – he’s all bike chain, no gold chain – tells Justin Quirk what’s needed to get Britain into the saddle. “Most people don’t know this but Coventry practically invented the modern bicycle.” “Paris has transformed into a bike-friendly city in less than a year. If you build it, they will come.” “If we’re not careful we could lose this moment to change our streets and cities for good.” “With lockdown, people felt like they could use bike safely with the family for the first time in decades.” Presented and 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

Has the Government’s emergency tier strategy broken the short-lived compact between the Conservatives and the North? Is new government spokesperson Allegra Stratton more than just a human shield for former communications genius Boris Johnson? And does the Government really want us all to retrain as boxers, cake decorators and DJs? Special guest Oli Dugmore, Head of News and Politics at joe.co.uk, joins us for Britain’s umpteenth national restart interview. “What nobody mentions about Rishi Sunak is that he’s probably the richest person in the history of British politics.” – Ayesha Hazarika “When mayors find out what’s happening in their towns through a blog from Peston, that’s a communications disaster.” – Ian Dunt “I challenge you to find a Government that has supported the rave scene” – Oli Dugmore “You’re only as good as your boss, and unfortunately Stratton’s boss is Dominic Cummings” – Ayesha Hazarika Presented by Naomi Smith with Ian Dunt and Ayesha Hazarika. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. 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

If we’re living in an era of strongmen, why are so many (male) leaders failing us all over the world? How do our ideas of leadership need to change? Dr Pippa Malmgren, co-author with Chris Lewis of The Infinite Leader and former economic advisor to President George W Bush, tells Alex Andreou why leaders need to lead differently – why we have to stop rewarding psychopaths – and what we can all learn from Donald Trump.  “We’re seeing leadership failures in every category of the economy. Leaders are failing us everywhere.” “We’re training people to exercise psychopathic leadership, not empathetic leadership.” “You might see better leadership skills from a single parent than from the CEO of a major company.”  “The media want certainty – but the public is very tolerant of leaders who say ‘We don’t know – let’s try and find out.’”  “Trump’s delivery is provocative and obnoxious – but he’s very good at creating an emotional response, and emotions move the audience.”  “Some leaders are all about ME and some are all about WE. And we need more WE.”  Presented by Alex Andreou. 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

Does the Government’s latest, three-tier COVID system make sense – and is the North of England out of patience with Westminster? Will the Agriculture Bill put hormone beef on your plate? And will we finally, finally see an end to the EU Trade Talks saga? Naomi Smith sets up the week ahead. Presented and 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

Junior barrister Alexandra Wilson made the news when she revealed how she’d repeatedly been mistaken for a defendant in court simply because she is black. She tells Dorian Lynskey about life as a black barrister in an overwhelmingly white system, what the courts need to do about criminalising people of colour, and what drove her new book In Black and White: A Young Barrister's Story Of Race And Class In A Broken Justice System. “I’ve had a lawyer tell me that ‘black people are good for business - because they keep killing one another.” “Until it affects you, people don’t really know how the court system works” “From the outside, our profession looks as elite as it can get” “Institutions are only going change if there is a culture shift” “There has been a misunderstanding of the role of lawyers, our job is to fight for our clients” Presented by Dorian Lynskey. 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