The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Since before the Referendum, rivers of untraceable money have flowed through our politics, washing away accountability and benefiting secretive and powerful people. Peter Geoghegan of openDemocracy joins us to discuss the revelations of his new book Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics – and explore what we need to do when technology outpaces the law. Plus: Which zone is your home? Why the Government’s plans for planning won’t solve the housing crisis. And the future of Lebanon.Presented by Andrew Harrison with Nina Schick and Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. 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

There’s a world going on underground. Ethnographer, archaeologist and author of the eerily prescient Bunker: Building For The End Times BRADLEY GARRETT is fascinated by tunnels, chambers and hidden realms – and what drives people to populate them. He tells Ros Taylor about the allure of the subterranean, the hidden city under Wiltshire – and the Doomsday Preppers who wanted to buy it – and the cocktail of modern dreads that make humans refuge underground.Hold tight for Bunker on bunker action… with a Rees-Mogg connection too.  “COVID has revealed how fragile the society we’ve built over the past 30 years is. We created COVID’s pathways around the world.”  “The city is archaeology in reverse… the newest has to be the deepest.”  “If you’re heavily invested in societal collapse, and you’re in power, you might want to bring that collapse about.”  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

Priti Patel might be trying to stoke fears with her ludicrous ‘Clandestine Channel Threat Commander’ but as the Brexit madness recedes, is the environment for immigrants moving in an inexorably more liberal direction? Professor Jonathan Portes of KCL takes Ian Dunt on a deep dive into the economic realities of immigration and finds that not only will we need more immigrants to deal with the post-COVID challenges… but that we may have passed the high point of xenophobia in Britain.Listen up for what Dunt is calling “my first-even optimistic Bunker Daily…” 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

Some good stuff DID get done during the chaotic COVID Parliament that’s just ended. Walthamstow MP STELLA CREASY tells Ayesha Hazarika about her fight to get misogyny reclassified as a hate crime as part of the Domestic Abuse Bill, why women have been left out of the Government’s COVID response… and all the gigs that the Right Honourable Member for Indie Rock missed because of the Pandemic.  “The Chancellor hasn’t got a Scooby about how COVID affects pregnant women. He started telling me about self-employment instead.” “We’re trying to get people back into pubs, but we’re not getting three-year olds back into childcare.” “One MP told me not to worry about coming back to work after having a baby because there’ll be a nanny. Well there ain’t.”  Presented by Ayesha Hazarika. 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

When JOHN HUME died earlier this week, presidents and political leaders across the spectrum eulogised him as nothing less than the father of peace in Northern Ireland. How did this quiet, determined man find a way to bring about the impossible, and sideline violence within Irish nationalism? South Belfast MP Claire Hanna tells Naomi Smith why John Hume is her political hero, and what we can still learn from him.  “People used to joke about John Hume’s ‘single transferable speech’… but he used to say the problem hasn’t changed so the solution hasn’t changed.”Presented by Naomi Smith. 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

With the Grand Reopening leading inevitably to the Great Re-Locking, is No.10’s rule-by-snappy-slogan no longer fit for purpose? Has Boris Johnson’s back-scratching Dissolution Honours finally made Lords Reform inevitable – and should we fear a shake-up if it happens? And our special guest, former minister and rebellious leader of the Gaukward Squad David Gauke, gives perhaps the most entertaining account of losing an election we’ve heard… and speculates if we’ll ever see one-nation Conservatism ever again.  “On COVID, the British public seem to be far more sanguine than writers for mid-market tabloids.” – Ian Dunt “If you’re a Muslim, your mum starts cooking for Eid three days ahead… And that late lockdown made Muslims feel really unvalued.” – Ayesha Hazarika “There’s been too many occasions where the Prime Minister has been too keen to deliver good news that turns out not to be correct… and that undermines trust.” – David Gauke “Everybody talks about Lords reform until they become leader.” - Ayesha Hazarika “Even as an ex-MP I was bombarded with angry emails saying Dominic Cummings should go.” – David Gauke Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ayesha Hazarika and Ian Dunt. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. 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

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were supposed to overturn the tyranny of the banks and give consumers new power over their money. This financial Wild West is still plagued with fraud, scams, pyramid schemes and doomed start-ups. But as entrepreneur, investor and follower of the crypto/blockchain market PHILLIP NUNN explains, the “Internet of Money” is coming whether governments like it or not. Can it become a force for good in the economic revival? “When people say if Pablo Escobar were around now he’d be using Bitcoin, that’s just not true.” “At first crypto was kids in their bedrooms just trying stuff. Now it’s got billions and billions of market cap.” “To hack one chain of Bitcoin you’d need 30 times the power of Google’s servers.” 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

If we’re stuck with a hard right government for the next four years, how should progressives best use this time? Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation MIATTA FAHNBULLEH talks to Alex Andreou about the opportunities amid the chaos, how it’s impossible to triangulate where the Johnson government is going, and what Starmer needs to do right now to build the platform that can win in 2024.  “It’s just not clear what the ideology of Johnson is. They’re more opportunistic than anything.” “These moments come up once in a couple of generations, where everything is thrown up in the air.”  “We need to come together and say we need change. When people come together, politicians will have to listen.”  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

Britain can’t wait for the Government’s Public Inquiry into COVID. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus is seizing the initiative and examining every aspect of the crisis. Its chair, Lib Dem MP and leadership candidate LAYLA MORAN, explains to Naomi Smith how MPs are outpacing the government in understanding the virus, why mental health is the neglected aspect of COVID, and how we can prepare for a second wave.   “I’d love Boris Johnson to come before us and answer our questions. I very much doubt that he will.” “There are some things more important than the Lib Dem leadership contest, would you believe…” Presented by Naomi Smith. 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

From unmasking suspects in the Salisbury poisoning to exposing money laundering and Russian involvement in the shooting down of flight MH-17, investigative collective Bellingcat is at the forefront of a new kind of investigative journalism. Founder ELIOT HIGGINS explains to Dorian Lynskey how “open source” investigations work – why conventional media still doesn’t understand the reach of state disinformation – and how to deal with “vicarious trauma” when you have to watch multiple videos of horrific acts in the pursuit of truth. “I’ve seen so much terrible stuff from across the world that I can prepare myself. You learn what not to look at.”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