The Bunker – News without the nonsense

As America faces the dire prospect of a Trump second term, the hardest-hitting, most brutal and effective anti-Trump ads come from the rebel Republicans of Super PAC the Lincoln Project. Former George W Bush and John McCain strategist Steve Schmidt of The Lincoln Project joins us to explain the scale of the stakes, the depths of Trump’s betrayal, and what British listeners can do to unseat America’s worst president. Plus, fun with cancel culture! Ayesha Hazarika and Alex Andreou join Andrew Harrison for this week’s full-length Bunker roundtable.  “In a choice between a sociopath and a socialist, in America the sociopath is going to win seven days a week.” “We have gone full Banana Republic in the US in the past four years.” “Democracies can’t flourish when the truth and a lie are indistinguishable.” “It took 240 years to discover the design flaw in the American system.” “Grievance is the high-octane fuel of Trumpism. No grievance, no Trumpism.” Produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. 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

Not everyone with COVID ends up in hospital. Sufferers are beginning to report a disturbing post-viral syndrome of deep, extended fatigue, weakness, “brain fog”, anxiety and weird physical sensations that they’re calling “Long COVID”. Paul Garner of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine tells Naomi Smith about his own strange and debilitating ten-week experience with Long COVID – and explains why employers and medical professionals need to take it seriously.  “I felt very fatigued, with brain fogs, my heart was racing… it felt like my life was draining out of me.” “I used to do an hour of intense yoga regularly. Now I do 15 minutes and I’m floored for two days.”  “This disease messes with your head. I’ve woken up in a very low mood, in tears… then later in the day I’ll be fine.” “This is very similar to ME and long-term fatigue… And patients are not being believed by employers and health professionals.”  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 ProductionSee acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How will transport in cities change after the COVID wave subsides? Will financial worries make high-frequency public transport a thing of the past, just when we need it most? And will we even WANT to live in cities any more? Jonn Elledge of urban nerdery site CityMetric talks to Ros Taylor about the future of trains, buses and bikes… and why we might have missed the COVID opportunity to rethink transport.  “Uber isn’t even good for Uber drivers. The company clearly wants to phase them out.”  “The Government is going to have to subsidise London’s transport again. If it doesn’t the city will grind to a halt.” “If London life no longer exists as it once did, what’s the point of spending a fortune to live there?”  “I do worry that anything we were going to do about traffic, the moment has now passed.”  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

COVID’s impact on people with multiple sclerosis has been cruel beyond even the privations experienced by the rest of us. Our panelist Ros Taylor has never spoken about her own MS diagnosis before. In conversation with David Martin, CEO of the MS Trust, she discusses the astonishing hardships faced by people with MS during the pandemic, why all charities are facing a potential extinction event… and what listeners can do to rescue essential charities that face total ruin.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

Donald Trump annihilates the language of democracy even as he campaigns to destroy its institutions – and in this, he’s just like Putin. In a podcast unlike any we’ve recorded (complete with live thunderstorms), the author of Surviving Autocracy MASHA GESSEN talks to Dorian Lynskey about the lies designed to purely to bully, the perils of the next Trump… and why we might come out of the populist mess better than we went in.Produced and presented 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 #BlackLivesMatter puts law enforcement under microscope worldwide, policing expert and former Met officer Peter Kirkham gives the view from inside British policing. Plus, what does Beijing’s draconian crackdown on free speech mean for Hong Kong citizens – and will Britain’s offer of BNO passports make any difference? And what are you going to spend your £500 government stimulus voucher on? Nina Shick and Arthur Snell join Dorian Lynskey for this week’s full-length Bunker podcast.  “Lockdown isn’t a policing issue. It’s a government and a health issue. Portraying it as a policing issue just shows how shambolic the Government’s response has been.” – Peter Kirkham  “Any organisation put together by white males will put the interests of white males first. We have to ask ourselves how we deal with that.” – Peter Kirkham  Produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. 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 Bermondsey to Zimbabwe to Moscow and beyond, PETER TATCHELL has been fighting for human rights for over 50 years… and the LGBT rights that got him pilloried by the tabloids in 1983 are now the stuff of the mainstream. As we enter the most dangerous moment for democracies since the end of WWII, what should we be fighting for – and how? Peter talks to Andrew Harrison about populism’s crisis moment, the failure of Corbynism, and how we can still follow the COVID crisis with a once-in-a-century renewal. Produced and presented 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

Recorded before the Government’s announcement on support for the arts… Last Friday Naomi Smith talked to stand-up comedian and host of the Two Vegan Idiots podcast CARL DONNELLY about the battered state of comedy and the arts under the COVID onslaught. Then on Sunday Rishi Sunak announces £1.57bn of aid to the arts. Who says The Bunker doesn’t get things done, eh? Listen in as Naomi and Carl discuss what’s needed to fix crisis that has cost the arts £74bn and threatens 400,000 jobs. “The arts isn’t just left-wing comedians banging on about Nigel Farage… These venues employ thousands of people.”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

Extended culture upgrade special! Like all live music, opera has been floored by COVID-19. Can an art form that thrives on crowds and projecting your voice (and your breath) survive this game-changing crisis? Will opera houses face bankruptcy? How is the industry negotiating the nightmares of rescheduling, social distancing and insurance companies that won’t pay up? And when will audiences finally get to experience the thrill of live opera again? Alex Andreou raises the curtains on an all-star Corona Crisis special from the opera world, featuring Michael Moody, co-founder of the Grange Festival, Hampshire; Australian lyric soprano and multiple competition winner Kiandra Howarth; and National Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor John Andrews (whose Very Brief History of Opera on YouTube has been a blessing on lockdown). The music for this special edition is Kiandra performing Crepusculo at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.  “As sins go, bringing a respiratory disease to an opera festival is right up there.” “As opera buffs, we’re always dealing with tragedy…” Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. 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

GRAVE RESERVATIONS: Britain’s restaurants will unlock this weekend in a life or death moment for an industry that employs almost a million people. Will diners embrace their freedom or will FOGO keep them away? How has the COVID lockdown changed our relationship with eating out? Which restaurants will innovate their way out of trouble? And if a No Deal Brexit happens, will it all have been for nothing? The Observer’s renowned food critic JAY RAYNER joins Andrew Harrison to talk about the most momentous meals we may ever eat. 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