The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Rishi Sunak’s decision to limit the number of students able to study what he calls “low-value degrees” has sparked backlash. Why is he doing this – and does it make sense? And is this even about education at all? Dr. Zoe Hope Bulaitis, assistant professor of liberal arts and natural sciences at University of Birmingham and author of Value and The Humanities, joins Gavin Esler in The Bunker to discuss where the PM is getting it wrong on university courses.  “The fact that students are willing to go into these careers shows that there’s more to life than a high pay cheque." – Dr Zoe Bulaitis “To say that a degree is ‘low value’ is to concede to the terms that a degree is valued to specific terms.” – Dr Zoe Bulaitis “This is more sensation than substance.” – Dr Zoe Bulaitis Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Attitudes to migration were a key cause of Brexit – but is it still such a major factor in how people vote? With research showing that the UK now has a more favourable attitude to migration, what are the arguments for it? Alex Andreou is joined by Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, and co-author of Brexitland, to explore the real public opinions on migration beyond the headlines. “People can’t do the maths on immigration so they always say they want less.” “A nationalistic narrative – that migration befits the country - is one way to change public opinion.” “The Labour voting opinion on migration has changed, there are more pressing things to worry about.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast Book link:https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/brexitland/667A60CB4C315A755792074E79B20FBA Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Setting up the stories of the week ahead. Today: Rishi Sunak says he’s “on the side of motorists”. How did a sliver of a vote in the Uxbridge by-election cause a massacre of green policies? Talking of pollution, Nigel Farage’s war on banks continues. Will his hard-done-by routine rehabilitate his political career? Plus the military coup in Niger, the Ukraine war comes to Moscow, and the latest from Israel’s democracy protests. Andrew Harrison is joined by Gavin Esler to give you the low-down on the week ahead in politics. “Why don’t Labour just stick to the plan, lads?” – Gavin Esler “There was resistance to the building of sewers, but the Great Stink of 1858 put an end to that.” – Gavin Esler “People have a bizarre, visceral attachment to their cars.” – Andrew Harrison Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Andrew Harrison and Gavin Esler. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Artwork: James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can Artificial Intelligence replace our loved ones after death? Will Gregg Wallace’s cannibalism mockumentary change how we see the future of food? Dr. Kate Devlin, author of Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots and historian Dr. Kasia Tomasiewicz join Jacob Jarvis and Andrew Harrison to chew the fat and try to answer some of the after life’s biggest questions. Yes, back by popular demand, it’s the Bunker Panel!  “People are unpredictable and infuriating, I can’t imagine AI being able to replicate that.” – Andrew Harrison  “I’m really glad you didn’t invite me here to discuss connecting with your dead loved ones via lab grown meat.” – Dr. Kate Devlin "Food has always been linked to economics, Roman soldiers were actually paid in salt." – Dr. Kasia Tomasiewicz  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Link'sKate's Book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/turned-on-9781472950871/A funeral for fish and chips: why are Britain’s chippies disappearing? by Tom Lamont https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/jul/20/a-funeral-for-fish-and-chips-east-neuk-fife-anstruther-scotland‘It was as if my father were actually texting me’: grief in the age of AI by Aimee Pearcy https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/18/ai-chatbots-grief-chatgptWritten and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Andrew Harrison. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Phone hacking, false claims of election hacking and a potential high profile libel case with a maligned BBC newsreader. Those are just a few of the scandals facing Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in the last few years. Despite this, the 92-year-old media mogul’s vice-like grip on the media landscape has remained as powerful as ever. Gavin Esler is joined in The Bunker by journalist William D Cohan, to find out how Murdoch has maintained his position of influence and power. “There's a lot of power entrusted with Murdoch, and there's no accountability for his behaviour”  “If I were him, I would be deeply disturbed by what my television network had created.” "Publishers have no appetite, or budget, for tough investigative reporting."  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: Chris Jones & Liam Tait. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Bunker Global: The Spanish election fallout as a hung parliament leaves Spain in political limbo. Are Wagner mercenaries really preparing to invade Poland? Also, Elon Musk is ghosting Twitter employees in Africa, why does Big Tech show such little respect to the global South? .Dipo Faloyin, senior editor of global news at Vice and author of ‘Africa is not a Country’, and Guy Hedgecoe, freelance journalist based in Madrid, join Andrew Harrison to get you up to speed on what you need to know about news and politics from across the world.  “It would be incredibly stupid for 5,000 mercenaries to invade a Nato country.” - Dipo Faloyin “It was a shock that Vox performed so poorly considering their huge success in local elections in May.” - Guy Hedgecoe “People have fallen out of hotel windows for a lot less than what Preghozin has done.” - Dipo Faloyin www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Dipo Faloyin. Producer: Liam Tait. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are we witnessing the death of Silicon Valley as big tech shifts from physical products to services? And has the time of California being the promised land for budding tech bros gone? Dr. Kate Devlin is joined in The Bunker by Joel Kotkin, fellow in urban studies at Chapman University, to find out. “One of the dirty little secrets of Silicon Valley is that it was largely created by federal spending.”  “I have never met a group who are less conscious of their social impact than Silicon Valley people.“ "Today Silicon Valley is a series of oligarchic companies with 80-90 per cent market shares and no desire to improve."  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Kate Devlin. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MPs have collectively earned millions of pounds from side hustles in the last few years. From the ‘cash for access’ scandal to the resignation of Owen Paterson, the public is fascinated by extra work carried out by politicians. But how much does this impact their day jobs? Marie Le Conte sits down with Dr. Simon Weschle, assistant professor in the political science department at Syracuse University, to find out if second jobs truly are the scourge of British politics.  “Having a second job means MPs are more likely to attend the commons.”  “An MP working as a dentist doesn’t change their voting behaviour.“ "If an MP has a city job they spend more time in London but they’re less often in their constituency."  www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Marie Le Conte. Producer: Liam Tait and Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio editor: Alex Rees. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Buying a house in the UK is almost impossible for many people. But house prices could fall by 10 per cent over the next 2 years. Is that a good thing? Peter Apps is the deputy editor of Inside Housing magazine, he joins Hannah Fearn in The Bunker. “There’s so much demand in the UK and there’s such a shortage of houses.” – Peter Apps. “It’s very difficult to predict where we’re going to be for the next couple of years.” – Peter Apps. “If people start losing money on Help to Buy deals, the government immediately starts to take notice. Private renters are basically on their own.” – Peter Apps “Private landlords aren’t asking themselves difficult questions about what people can actually afford.” – Peter Apps. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Hannah Fearn. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson THE BUNKER is a Podmasters ProductionInstagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are both on manoeuvres after the by-elections – but what are their tangible plans? As the Labour leader asks Sadiq Khan to “reflect” on ULEZ, the Tory PM is doubling down on just being horrid. Plus, we have the latest on the climate crisis in Greece, an update on elections in Spain, and news from Ukraine. Alex Andreou joins Jacob Jarvis to map out the week ahead.  “Rishi Sunak will fail on all of his five promises.” – Alex Andreou “Labour have relied on Sadiq Khan’s popularity instead of making a case for ULEZ.” – Alex Andreou “We haven’t had a proper silly season in ages, and I suspect Boris Johnson will cause mischief.” – Alex Andreou www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex Andreou. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices