Brainwashing has been utilised as a political tool for centuries. How exactly is it weaponised today? Daniel Pick, author of Brainwashed: A New History of Thought Control, discusses the history and contemporary manifestations of thought control with Alex Andreou, in The Bunker. 
• “Brainwashing seeks both to decimate and damage the mind – and to infiltrate ideas and to organise ideologies in a systematic way.” – Daniel Pick
• “Behavioural units exist within governments, including Downing Street, to advise on the best way to nudge people in a benign way. Such units were utilised, for example, during the Covid pandemic.” – Daniel Pick
www.patreon.com/bunkercast 
Presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are politicians trying to brainwash you? – Alex Andreou and Daniel Pick on the new era of thought control

Your daily Need To Know on news and politics. Every morning The Bunker cuts through the noise to make sense of what’s really going on, with smart explainers, interviews, fresh perspectives and under-reported stories to rescue you from everyday Punch and Judy news coverage. It’s the only way to start the day. From the producers of Oh God, What Now?
Our regulars include: Alex Andreou • Gavin Esler • Hannah Fearn • Andrew Harrison • Jacob Jarvis • Marie le Conte • Jude Rogers • Yasmeen Serhan • Ahir Shah • Siân Pattenden • Ros Taylor.
• Sign up to support the podcast and get episodes ad-free and early: patreon.com/bunkercast
• Apple users: Get all of our core shows ad-free and early with the Podmasters Originals super-subscription.
The Bunker is a Podmasters production.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

News

Politics

Government

Sunak’s election campaign is going as you’d expect – he’s managed to annoy everyone and make himself look like an idiot at the same time. After the national service announcement, can we expect anything but red meat for Express readers in the coming days? And, on the other hand – what real stuff will Starmer be discussing? Plus we look at the latest in Europe ahead of the EU elections. 
We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.
www.patreon.com/bunkercast 
Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex Andreou. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.
Instagram | Twitter
podmasters.co.uk
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Armed Farces – Start Your Week with Alex Andreou and Jacob Jarvis

Rishi Sunak’s hapless, rain-sodden election announcement left the country agog. Is this how he means to go on? Why did he choose now? Can he really handle six weeks of punishing campaigning? Hasn’t anyone in No.1 got an umbrella? Seasoned political journalist Steve Richards of the Rock N Roll Politics podcast forecasts stormy electoral weather with Andrew Harrison.  
 
We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. 
 
Support us on Patreon.
 
Written and presented by Podmasters Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio producer: Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson and artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production 
 
Instagram | Twitter   
   
podmasters.co.uk 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“The most shambolic campaign launch in history” – Steve Richards on Election ’24

The upcoming Indian election will be the biggest in history, with one fifth of the world’s population voting. How consequential will it be – for the nation and the rest of the world too?  Gavin Esler speaks to Rohan Venkat, consulting editor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Centre for the Advanced Study of India and editorial consultant at India’s Centre for Policy Research. 

• “India is an unusual democratic experiment. What happens in this election is important for democracy all across the South.” – Rohan Venkat
• “This is one fifth of the population that we’re talking about. Whatever happens for India matters for all of humanity.” – Rohan Venkat

We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast   

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio editor: Robin Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson and artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

﻿Instagram | Twitter  
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India votes – Why the biggest election in history matters to you

Say “monetarism” to anyone who was around in the early 80s and watch the chill run down their spine. Margaret Thatcher tried to conquer inflation by using a fringe economic credo of slashing the money supply. The result was a collapsed economy and unemployment on a colossal scale. What was monetarism? Did it work, even in its own terms? And where are its echoes today?
Tim Lankester – then the PM’s private secretary for economic affairs, now author of Inside Thatcher’s Monetarism Experiment – takes Andrew Harrison back to an age of scorched earth economics.  
• “She set out to get inflation down, but it didn’t work out well at all. There was a massive deflation of the economy and unemployment almost doubled.” – Sir Tim Lankester
• “Manufacturing suffered enormously. Output went down by almost 20%. These were pretty bad years for the economy.” – Sir Tim Lankester
Buy Inside Thatcher’s Monetarism Experiment through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. 
We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Simon Williams. Produced by Eliza Davis-Beard. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Art by Jim Perrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. The Bunker is a Podmasters production 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Extreme Economics – What monetarism meant for Britain, with ex-Thatcher’s advisor Tim Lankester

Conspiracy theorists and disinformation around issues such as the Coid-19 pandemic have created an army of non-expert experts around the world. With the advancement of AI and social media dominating people’s lives, properly researched information from trusted sources is needed now more than ever. But has society already gone too far? Tom Nichols is a writer for The Atlantic and the author of “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters”, and joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker.
Buy The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are politicians trying to brainwash you? – Alex Andreou and Daniel Pick on the new era of thought control

Download our free app to listen on your phone