Is the BBC shifting right to please Reform voters? Leaked minutes from a top-level BBC editorial meeting reveal plans to reshape story selection and tone – not just in news, but even in drama – to improve the Corporation’s image among Reform UK supporters. But instead of chasing Farage’s fans, should the BBC hold Reform to account more rigorously? Don of media commentators Raymond Snoddy explains the danger of letting populism set the news agenda to Andrew Harrison.

• Raymond Snoddy writes on media at TheMediaLeader.com. He’s a contributor to the new book Pandering to Populism?

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Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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The Bunker - news without the nonsense. Published every week day, we promise to deliver the insight that smart, modern listeners crave, beyond the headlines. Boost your knowledge, cut away the spin and get news without the nonsense on The Bunker.

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For the first time in MI6’s history, a female chief is taking the helm. Blaise Metreweli, a veteran of both old-school espionage and cutting-edge tech warfare, steps into the role as digital battlegrounds, rogue states, and AI-fuelled threats reshape global intelligence. Today on The Bunker, Alex von Tunzelmann is joined by Dan Lomas, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Nottingham, to explore the role of Britain's top spymaster and what challenges she will face on the job. 

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Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Produced by Liam Tait. Audio editors: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Glastonbury has been the hot zone for radical ideas since its hippy infancy. But the first Labour government in 15 years is not exactly the hitting the mark for the festival’s audience of utopians and out-of-the-box thinkers. Can Labour get back to its radical roots? The Guardian’s John Harris, who comperes the Left Field at Glastonbury, and campaigner Gracie Mae Bradley who’s guesting at the Left Field this year, come together for a pre-festival summit. 

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

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Britain needs  be ready to fight a war in Europe or the Atlantic in as little as two years – and we look badly underprepared. That’s the message of Labour’s sobering new Strategic Defence Review. So where are we weak, how fast could we rearm and what will it cost? And do the British people have the disposition to fight the sort of war we thought was in the past? Peter Ricketts, UK National Security Adviser from 2010 to 2012 and Britain’s former representative to NATO, explains the challenge of renewing Britain’s defences against a ticking clock.

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• We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit.  

Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor and Sara Farolfi. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Trump’s birthday parade bored the few people who bothered watching – and offended those who actually care about the military, unlike the president himself. As protests rage across the US – can Trump keep ignoring them? Plus, the situation in the Middle East becomes increasingly terrifying – how might tensions between Iran and Israel escalate? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and more as we look to the week ahead. 

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

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Gavin Esler. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.    

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Rome conjures up strong images and ideas for many of us – but what if everything we think we know about the era is totally wrong? Alex von Tunzelmann speaks with Edward J. Watts, author of The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome: The History of a Dangerous Idea and the upcoming The Romans: A 2,000-Year History, to discuss the falsehoods that need clearing up. 

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Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio editors: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Legendarily hot, dry and hedonistic, the Summer of ’76 burnt itself into our cultural memory as a kind of Ultimate Summer. But the record temperatures, the soul and disco classics and the sense of youth breaking free took place against a backdrop of economic collapse, political failure and barely suppressed rage. These were the Dark 70s of the Southall Riots, the Ripper and the Black Panther, police queerbashing and simmering hatreds. John L. Williams, author of Heatwave: The Summer of 1976 – Britain At Boiling Point, talks to Andrew Harrison about four months of tension that birthed punk rock, Thatcherism and a more cynical Britain.

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Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Sara Farolfi. Produced by Liam Tait. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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A special crossover edition from our partner podcast American Friction… The news has focused heavily on sensational images from LA, but what is the real feeling among protestors – and how did this all escalate? Ben Camacho is a journalist covering the situation – who was shot by two rubber bullets himself doing so. He joins Jacob Jarvis to give an on the ground perspective of what’s happening. 

Hear more from American Friction: linktr.ee/americanfriction 

See more of Ben’s reporting on LA at The Southlander: https://thesouthlander.com/ 

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis Audio and video editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. The Bunker and AMERICAN FRICTION are a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk 

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As Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum ramps up high-tech crackdowns on the nation’s cartels, Trump’s chaotic second term is throwing a spanner in the works. Alex von Tunzelmann speaks to David Shirk, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of San Diego, to find out whether the MAGA movement is helping Mexico’s fight against organised crime or making things worse.

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Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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