Burnham is finally going to become Prime Minister – but can he really move faster than his predecessor? And will simply communicating better make all that much difference? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and the other key stories to look out for this week.

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

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Looking back on the big stories of the past seven days… An astonishing World Cup rollercoaster ends in crushing disappointment for England against Argentina – but it all seems unimportant next to the repercussions from the horrific killing of Ann Widdecombe. Are Reform’s claims that rival parties and the media are “inciting” violence making a tense situation worse? Plus, Keir Starmer opens his farewell tour with his last-ever PMQs – how will he be remembered? And former DJ, nightclub owner and publicist for Pulp Anneliese Midgley is tipped for a top job under Andy Burnham. Zoë Grünewald joins Andrew Harrison to discuss the biggest, strangest and under-reported stories of the week.  

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Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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It’s been branded “the scariest company on the planet” and it is busy weaving itself into the fabric of Britain’s NHS, defence establishment and beyond. Peter Thiel’s Palantir has a terrible reputation – but do its products even work as billed? As MPs call for Palantir’s £330m NHS contract to be scrapped and fears grow over Big Brother-style data sharing, we talk to Democracy for Sale founder Peter Geoghegan whose investigation into Palantir reveals a company that’s a lot better at schmoozing than delivery – and how Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm helped land the NHS deal.

How did a controversial US tech firm – whose AI powers military strikes in Gaza and Iran and ICE’s immigration raids, and whose founder Peter Thiel thinks the NHS makes people sick – wheedle its way into Westminster? And what can we do about it? 

• Read about Peter and Lucas Amin’s investigation on Democracy for Sale 

• Read the full 7,000 word investigation on the London Review of Books

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

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Nigel Farage is under fire over his £5 million gift from a crypto billionaire – but does British politics have a wider money problem? MPs earn a salary of just shy of £100,000 but for many that's just a sliver of the total pay packet. Side hustles, political gifts and personal donations can add millions more a year. So how does it all work – and where’s the line? Dr. Sam Power of the University of Bristol, one of the country’s leading experts on party political funding and corruption, joins Seth Thévoz to decipher who really pays your MP. 

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

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“Please rate this book.” “What was your experience at Tesco like?” “Did this carrot meet your expectations?”… Star ratings are everywhere and they’re ruining the world. You can’t order a curry, watch a film or buy a kettle without having to check what others said about it – and being pestered to give your review. 

We’ve turned the entire planet into a customer satisfaction survey, but how did it happen? With a limitless choice on offer, are star ratings more help or hindrance? Can we trust them – and how can you spot a scam write-up? Benji Wilson, author of Rate This Book: How Star Ratings Took Over the World, tells Emma Kennedy what the pressure to review and rate everything is doing to our minds.  

 • Buy Benji’s book Rate This Book: How Star Ratings Took Over the World from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. 

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Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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Setting up the stories of the next seven days… Police say there is no reason to suspect that the murder of Anne Widdecombe was politically motivated, but it’s not stopping Nigel Farage and Reform from trying to weaponise the killing. Plus, what’s on Andy Burnham’s plate as he prepares to move into No.10? The hard right lose their sense of humour over Count Binface. The US and Iran are at it again. And England are two games away from actually, possibly, really, genuinely winning the World Cup. The Guardian’s Rafael Behr and Andrew Harrison look at the stories that will shape the week ahead.  

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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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Nigel Farage’s by-election stunt has blown up in his face – but could he really lose to Count Binface? Donald Trump has gone back to bombing and declared the Iran ceasefire “over”. Will this Groundhog Day ever end? And Prince Harry lost his landmark privacy case against the Daily Mail’s publisher – will more cases follow or is this it? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the biggest, strangest and under-reported stories of the week.  

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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Columnists need critics too… Hot Take Time Machine is back with Paper Cuts alumni Miranda Sawyer, Jonn Elledge and Jacob Jarvis picking apart the most bizarre takes in the op-edaverse.  

On this episode: Andy Burnham’s wardrobe causes a stir, Kwasi Kwarteng – yes, the man who nearly exploded the economy – warns against “Red Ed” Miliband becoming chancellor, one Telegraph columnist has a solution for the Dartmoor ponies (eating them) and a Times writer takes a kinky cruise.  

• Spotted a column we should talk about next time? Send it to [email protected] 

• Listen to Miranda’s sit-down with 5Live legend Elis James in the latest episode of Talk ‘90s to me.

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Miranda Sawyer and Jonn Elledge. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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Is Britain really as free of corruption as we think? This year the UK posted its lowest-ever score in a global corruption index. High-level scandals like Peter Mandelson’s Epstein ties and Peter Murrell embezzling from the SNP – and less conspicuous instances of fraud and backhanders – are eating into our self-image as rule-followers. And the man who might be Prime Minister keeps changing his explanation for a £5m gift from a crypto baron. 

Are these isolated political crises, or does the rot in our system run deeper? Professor of anti-corruption practice at the University of Sussex Robert Barrington joins Zing Tsjeng to unpick how corruption manifests in Britain. 

 • Buy Robert's book Corrupted Kingdom: Britain's Disappearing Integrity – And How We Can Get It Back from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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Written and presented by Zing Tsjeng. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Tech shapes our world, and Stanford University is Silicon Valley’s training ground. But what really goes on in the place that gave us Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Peter Thiel – the richest university in human history? As a student reporter, Stanford undergraduate Theo Baker’s work forced Stanford’s president to resign. Now his new book How To Rule The World exposes the intense and amoral culture of a place where talent fights for access to untold funds; oligarchs mine the world’s sharpest young minds for talent; and ethical concerns dissolve in the light of money.

Seth Thévoz talks to Theo Baker about Stanford’s ruthless mindset, why most venture capitalists are actually very bad at their jobs, and what happens when you give teenagers money to burn and no responsibilities. 

• Buy How To Rule The World: An Education in Power at Stanford University through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

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Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Produced by James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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