The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

In a groundbreaking study, a team of scientists at the University of Dusseldorf have grown mini brains, each with their own sets of “eyes” that can detect light. Dr Jay Gopalakrishnan, the leader of the project, spoke to Alex Andreou about the extraordinary research going on the field of these “organoids”, miniature versions of organs that scientists can grow in the lab from stem cells, and where this remarkable study could lead us in the years ahead.

• “In the last 10 years my lab has made brains, livers, lungs… every human organ type has been made from stem cells”
• “My guess is that in 10 years you’ll be able to generate your own cell type for transplants”

Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Remember you can hear the music from every Culture Bunker in full on our rolling playlist.

On this week’s pop culture roundtable we meet John Cooper Clarke, the William Blake of Salford, on the occasion of his new collection of poems – and he reads us one too. Plus, have Apple TV+ successfully filmed the unfilmable with their adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation? Is “all the men are dead” comic book adaptation Y: The Last Man any good? The genius of 80s remixer Shep Pettibone. And Jonny Trunk of Trunk Records on the out-thereness of library music.

Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickinson. The Culture Bunker is a Podmasters production.

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The Red Wall has been the backbone of Labour's vote in the Midlands and the North of England. But in 2019, it dramatically turned blue for the first time in living memory. So what do we get wrong about the Red Wall? Nick Cohen talks to the Financial Times’ Sebastian Payne about his new book, Broken Heartlands, his time in ten constituencies across the North, and what Labour needs to do to recover regional electoral support.

• “The collapse of the Red Wall has been gradual, then sudden.”
• “Brexit broke the umbilical cord between collectivised communities.”
• “I couldn't tell you a single soundbite from Ken Clarke's career. But he told a convincing narrative.” 
• “There is nothing inevitable about demographics in this country.” 

Presented by Nick Cohen. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Sebastian-Payne/Broken-Heartlands--A-Journey-Through-Labours-Lost-England/25842557 

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For many of us, politics is a hobby. We soak in the gossip, eat up the statistics and tweet our outrage when an unpopular decision is made. But if we want to make change, should we get off our sofas and start to mobilise? Tufts University politics professor and author of Politics Is for Power, Eitan Hersh tells Ros Taylor why we should stop treating politics like entertainment, and the steps we can take for more effective political participation.

• “For decades we’ve seen the decline of in-person civic participation.”
• “After the 2016 election students were in tears about the result, but they didn’t lift a finger during the campaign.”
• “If more people understood how power flowed in their community, they’d know what to do when there was conflict.”
• “White Americans are less likely to spend their political time on volunteering than minority communities.”
• “Well-educated people know that political engagement is something they should do, but they still don’t do it.”

Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic, Jacob Archbold and Nat Amos. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Out early for Patreon people…

When a government fails to deliver the basics – like getting petrol to the pumps – can it ever win back the confidence it has lost? Is Keir Starmer pulling off the relaunch he needed at the Labour conference? We ask special guest Stephanie Lloyd, former deputy director of Blairite think tank Progress, if the Party’s centrists have enough to offer beyond “Not Corbyn Any More.” And can James Bond still be a fantasy of omnicompetent Britishness in an age when Britain is falling apart?

• “The Army and the public quite like it when crises like this happen. The military enjoy being the people who clean up the mess.” – Arthur Snell
• “We are eighteen months into the pandemic, and five years into Brexit. Where was the planning?” – Stephanie Lloyd
• “James Bond allows Britain to see itself as bigger than it really is.” – Arthur Snell

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Yasmeen Serhan and Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic . Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. The Bunker is a Podmasters Production

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They cancel Christmas earlier every year, don’t they? As petrol queues swamp Britain, will the EU lorry drivers we told to get out come back now we need them? (Spoiler: non, nein, όχι). Plus the German election results, Keir Starmer’s big moment at the Labour Conference, and phone hacking is back back back! Alex Andreou starts your week. 

• “HGV drivers are not short of work in Europe. Offering them a visa is far too little, far too late.”
• “We’re now being told that Brexit means we can solve the problems created by Brexit…”
• “As Labour voters, we've come too good at punching ourselves in the face.”
• “So it’s OK in politics to be a lying scumbag, but it’s not OK for people to say it?” 

Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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With gas prices soaring, and energy companies going bust, is it time for the Government to intervene? And while the Business and Energy Secretary described events as a “perfect storm”, how much of that storm was warned about, and even self-inflicted? Former energy trader and co-founder of one of the UK’s largest green energy suppliers, Amit Gudka tells Alex Andreou why Britain is so exposed to volatile prices, what the Government should be doing to solve the crisis, and if Brexit is to blame.

• “This is a sector where there have been very low margins for a while, putting a cap on prices only increases the pressure.” - Amit Gudka
• “If you nationalise the supply sector, with the UK being a net importer of gas, you do put yourself at risk to global price rises.” - Amit Gudka
• “Moving investment into batteries is the big challenge, but it’s also a big opportunity.” - Amit Gudka

Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Hear the music from every edition on our rolling playlist.

Our new weekend pop culture roundtable returns with special guest Lynval Golding of The Specials, and their latest album, Protest Songs. Journalist Ian Harrison joins us to chew on new films The Farewell and Sweetheart, and we all listen to Bright Magic, the latest offering from Public Service Broadcasting.

• "The history of music can almost be seen as one long protest song." - Sian Pattenden.
• "I was born in Jamaica, I am living in America, but England is my home." - Lynval Golding
• "Gay men get films set in Lombardy. Gay women get the caravan park in Dorset." - Alex Andreou.

Because of licensing issues we’ll have to use fewer music clips than usual in the main release – but Patreon people, rest assured you’ll get “a few extras” in this version. And all the music is on The Culture Bunker’s rolling playlist: https://bit.ly/CultBunk

Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Alex Andreou. Assistant producer Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. Theme music: ‘Bunker Theme (Juntos Mix)’ by Kenny Dickenson. Bigmouth is a Podmasters production.

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Are humans really driven by desire for power, money, sex and comfort – or is something even deeper at play? Beneath greed, acquisitiveness, and even altruism and self-sacrifice is an even more fundamental motivation, says science writer Will Storr: the scramble for status. He tells Andrew Harrison about his new book The Status Game: On Social Position And How We Use It, and the hidden social systems that program us to perform acts of great benefit to our fellows, deeds of heroism… and some of the most infamous crimes in human history. 

• “We're a tribal animal. And once we’ve connected with our tribe, the jostling for position begins.”
• “The brain’s basic rule is ‘connect with people and go for status’.”
• “Morality is just a way we play for status.”
• “Humans are at their worst when they’re deprived of status.”
• “Even people who complain about virtue signalling are virtue signalling themselves.”

https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast

https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Will-Storr/The-Status-Game--On-Social-Position-and-How-We-Use-it/25325652 

Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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COVID has transformed the way we work. But not everyone’s a winner, especially women, with many in jobs that make working from home is impossible, undertaking twice as much unpaid overtime, or being pushed back into the office at risk of potential pay cuts. So what can be done to support working women? Naomi Smith talks to Maya Jeyabraba and Rose Lasko-Skinner from DEMOS, who have just published Distanced Revolution, a report all about how COVID caused a revolution in home working - and what needs to happen next.

• “Lots of people were excited about the flexibility without recognising the risks of working from home.” - Rose Lasko-Skinner
• “Flexible working can help with levelling up. But that too needs a legislative framework.” - Rose Lasko-Skinner
• “Even before the pandemic, women were taking on the second shift at home.” - Maya Jeyabraba

Presented by Naomi Smith. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

https://demos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Distanced-Revolution.pdf

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