The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

Audio issues now fixed. “The Deal’s not oven ready – and Johnson isn’t govern ready.” Will the No Deal Doomsday Clock finally tick down to zero before Thursday’s EU summit? Plus, why we need to worry about the mysterious Taxation (Post Transition Period) Bill rather the Internal Market Bill. And is Keir Starmer heading for High Noon with the angry Left? Naomi Smith sets up your week ahead. 

• “The irony is, this is the most socialist government we’ve ever lived under…”

Presented and 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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The Salisbury poisonings were an infamous example of Russian interference in British security. But were they really the first time Novichok was used on British soil? Former US Army chemical warfare specialist and author of Toxic: A History of Nerve Agents From Nazi Germany to Putin's Russia Dan Kaszeta talks to Arthur Snell about assassination, clandestine state conflict, Navalny, and the psychological side of chemical warfare. 

• “Running alongside the nuclear arms race was a lesser known, but equally important chemical arms race.”
• “The method is the message. People who don’t like the Russian regime end up dead.”

Presented by Arthur Snell. 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 comedy venues closed by COVID, comedians are turning to social media to carry out the essential public service of mocking politicians and politics. One person taking the twittersphere by storm during lockdown is award-winning actor and stand-up Rosie Holt. She speaks to Minnie Rahman about the transition from the stage to social media, the inspiration behind her humour, and why this Government is so easy to parody.

• “You have these politicians who rush to defend Boris Johnson, and then they look pretty stupid when he u-turns”
• “The culture war videos are easy to do because they are so reactionary”
• “I don’t think the Government has any understanding of the arts industry”
• “It’s a really exciting time for satire, but only because the Government is awful”

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

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Will Brexit really lead to Ireland reunifying and leaving the Union, in a final irony for English nationalism? In a special edition on the future of the island of Ireland we talk to Neale Richmond (Fine Gael TD for Dublin Rathdown), Ulster Unionist Party MLA and former leader Mike Nesbitt, and Claire Hanna (SDLP MP for Belfast South). Is the rancour finally leaching out of Northern Irish politics? Will a European identity trump a British one?Is a border poll really coming? And what do people in the Irish Republic really think of Boris Johnson? 

“Sinn Fein are the greatest force against a united Ireland.” – Neale Richmond

• “I am an Ulsterman, but I’m also Irish, British, and European…if you were to deny me any part of that mixture, you will diminish who I am.” – Mike Nesbitt
• “It’s not the territory that’s divided, it’s the people.” – Claire Hanna
• “The UK leaving the EU means the greatest vehicle for co-operation on the island of Ireland is ending.” – Neale Richmond
• “The government in Westminster wants to possess Northern Ireland like a toddler wants to possess a toy.” – Claire Hanna
• “Sinn Fein are the greatest force against a united Ireland.” – Neale Richmond
• “We need to get away from the idea that we're pure Brit or pure Gael, because very few of us are.” – Mike Nesbitt 

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

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In the age of “reactionary populism”, larger-than-life characters trump competence. Can liberal democracies survive the age of the performative strongman? Political economist and author of This is Not Normal: The Collapse of Liberal Britain William Davies tells Dorian Lynskey about Trump, truth, and television politics – and why the death of neoliberalism might be a win for democracy.

• “Competence implies something governmental and administrative. That’s not Trump.”
• “The character of Boris has been cultivated over time. He’s a promises, not policy, politician.”
• “Neoliberalism colonises the political sphere with economics, and makes it a sham. That’s damaging for popular participation.”

Presented by Dorian Lynskey. 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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Patreon people get the podcast early… As Boris Johnson unlocks Britain for the tiniest Christmas ever, is he just admitting that the public no longer listens to government? What will hacking back the overseas development budget mean for ‘Global Britain’? (Spoiler: it’s bad). Has COVID made Universal Basic Income more likely? And why do we want a “normal” Christmas anyway? Miatta Fahnbulleh, Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou join Andrew Harrison to open the Advent Calendar of Aaaaargh. 

• “We’ve gone from being a country that others trust, to one eyed with suspicion.” – Naomi Smith
• “Good politics isn’t following the polls, it’s doing the right thing and then convincing people that it’s the right thing“ - Alex Andreou
• “If Covid-19 has shown anything it’s that when a human sneezes halfway around the world, the whole world coughs.” – Naomi Smith

Presented and 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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Are we in for the first parliamentary crisis of the pandemic? Will Boris Johnson have to rely on Labour votes to get his post-lockdown tiers-based restrictions past rebellious Tory MPs? Is the EU deal really going to fall apart over fish, a mere 0.1% of the economy? And will these negotiations with the EU ever end? Alex Andreou sets out the week ahead.

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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The climate emergency brings a nightmare threat to biodiversity, with disastrous knock-on effects to human economies as well as the natural world. Are governments doing enough to protect and restore threatened ecosystems? Ecologist and chief scientific advisor to the UN’s Trillion Tree Campaign Thomas Crowther tells Jude Rogers about the urgent need to reverse global deforestation – starting at the grassroots. 

• “The loss of ecosystems is not just essential for climate change. It’s essential for our ongoing livelihoods.”
• “It’s not just putting trees in the ground. We need to recreate and reintegrate nature.”
• “Global restoration does not happen from the top-down decisions. It happens from an immense bottom-up movement.”
• “Tree restoration is not enough… we need thousands of solutions to tackle climate change.” 

Presented by Jude Rogers. 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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From Israel to Iran, Donald Trump thought he could reset the Middle East. His fixation on the region defined the last four years of US foreign policy. But what will Biden’s presidency mean for America and the Middle East? Senior policy fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute Michael Stephens talks to Arthur Snell about oil, oligarchs, and outbreaks – and if Trump’s unorthodox approach has actually secured some wins…

• “Arab states are recognising Judaism as part of their cultural identity. You wouldn’t have seen that ten years ago.”
• “How Biden deals with Iran will set the tone in the Middle East for the next four years. From there, all else flows.”
• “Al Qaeda and ISIS have not gone away. People forget that there’s still war in Syria.”

Presented by Arthur Snell. 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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CNN’s Fareed Zakaria is one of the best-known journalists on the planet, reaching 200m people weekly with Fareed Zakaria’s GPS. He talks to Ros Taylor about the aftermath of Trumpism, Biden’s prospects for changing the West’s trajectory on climate change… and why the COVID aftermath might lead to a release of hedonism on a par with the Jazz Age. 

• “Trump is playing brilliant politics with the small side effect of destroying democracy.”
• “The defence budget is the only non-controversial jobs programme in the United States. It’s a jobs programme disguised as a defence programme.” 
• “My fear is that the next pandemic will come from factory farming.”
• “It’s absolutely fair to describe what Trump is doing as an attempted coup. It’s just going to fail.”
• “Our biggest mistake is to imagine that nature is fond of humans.” 

Presented by Ros Taylor. 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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