The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

More bikes and fewer cars on the road has turned out to be one of the unexpected dividends of COVID. But can Britain ever get to an Amsterdam-style paradise of bikes? And will Britons ever stop raging about cyclists? Coventry’s Cycling Mayor Adam Tranter – he’s all bike chain, no gold chain – tells Justin Quirk what’s needed to get Britain into the saddle.

• “Most people don’t know this but Coventry practically invented the modern bicycle.”
• “Paris has transformed into a bike-friendly city in less than a year. If you build it, they will come.”
• “If we’re not careful we could lose this moment to change our streets and cities for good.”
• “With lockdown, people felt like they could use bike safely with the family for the first time in decades.”

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

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Has the Government’s emergency tier strategy broken the short-lived compact between the Conservatives and the North? Is new government spokesperson Allegra Stratton more than just a human shield for former communications genius Boris Johnson? And does the Government really want us all to retrain as boxers, cake decorators and DJs? Special guest Oli Dugmore, Head of News and Politics at joe.co.uk, joins us for Britain’s umpteenth national restart interview.

• “What nobody mentions about Rishi Sunak is that he’s probably the richest person in the history of British politics.” – Ayesha Hazarika
• “When mayors find out what’s happening in their towns through a blog from Peston, that’s a communications disaster.” – Ian Dunt
• “I challenge you to find a Government that has supported the rave scene” – Oli Dugmore
• “You’re only as good as your boss, and unfortunately Stratton’s boss is Dominic Cummings” – Ayesha Hazarika

Presented by Naomi Smith with Ian Dunt and Ayesha Hazarika. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters production

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If we’re living in an era of strongmen, why are so many (male) leaders failing us all over the world? How do our ideas of leadership need to change? Dr Pippa Malmgren, co-author with Chris Lewis of The Infinite Leader and former economic advisor to President George W Bush, tells Alex Andreou why leaders need to lead differently – why we have to stop rewarding psychopaths – and what we can all learn from Donald Trump. 

• “We’re seeing leadership failures in every category of the economy. Leaders are failing us everywhere.”
• “We’re training people to exercise psychopathic leadership, not empathetic leadership.”
• “You might see better leadership skills from a single parent than from the CEO of a major company.” 
• “The media want certainty – but the public is very tolerant of leaders who say ‘We don’t know – let’s try and find out.’” 
• “Trump’s delivery is provocative and obnoxious – but he’s very good at creating an emotional response, and emotions move the audience.” 
• “Some leaders are all about ME and some are all about WE. And we need more WE.” 

Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Does the Government’s latest, three-tier COVID system make sense – and is the North of England out of patience with Westminster? Will the Agriculture Bill put hormone beef on your plate? And will we finally, finally see an end to the EU Trade Talks saga? Naomi Smith sets up the week ahead. 

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

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Junior barrister Alexandra Wilson made the news when she revealed how she’d repeatedly been mistaken for a defendant in court simply because she is black. She tells Dorian Lynskey about life as a black barrister in an overwhelmingly white system, what the courts need to do about criminalising people of colour, and what drove her new book In Black and White: A Young Barrister's Story Of Race And Class In A Broken Justice System.

• “I’ve had a lawyer tell me that ‘black people are good for business - because they keep killing one another.”
• “Until it affects you, people don’t really know how the court system works”
• “From the outside, our profession looks as elite as it can get”
• “Institutions are only going change if there is a culture shift”
• “There has been a misunderstanding of the role of lawyers, our job is to fight for our clients”

Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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If there’s one symbol of the COVID fight it’s the face mask – but do we understand the consequences of a masked society? Professor Graham Martin, Director of Research at the Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, tells Ros Taylor why the issue of masks isn’t as clear-cut as we think, why the social dynamic of masks is so important, and how we can improve the quality of debate surrounding COVID-19.

• “Science is about debate – it’s about disagreement.”
• “What we’re seeing now is science under the spotlight”
• “It’s not so much scientific debate that breeds conspiracy theories, but any effort to suppress debate”
• “If you see anyone who isn’t wearing a mask, don’t assume they’re doing it out of bloody-mindedness”
• “I would say to anyone, if you can wear a mask, do so”

Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Don’t mask, don’t tell. Will Trump’s bizarre bout with COVID make, break or fatally contaminate the US presidential race? The directors of a shocking new documentary People You May Know join us to explain how US churches used Cambridge Analytica-related data targeting to reach and radicalise vulnerable people – and they reveal the people who want to use this tech to literally rewrite the US constitution. Plus, tips on surviving Lockdown II, guaranteed banana-bread free.

• “With 300 data points, a data modeller can predict your behaviour better than your spouse.” – Charles Kriel
• “Using Excel to manage a pandemic is like trying to make Toy Story 5 using PowerPoint.” – Alex Andreou
• “You find the person who’s suffering the most and you tell them there’s a place for them in your politics.” – Charles Kriel
• “He’s trying to inject positivity at a time when there isn’t really any.” - Yasmeen Serhan

You can stream People You May Know on Sundance Now via Amazon – free 7-day trial.

Presented by Ros Taylor with Yasmeen Serhan and Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and branding by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters production

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 How did evidence-based science end up playing second fiddle to demagoguery and populism? And what can we do about it? Prof Luke O’Neill, professor of biochemistry and COVID immunologist at Trinity College Dublin, has written a book with the admirably direct title Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Science. He tells Justin Quirk why we need to fight a rearguard action for science’s primacy in politics, the dirty history of antiscience agitation, and why COVID could be the best thing in decades for the march of reason.

“Science should never be an opinion. It should be a conclusion.”

“Once the data becomes a roar, you can’t ignore it.”

Presented by Justin Quirk. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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As promised, here's our new thing! What’s coming up this week? IAN DUNT tells us what to watch out for as Conservative Conference ends in a welter of COVID incompetency news, Priti Patel gets nastier, and Matt Hancock prepares to face the music in Parliament. 

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

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Uncovering the personal stories of people who died from COVID-19, Sirin Kale’s Guardian series Lost To The Virus has become one of the most moving reporting feats of the year. She tells Dorian Lynskey about the truth behind the biggest human story of our generation, the special challenges of reporting at a distance, why the “carnage” in our care homes still isn’t understood, and why so many COVID deaths were avoidable.

• “I hadn’t expected just how callous some decision-making from central government could be.”
• “A clear decision was made that some lives were worth saving and some weren’t.”
• “The only way you can make sense of the pandemic is through the individual”
• “I get to tell these stories with the depth and humanity that they deserve.”
• “111 is going to be one of the scandals of this pandemic. It was nakedly obvious that it was not fit for purpose.”
• “I hope there won’t be a need for Lost To The Virus part 2 – but I’m not optimistic”

Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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