The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

After years of rubbishing expertise, politicians are now turning to science in humble desperation. Buzzfeed and Telegraph science writer TOM CHIVERS, author of The AI Does Not Hate You, talks to Ian Dunt about the uneasy alliance between science and politics… why immunity passports are probably a non-starter… and why we should have a sliver of sympathy for Matt Hancock and even Boris Johnson. 

“The hardest thing in writing about science? Explaining uncertainty.”

Presented by Ian Dunt. 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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We’ve all heard about the “wet markets” in Wuhan. How connected are COVID-19 and dangers of future pandemics to the world meat trade? JULIET GELLATLEY of vegan charity Viva! explains how indiscriminate mixing of species and neglect of hygiene in meat markets creates the perfect breeding ground for another viral emergency. Is giving up meat – or eating less of it – no longer a matter of personal choice but world public health?

“More and more diseases are emerging from animals and crossing over to human beings… Three in four new diseases come from animals.”

Presented by Naomi Smith. 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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Music makes life worth living for some of us, and live shows are the only way many artists make a living. As Corona puts the music industry in an induced coma, TOM GRAY of Gomez talks to Dorian Lynskey about the monumental challenges that music faces. Will we see the return of concerts in 2020? Will we even want to get together in large numbers? If streaming your favourite band all night is not the answer, what is? And should we nationalise Ed Sheeran?

• “There are people who are not going to be able to survive this. Their income is going to be annihilated.”
• “Recorded music went away in the Noughties. Touring was the lifeblood, and now it’s gone.” 
• “There will people in the couple of months who’ll be wondering what they’re going to do with the rest of their lives.”

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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How did China really perform in the biggest global health disaster in 100 years? Chatham House China and diplomacy expert DR YU JIE gives Alex Andreou the inside story on the PRC’s response to Corona. What was behind the infamous silencing of warnings about the virus from local doctors? Will the Crisis threaten the Party’s rule? What it’s like to live with China’s stringent, ultra-personal monitoring programme? And how do things feel different for a Chinese person in the West now?

• “China needs to let the scientific evidence speak for itself, rather than orchestrating a propaganda campaign to tell its narrative.”
• “Chinese social media is not particularly kind about Chinese people returning home. They say ‘Why are you bringing the virus home to us?” 
• “The 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party comes in 2021. China will need an economic success story to tell its population.”

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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The Labour antisemitism leak: what does it mean and is anyone going to jail for a data breach? Plus, how long can lockdown continue? Why herd immunity isn’t a scare phrase but in fact the only way we’ll beat COVID. The magical, corporeally-fixated incantations of the Johnson fan-press. And how Corona is changing technology. Who’ll win out if the emergency forces the battle of the streaming titans to a grand season finale?

Ian Dunt, Helen Lewis and special guest Stuart Dredge, tech writer for The Guardian, convene to sort it all out. 

“At no point did [the Labour Left] confront the idea that people didn’t like their candidate or their policies… If it’s always someone else’s fault, what are you going to change next time?” – Helen Lewis

“People talk about how good Hong Kong’s response was. But in Hong Kong, if you test positive they take you away and put you in Covid Butlins.” – Helen Lewis

Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters production.

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Who knew that poetry would join videoconferencing and sourdough-making as one of the key ways we got through the COVID lockdown? SARAH CROWN, Director of Literature at the Arts Council and senior reviewer for the Guardian and the TLS, talks to Ros Taylor about why poetry’s stillness and conciseness is perfect for pressured times. Plus, how to find the right poetry for your lockdown experience. And do poets cope better with solitude – or does solitude turn you into a poet?

“Poetry isn’t about escape. It’s about recognition, and achieving meaning in your life.”

“In a pandemic we don’t look for happiness. We look for meaning. And poetry really delivers on that.” 

The poem that Sarah reads on this episode is Spring by Edna St. Vincent Millay

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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It’s the end of the world as we know it and… some people are quite into that, it seems. Why are so many people so keen on the end of everything? What do doomsday preppers, alt.right catastrophists and billionaire plutocrat antidemocrats like Peter Thiel have in common? And is the communal response to COVID proving their worst ambitions wrong? We talk to Mark O’Connell – author of new book Notes From An Apocalypse: A Personal Journey The End Of The World And Back – about the dark fantasy of the End Times.  

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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The COVID lockdown has provided scammers, fraudsters and cybercriminals with a golden opportunity to find new ways to steal. Now ALEXIS CONRAN, presenter on The Real Hustle and talkRadio, tells Naomi Smith about the new scams they’re using, and how to defeat them. What are the telltale signs of a con? What are the worst counterfeit products out there? How can you spot fake Coronanews? Plus why the Cabinet ought to be worried about their Zoom chat logs – and why you should bin passwords for passphrases, 

“When there’s panic and fear, people stop using logic and they’ll try anything.” – Alexis Conran

Presented by Naomi Smith. 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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COVID-19 has put the NHS under the spotlight as never before but how many of us really understand the true state of this national treasure? ROY LILLEY is one of the most influential voices in the world of public health. Today he explains the catastrophic errors on the road to Corona, what the outpouring of love and respect for NHS workers means for its future, how the NHS compares to other health systems worldwide… and what must happen if the NHS is to survive. WARNING: Andrew Lansley should probably not listen to this podcast. 

• “I travel the world and the one thing everyone says to me is, We wish we had your system.”
• “The NHS is holding its collective breath as to what’s to come.”
• “This is the biggest challenge since 5 July 1948 when the NHS was born. This is its day and this is its hour.” 
• “That round of applause changed the status of the NHS forever. There is no politician who can touch it now.” 

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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Newly-promoted Shadow Justice Secretary DAVID LAMMY joins us in an unprecedented week in British politics. Has Boris Johnson’s hospitalisation finally brought home the seriousness of COVID-19 to the hosts of secret barbecues and birthday parties? Does new Labour leader Keir Starmer’s cabinet re-do amount to socialist distancing? What needs sorting in the criminal justice system? And why all Bunker guests get immediate promotions…

“If you’re in a war, the time to question the generals is not in the middle of the battle.” – David Lammy

Presented by Naomi Smith with Ayesha Hazarika and Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Script and assistant production by Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickenson. Logo and artwork by Mark Taylor. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters production.

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