The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

On December 14, 2012, Robbie Parker's world was shattered. His daughter, Emilie, was among the victims of the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. As if the grief of losing a child wasn’t enough, Robbie and other parents were forced to confront an unthinkable challenge: a wave of harassment and lies spawned by conspiracy theorists.

In this episode, Robbie Parker, author of A Father's Fight, joins Gavin Esler to discuss his legal battle with conspiracy theorist talking head Alex Jones and the struggle to protect his daughter’s memory amidst a sea of disinformation.

Buy A Father's Fight: Taking on Alex Jones and Reclaiming the Truth About Sandy Hook through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker 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 Gavin Esler. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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The online radicalisation of men and ‘incels’ by the far right is well documented – but what about the women they target? What role do forums for mums and Instagram food vlogs play in luring women into movements that seek to undermine their freedoms?

Today in The Bunker, Lois Shearing, author of Pink-Pilled: Women and the Far Right, joins Zoë Grünewald to explore how these groups operate and what can be done to stop them.

Buy Pink-Pilled: Women and the Far Right through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker 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 Zoë Grünewald. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Donald Trump will officially become the president of the United States today – what will he say as he lays out his plans for America? And how will he shake things up on the global stage? Gavin Esler talks Jacob Jarvis through what we should we should expect from the beginning of Trump’s second presidency. 

We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. 

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

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Keir Starmer wants Britain to “mainline artificial intelligence into its veins” and says A.I. will transform the our lives for the better. But as job automation races ahead, is anyone listening to the voices of working people? Has Labour been captured by the A.I. lobby? Mary Towers leads the TUC’s work on A.I. She tells Andrew Harrison what we need to do to make this Fourth Industrial Revolution work for everyone – not just Big Tech and corporate cost-cutters. 

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• We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.  

Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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A special crosspost from our geopolitics podcast This Is Not A Drill.

After 15 months of horror, a ceasefire and hostage release deal triggers rejoicing in Israel and Palestine. But the deal is ambiguous and built around only a gradual release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages, with no agreement to end the war yet. While Trump rushes to claim credit, some fear the deal is so loose it might collapse. Could this conflict reignite?

Gavin Esler talks to Middle East expert Dr H.A. Hellyer of RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security, about Israel and Gaza’s fragile moment of hope.

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Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production

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Mark Zuckerberg has announced he’s ditching fact checking on Facebook and across Meta platforms. This is starting in the US, but how far will it go? And how much worse will it make the content on his social media channels? Chris Jones speaks to tech journalist and LBC correspondent Will Guyatt to find out why the Facebook boss is making these changes, beyond just cosying up to Trump, and what their impact will be. 

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Written and presented by Chris Jones. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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What will Trump’s entry to the White House mean for the war between Russia and Ukraine? The incoming US insists he can get a ceasefire and end the conflict – but how feasible is this? Gavin Esler, of our sibling podcast This is Not a Drill, speaks to Russia expert Mark Galeotti, host of the In Moscow’s Shadows podcast. 

• We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.

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Written and presented by Gavin Esler. 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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Reform UK are on a roll. The Tories are dancing to their tune, some polls are putting them on par with Labour and the wilder hard-right papers are hyping Farage as a potential PM. But how real is Reform’s “surge”? Are their voters really up for far-right populism, or are they more likely angry, disaffected, sometimes even left-leaning people who’ve lost faith in politics? Campaigning veteran Paul Mason of The New European and The Guardian’s Rafael Behr ask the big question of 2025: how do we stop Reform dragging Britain to the far-right?

• “Reform know how to play populist politics. They are a very well-funded autocratic party and they know what they’re doing.” – Paul Mason

• “Every time you say ‘open borders’ you convert a Reform voter to a fascist.” – Paul Mason

• Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more.

• We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.  

Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Rachel Reeves faces questions over Britain’s economic state this week – the right-wing press is howling, but just how bad is the situation really? And, Musk continues to meddle – we look at his moves here at home and further afield. Plus, it’s the final week where Trump isn’t president! We discuss who’ll be wanting to cosy up to him in the coming days. Ros Taylor talks Jacob Jarvis through all that and more. 

We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. 

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Ros Taylor. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, questions have been raised as to how long Putin can financially sustain the assault. How much longer can Russia’s economy sustain the staggering costs of war?

Today in The Bunker, Dr. Richard Connolly, author of The Russian Economy: A Very Short Introduction, joins Chris Jones to find out if Putin’s war machine is running out of cash?

• We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.  

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Written and presented by Chris Jones. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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