The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

It’s the last full week before the Budget and of course the press is losing its cool over a raft of leaks. What will be in it, who’s annoyed in Government – is any of it worth paying attention to? Plus, Charles and Starmer attend the Commonwealth summit, the latest from the US election, and the state of conflicts across the world. Gavin Esler talks Jacob Jarvis through the week ahead. 

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Want more US politics? Listen to American Friction here.

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

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JD Vance says The Lord Of The Rings shaped his politics. Italy’s Georgia Meloni used to dress as a hobbit and go to right-wing Tolkien meet-ups. Far-right oligarch Peter Thiel named his company after a magic stone from Middle Earth. Why are right-wingers so fascinated by Tolkien? And is their fake, fascist-adjacent vision of a mystic rural paradise dangerous? New York Times columnist and self-declared Tolkien nerd David French explains all to Andrew Harrison.  

Read David French’s column The Lord Of The Rings Is Not The Far Right’s Playground. 

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Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Art by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production 

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As pressure to return to the office continues to grow, could we be witnessing the end of flexible working? Despite promises from the government to explore working from home and four-day weeks, bosses seem adamant to return to the status quo. In today’s episode of The Bunker, Hannah Fearn sits down with Professor Cary Cooper to unpack why workplaces are urging employees back into the office. 

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

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Written and presented by Hannah Fearn. 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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Whenever there’s a crisis in America, conspiracy theories follow. The response to Hurricane Helene has highlighted the growing mainstream acceptance of these bizarre tales. From Marjorie Taylor Greene’s wild claims about weather controlling technology to militias disguised as disaster relief. In this episode, we unravel the web of misinformation and dive into the growing trend of mainstream conspiracy theories. Today in the Bunker, Gavin Esler sits down with Mike Rothschild, author of Jewish Space Lasers, to explore the growing belief in these extreme views. 

Buy Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories 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.

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

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editors: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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The Conservative leadership race has taken an unexpected turn, with Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick emerging as the final two candidates. On The Bunker, Rock & Roll Politics host Steve Richards sits down with Andrew Harrison to discuss how we ended up here. What are the key differences between the two, and should either be a cause for concern for Keir Starmer?

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

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. 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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After Starmer’s 100 days milestone, focus is turning to a major investment summit this week. Will he manage to keep business on side by vowing to cut red tape, without causing too much unrest in his party ranks? Plus, we look at escalation in the Middle East and the race to the White House as it draws ever closer. Ros Taylor joins Jacob Jarvis to talk through the stories to look out for in the week ahead. 

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

Listen to Jam Tomorrow here.

Musk’s Twitter two years on: How Elon handed X to the far-right

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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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Two years after Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter takeover, the platform has become a hotbed for alt-right content. Having lost a fifth of its user base and a mass exodus of advertisers, what happened to Musk’s dream of turning the platform into an ‘everything app’? Today, Jacob Jarvis sits down with tech reporter Ryan Broderick, author of the Garbage Day newsletter, to try and understand Musk’s impact on the social media landscape.  

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

Support us on Patreon.

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

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All new cars sold in Britain will be electric by 2030 if we stick to Government plans. But instead of cheering for decarbonisation, our right-wing press pumps out a steady series of angry hit pieces against electric vehicles. What’s really going on? Is demand for electric cars really plummeting? Is the technology really falling short? And what have the right wing got against electric cars anyway? Automotive journalist and electric car specialist John Voelcker talks us through a culture war on the highway. 

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

www.patreon.com/bunkercast

Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Art by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

www.podmasters.co.uk

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Yuppies, successful and affluent young urban professionals, were a notable demographic in 1980s America. Newsweek declared 1984 the year of the yuppie, and these types of characters were immortalised in fiction through American Psycho. But, what were the real world Patrick Batemans actually like – and how did they shape the politics of the America we see today? And how do they tie in with Trump. Jacob Jarvis discussed this with Tom McGrath, author of Triumph of the Yuppies: America, the eighties, and the creation of an unequal nation.  

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

Support us on Patreon.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China’s economy has been described as “unsustainable” after a model of massive growth in recent decades begins to fail. How does it currently work, how might it change – and is Xi Jinping capable of leading – or even simply acknowledging – the shift it requires? With critical economists being jailed or literally disappearing in China, Ian Williams, the author of Vampire State: The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Economy, joins Gavin Esler to discuss the shifting economic landscape in China, its impacts and what might fix it. 

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

www.patreon.com/bunkercast  

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.