The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

Hit reality TV show The Traitors reveals how great some people are at lying – and how bad others are at detecting it. What lessons can we take from Claudia Winkleman’s backstabbing parlour game about the world of politics? Today in The Bunker, Ahir Shah speaks with The Guardian’s Zoe Williams to find out which of our politicians would flourish or flounder under the pressure. 

Stay tuned until after the credits for Ahir’s slightly spoilery final thoughts leading into the final two episodes.

• “The very act of honesty has become a badge of shame in modern politics.” – Zoe Williams

• “I paused the episode and said to my wife: ‘I think I finally understand how Boris Johnson happened’.” – Ahir Shah

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Written and Presented by Ahir Shah. Producer: Liam Tait and Chris Jones.  Audio production: Jade Bayley. Production Assistant: Adam Wright. Art by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson.Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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The US election is being fought on many fronts, but what does the American public really care about most? Is it the economy, is it immigration, or is it simply the name of the person who sits in the Oval Office? Susan Davis is a political correspondent for NPR and host of the NPR Political Podcast. She joins Alex Andreou in The Bunker to discuss how the likely candidates will campaign on the most important issues.

• “There’s a sense of nostalgia for Trump… people think ‘my life was better under Trump’.” – Susan Davis

• “Anger is the greatest character in American politics.” – Susan Davis

• “Immigration has been an unsolvable problem in US politics basically since the Reagan era.” – Susan Davis

Listen to NPR’s Political Podcast: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510310/npr-politics-podcast 

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Written and Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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What do people care most about at the moment – and how will this affect their votes in the upcoming general election? From immigration to the NHS, the economy to defence, there’s plenty for voters to think about. Ros Taylor speaks to Ben Walker, senior data journalist at the New Statesman and co-founder of Britain Elects. 

•“The priority amongst all Britons is not immigration, not the NHS, but still for solutions on the cost of living.” – Ben Walker

•“The reality of politics is that feelings matter more than facts - if you’re feeling like your income is being squeezed, if you feel like your community is turning to dust, you’ll vote with that in mind.” – Ben Walker

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Written and Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by: Chris Jones and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Few TV dramas have had such an instant seismic effect as ITV’s miniseries on the Horizon scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office. How do searing stories of miscarriages of justice make it to screen in a ruthless television environment? And what makes them so effective at concentrating public outrage and forcing change? Simon Heath, CEO and Creative Director of World Productions, was Executive Producer of Line of Duty and the acclaimed Hillsborough drama Anne. He tells Andrew Harrison what makes true-life drama work – and how it does the job that World In Action used to do. 

• “To be able to launch a drama while a public inquiry is still ongoing is just fantastic because you’re able to point the audience immediately toward a live political issue, and the two things feed on each other.” - Simon Heath

• “Some stories do lend themselves more readily to dramatisation, and there was something about the Post Office Scandal that you could essentially distil it down to the little people versus this out of control, faceless bureaucracy that was crushing them.” - Simon Heath

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Written and Presented by Andrew Harrison. Produced by: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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“Ron DeSanctimonious” is out of the Presidential running meaning a two-way race between Trump and Nikki Haley in this week’s New Hampshire Primary. Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea start to filter through to the economy. The Lords get ready to savage the Rwanda Plan. And NASA opens up a can of asteroid dust – what could possibly go wrong? Gavin Esler sets out the week ahead for Andrew Harrison.

Presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Art by James Parrett. Lead producer Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Donald Trump once said he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and his supporters wouldn’t care. Not only does polling suggest that could be true – but since he was criminally indicted (not for shooting anyone) his loyalists have stuck by him. Thomas Gift is the founding director of UCL’s centre on US politics and he joins Jacob Jarvis in The Bunker to discuss what he believes are the five types of Trump voters. 

• “Trump supporters have been likened to a cult … and I don’t think that’s far off.” – Thomas Gift

•“Whenever I think about the need for drama Republicans I think about the chaos caucus… they want to blow up the system.” – Thomas Gift

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Written and presented by Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Migration is one of the most divisive issues in the UK – socially, politically, and economically. But a lot of the information we consume is propaganda, and many of the assumptions made are wrong. Hein de Haas, author of How Migration Really Works, offers Ros Taylor insights which could lead to effective migration policy. 

• “The overall contribution of recent migration has been positive rather than negative.” – Hein de Haas 

• “There is actually no difference between Left and Right wing governments in terms of the immigration policies they implement.” – Hein de Haas

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Written and Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by: Eliza Davis Beard. 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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The 2024 US Presidential election will likely see Biden and Trump back on the ballot. And, if previous elections are anything to go by, Russia will play a key role in manipulating things in Trump’s favour. Joseph Webster, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and editor of the China-Russia report, joins Gavin Esler in The Bunker, to discuss what Russia seeks to gain out of a Trump presidency, and how they might just get it.

• “Gasoline prices are a major determinant in U.S. elections. Anything that Russia can do to lower or increase prices will have a big impact.” – Joseph Webster

• “Disinformation campaign efforts by the Russian state and by figures associated with the Russian state will almost certainly persist into 2024.” – Joseph Webster

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Written and Presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Alex Rees. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Young people, particularly young men, are increasingly becoming radicalised toward the far-right. Often chronically online and extremely vulnerable to manipulation, just how big of a risk do they pose? And what can be done about it? Alex Andreou joins Cynthia Miller-Idriss, founding director of the Polarisation and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at the American University in Washington, DC, in The Bunker. 

• “The far-right is really a spectrum for supremacist ideologies; which include white, christian, western, or misogynist supremacies, but also anti-government and anti-democratic supremacies.” – Cynthia Miller-Idriss

• “The real shift we are seeing now compared to previous generations is that, where you used to have to be taken by the arm and invited by an individual to join a group, now all of that propaganda comes right to you online.” – Cynthia Miller-Idriss

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Alex Rees. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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PM Rishi Sunak faces the commons today to explain military action against Houthi Rebels. Plus – the Rwanda bill is back. Will the Conservatives be satisfied with the latest draft? Across the pond – The Republican Party caucuses in Iowa. Is a Trump victory inevitable? And finally President Biden has congratulated Lai Ching-te following his victory in the Taiwan election, how will Beijing respond? 

• "You simply cannot notify your enemies that you’re about to take military action." – Alex Andreou 

• “We are vastly underestimating the threat of Russia.” – Alex Andreou

• “Democratic nations are always at a disadvantage when it comes to war.” – Alex Andreou

Support us on Patreon:

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

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

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