The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

We’ve come a long way as society but has progress hindered our ability to have a laugh? Seth Thévoz is joined by David Stubbs, the author of Different Times to discuss the evolution of British comedy from silent movies to the raunchy sitcoms of today.

• "Monty Python looks a bit dodgy these days.” – David Stubbs
• "The real revolution in comedy was the Young Ones. It was punk.” – David Stubbs
• "Tommy Cooper is the king of woke Comedy. He’s hilarious and without sin.” – David Stubbs
• “Thatcher was crucified weekly in comedy shows but ultimately she had the last laugh came the elections.” – David Stubbs

Buy Different Times: A History of British Comedy 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 Seth Thévoz. Producer: Liam Tait. Audio editor: Alex Reed. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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On today’s Bunker Gold, a Christmas throwback from 2022… 

What do veganism, Donald Trump and Brussels sprouts have in common? They’re all points of contention at Christmas time. But how do you deal with the terrible opinions of family and friends? Marie Le Conte is joined by Christmas elves Tom Peck and Seth Thévoz to discuss navigating conversations with Brexit-y uncles and Corbynista cousins. 

• “Everyone talks to me about politics, and it's so boring.” –Tom Peck 

• “My dad is France’s last remaining Emmanuel Macron fan.” – Marie Le Conte 

• “Communists to the left of me, Nazis to the right, here I am – the only liberal – stuck in the middle with you.” – Seth Thévoz 

Presented by Marie Le Conte with Tom Peck and Seth Thévoz. Producers: Jet Gerbertson and Alex Rees. Assistant Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Robin Leburn. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Our political debate stops at Christmas — but this hasn’t always been the case. It was only in the Victorian era that Christmas was reinvented as a time for family and domesticity, with no room for politics. Should politics return to Christmas? Has it been there all along? University of St Andrews Senior Lecturer in Theology Rev Dr Stephen Holmes speaks to Alex Andreou about the politics of Christmas. 

• “Christmas is heavily focused around the narrative of the birth of Jesus, a narrative which is inescapably political.” - Rev Dr Stephen Holmes

• “We think of Christmas as a time when you want to gather the family, shut the door, put your slippers on and relax together. You really don't want to be faced with the realities of injustice and pain in the world." - Rev Dr Stephen Holmes

• “It's very, very hard to separate the idea of charity and altruism, from some sort of political judgement about how the world is and how it should be.” - Rev Dr Stephen Holmes

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Written and Presented by Alex Andreou. 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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On our latest panel edition: It’s been a weird year in the world of politics. From accusations of bunny murder, to saucy broadway interruptions and hemp bar shenanigans. Do you remember the crazy political stories that defined the last 12 months?

Jacob Jarvis and an all-star lineup of Podmasters regulars, Marie Le Conte, Jonn Elledge and Andrew Harrison go through the 20 weirdest stories from the year in the last edition of The Bunker Panel for 2023.

• “The one thing you cannot be cruel to in this country is animals, especially guide dogs.” – Marie Le Conte
• “Most people want politics to just f*ck off.” – Jonn Elledge

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Andrew Harrison, Marie Le Conte and Jonn Elledge. Produced by Liam Tait. 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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Terrorist activity is surging across Europe since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, and UK police are warning MPs that London is currently facing the “biggest convergence of threats we have seen for a very long time”. Could we be facing a new phase in intensified political terror? Peter Neumann, Professor of Security Studies at King's College London and author of The New World Disorder: How the West is Destroying Itself, explains the current state of play to Alex Andreou. 

• “Terror threats are multiplying to such an extent that the counterterrorism resources in this country might not be able to cope.” – Professor Peter Neumann 

• “We are seeing a meeting of generations – people who have been reactivated by October 7, and people for whom October 7 is their first radicalisation event – their 9/11.” - Professor Peter Neumann 

• “These people do not feel that they are the aggressors. They feel that they are defending their people by committing acts of terrorism.” - Professor Peter Neumann 

Buy Peter’s new book, The New World Disorder: How the West is Destroying Itself, 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.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and Presented by Alex Andreou. 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 Covid Inquiry continues to throw out news lines with Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove appearing since our last round-up. If you’ve found it too hard to keep track, we’re here to catch you up. Alex Andreou is joined once again by Prof. Christina Pagel to explain some key moments.

• “The attitude of ‘I know better’ is quite damaging to Sunak.” – Christina Pagel

• “It’s not just that we’ve been led by donkeys. We’ve been led by donkeys who don’t give a shit.” – Christina Pagel

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Presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Chris Jones. 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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Michelle Mone has admitted to lying to the media over her links to a PPE firm. What fallout will happen next? Plus – Rishi Sunak continues to pander to backbenchers over immigration, what does the PM have to gain by embracing the right? Plus, calls mount for a prolonged pause in the Israel/Hamas conflict, will Netenyahu be strong-armed into another ceasefire? And finally we have the latest on reports of financial difficulties for Ukraine.

• “Michelle Mone didn’t just lie to the media, she tried to bury the story with the full force of her legal team.” – Alex Andreou
• “Far right and centre right politics are bleeding together in a significant way across Europe.” – Alex Andreou
• "Sunak gets tougher on something new every other week but it never shifts the public opinion on him." – Alex Andreou

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex Andreou. 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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Donald Trump’s hold over rural voters is priceless to the Republican party. But how did this real life caricature of a wealthy businessman win them over? And has the divide between rural and urban voters ever been so big in America? Nicholas Jacobs is the co-author of The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and the Disuniting of America and joins Dorian Lynskey in The Bunker.

“No republican candidate has done as well in rural America than Trump.”

“The most distinctive feature of the rural voter is that they are distinct.”

“Most rural people feel like the impressions of them are not realistic.”

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Written and Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by: Chris Jones and 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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The internet has become a theatre of war, with lies and disinformation being radically weaponised. The UN has responded with a framework on how to fight such threats – But does it hold any real potential to win the battle for truth? Carl Miller co-founded the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos and joins Marie Le Conte in The Bunker.

• “There’s no single stakeholder that can possibly make decisions unilaterally about what the internet should be like.” – Carl Miller.
• “one of the most helpful things is to start talking about standards about how we make the actual mechanics of the platform less gameable.” – Carl Miller.

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Written and Presented by Marie Le Conte. Produced by: Eliza Davis Beard and Liam Tait. 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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We know the human cost of Russia’s war in Ukraine – with estimated fatalities reaching half a million. But what is the financial cost? Can Russia afford to continue this conflict – and for how long? Oxford Analytica senior Russia analyst and Eastern Advisory Group director Dr Richard Connelly speaks to Chris Jones in The Bunker. 

• “Before the war, the Russian economy had been through a decade of stagnation… it was not in great shape.” – Dr Richard Connelly

• “A lot of Western sanctions have been designed to restrict the inflow of oil and gas revenues… But the Russian government has been resilient.” – Dr Richard Connelly

• “If you look at the Budget, it’s a record amount of expenditure. They’ve never spent this much… What they’re saying politically, is that they are going up a gear with the war.” – Dr Richard Connelly

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Written and presented by Chris Jones. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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