The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

Fables Of The Reconstruction: A Bunker mini-series for the 250th anniversary of the USA… After Trump’s reign and his war on the pillars of American democracy are over, will America need a reboot, like after the Civil War? A new Reconstruction? 

Today: Nothing reduces the America system to gridlock and vindictiveness like the polarised two-party system. And when Trump remade the Republicans into a self-radicalising personality cult, he made it worse. Is there any breaking out of the Democrat vs Republican vendetta? Casey Burgat, former congressional staffer turned politics professor at George Washington University, give Andrew Harrison a brisk education on what’s not working in US party politics… and what, surprisingly, is.  

• Don’t miss the other episodes of this three-part miniseries.

• Want more on the politics of the USA? Don’t miss our brilliant podcast American Friction – out twice weekly.

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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Setting out the stories of the next seven days… Andy Burnham is PM in waiting and the battle among Labour MPs for his attention is on. What’s going to bubble up from what the Guardian calls a “massive bunfight for influence”? Plus, Shabana Mahmood finds a way to make immigration even more contentious, Trump finds a way to make America’s 250th birthday horribly divisive… and Taylor Swift is getting married in New York. Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison read the runes for the week ahead.  

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

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Burnham looks set to become PM, so how are his plans shaping up? Jonn Elledge joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss as they pull together the biggest news stories from the last week. 

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Jonn Elledge. Audio editor: Tom Taylor. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Design by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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The eye-watering “Liberation Day” trade tariffs that Trump unleashed on the world on April 2, 2025, are about to expire after the US Supreme Court ruled the President had overstepped his powers. But the damage they’ve caused continues to reverberate. For economists, Trump’s tariffs began World War Trade, a dangerous new era of predatory trade and protectionism. How did tariffs become Trump’s weapon of choice? And is his trade war a total bust? Professor of international economics at IMD Business School Richard Baldwin unpacks the truth about Trump’s tariff policy with Emma Kennedy. 

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 • Read Richard’s book World War Trade: Conflict, Containment and the Emergent World Trading Order 

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Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. 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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Kim Jong Un has ruled North Korea with an iron fist since taking power in 2011. But if the dictator died tomorrow, what would happen? Would North Koreans finally taste freedom? Who’s in charge of the nuclear codes? And could his 13-year-old daughter Kim Ju Ae really be next in line to rule one of the world’s most dangerous regimes? Journalist, foreign affairs analyst, and author of The Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un Anna Fifield joins Seth Thévos to discuss succession scenarios and where the country – and world – might stand.   

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Written and presented by Seth Thévos. Producer: James Liddell. 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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It’s ten years to the day since Britain voted by an infamously thin margin to leave the EU – and after a decade of acrimony, most voters now recognise Brexit as a colossal mistake. Yet politicians refuse to reopen this radioactive topic. If so many people hate Brexit, why don’t we just reverse it? Could we even reverse it? And is now the right time? 

Few people understand the reality of Rejoin more than Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London and director of UK in a Changing Europe. He talks to Emma Kennedy about the daunting reality behind the dream of reapplying for EU membership. 

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Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. 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 is expected to announce his departure from Downing Street, paving the way for Andy Burnham to become PM. But is a coronation the best thing for Labour or the country? Alex von Tunzelmann joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss this and the other key news stories to look out for this week.  

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Alex von Tunzelmann. 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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Donald Trump has finally put pen to paper and signed an agreement to end the war he started. He quickly lashed out at the “bad people” criticising it – but is it even a deal or just a deal to try and get a deal? Plus: Lib Dem leader Ed Davey calls for a Brexit U-turn, Farage wants foreign nationals banned from social housing and archaeologists find a Stonehenge “prototype”.  

Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to unpack the biggest, weirdest and most under-reported stories from the past week.  

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

www.podmasters.co.uk 

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

What really triggered the horrific race riots in Northern Ireland earlier this month? Who were the agitators of the “modern-day pogrom” in which balaclava-clad rioters chased people from their homes and torched cars and buildings in overwhelmingly loyalist areas? Belfast-based journalist Amanda Ferguson was on the ground as the violence unfolded. She gives Gavin Esler her eyewitness account of the attacks, the aftermath and the mix of far-right agitation and experienced Loyalist paramilitaries behind these appalling scenes.  

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Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producer: James Liddell. 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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What connects violent anti-immigration protests with a defence secretary resigning over a funding row with Number 10? The answer is social cohesion – and Britain isn’t doing enough to protect it. A transnational campaign bringing together MAGA, Russian influence operations and the far right is actively targeting the very bonds that hold us together, says Dr Kate Ferguson, co-founder of Protection Approaches – a charity that campaigns against identity-based violence.  

Is this just a community relations problem or is something far more serious at play? Do we need to treat social cohesion as a full-blown national security emergency? Kate joins Rafael Behr to discuss how malign actors are attacking British society – and what we can do about it.  

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Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

www.podmasters.co.uk 

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