The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

Questions over Iran’s involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict have run rampant since the terrorist attacks of October. How would the nation benefit from chaos in the Middle East and what would it take for Iran to join the war? Today in The Bunker, Alex Andreou sits down with Dr Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, to ask: what does Iran want?

• “Iran is not a natural partner with Hamas, they have significant religious differences.” – Dr Sanam Vakil
• “There is a concern that escalation can come not because of choice but because of mistakes." – Dr Sanam Vakil
• “Iran is exploiting deep divisions between the global north and south over this war.” – Dr Sanam Vakil



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Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Producers: Liam Tait and Eliza Davis Beard. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Are tech giants out of control? Our media landscape is dominated by tech titans with unlimited resources and little to no oversight. Does anyone have a plan to deal with this lack of regulation? Ros Taylor sits down with, senior research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of Techlash, Tom Wheeler to discuss his vision of digital governance.

• “Certain men of wealth can do as they please." – Tom Wheeler 
• “We need a new federal agency that is created to deal with the realities of modern tech.” – Tom Wheeler 
• “The internet is the largest ungoverned space in the world.” – Tom Wheeler 

https://www.brookings.edu/books/techlash/ 

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

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Prisons across England and Wales are at breaking point. If the system does not change, experts say the number of people living in squalor in overcrowded facilities will only increase. What are the government’s plans to change the system? And can it be fixed? Danny Shaw is a crime, justice and policing commentator and ex-BBC Home Affairs Correspondent. He joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker.

“What’s really bad is that the entire criminal justice system feels broken.” – Danny Shaw

“I think both Labour and the Conservatives have had an arms race to be tough on criminal justice.” – Danny Shaw

“There isn’t just a shortage of capacity, there just aren’t enough prison officers.” – Danny Shaw

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Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. 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 far-right could seize power in the next French presidential election. Marine Le Pen has been flying the flag for the anti-immigration Nation Rally Party ever since her father Jean-Marie Le Pen stepped down in 2011. Despite multiple failed attempts at election, her popularity has been increasing in the polls - and it looks like 2027 could be her year. So what’s behind her success and what would France under Le Pen’s presidency look like? Paul Smith is an Associate Professor in French History and Politics at Nottingham University, he joins Chris Jones in The Bunker. 

• “Le Pen wants to be a disruptive Trump-like figure for the EU.” – Paul Smith
• “Le Pen doesn’t care about a Frexit. Brexit has taught everyone in Europe that they shouldn’t leave the EU.” – Paul Smith

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Written and presented by Chris Jones. Producer: 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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After a weekend of communication blackouts, circumstances grow more dire for Palestinians. With little hope of a ceasefire, how will the Israel Hamas conflict develop this week? Meanwhile, the UK is hosting a summit on the danger of A.I. but is it too little too late? Plus the latest on the US presidential race — and Dominic Cummings faces a grilling from the Covid Inquiry. 

Ros Taylor is joined in The Bunker by Gavin Esler to get you prepped for the week ahead.  

• “This war has already been going on for years.” – Gavin Esler
• “We can’t spot shallow fakes, nevermind deep fakes.” – Gavin Esler

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Written and presented by Ros Taylor and Gavin Esler. 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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On this week's Bunker Gold, a classic interview from 2022...

Lisa Nandy talks to Dorian Lynskey about the people and places left behind in modern Britain – and how to empower them. The shadow secretary of state for communities and local government discusses the communities that give her hope, the missteps of recent Governments and what shifts she’d like to see – as outlined in her new book All In: How We Build a Country That Works.

“Everywhere you go there is this feeling that everything is falling apart.”

“People know that this country could be better… they’re very angry that for a long time they’ve been saying things haven’t been working.”

“People need hope. There’s got to be hope on the horizon.”

“Change is inevitable. People won’t put up with the system anymore.”

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Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producers: Jet Gerbertson and Alex Rees . Assistant producer Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Lead producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. The Bunker is a Podmasters production.

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Despite all odds, Goths have continued to thrive and evolve from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Wednesday Adams. But what political and social conditions created the Goth movement? And how has the extravagant subculture survived all this time? Frontman of The Membranes and author of The Art of Darkness, John Robb, joins Alex Andreou in our extra spooky early Halloween edition of The Bunker. 

• “You can't create a culture darker than the way the people in power run it already.” – John Robb
• “Goths read books. The punk period in the late 70s nobody read books!” – John Robb
• “Goth was influenced by a lot of black music: disco, dub, funk is all there in goth rock.” – John Robb

BOOK LINK

https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526173201/

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Written and presented by 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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Chinese President Xi Jinping says the future destiny of mankind relies on how well the US and China get along. But with growing tensions rising around Taiwan and military exercises becoming more frequent in the Indo-Pacific, is war just on the horizon? Oriana Skylar Mastro is a Center Fellow of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University And the author of “Upstart: How China Became a Great Power.” She joins Chris Jones in The Bunker.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/upstart-9780197695067?cc=us&lang=en& 

• “Beijing is unhappy with the status quo and America wants things to stay exactly the same now, forever.” – Oriana Skylar Mastro.
• “Beijing likes to do dangerous things, to rock the boat.” – Oriana Skylar Mastro
• “I think the military power the US needs to avoid war is so awesome that we might not be able to achieve it.” – Oriana Skylar Mastro.

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www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written, presented and produced by Chris Jones. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Since its conception in 1993, the European Union has faced multiple political attacks and crises. But it has prevailed through it all… so far. With a convergence to right-wing populism happening around the world, can its fight to uphold democracy continue? Dermot Hodson is the author of Circle of Stars: A History of the EU and the People Who Made It and a Professor of Political Economy and Digital Technologies at Loughborough University London. He joins Alex Andreou in The Bunker to discuss how the EU endures, and of course, Brexit.

• “As soon as the Maastricht Treaty was signed, it was clear something was different.” – Dermot Hodson.
• “With every crisis we’re told it’s about to collapse.” – Dermot Hodson.
• “If we look at Donald Tusk’s elections it’s a minor miracle… because by many standards that was not a free and fair election.” – Dermot Hodson

Support us on Patreon:

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Alex Rees and Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Russian Oligarchs routinely use a process in English courts to silence their critics. It’s called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation or SLAPPs for short. David Hooper is a veteran lawyer and author of Buying Silence How oligarchs, corporations and plutocrats use the law to gag their critics. He’s no stranger to this expensive process and says it makes it too easy for billionaires to launder their reputation. He joins Ros Taylor in The Bunker.

https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/buying-silence 

• “The courts seem to take the view that it’s not their fault they’re oligarchs.” – David Hooper.
• “The whole court process is pretty scandalous, it needs resetting.” – David Hooper.
• “Once the roubles were put on the table, people were perfectly happy to act for Prigozhin.” – David Hooper.

Support us on Patreon:

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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