The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

The Bibby Stockholm plan has been beset by legionella. Who could have seen this coming? The Tories want us to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, why are they obsessed with chaos? Plus, this week is ‘health week’. Given that doctors are on strike, what could possibly go wrong?

We also have an update on wildfires in Maui, the latest from Niger’s military coup, and the stories you may have missed. Ros Taylor is joined by Alex Andreou to give you the news to look out for in the week ahead.

• “The Government couldn’t organise a fire in a match factory.” – Alex Andreou
• “Sunak has all of his plans pinned on the weather.” – Alex Andreou
• “Labour’s plan is an unsexy but important one: to make the state work again.”

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

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The rise of vapes and ever-increasing cigarette regulations are a big threat to Big Tobacco. What new methods have they dreamed up to keep us smoking? Dr. Kasia Tomasiewicz is joined by tobacco industry expert Robert Branston, associate professor in business economics at the University of Bath, to explore how Big Tobacco is still raking in huge profits.

• “Tobacco is a product like no other legal product in terms of its lethality.”
• “The profits are as addictive for these tobacco companies as tobacco is for the consumers.”
• “It's very easy to think tobacco is yesterday's problem, but in large parts of the world tobacco use is going up.”

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www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

Presented by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Assistant producer: Adam Wright. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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The US Supreme Court has a huge power grip over America. And, thanks to Trump, it’s now more politicised than ever. So how has that impacted real life? Brian Klaas is associate professor in global politics at UCL and argues the court is “...a politicised institution masquerading as an impartial one”. He joins Andrew Harrison in The Bunker to discuss if it can be fixed.

Brian’s piece: https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/how-to-fix-the-us-supreme-court 

• “There was a deference given to the courts… as if they were gods on American soil.” – Brian Klaas
• “Politicising something takes 10 minutes, depoliticising something takes 10 years or more.” – Brian Klaas
• “They’re all actors… it’s all for show.” – Brian Klaas
• “There is a problem that is now unsolvable, which is I don’t think the court will be seen as apolitical ever again.” – Brian Klaas

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

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This week on Bunker Global: The coup in Niger rolls on, as US envoys hold talks with the junta. And, a plot to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy was foiled earlier this week. What happened? Plus the confusion about the Thai elections rage on. Could a coalition be formed? Andrew Harrison talks to Vice News senior Editor Dipo Faloyin and Vox journalist Ellen Ionas to answer all those questions.

• “People are hoping that a democratic solution will come about, but in the meantime, the Coup leaders are sitting back and staying strong.” – Dipo Faloyin
• “There’s very little evidence that Wagner has struck a deal with the coup leaders.” – Dipo Faloyin
• “The challenge that he now faces are more efforts by Russian forces trying to infiltrate Ukrainian society.” – Dipo Faloyin

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www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

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

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QAnon began as a niche conspiracy theory. How did it become a movement for self-radicalisation? How have its dangerous ideas infiltrated society? Rafael Behr is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James Ball, author of The Other Pandemic How QAnon Contaminated the World, to explore how the dark corners of the internet have serious implications for mainstream politics.  

• “Lots of QAnon conspiracies emerged from online trolling.”
• “4Chan created things the rest of the internet couldn’t say.”
• “QAnon asked people to self radicalise which caused a snowball effect.”

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Link for James Ball’s book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-other-pandemic-9781526642554/ 

Link for Rafael Behr’s book: https://www.waterstones.com/book/politics-a-survivors-guide/rafael-behr/9781838955045 

Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Criminal gangs have gone global. How do they use international networks to increase their power and influence? Far from being underground, criminals now run state-backed organisations and even private armies.

Seth Thévoz is joined in The Bunker by investigative reporter for the FT Miles Johnson, author of Chasing Shadows: A true story of drugs, war and the secret world of international crime, to find out if established law enforcement can ever outpace the next generation of crime. 

• “Sanctions lead to strange alliances between parties who aren't ideologically aligned.” 
• “In criminal networks you'll see a lot of incompetence and egotism.”
• "In Syria, you have people who are actually in power, in a sovereign state who are engaging in organised criminal activity." 

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Book Link

https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/miles-johnson/chasing-shadows/9780349128641/

Written and presented by Seth Thévoz. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz and 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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Politics has never been so rife with bad behaviour. Labour’s Chris Bryant MP wants to change that. He sets out a plan for a better type of politics in his new book Code of Conduct Why We Need to Fix Parliament – and How to Do It. As Chair of the Committees on Standards and Privileges, he’s had a unique insight into why MPs think they can get away with misbehaviour and what is at stake if we don’t fix parliament quickly. He joins Gavin Esler to discuss making democracy better and calling out rotten MPs. 

• “We have a system in the UK where, to quote ABBA, the winner takes it all”
• “We don’t realise quite how fragile democracy is.”
• “One bad apple doesn’t mean it is an exception to the rule, it means it spoils the barrel.”

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Book link: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/code-of-conduct-9781526663573/ 

Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Producers: Kasia Tomasiewicz and Alex Rees. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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The Government’s plans to house migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge continues to cause controversy. Why are they going ahead with it? Does Labour have any better ideas? Plus, we have an update on Ukraine, the latest from Donald Trump’s legal scandals, and details on Niger’s military coup. Jacob Jarvis is joined by Doomsday Watch host Arthur Snell to give you the big stories for the week ahead.

• “The barges are a nakedly political agenda.” – Arthur Snell
• “It always feels like Donald Trump is playing political chicken.” – Jacob Jarvis

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Presented by Jacob Jarvis with Arthur Snell. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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True crime has never been more popular. Is it uniquely harmful to society, or have we always been fascinated with the macabre? And why does there suddenly seem to be a boom in internet sleuths? Exploring the increasingly blurred lines between those seeking justice and those making internet content, Jude Rogers talks to Tanya Horeck, Professor of Film and Feminist Media Studies and author of Justice on Demand: True Crime in the Digital Streaming Era about how true crime in the digital age has transformed society. 

• “True crime can be a way to process a lot of the traumatic things in society.”
• “True crime feeds into the idea that we are all internet sleuths.”
• “ True crime has created a cultural space for a political discussion about violence against women.”

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Written and presented by Jude Rogers. Producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Assistant producer: Adam Wright. Audio editor: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

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Are aliens real? That question was brought up again in a high-level Congressional hearing this week. Three former members of the US military brought forward their evidence to prove that extraterrestrial life IS real. But were there stories credible? Or is it all easily explainable coincidences? Dr Kate Devlin, sits down in The Bunker with Mick West, science writer, investigator and MetaBunk founder to discuss.

• “A lot of people believe that UFOs are aliens - and a lot of those people are in the US government.” – Mick West
• “The problem is we don’t have actual evidence to show what Grusch said was true.” – Mick West.
• “I think they need to think about raising the veil of secrecy, because it allows stories like this to fester.” – Mick West.

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Written and presented by Dr Kate Devlin. 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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