The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the leading Democratic challenger to Biden for 2024. But is he actually a threat to the current President – or just a gift to Trump? And how much of a danger does he pose to US politics and society? Molly Jong-Fast is a columnist for Vanity Fair and the host of Fast Politics Pod. She shares her thoughts on the conspiracy peddling political hopeful with Gavin Esler in The Bunker.

Listen to Molly’s podcast here: https://fastpoliticspod.com 

• “RFK Jr is part of this tapestry of anti-science rhetoric in the US.” – Molly Jong-Fast.
• “The right-wing establishment has worked hard to undermine people’s beliefs in science.” – Molly Jong-Fast.
• “He’ll never get elected, but maybe he’ll get Trump elected.” – Molly Jong-Fast.
• “The reason he’s anywhere is because he’s a nepo-baby.” – Molly Jong-Fast.

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

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On the first edition of Bunker Global: A closer look at Israel’s assault on Jenin, the fallout of the violent protests across France and the bounties placed on Hong Kong dissidents. Laura Makin-Isherwood, formerly London bureau chief of Feature Story News, and Anshel Pfeffer, a Jerusalem-based writer for Haaretz and the Economist, join Jacob Jarvis this week. Listen in to get you up to speed on what you need to know about news and politics from across the world.

• “The Jenin Brigade aren’t going away, yes a number of them have been killed – but this isn’t over.” – Anshel Pfeffer
• “These bounties are a message to these activists that the Chinese Government is watching them.” – Laura Makin-Isherwood
• "French youth are questioning how the state interacts with the public, and who indeed they can trust." – Laura Makin-Isherwood

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Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Laura Makin-Isherwood and Anshel Pfeffer. Producer: Liam Tait. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright. 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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Productivity in Britain is down – is an army of middlemen partly to blame? Ros Taylor sits down with Giles Wilkes, senior fellow at the Institute for Government, to find out why we need to cut back on what he labels ‘crud’ to revitalise our economy. 

• “Crud is artificial capitalism.”
• “The Conservatives did a lot of damage in the 80s and are now returning to the scene of the crime and asking who did this?”

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

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The NHS was formed 75 years ago. As it celebrates its diamond anniversary, the service seems to be under more pressure than ever. Andrew Harrison is joined by Roy Lilley to celebrate the 75th birthday of the NHS and to ask, will it make it to 80? 

• “The NHS is knackered isn’t it? Nobody can blame staff for wanting to leave.”
• “If we leave the NHS to get on with the job, it will roll up its sleeves and deliver.”
• “Virgin tried to come in and run the NHS like an airport, where are they now?” 

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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer: Liam Tait. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright. 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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The Wagner Group made headlines with its 24-hour revolt against Vladimir Putin. Their leader, Yevgeny Prighozhin, is a shady character. Once a seller of hotdogs, he’s now made a career as a warlord, commanding thousands of troops in Ukraine and Africa. The mystery of Wagner is now clearing, says Ben Dalton, program manager for New America's Future Frontlines program. He joins Laura Makin-Isherwood in The Bunker to discuss how the group operates and how it harnesses the power of social media to recruit and fundraise.

• “The Wagner group has been very core to Russia's war effort in Ukraine.” – Ben Dalton.
• “Prigozhin has been remarkably savvy on social media, predominantly on telegram, in a way that reminds me of Donald Trump.” – Ben Dalton
• “As far back as 2017 Putin has been rewarding Wagner commanders for their role in Syria.” – Ben Dalton

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Written and presented by Laura Makin-Isherwood. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Music by Kenny Dickinson THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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Sunak has a brand new immigration policy which looks just like the old one. Does anyone support it? With train strikes looming and an NHS staffing crisis, looks like we’re in for another summer of discontent. In international news, following a weekend of riots across France, we ask if President Macron has lost control. Plus updates on attacks on the Westbank and the latest on Ukraine. Arthur Snell joins Alex Andreou to map out the week ahead.

• “Sunak’s immigration policy is headline grabbing but won’t reduce numbers.” – Arthur Snell
• “The Tories immigration plan is a very simple solution to a very complex problem." – Alex Andreou 
• “Macron's problem is he is from the elite, so he lacks a deep understanding of social problems." – Arthur Snell 

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Written and presented by Alex Andreou and Arthur Snell. Producers: Kasia Tomasiewicz and 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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Psychedelic drugs are regularly in the news as a fresh generation of scientists researches them. Who knows how they might be used in future – but, historically, how have they shaped the world already? The negatives of substance use are obvious – but what other impacts are there? From ceremonial plant medicines to the war on drugs; their cultural significance cannot be understated. 

Dr Kasia Tomasiewicz is joined in The Bunker by Mike Jay to discuss his new book Psychonauts: Drugs and the Making of the Modern Mind. 

• “If you want to know how drugs change your own perception, there’s only one way of doing it.”
• “Pharmacies would sell products called ‘Mrs Winslow's Soothing Syrup’ which would be full of morphine and opium.”
• “Magic Mushrooms were ancient and sacred, people used them for spiritual experiences for millennia.”

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Book Link

https://yalebooks.co.uk/page/detail/psychonauts/?k=9780300257946

Written and presented by Kasia Tomasiewicz. 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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Washington, DC is home to the American political elite. Hordes of staff looking to make their names. Lobbyists and think tanks, all chasing a shot at success.

The Trump years only intensified the culture - but has that changed the city for good or for worse?

Ben Terris is a journalist for the Washington Post and the author of The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind. He joins Arthur Snell in The Bunker to discuss why DC is unlike any other American city.

Find Ben Terris’ book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ben-terris/the-big-break/9781538708057/?lens=twelve

• “The Trump years in DC were very disorientating for everyone in DC.” – Ben Terris.
• “Even with Trump gone, Trumpism is here to stay.” – Ben Terris.
• “There are a lot of people who treat Washington DC like the new frontier, to find fame, influence, and riches.” – Ben Terris.

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

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The Bunker panel show returns to mark our ONE THOUSANDTH edition. Can voters wean themselves off the dark thrills of our political Age of Chaos? And what’s the long view on Trump’s legal troubles? The Guardian’s Raf Behr and US politics expert Julie Norman join Jacob Jarvis and Andrew Harrison for a special celebration edition.

Exciting changes are coming in The Bunker: a new look plus new strands and music coming soon. There’s never been a better time to back us on Patreon, so sign up now for special extras: https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast/posts 

• “Brexit was both a revolution and a massive fraud. You only get one of those moments of energy and upheaval every generation.” – Raf Behr
• “This destroys all of Trump's plausible defenses.” – Julie Norman
• “People like to feel a sense of agency, that what they’re living through is meaningful in some kind of way.” – Raf Behr

Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producers Kasia Tomasiewicz, Chris Jones and Liam Tait. Art by James Parrett. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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The news media is driven by clicks more than ever before. Who is winning the war for online attention? Brands like Vice and Gawker initially won the race – but are old-school papers dominating the online space again now? Ben Smith is the former editor-in-chief for Buzzfeed News, runs the news outlet Semafor, and is author of Traffic: Genius, rivalry, and delusion in the billion-dollar race to go viral. He joins Jacob Jarvis in The Bunker.

• “If you were a journalist covering politics in the mid-’00s, the online space was really exciting.” – Ben Smith
• “I don’t think you were doing anything called ‘going viral’ until Twitter came along.” – Ben Smith
• “The NY Times really absorbed a lot of the lessons and the culture of the internet.” – Ben Smith

www.patreon.com/bunkercast 

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

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