The Bunker – Your daily news Deep Dive

Margaret Hodge has never been one to bite her tongue. The veteran Labour politician served as a minister under Blair then Brown, saw off the BNP in Barking, and told Jeremy Corbyn exactly what she thought of him. It’s why she’s a self-styled “Battleaxe” – and why it’s the title of her new memoir. She tells Zoë Grünewald what she’s learned about fighting the far-right and anti-semites; where Burnham is getting it right and wrong; and why the need to get dirty money out of politics is more urgent than ever. • Buy Margaret’s book Battleaxe: A Memoir from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Zoë Grünewald. 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.www.podmasters.co.uk

Setting out the stories that will shape the next seven days… Andy Burnham confirms what everyone suspected, that Russia interfered in the UK to push the Leave vote over the line. How will the revelations affect the reopened Brexit debate? Plus, Will Trump’s sordid diesel deal with Putin stave off a kicking in the mid-terms? The Houthis cause chaos in Saudi Arabia, and more. Ros Taylor and Andrew Harrison look at the week ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and presented by Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Produced by James Lidell. Audio production by Simon WIlliams. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.www.podmasters.co.uk

Looking back at the past seven days… After two botched attempts by the State of Tennessee to execute her by lethal injection, convicted murderer Christa Pike is now reportedly awake and able to walk. Will this horrorshow of cruel incompetence shift opinions on the Death Penalty? Plus: the Kremlin insists Russia hasn’t unleashed the plague on the world, riots engulf France over its crumbling schools, and party conference season is finally over – hurrah! Andrew Harrison and Seth Thévoz recap the biggest, strangest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Hear Andrew and Steve Richards’ fast take on the Holborn & St Pancras by-election on Oh God, What Now• And on Monday, American Friction’s Jacob Jarvis and Chris Jones speak to Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Andrew Harrison with Seth Thévoz. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Simon Williams Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.www.podmasters.co.uk

We’re in an information crisis and in the battle with tech giants, fake news merchants and spreaders of hostile disinformation, legitimate journalism is coming off worst. How do we fight it? And does the BBC’s impartiality mean anything when journalism is drowning in disinformation? Stephen Sackur is the longtime host of the BBC’s HARDtalk strand and he says we can fight “information armageddon” – but only if journalists return to their roots and take on the tech oligarchs. With fellow BBC veteran Gavin Esler he talks about the most extraordinary stories of their careers, pulls back the curtain on the realities of investigative journalism, and explains what it takes to keep journalism alive and kicking. • Buy Stephen’s book Hard Truth: Investigations That Shook The World – And Why They Matter Now from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten 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.www.podmasters.co.uk

A.I. is already a five-alarm fire for job losses – but the consequences for democracy could be even worse, according to Matthew Botvinick, who leads Anthropic’s research on AI and the rule of law. If economic worthlessness makes us politically powerless, what happens to democracy when fewer people have a stake in the economy? And are the tech bros’ apocalyptic warnings really about public safety – or just a cunning way to sell AI? • Buy Matthew’s book AI and Political Freedom: The Risk to Democracy and How to Respond from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Zing Tsjeng. 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.www.podmasters.co.uk

What unites radicalised techbros, religious fanatics and ethnonationalists? According to Naomi Klein of No Logo/Shock Doctrine fame and co-author Astra Taylor, it’s an apocalyptic worldview that’s bad news for the rest of us. The award-winning writers call this bizarre march of the far-right “End Times Fascism” – but is there anything we can do to counter their attempts at a man-made Armageddon? Naomi and Astra tell Dorian Lynskey yes, there is – and it might actually lead to better times. • Buy Naomi and Astra’s book End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leebrurn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.www.podmasters.co.uk

The Conservative Party conference is here and Kemi Badenoch seems to think she can save the Tories single-handedly. Can she? Rafael Behr joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the news to look out for in the week ahead. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more.Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rafael Behr. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

Looking back at the past week... Burnham has set out his vision and was praised for delivering Labour’s “best conference speech since Tony Blair”. What did he actually announce – and can his ideas stick? Plus: Donald Trump gathers the tech billionaires at the White House and brings former “first buddy” Elon Musk back into the fold. And what’s the latest on the RAF Fairford incident? Alex von Tunzelmann and Jacob Jarvis look at the biggest, weirdest and most under-reported stories of the week. • Listen to American Friction here: https://linktr.ee/americanfriction• Listen to Oh God, What Now? here: https://linktr.ee/ohgodwhatnowpod• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercastAdvertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist.) Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more.Written and presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.www.podmasters.co.uk