The Future is Slop – Why the Far-Right loves tacky A.I. imagery

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Blond white children playing in slightly-too-colourful fields? London as an open sewer patrolled by threatening migrants? Trump as Superman? Alligators in MAGA hats? The far-right thrives on generative artificial intelligence images and they’re all so naff. Is A.I. slop the official art style of the new authoritarianism? New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie talks to Andrew Harrison about why the radical right loves shiny, sentimental images; how they connect to Hitler’s fascist kitsch; and what it means when reality doesn’t live up to your fantasies. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. • 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 Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Chris Jones and Robin Warren. Produced by Liam Tait. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Art by Jim Parrett. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This edition of The Bunker is sponsored by Naked Wines. I'm Seth Tevall.
0:04.8	And I'm Zoe Grunewold.
0:06.4	And here at the bunker, we don't believe in guesswork. We go to the experts for the best insights into news and politics. And why should wine be any different?
0:15.1	That's why we're pleased to recommend Naked Wines. I enjoy their Bariccas Gallaudoro Reserva from Portugal. Well, I'm trying their small and
0:23.9	small Savignon Blanc from New Zealand. Seth, tell me, what's your wine knowledge like? Very specialised,
0:30.6	so pretty good on things Portuguese, but non-existent on those other things. How about you, Zay?
0:35.5	I drink most anything, but I have to say I'm really enjoying the savenient blanc. It's citrusy, it's got notes of gooseberry. I could just drink the whole bottle. What makes naked wines so convenient is that they deliver top quality wines right to your jaw from world-class winemakers from across the globe, whether it's a French rosé, a New Zealand reisling, or even the Lebanese
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1:04.0	winemakers, they can pass on the benefit and offer bottles up to 33% less than typical retail
1:09.7	prices. Head to Nakedwines.co.com.uk forward slash the bunker to get six top-rated wines for
1:16.7	just £39.99. That's £6.67 a bottle. I repeat, that's six bottles of wine for just £39.99,
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1:30.5	forward slash the bunker to grab six bottles for just 3999. Click the link in the description.
1:41.4	Hello and welcome to the Bunker, your morning bout of news without the nonsense.
1:49.8	I'm Andrew Harrison.
1:50.9	If you're a Patreon backer, thank you.
1:52.6	You're helping to keep the podcast going and in rude health.
1:55.5	If you're not, perhaps you'd like to think about pitching in.
1:58.3	Follow the link in the show notes to keep independent podcasts podcasting.
2:02.4	Today, why does the right wing love AI slop imagery so much? If you've been anywhere
2:08.6	near social media, you must have noticed it. Does the utopian stuff, pictures of square-jawed
	...

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