White House down – Why Trump and the “aspiring autocrats” are tearing up their cities

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

• It’s Podmasters’ 10th birthday! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to Washington and rebuilding it in his own image. Is his architectural upheaval pure vanity, or is something more ominous at play? Political philosopher, historian and author Professor Jan-Werner Müller joins Alex von Tunzelmann to discuss why remaking the capital is the signature move of the “aspiring autocrat” – and what they’re really trying to achieve. • Buy Jan-Werner’s book Street, Palace, Square 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/bunkercast Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. 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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1:14.9	Welcome back to The Bunker, News Without the Nonsense. I'm Alex von Tundselman.
1:20.9	Can you build democracy, not just intellectually or societally, but physically?
1:27.3	Do our public and governmental spaces influence our politics?
1:31.8	Winston Churchill certainly thought so.
1:33.8	After the House of Commons was bombed in the Second World War,
1:36.7	when considering how to rebuild it, he said,
1:39.0	first we shape our buildings and then our buildings shape us.
1:43.7	Not only our buildings, but our open spaces,
	...

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