The Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson declared last week that Donald Trump had been an FBI informant working to take down Jeffrey Epstein. He subsequently said he might have got it wrong. In Britain Reform had their party conference with the BBC’s political editor gushing about the ‘insurgency vibe’.On Free State, Joe and Dion ask if the media knows how to handle the rise of figures who peddle nothing but misinformation.Joe and Dion disagree on why this is. As the Irish presidential election comes closer they wonder about the questions some candidates like Catherine Connolly face. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ireland is a rural country. We believe that the values that sustain us are values that have been shaped by our struggle for land and our struggles on the land.But as the climate emergency reaches a point of no return, how damaging have these foundational myths about Ireland been?On Free State today John Gibbons talks about Ireland’s failure in tackling climate change.He explains why farming today is not what it was when we shaped our romantic view of it and why agribusiness has used national myths to advance one side of a culture war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
When Nigel Farage arrived in Washington this week, a US congressman Jamie Raskin spoke the truth about this snake oil salesman. In Britain the worst of Farage’s impulses are now indulged.On Free State today, Dion and Joe look at what the writer Tanjil Rashid has called ‘the age of deportation’.How have countries slipped closer to the authoritarian way of life and why is it being allowed to happen?They look at how Nigel Farage dominates the media and how the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer follows Farage agenda. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why does Jim Gavin want to be president? What does a man in the prime of his life with a record of success and achievement gain from going to the Aras?On Free State today Joe explains what makes his friend Jim Gavin tick. He explains his gift of leadership and how he serves his ego by giving power to others.Dion offers a reason that a Jim Gavin presidency would be important.They also look at the campaign to discredit Catherine Connolly and wonder what the grown ups have ever done for us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Last Monday night, Newcastle United played Liverpool in a game which told the story of the Premier League.One club is owned by Saudi Arabia, the other belongs to an American multisports holding conglomerate.It was played at St James’ Park in front of 50,000 frothing Newcastle supporters who were enraged that their best player had gone on strike because he wants to play for Liverpool.This was a show staged in one of the great cities of industrial England for the benefit of television and with the supporters simply as extras.On Free State today, the great football historian David Goldblatt talks about how football explains so much of where England is today in society.He looks at how the kitsch of poppy commemorations became an opportunity to demonstrate militaristic credentials with Millwall playing a game in a camouflage kit.It has led to the demonisation of someone like James McClean. This Goldblatt says shows that these people, who are also raising flags across England today, are living in “fantasy land” when it comes to England’s history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s." In Donald Trump’s America you can render unto Donald Trump what is God’s as well.On Free State today, Dion and Joe look at the gangsterism that is taking over Britain and America and how the media fail to challenge it.Trump is intimidating and seizing power in America while Nigel Farage is being elevated by a media that knows what it’s doing.The consequences of this are obvious but still so many deny what is happening. Why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
‘Northern Ireland,’ Margaret Thatcher said once, ‘is as British as Finchley’But what if Britain is as Northern Irish as Ballymena? On Free State today we look at what unites the right wing Tories and the unionist parties. Is it the racism? Is it the punching down on minorities? And what is it about the genocide in Gaza that they admire so much? In Britain Operation Raise the Colours is distracting people with arguments about flags. Where have we heard this before?But what does the Ulsterisation of Britain mean? Why are we being sucked into these wars that have no meaning when the really dangers are all around us? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
First there was the music. Keith Donald was always looking to escape. Music offered the first exit. Then came drink.Keith Donald was abused as a child by his headmistress. He found that jazz had the power to transform his existence.As a teenager he began to play music wherever he could. He played for a band on the Twelfth and toured the country with showbands.On Free State today Keith Donald talks about the music and the mayhem and how he found peace. He speaks about founding Moving Hearts and why even now music has the power to transform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why does Michael Flatley want to be president? Why would anyone want him to be president?On Free State today, Joe and Dion reluctantly engaged with the Irish presidential debate.They look at Michael Flatley and Heather Humphreys as candidates and ask if the country can do better than this.Is Joe in listening mode? What are his own intentions? Dion tries to put Joe on the spot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Volodymyr Zelensky put on suit for his meeting with Donald Trump in the White House. During his row with Trump and JD Vance last February, a reporter asked him why he wasn’t wearing a suit.Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov turned up wearing a CCCP sweatshirt, an obvious challenge to Trump. A challenge he failed. Easy to bully Zelensky. Not Russia.This time Zelensky didn’t take any chances. But is there another way of handling Donald Trump’s malignant narcissism?On Free State today Joe and Dion look at the attacks on Trump by California governor Gavin Newsom and why they offer a template for opposition.While the media has tried to report on Trump as if he is a serious person who just could do with the occasional fact check, Newsom is mocking him. This may the only way to defeat a narcissist. And it may be a lesson for all those like Keir Starmer, Micheal Martin and Ursula von der Leyen who have bent the knee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Would you vote for an AI politician or Simon Harris? Or a robot or Donald Trump?Thomas R Weaver’s dystopian fiction Artificial Wisdom: A Novel imagines a world where by 2050 people are choosing between a human and an AI politician?On Free State we talk to him about the reality of AI and what science fiction can tell us about the world in 25 years’ time. People would never vote for AI to rule them we believe, but is that realistic? Is it any more preposterous than the idea of Donald Trump as president was ten years ago? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
When you go out to get a pint of milk, do you bring your essential survival kit in case of attack from rampaging gangs or immediate societal breakdown? If not, why not?On Free State today, Joe and Dion are afraid and have recorded from their panic rooms. Maybe they have been watching too much Fox News.Last week the channel asked ‘What Happened to Dublin?’ and rolled out questionable statistics about rising crime in the city.We look at why these stories resonate. Why are so many people determined, not just to believe the worse, but to believe things that aren’t happening at all?But in this climate of fear, opportunists prowl. Men like Conor McGregor are hoping that if people feel lost, they will look for salvation where they have never looked before. On Free State today, Dion and Joe tell us why, actually everything is going to be ok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.” These words were published on Anas Al-Sharif’s X account after his death. Sharif was a journalist with Al Jazeera and he was killed by Israel while in a tent for journalists outside a hospital in Gaza.The headlines said that ‘global outrage’ was mounting over the killing of Sharif and six others, but what does that mean?How is that outrage has become so pointless, lacking as it does nothing but the weasel words of support from western governments?On Free State today, Dion and Joe ask if words can help at this point? They look at the post on X from Mo Salah and the impact it had and they consider the statements from Bono and U2.Why does one have the power to make a difference and the other does nothing except salve the conscience of a rock star activist who has stayed silent for too long?Why do the words of Anas Al-Sharif haunt us and the words from Bono remind us of how the west has failed? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
‘I probably need to start with the s***,’ Tim MacGabhann writes in his memoir.On Free State today, Tim MacGabhann talks about the shit and the salvation.His book is a story of addiction and recovery, a life trying to find something and then finding it in the place he didn’t think it would be.It’s a story of replacing the s*** with something better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
When Muhammad Ali visited Ireland in 1972, the country was a different place.Nobody believed the greatest sportsman the world has ever seen would fight in Dublin except the men who made it possible.On Free State today Dave Hannigan tells talks about his book The Big Fight - When Ali Conquered Ireland. It is a tale of men with dreams from Kerry and Brooklyn who made it happen. It is also a story of how Ali responded to the unconditional love he encountered and how it changed him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As Dion celebrates a personal milestone, on Free State today Joe and Dion look at how to live without drink.They consider how dark it can get for those on the other side and what helps people become free.Joe reflects on those he has seen struggle with alcohol and those he has seen create a new and rewarding life for themselves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the summer of 1976, the world was a different place.In Ireland and Britain, it was a summer of a heatwave. But were there cultural and political changes brought about by the long hot summer of 1976? On Free State today John Williams, author of a new book Heatwave - the Summer of 1976, Britain at Boiling Point, is our guest. John tells us how that summer changed a country and how the heatwave brought people to the brink in ways nobody could have imagined. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Have you locked yourself in a panic room? Have you got your tinned foods and toilet rolls in for when the Russians invade? If not, why are you so complacent? Why don’t you understand the threats Ireland faces in the modern world? On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how Ireland is being told to be afraid.Is there anything to fear or are the warnings designed to create opportunities for the defence industry? Their companies have names designed to disguise their true intentions. Are we being asked to surrender to them if not the Russians? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After Sunday's All Ireland final proved yet again why David Clifford is Superman in shorts, Joe wonders can any team stop a new Golden Years style reign for the Kerry footballers? On Free State today he also looks back on Knockmore Juniors' win over the weekend and explains why the All Ireland final can never quite measure up to the winning feeling with your club.Producer Cormac O'Malley drops into the hot seat while Dion is away on today's episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As a young reporter Phoebe Greenwood worked as a war correspondent in Gaza. She inhabited the world of fixers where journalists stayed at the Al Deira hotel and Israeli government spokespeople provided statements that contradicted what reporters had witnessed.Greenwood was there during the 2012 conflict and now she has written a novel, Vulture, which is described as a satire, but might as easily be described as the truth.On Free State today she talks about how journalism has failed in Gaza, a failure brought about the desire for false balance.She recalls her own time in Gaza and how the place she knew has gone, destroyed utterly in a genocide where once again much of the media have failed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jonathan 67 🍀
Sadly the lads are running on fumes now ....what started off as a must listen podcast has become a giggle fest of enormous mediocrity...
Jonathan 67 🍀
Bhoys the pods are decreasing with every episode...You need to get in a few more activists , agitators ,actors,social commentators ... have you got Paul kimmages number his piece on the horse racing industry was fascinating...keep up the good fight
Jonathan 67 🍀
Dion please come back .... no doubt clifford is a wonderful player but the fanboy cameo from brolly would churn the toughest stomach... yea he scored 9 pts ( 3 2pointers) but he was quiet for large periods and missed a open goal ... challenge for clifford is multiple medals going forward and challenge for up and coming defenders is to rise to that standard....well done Kerry derserved winners but Donegal were atrocious....
Noel Powell
a brilliant podcast Dion with Padraic ..a terrific insight into the foundation of the state and the history of the main parties..I'll definitely buy the book as it was a real eye opener with his insights on facism
Jonathan 67 🍀
Jesus Dion I'm struggling to keep touch with your podcast ....have the fcuk do you abide Brolly and his high pitched drivel....awful shite