Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning
Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. It covers topics from sport to politics, love to loss, the human condition and how to fix the world, with guests from across the planet including Nigerian princes, former Prime Ministers, ex convicts, footballers, boxers and extraordinary people from every walk of life. The podcast is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning, who are not motivational gurus or life coaches but two people from very different worlds with one core belief: this is not a high performance podcast.
Episodes
Joseph O'Neill on how the world got worse during the World Cup
Will the world have changed thanks to the World Cup? Or did the world change while the World Cup was taking place and people were too busy watching the World Cup to notice.On Free State today, the great novelist Joseph O’Neill talks to Dion about what he learned watching the World Cup and how the authoritarian US regime prospered during the tournament as other authoritarian regimes prospered in th
Death, taxes and Mayo’s sorrowful mysteries
Mayo have been denied in All Irelands in every way possible - balls bouncing over the bar, the referee blowing up early, own goals... they've also taken a few pastings along the way, but what will they do with the freedom they will have on Sunday?Somehow Mayo have reached an All Ireland final this year against all odds, but does that make this year different? Does everything change because it woul
Why the World Cup has nothing to do with sport
Did the World Cup final hit different from the million dollar seats or was the best thing about them the helicopter that flew you back to New York City?On Free State, today we ask who mourns the end of Gianni Infantino’s dance with Donald Trump and the depraved nature of football today?Dion does and he explains why football still matters despite the decadence at the top of the game. Things get hea
Eamon Dunphy on the World Cup panel, the truth about Saipan and a united ireland
On the weekend of the World Cup final, Eamon Dunphy is our weekend guest. Dunphy reflects on his astonishing career in journalism, the price he paid for being an outsider and why he didn't care when he left the RTE panel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why England Lose: the true cost of professional sport
England lost at the semi final stage again but what does how players are shaped for professional football tell us about how they perform? England lose when they play a team more cunning than them but they have a system designed for obedience.Kids will be dreaming of playing in a World Cup but what is the reality of professional sport.On Free State today we look at how the attritional nature o
How Mayo can win the All Ireland (don’t walk under any grand pianos)
And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make. It made sense for Paul McCartney and it makes sense when we consider why we engage with whatever gives us pleasure in life. On Free State today we look at the meaning of sport. Why winning doesn’t matter as much as how sport makes you feel. Does this mean Mayo can win the All Ireland? Does it matter? Hosted on Acast. See acast.co
Putin's Billions: The oligarchs and stolen riches
Martin Sixmith was the BBC's man in Moscow as the Soviet Union collapsed and Vladimir Putin came to power. In today's podcast he talks about his time in Russia, the fight for the billions lost and his time working on The Lost Child of Philomena Lee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. The rise and fall of a God fearing paedophile
Jeffrey Donaldson sits in a prison cell, waiting to be sentenced for the most horrific crimes. On Free State today we look at the rise and fall of Jeffrey Donaldson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How to buy a World Cup, feat Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino
Donald Trump destroys everyone in his orbit. His transactional nature means that eventually whoever is close to him is ruined Gianni Infantino might soon know how that feels.‘I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States,’ Infantino said as he explained how FIFA had lifted the suspension on the USA forward Folarin Balogun. “During our conver
Original Sin: The man who shaped modern football
You might not have heard of Helenio Herrera but without him, you might not have the modern football manager. Herrera was a lowdown and a dirty football manager who wasn't so much a pragmatist as an absolutist. He was full of contradictions: he hated his players having sex but he ruined many lives with his own pursuit of sex. He would do anything to win and stopped at nothing for victory. He wasn't
How the Gambling Industry Hijacks Young Brains
The World Cup continues to captivate. France stunned the world with their performance against Sweden, with a display of pace and skill that was as good as anything witnessed in the competition.But what is the hidden World Cup? What is the secret anguish that this and all sporting events facilitate.In their final episode in this series looking at the dangers of online gambling, Joe and Dion look at
Addiction by Design-How we became the gambling industry’s lab rats
How many times do you look at your smartphone each day? How often do you pick it up? How aware are you of how it makes you feel?On Thursday’s Free State we looked at how gambling has got out of control.Today Dion and Joe examine how what we are dealing with is an entirely new phenomenon, a supercharged addiction of smartphone and gambling, a dopamine hit of huge power. We look at the dem
Why the west stayed silent over genocide
When Fintan Drury wrote his first book on Palestine - Catastrophe, Nakba II, the manner in which it resonated with people told its own story. Now he has written Genocide - Sponsoring the destruction of Palestine, another searing and detailed account of how the Palestinian people have been failed. He talks to Dion about why now is the time to act. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf
The Imitation World Cup - Gamble Responsibly (LOL)
The 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act prohibited betting on baseball, basketball, American football and most other sports in nearly every US state.In 2018, the Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional, opening up America to a stampede of betting.On Free State today we look at how the gambling industry achieved such prominence and how they made gamblers feel that the proble
Can the World Cup save America?
‘I have come to sell a product called soccer.’ The former FIFA president Joao Havelange announced himself in 1974 with these words. They have been the model for the expansionist, grasping FIFA that has existed to this day.But maybe what matters was not the product but everything but the product?On Free State today we look at why the World Cup matters and why it might be everything that Donald Trum
An Actor's Life: Power Ballad start Peter McDonald on working with Paul Rudd, dealing with fame and the Monday Club
In Power Ballad, Rick, played by Paul Rudd, a washed-up wedding singer, and Danny, a fading boy band star, bond over music and a late-night jam session. On Free State today, old friends Dion and Peter McDonald, co-writer and co-start of Power Ballad, discuss their own late night escapades, Peter's time in the theatre and and his extraordinary time working with the legendary Robert Altman. Hosted o
The World’s First Trillionaire and the Truth about Two Tier Policing
There are no atheists in the foxholes and in the darkness of the night there is nobody who won’t find consolation in the World Cup.On Free State today Joe talks about his own World Cup journey. Joe and Dion look at why the tournament captivates and what it tells us about communities as opposed to the leaders of those communities.At a time when Elon Musk had become the world’s first trillionaire, w
The hypocrisy of Loyalism and why is Jimmy McGuinness having a meltdown?
How have Donegal got themselves in this mess? Has Jim McGuinness’s obsession with Kerry blinded him to the other threats.On Free State today, Joe examines why some counties accumulate All Irelands and others fail, while Dion surprises him with his knowledge of Roscommon’s football history.Joe and Dion also look at how the Belfast Riots happened. For months the PSNI were warned that houses wer
Love and Mercy: The Rise and Fall of Diego Maradona
The World Cup has begun but will there ever be a tournament like Mexico '86 dominated by Diego Maradona? On Free State today, Dion talks to David Arrowsmith about his book on Maradona, the impulses that drove Maradona and how he escaped from poverty but could never escape the sense of being an outsider. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Belfast Riots and the Spanish Gerry Adams
Belfast has burned this week. The horrific knife attack on Monday night shocked everyone. But nobody was surprised by what came next. In Belfast, In Glasgow and around Britain, people came out on the street. Some were there to protest, others were there to intimidate. In Belfast, the intimidation took over.On Free State today, Joe and Dion consider the riots in Belfast and whether there is a diffe
Put ‘Em Under Pressure. How to Stop Ireland playing Israel with Sinead Gibney TD
The FAI have decided to move Ireland’s game against Israel to a neutral venue. But is this a pragmatic move or another attempt to avoid making a principled decision?On Free State today Joe and Dion talk to Sinead Gibney of the Social Democrats about why this is a cop out. Would there be consequences for Ireland if they refused to play the game or would it lead to others following?Sinead Gibne
The Sleepwalkers-John Kampfner on how western democracy will fail
John Kampfner doesn’t believe there is a better way, he believes there is only one way for western democracies to survive.On Free State today he talks about what democracies have to do to survive. They - we - are drinking in the last chance saloon he says. He explains why there has to be a reckoning and why so many politicians do not have the capability to change.He speaks about his new book Brave
Love Island and the Sorrowful Mystery of Frank McGuigan
Have you been watching Love Island? As part of his deep research for the podcast, Dion has and on today’s Free State he shares his concerns about Fitzy and the world he has walked in to.Joe encouraged Dion to watch it but hasn’t done so himself but he marvels at the Love Island universe and what it contains.Yet it is the universe of the late great Frank McGuigan that holds his attention. Joe recal
Radical Forgiveness: How a Palestinian and an Israeli want to bring peace to their lands
Aziz Abu Sarah’s older brother Tayseer was like a father to him. Azis was ten years old when his brother died after he had been tortured and beaten in an Israeli jail. Aziz says his brother’s death sent him to his own prison where all he wanted was revenge.Maoz Inon’s parents were killed by Hamas on October 7th. A couple of days later, he and his family released a message. “For the death of our pa
Love in the Time of War
Sally Hayden is a fearless journalist. She has covered war and conflict around the world. She lives in Lebanon where, early in her new book, she notes that ‘in the past fortnight, Israel has killed more than one thousand people’.Her book opens with a quote from Elon Musk: ‘The fundamental weakness of Western civilisation is empathy.’On Free State today Sally Hayden explains her journey to disprove
The Rise and Fall of Sinn Fein
What do Sinn Fein stand for? What do they believe? And do the other left wing parties believe they believe it?On Free State Joe and Dion look at the state of Sinn Fein following the recent by-elections. Does it tell us something about the scrutiny Sinn Fein are under that there is more analysis of them than of Fianna Fáil which got a comically low vote?Dion and Joe disagree about what Sinn Féin’s
Seven Psalms, Paul Simon and the end of Kerry football
What do great art and great sport have in common? Why do the moments that transport us to another dimension in sport and art have such power?On Free State today, Dion reflects on the spiritual experience of seeing Paul Simon and Joe reflects on writing Kerry off.What does the game between the All Ireland champions and Donegal tell us about the summer to come? And what does it tell us about Jack O’
The Sound of Silence: Ireland and the Magdalene Laundries
On today’s Free State, Dion talks to Louise Brangan about The Fallen, her book about the Magdalene Laundries and what they tell us about Ireland, then and now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Imminent extinction? Never mind, there’s always Love Island
Do you feel like lower value human capital or do you believe you should be on Love Island? Who declares who is of value and who isn’t? Will the future belong to those who refuse to be defined by what the tech overlords decide they should be? On Free State we look at how the climate emergency is being accelerated by data centres and why nobody has the will to stop them. And we provid
I hear you’re a racist now, Bertie?
Bertie Ahern says he rejects ‘racism in all its forms’. So what is it if not racism when a former Taoiseach says ‘we can’t be taking in people from Congo and all these places’?On Free State today we ask how do you talk about immigration and not get mistaken for a racist? Is it best not to say things that a racist might say to begin with?Ahern defended himself by saying ‘I don’t think there is anyt
What’s Another Year? Israel and the Eurovision
When Israel’s contestant in the Eurovision appeared on stage in Vienna on Tuesday night, a lone voice shouted ‘stop, stop the genocide.’ The Israeli contestant kept singing and nothing stopped.On Free State today we look at why the Eurovision became a key part of Israel’s propaganda war.We examine the money that was spent ensuring Israel’s entries got votes and we ask why. We also look at som
Sleeping with the Stars
There was a huge response to last week’s episode on Universal Basic Income.On Free State, Dion and Joe look at the arguments made in the emails and comments.But as they go through the comments, the atmosphere changes and Free State reaches another crossroads… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Heads I win, tails I also win: How private equity took over the world
A study after the covid pandemic established that in care homes controlled by private equity firms the death rate was more than 50 per cent higher than in other homes.On Free State today we look at how private equity is capitalism cannibalising itself. Hettie O’Brien, author of The Asset Class, is on with us to talk about how this happened, how governments retreated from the public realm and left
Why Everyone Needs Free Money
More than 60 per cent of Irish jobs are in positions highly exposed to the threat from AI. So what do we do in the face of this threat? Give everyone free money.On Free State today we look at universal basic income and how it could transform lives.How does it work and why would it be profound? And why does the opposition to this sound like the opposition to every other great transformations in soc
The Story of Us, the Story of Gaza
What does Ireland in 1926 tell us about Ireland today? What do absences tell us about the lives we live whether it is in Ireland a hundred years ago or at a graduation in Gaza today? On Free State, Joe and Dion look at loss and absence. They examine the emotion that can pack a punch from a hundred years ago and the lives that are ripped apart today Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i
Living with an AI psychopath
It would be harder, Jamie Bartlett says, to open a sandwich shop in Dublin than to release a large language model of near infinite power into general public use. On Free State, Bartlett talks about his new book on how to talk to AI and what we are doing when we hand agency to a personality type that is drawing from the worst of impulses. How do we protect ourselves? Is the only winning move n
Handing the conscience of the world over to a king who has his shoelaces ironed
What does the world look like when the world has turned away? On Free State today we ask about the loss of faith that will echo through the generations following the genocide in Gaza. We examine how leaders failed and are left taking comfort in the circus of a visit from a king to the court of Donald Trump. We also wonder how far someone can let themselves go that they don't iron their shoelaces.
Urban-rural toxicity, a Guard's fears for Ireland and the even more toxic Roscommon-Mayo divide
“I’m getting in touch because I’ve written the attached open letter as a serving Garda,” this email was one of many we received since Sinead O’Sullivan came on the podcast. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” it continued, “but I felt I had to say something given how things are going. I wrote it out of a genuine sense of frustration with the direction the country seems to be heading.
Roger Casement - Rebel and Traitor? With Rory Carroll
“The bravest man it fell to my unhappy lot to execute.” These were the words of the hangman who took Roger Casement to the scaffold in Pentonville Prison in 1916.Roger Casement’s final years were lived in pursuit of Irish independence. But was he a driver of rebellion or a hopeless romantic whose brainwaves did more harm than good? On Free State today, Rory Carroll talks about his book A Rebe
Power and Control: How a manager falls to earth
What allows a manager to bring a group with them? What is it? How do they possess it and what happens when they lose it? On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how managers fall to earth and consider how Ger Brennan can make it work as Dublin manager. They look at the power and control Alex Ferguson had and what happens when a manager becomes toxic and indiscipline spreads. They also consider t
The Premature Birth of a Nation with Sinead O'Sullivan
When Sinead O'Sullivan created a graph which she believed illustrated the problems in Ireland, she hadn't realised what would happen next. She found herself in the middle of an argument about data with many including Leo Varadkar. It raged over what Ireland did and didn't do well. But did it highlight the real problem in Ireland today? A defensiveness from the establishment which could be seen in
Why some people fail and some succeed. The story of Roy Keane and Ireland
As a young Roy Keane headed on the train to Dublin from Cork for a coaching course, he saw some railway workers toiling by the track.‘Look at them fuckers out there and they’re going like the hammers,’ he said. ‘I have to make it as a footballer.’On Free State today we look at what drives a man like Roy Keane and how is the boy the father of the man?Dave Hannigan, author of We Need to Talk About R
Fuel me once: When Leo Varadkar ran out of diesel
This week Irish life returned to normal and Irish politics resumed its normal parlour games.The resignation of Michael Healy Rae was described repeatedly as a ‘bombshell’ and the political parties shouted at each other in the Dail.Outside protestors and malcontents hovered but will their protests take on those who are really exploiting the ordinary people?Since Israel and the US launched their war
How the fuel protests exposed the myth of Irish prosperity
‘Nobody has a right to blockade our country,’ Micheal Martin stated when announcing what the government would be doing in response to the protests that brought the country to a halt.But what does it tell us about the fraying of the social contract that people felt they had to take to the barricades in their country to demonstrate how desperate things have become?On Free State today Joe and Dion lo
The Killing Fields of Oil and Gas
“It is a low bar to ask that people aren’t killed so that I can fill up my car.” Alex Perry is an investigative journalist who has uncovered an extraordinary story.It is a story where the backdrop is the new imperialism. If the first scramble for Africa was led by the imperial nations in the 19th century, the second has been by the oil companies that have so much power in the world today.In Irelan
Trump’s Derangement Syndrome
How close did the world come to annihilation this week? What will happen the next time Trump parades his negotiating skills and can the world always be sure that Trump Always Chickens Out?On Free State, Dion and Joe reflect on a ceasefire which was a defeat for Trump and ignored by Benjamin Netanyahu.Does this mean peace or does it mean we should enjoy the little things that make life worth living
Open the F*****’ Strait, you crazy bastards: Who will stand up to Donald Trump?
Stalin was reported to have asked ‘How many divisions does the pope have?’ when told of the Vatican’s view on world affairs.On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo addressed the crowds at St Peter’s Square and said, "Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace."Shortly afterwards, Donald Trump gave his view on world affairs. “Open the F***in’ Strait, you
The country that defied an empire
Olivier Norek says he has never met a killer who wasn’t eaten inside by what they’d done. Before he became a writer, Norek was a policeman in the most dangerous parts of Paris and a humanitarian worker in the former Yugoslavia.On Free State today, Norek tells the story of Simo Hayha, the sniper known as the White Death, who fought for Finland during the Winter War when the Soviet Union invaded the
Victims in the Age of Perfection: The Social Media Pandemic
When a California court ruled that Meta and YouTube had deliberately designed addictive products, many declared that this might be the Big Tobacco moment for the tech companies.The plaintiff was awarded $6 million damages. Meta’s revenue in three months last year was 60 billion dollars. Their share price was unaffected.On Free State today we ask what will it take to make a difference? If the
Why Ireland Lost - Living in the Age of Anxiety
Trust the process has become one of world’s worst cliches. But what if the alternative was worse? What if ‘trusting the emotions all around’ was the other option?On Free State today Joe and Dion wonder why Ireland lose. The country will not be at the World Cup this summer. How much was this down to the Irish players’ inability to keep their heads and be led by the emotion that was all around
Prince Andrew and Bandit Country
Toby Harnden was sent to Northern Ireland for the first time in 1995. A reporter for the Daily Telegraph, it was an assignment that was not expected to produce much at a time when the peace process was the dominant story. But Harnden became fascinated with the republican movement and in particular how South Armagh had become a place that, not only could not be touched by the British government, bu
The Wolves of Wall Street - How Trump & Co are making billions from the Iran war
“The White House does not tolerate any administration official illegally profiteering off of insider knowledge, and any implication that officials are engaged in such activity without evidence is baseless and irresponsible reporting.”Fifteen minutes before Donald Trump posted that there had been ‘productive conversations’ with Iran, $580 million in oil bets were made in a period of 60 seconds.Who
Michael Lyster: When We Were Kings
When Michael Lyster started presenting The Sunday Game, Ronald Reagan was seeking reelection as president of the United States. When he stopped presenting it, Donald Trump was president for the first time.For 34 years Lyster was the presenter who shaped our summer days. He was the accompaniment to the drama and the tension, the celebration and the argument. It is no wonder that when his death was
How To Make the World A Better Place
Adam Doyle, the artist known as Spicebag, achieved some notoriety when his art depicting evictions became a talking point in the national media.He is an artist of significance and he is also doing significant work.On Free State today he tells us about the project he is involved where his merchandise has funded a centre for children in Gaza The Ionad Hind Rajab is an Irish–Palestinian solidarity in
World For Sale. The Real Truth about Oil Prices
Micheal Martin emerged from his meeting with Donald Trump on St Patrick’s Day with the commentariat purring.He had stood up for Europe, for Keir Starmer and, in part, for Winston Churchill but that didn’t matter. He had survived.On Free State today we ask does any of it matter. As oil and gas fields in Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are attacked, oil prices rise and governments insist they will prot
Poems for a world gone to shit. And Conor McGregor’s plan to end the war.
When the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licences because of their coverage of the war, some complained that it violated the First Amendment, guaranteeing freedom of speech.On Free State we look at what those rights mean in a country where Trump must get what he wants.We go back to what happened in Iraq when the country was broken apart, its res
Gaza. A fantasy ceasefire
Riham Jafari has heard the stories of her grandparents. The stories of a time before the Nakba when her family lived a simple existence in a village outside Jerusalem. They enjoyed farming the land and their independence.It was a “beautiful life” her grandparents said before occupation came.After the Nakba, they lived in a camp one square kilometre, crowded with nowhere for children to play.Riham
What Casement Park tells us about a United Ireland
The story of Casement Park is a metaphor for post conflict Northern Ireland.Once there was a dream about a shining stadium on a hill, a stadium which would benefit everyone in the north when it hosted matches at the European Championships in 2028.Two years ago, that dream ended when the British government said they would not fund the cost of the stadium which had ‘risen dramatically’ during years
Iran's War, Trump's Peace
“Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran.” When Donald Trump spoke on Air Force One about the bombing of a school in southern Iran, he was, of course, lying.That is what Trump does but in the attack on Iran he has also tapped into the American fantasy about their righteousness that can only be fully displayed through military force. When Stanley Kubrick made Dr Strangelove, he was fascin
Why We Drink Too Much
Professor Charles Knowles is a very smart man. He is a surgeon and clinical researcher. He is able to apply logic and reason to find solutions to most things. But logic and reason made no sense when it came to his own drinking.On Free State today Charles Knowles explains why we drink and why we drink too much.He talks to Dion about his own struggles and why there is a genetic reason for many peopl
Iran - How to Destroy a Country (Prayerfully). A Trump-Netanyahu production
When a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, 150 Iranians were believed to have been killed. ‘It thought it was safe in international waters,” Pete Hegseth the US’s self styled Secretary of War proclaimed. “Instead it was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death.”More than a thousand civilians have been killed since the US and Israel launched their offensive. This is a campaign th
Standing with Allianz - How the GAA Became What It Once Loathed
A few minutes before 1pm on the Saturday of the 2026 GAA Congress some protestors forced their way inside.The response to this protest may have far reaching implications for the GAA.On Free State we look at how the GAA has failed to deal with the understandable anger about the Allianz sponsorship deal.Dion and Joe argue about how they should be addressing it and Jarlath Burns’s comments on Saturda
Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre and Unprecedented - The End of Keir Starmer
Labour Together was set up in the summer of 2015 as a way of uniting the UK Labour Party, but with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader it soon became something very different. Driven by Morgan McSweeney, it became a means of destroying Jeremy Corbyn‘s leadership ‘by any means necessary. Keir Starmer was the vessel to take Labour away from Corbyn‘s politics.On Free State today, Peter Geogh
Defence of the Realm: Prince Andrew, Mountbatten and the British Establishment’s protection racket
In the House of Commons, a Labour minister described Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a ‘man on a constant self-aggrandising and self-enriching hustle; a rude, arrogant and entitled man who could not distinguish between the public interest, which he said he served, and his own private interest’.This is undoubtedly true but is Andrew the exception or the norm?On Free State we look how the establishmen
Bono and Tony Blair's Mission from God
What links Bono and Tony Blair? You may be asking, what doesn’t? Both men have made the news as U2’s new EP was released and Blair addressed the world as part of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.But what is the fervour that drives them?On Free State today we look at Blair and Bono and what happens when a man believes he can change the world.What is Blair’s goal on the Board of Peace and why is h
How close did Ireland come to military dictatorship?
In March 1922, a relatively unknown member of the IRA was asked by journalists if they could take from his answers that Ireland would have a military dictatorship.‘You can take it anyway you like,’ he replied.On Free State today we look at the life of Rory O’Connor who was prepared to go to any lengths for the Republic of his ideals. We talk to the author of a new biography of O’Connor Gerard
Jim Ratcliffe and the business of hate
In the 19th century, Manchester first began to be a destination for immigrants. It was Scottish, Welsh and Irish in huge numbers who shaped the city and made it their home.Over the next hundred years, immigrants from across the world turned Manchester into the city it was. It was this vibrant and complex city that Matt Busby loved and which saw him shape the great Manchester United sides in i
Thoughts and Prayers. Why Ireland WILL play Israel.
When the Irish football team was drawn against Israel last week, many people in Ireland immediately hoped the game wouldn’t happen.Instead as the days have passed, the game seems more likely not less. On Free State today we look at what has stopped Israel being banned from sport while Russia have been. Dion wonders what a boycott would achieve and explains how Uefa and Fifa have failed t
How the CIA really operates with David McCloskey
David McCloskey says he was once a clandestine journalist. Another way of putting it is that he once worked for the CIA.McCloskey is now a spy novelist. His first book took readers inside the CIA, now he is exploring Mossad, Israel and Iran in his new novel The Persian.On Free State, he talks about the shadow war between Israel and Iran.He explains what has happened to agencies like the CIA under
Democracy Dies in Darkness - Trump’s dismantling of the US media
‘Doors open at the Watergate’. Those words in June 1972 signalled a break in at the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate Building. They were picked up on a police scanner by a reporter at the Washington Post. They began a chain of events which would eventually bring down a president. Last week the paper of Woodward and Bernstein, of Ben Bradlee and publisher Katharine Graham, laid o
Derry or Londonderry? The DUP’s doomed war on reality.
When Gregory Campbell approached President Connolly in Derry last week, what was the purpose of his intervention?Was he trying to make a good faith case for Protestant and unionist people in Derry or was he just throwing some red meat to his base?On Free State today Dion and Joe look at the life and times of Gregory Campbell.Dion and Joe argue about the merits of his argument and whether who is sa
These Sacred Vows
In Ireland, we like to think that the class system is something that dominates Britain. But it shapes this country too.RTE’s new comedy drama These Sacred Vows is a series which challenges what we believe about class, identity and religion in Ireland in 2026.On Free State today, the show’s creator John Butler talks about what he wanted to say in the series about the middle class, the priesthood an
Peter Mandelson and Epstein’s island. The spider in the elites’ global web
In the House of Commons, Keir Starmer said that Peter Mandelson had ‘betrayed our country, our parliament and my party’.But what was that betrayal and who was actually complicit?On Free State today we look at the rise and fall of Peter Mandelson. We explain why the election of a football mascot monkey as mayor in Hartlepool was an early sign of who Mandelson was. We explain how Mandelson work
The Melania documentary. A lesson in presidential bribery
‘If they showed this film on a plane, people would still walk out.’As Melania, the documentary about the US First Lady, opened at the weekend, this line seemed to capture the feelings of critics.But, like so many things in Trumpland, even this line of criticism may not be all that it appears.On Free State today Dion and Joe look at what the Melania documentary tells us about the court of Donald Tr
Peter Oborne - ‘Trump’s Board of Peace is a Board of War'
In the Orwellian world we now live in, gaslighting is now standard. When Donald Trump creates a Board of Peace, we know that where it says one thing, the opposite is the truth.On Free State today Peter Oborne joins us to talk about how we reached this point in the Middle East.Peter’s new book Complicit looks at Britain’s role in sustaining the genocide in Gaza and why there might be consequences.H
Allianz’s National Football League, Trump’s World Cup and the silencing of sporting integrity
When the president of the German football club St Pauli said it was "clearly time to at least discuss a boycott" of the World Cup in the US this summer, he was quickly reminded of his station. "He hasn't been with us long," the president of the German football federation said. The idea of a boycott was completely "misguided" he said.But why? On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at why the World
ICE Cold in America: The Execution of Alex Pretti
“We have all seen the video and our eyes don’t lie,” a friend of Alex Pretti said in the aftermath of Pretti’s murder.He was speaking as Donald Trump’s administration advanced a lie, undeterred by what people had seen in the video which dismantled the story spun by ICE and their protectors.On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at the rise of authoritarianism in America and what comes next.As ICE
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
What would it mean to be free of financial insecurity? Why does money scare us so much?On Free State today money expert Eoin McGee talks about how we can achieve financial freedom and faces one of his greatest challenges: Dion’s attitude to money.In doing so, he talks about things far more profound than money. What do we really want from life and Dion explains why your wedding day is not the best
Trump backs down on Greenland and is Tony Blair the world’s worst person?
When Donald Trump backed down on Greenland, he tried to make it sound like a victory.But what caused him to cave? Western leaders have tried to placate Trump and continued this approach at Davos until Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney laid out the truth about the world today.‘The strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must,’ he said quoting Thucydides.This is the reality
Trump renounces pacifism and invites Putin to Gaza Board of Peace
When the Senegal team walked off the pitch in the last seconds of the AFCON final, were we witnessing a moment of brave resistance or gamesmanship?Was this a stand against the technology which is destroying sport or a stroke?On Free State today we ask if injustice has to be part of sport? Joe makes his case for video evidence in Gaelic football.Joe and Dion also look at Trump’s determination
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