Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

‘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 look at a week that might have changed Ireland and why the establishment doesn’t know how to respond. We ask who were the bad actors who tried to attach themselves to the protest and explain why they are being used as a distraction to avoid dealing with the fundamental problems in the country. Joe and Dion also discuss the piece by Sinead O’Sullivan which you can read here https://www.butthistime.com/p/mind-the-gap. Feel free to email info@freestate.podcast.com with your own thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“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 Ireland, we have seen this week the power of oil and gas, but on Free State today, Alex Perry talks about the incredible story of Palma in Mozambique. He tells us about the massacre that took place there in 2021 which the world knows nothing about and why so many who should know more also say they know nothing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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? Since the death of his friend Michael Lyster, Joe has been reflecting on what made Lyster the man he was and he shares a story which captures his magic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” On Free State today we ask who will stand up to Donald Trump? Are the church leaders who are supposed to provide leadership in terms of morality being forceful or are they dealing simply in wooly abstractions that are of no use? When Trump is becoming increasingly deranged and there is a need for firm and moral leadership, will someone stand against him or will they continue to use language that is vague and uninspiring? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 country. He tells the story of how Finland, abandoned by the world to fight alone, stood against the Red Army, fighting for their communities. Norek researches his books the way he would investigate a crime and in preparation for the Winter Warriors, he spent a winter in Finland, experiencing the subzero temperatures in which Finns fought to defend their country. He tells us what the Winter War meant to Finland and how it shaped the world we live in today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 social media companies are relaxed about the finding, is it because they know that there is no appetite to make real change? We look at the power of the addiction and the power Big Tech utilises to enforce its position. These powers rule the world now and one ruling may not make much difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 them? Are teams more susceptible to this in an age when information and anxiety are all around them? What is the cure for the headlong rush to emotion and will Ireland ever experience it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, but was controlling much of the IRA’s military campaign in England and Ireland. On Free State, Toby Harnden talks to us about his classic book Bandit Country, getting to know the people of South Armagh and the remarkable time he spent in the Royal Navy alongside Prince Andrew Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“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 knew to place those bets? Did anyone have insider information? “The only focus of President Trump and Trump administration officials is doing what’s best for the American people,” a White House spokesperson said. On Free State today we look at the con that was Trump’s war on Iran, a war that he is trying to end and which Iran prolongs any way it can knowing his desperation. Thousands have lost their lives in this latest example of American aggression and Trump now talks about peace. But does he know how to control the forces that are unleashed in a war? Or, as with Vietnam, has he set America on a course that will lead to greater human misery? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 announced, the country felt as one, On Free State today Joe remembers his friend Michael Lyster. He recalls his calm and poise and ability to relax a studio so that the audience was entertained. He remembers Lyster’s ability in a rally car and his love of life. Above all, he remembers a friend from the time when they were kings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 initiative based in Al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis, Gaza. Adam tells us the story of Hind Rajab and why art is always political. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 protect their people. But what can they do? On Free State, we look at how commodity traders control the movement of the world’s resources. We examine the astonishing claims in the book The World for Sale. We ask in this world, what good can politicians do? Let us know what you think - info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 resources plundered and its people scattered. Is Donald Trump following in that tradition or is what he is doing in Iran potentially worse? Contact us at info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 was born in the Dheisheh camp near Bethlehem. Today Riham Jafari works for Action Aid and when she came to Dublin last week she spoke about the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. On Free State today she talks to us about life under occupation, why the Occupied Territories Bill has to pass and why a two-state solution with an independent Palestine could be a reality if the world was determined to see it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 of obstruction and resistance. The benefit to all communities of Euro 2028 was gone but for some it mattered more that a GAA stadium would not be built. On Free State we look at what the ongoing battle to build Casement tells us about Northern Ireland. Gordon Lyons, the minister responsible, says there is a ‘funding gap’. But is the real chasm something more fundamental? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“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 fascinated by what he saw as ‘the delicate balance of terror’ that was part of the Cold War. To give his satire power he realised it needed ‘inspired lunacy’. That inspired lunacy now drives Trump’s military strikes where satire is meaningless and death is what happens to other people. On Free State, we look at how far America will go in Iran. What happens when Trump loses interest? What happens when Netanyahu wants something else? Let us know what you think - info@freestatepodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 people drinking. They discuss the line of Kurt Vonnegut that ‘Alcoholics Anonymous is America’s greatest contribution to the 20th century’ and Charles explains why modern science agrees with Vonnegut. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 they are advancing ‘without mercy’ Hegseth said. On Free State today we look at what the US, Israel and Donald Trump want. Are their aims of total control in the Middle East achievable? Or will the ambitions of the US and their allies spiral out of control as they have before but not before there is endless human misery? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Saturday. Is this a turning point for how volunteers view the GAA, certainly the GAA as represented by Croke Park? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Geoghegan talks to us about the extraordinary and chilling practices of Labour Together. He tells the story about the decision to hire a PR firm to investigate the motivations of journalists who were reporting on their funding. As Keir Starmer faces threats from all sides, will this be the scandal that upend him. Is this the scandal that is grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.