The Sound of Silence: Ireland and the Magdalene Laundries
23.05.2026 | 53 Min.
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
21.05.2026 | 36 Min.
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 provide a major update on the potential Love Island appearance of the Galway footballer ‘Fitzy’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
I hear you’re a racist now, Bertie?
19.05.2026 | 36 Min.
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 anything wrong talking about what the people are talking about’. But what does this mean? What is the requirement of a leader, even a former leader, when people are troubled and anxious? Do you resort to the lowest common denominator or do you provide a vision? What did Bertie Ahern do? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What’s Another Year? Israel and the Eurovision
14.05.2026 | 31 Min.
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 some of the less notable Irish entries over the years and Joe tries out his own power ballad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sleeping with the Stars
11.05.2026 | 38 Min.
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.
Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. Free State 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. Free State is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning. Brolly is a barrister, an original thinker with a fascinating backstory, who donated a kidney to a stranger and then led a crusade to transform organ donation on the island of Ireland, and Fanning is an award-winning interviewer and author. They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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