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 Musk’s claim. ‘I encounter love daily - more than fury, revenge, greed or abuses of power.’ She writes about how love endures in the middle of genocide and how the powerful use it, as well as everything else, as a weapon against humanity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Rise and Fall of Sinn Fein
28.05.2026 | 32 Min.
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 intentions are when they talk about immigration. Joe also responds to the Jim McGuinness developments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Seven Psalms, Paul Simon and the end of Kerry football
26.05.2026 | 31 Min.
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’Connor? Has he been found out by the new dynamic Gaelic football or were the seeds of Kerry’s destruction planted long ago? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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.
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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