In this edition of the podcast I cannot reveal the name of my guest or what part of Europe she is in, so as to protect her and her family's safety.  She is from Iran and when she was 20 years of age, she was arrested by the country's so-called 'morality police'. She was locked into the coffee shop where she was sitting with her friends, verbally berated and humiliated, and threatened with whipping. What was her crime? She dared to show some of her hair from behind her hijab and wear red lipstick. 

In September of 2022, a 20-year-old girl named Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police in Iran. She was reportedly beaten around the head. Her crime? Showing a small bit of her hair from behind her hijab. She went into a coma and died three days later. Her death sparked widespread protests in Iran, with government forces killing over 400 people, including 58 children. They say, they are maintaining law and order, and that these people are not protestors, but 'rioters' and 'terrorists'. 

As the horror in Iran continues to unfold, my guest has agreed to share her personal story of dealing with the morality police in the help of us understanding how the system works in Iran, and what kind of future the country could be facing. It's a unique insight into a way of life that is so unfamiliar to most of us, and frightening to think it is real.

This is an issue that needs to be highlighted across the world. Please help raise awareness. 

Bláithín Ennis is an incredibly talented Irish fashion designer, specialising in jewellery and accessories. Her work is sold in some of Ireland's top retail outlets, and has been worn by celebrities around the world. From Wexford in the south east of Ireland, in this episode, Bláithín tells Colm about where her love of fashion and creating came from, and how she landed a dream internship working with Diane von Furstenberg in New York. She also talks about what it's like running her own fashion business and brand in Ireland and the challenges that poses. Finally, her advice to anyone considering turning their passion into a business. 

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Welcome to season 2 of the Colm Flynn Podcast! Dara Tah is an Irish Youtuber and Ticktocker who has shot to internet fame in recent months. But overnight success has come after years of hard work, and in this interview Dara tells Colm about some of his more daring YouTube videos like visiting Area 51, staying the night in a haunted castle, being buried alive, and gives an honest account of what goes in to making a viral hit. 

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Kevin Briggs has stood, sometimes for hours late at night, in the freezing cold mist on the Golden Gate Bridge. The routine became all-too familiar for Kevin. Talking to someone who had climbed the barrier of San Francisco's iconic bridge and who was about to jump to the choppy waters below. With no formal training in negotiation, or how to handle depression or suicide, he would carefully navigate conversations with these individuals who stood there in the wind at the lowest point in their life. What's remarkable about Kevin story, is how effective him just listening to these people was. Over his career he talked approximately 600 people down from the bridge, and sadly lost two.  

In this interview, Kevin tells me about the people he encountered and what brought them to the bridge. We also talk about the effect this kind of work has had on him, and what advice he has to others who are feeling suicidal, or know someone who is. 

In this interview, we talk about people who were suffering in the depths of depression, and some people may find parts upsetting. If you are affected by depression or suicide, please talk to someone. You can start by checking out one of these links below. There will be someone like Kevin there to listen to you, and help you with what you are going through. 

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/help-for-suicidal-thoughts/

https://mentalhealth.org.nz/conditions/condition/suicide-coping-with-suicidal-thoughts

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Shaun Doherty was, for 30 years, a hugely successful broadcaster in Donegal, Ireland. Every day he presented the main talk show on Highland Radio. Over three decades he became a household name in the region and won multiple awards for his work. 

But one day, he announced live on air, that he would be leaving his job in radio, and pursuing something else. Now, in this exclusive interview, Shaun talks to Colm Flynn about why he decided to walk away from the success he had, and move to Rome in Italy, to start a new life studying for the priesthood, and how he hopes to find fulfilment in his new role. 

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Brooke Brodack was once the most subscribed YouTuber in the world but suddenly deleted her channel and disappeared from all social media. 

It was 2005 and YouTube was still a new website. Then a 19 year old girl from Holden, Massachusetts, created a channel called 'Brookers' where she uploaded videos of herself hanging around the house, doing funny sketches, and just being creative. 

Her channel took off and gained over 60,000 subscribers, at one point being the most-subscribed channel on YouTube. She was offered a gig by NBC and moved to Hollywood... But then deleted her channel, and all social media, and moved to India. 

She tells Colm Flynn her story.

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BONUS MATERIAL
Marty Cooper is nothing more than a living legend. Back in the early 70's, he and a small team of engineers at Motorola changed the course of history forever when they developed the first every handheld portable cellphone. Motorola wasn’t a big company at the time and was up against the biggest company in the world, AT&T, who were pushing their own invention that was a car phone. It was really a case of David and Goliath as the two companies went head to head for the future of the telephone.

Marty Cooper and his invention of cellphone beat all the odds and in 1973 Marty made history by making the first-ever cellphone call in history on 6th Avenue in New York City. Who did he call? His rival Joel Engle, the head of AT&T.

In this short podcast I chat to Marty Cooper about that incredible time and how his invention went on to change the world! 

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Can you imagine living on a tropical island in the south Pacific Ocean? A paradise on Earth where life moves at a slower rate. That's where my guest for this episode lives and works. Sanya Ruggiero is a consultant communications advisor who works with the UN and other organisations. She is now working on a UN project to provide Covid relief to small business and freelancers in Fiji and neighbouring islands. She is also working on a project to clear radioactive waste left on the Marshall Islands following nuclear weapons testing by the US government. Recently she was has written articles for AlJazeera and worked on projects with ABC, the Australian national broadcaster. 

Sanya also has a strong Catholic faith, which she says has helped her in life, despite it been sometimes seen as unpopular by some of her colleagues. 

In this interview I chat to Sanya about her fascinating family story, the history of the Figi islands, and the work she is doing today. 

Thanks for listening, and follow Sanya on Twitter: @Sanya_Ruggiero

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Lisa Murphy is 31 and from Cork in the south of Ireland, and if you met her you would be taken by her warm and bubbly personality. On the face of it she looks like a 'normal' happy young woman, living in Ireland's capital, Dublin, and having recently started a new job. But under the surface Lisa has been battling a debilitating and life-threatening condition for the last twelve years, bulimia. This condition leaves no marks on her body, or makes her look a certain way, and so most of the time it is impossible for others to tell something is wrong. But every day Lisa goes through an uncontrollable cycle of binge eating, and then purging.. over and over again. What started when she was 19  years of age, making herself get sick so she could look 'sexy' like other girls, spiralled out of control in the years that followed and Lisa found herself doing things she would never thought she was capable of. 

Lisa hit rock bottom earlier this year when she attempted to commit suicide as her eating disorder was so out of control. Now she is looking for help, and has started a GoFundMe to raise money to pay for treatment at a specialised centre. 

In this interview, Lisa is so honest and open about her condition and the effect it is having on her life. But please be warned, some parts of the interview are graphic and may be difficult for some listeners to hear, especially if you have been affected by an eating disorder or have felt suicidal. 

I want to really thank Lisa for being so generous with her time and willingness to share her story. The insight she offers into the life of a person with an eating disorder is unique and very raw, and I know that I learned an incredible amount about a condition I knew very little of before.

Please share this interview with those you know, and support Lisa and her GoFundMe, here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-help-our-friend-lisa?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

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After the catastrophic disaster at the Chernobyl  Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine in 1986, around 50,000 people were evacuated from the nearby city of Pripyat. The residents were told to take just the clothes they were wearing along with their passports, and reassured they would be allowed to return soon after. However as radiation levels were so high, the decision was made to create a 30km 'exclusion zone' around the Chernobyl power station and for the past 35 years the city of Pripyat has become a ghost town, frozen in time in Soviet 1986, and now giving way to nature. 

Philip Grossman is a scientist, engineer and filmmaker, who has visited the city of Pripyat and the Chernobyl exclusion zone 14 times. He explored the abandoned buildings which are still highly radioactive in parts still today. 

Colm Flynn talks to Philip Grossman about his experiences exploring the exclusion zone, as well some of the misconceptions around the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. They also talk about the overall safety of nuclear energy today. 

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