On Sunday at Croke Park the glory belonged to Kerry but who was responsible for this victory and will Joe have to apologise?

On Free State today Joe and Dion look at how Kerry beat Armagh and David Clifford‘s role in the All-Ireland champions’ downfall.

Joe accuses Dion of failing to read beyond the headline of his column which was referenced in the aftermath by Kerry manager Jack O’Connor. 

Dion confesses to his own doubts about Clifford. But does Joe have anything to apologise for or should the world be apologising to him for misunderstanding what he does?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are those who believe Artificial Intelligence will lead to the extinction of mankind. There are those who believe AI will save the world.

On Free State today, journalist and author of the Empire of AI Karen Hao explains why AI is an imperialist project and how the colonising is already taking place. 

She says why she believes the doomer vs boomer debate is a distraction and how Ireland is on the frontline of this imperialist project. Water and energy resources will be drained as empires are built while humans will be expendable.

Karen also tells us why the term Artificial Intelligence was a marketing term in the first place which set the technology on a destructive path.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world seems to be intent on tapping into humanity’s worst instincts.

Tech companies ensure the algorithms keep us enraged and fearful, but is there a resistance movement? 

On Free State today Dion tries to persuade Joe that Test match cricket is part of a broader cultural phenomenon but will Joe buy it?

Joe looks at how Kilkenny was transformed from a cricket county to the cradle of hurling.

They also consider the All Ireland quarter finals and Dion’s credentials as a Kerry supporter are challenged by Joe, who definitely isn’t buying it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Donald Trump gave the order to bomb Iran, the language of war was mobilised. It is a language where death and misery means peace and love.

On Free State, Joe and Dion look at how war is sold and why the language of war is hard to distinguish from erotica. 

The Old Testament was cited by many in America as why they stood with Israel. But did the contributions of AIPAC have more to do with than the bible?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fintan Drury trained as a journalist before becoming a hugely significant figure in Irish corporate life, something he has talked about previously with honesty and some regret.

He returned to his journalistic roots and the tragedy in Gaza compelled him to speak out. His new book Catastrophe is the story of Nakba II. 

On Free State today, he explains why he had to go to the West Bank to find out the truth and why Netanyahu is running rings around the US when it comes to war with Iran. He explains why the establishment desperately wants to take his side. He talks too about why Joe Biden, not just Netanyahu, should be facing charges at the International Criminal Court.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Kneecap arrived at Westminster Magistrates Court, the scene was like Beatlemania if the Beatles’ fans were supporting a Free Palestine.

Kneecap were in court for the first hearing in the case against Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara.

On Free State today Joe explains why he isn’t part of the legal team and what will happen next.

They look at the politically motivated charges and why taking a stand against genocide and Israel’s warmongering matters more than ever.

Emotions are tested in the podcast when Joe accuses Dion of both-sidesing what is happening in Iran. The argument gets heated and ends in an unexpected fashion...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world is moving closer to annihilation and still people beat the drumbeats for war.

On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at how Israel’s attack on Iran is a case of history repeating itself. 

Iran is the bogey man that allows warmongering to prosper and no matter how many times this has happened before, the noises are still the same and as bloodthirsty.

Joe also explains why Mayo footballers aren’t serious people after their defeat to Donegal.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Political history, not natural history, turned a potato failure into a famine.”

Between 1845 and 1851, one million people on the island of Ireland died of famine-related causes. Another 1.5 million people emigrated. 

On Free State today, historian Padraic X Scanlan, author of the outstanding history of the Famine, Rot, joins us to discuss what caused Ireland to suffer as it did.

He considers the main characters like Charles Treveleyan and the failure of an ideology that believed in the pure virtue of the market. “The blight was a consequence of a novel pathogen spreading among fields of vulnerable plants,” Scanlan writes. “But the famine—a complex ecological, economic, logistical, and political disaster—was a consequence of colonialism.”

Scanlan looks at how Ireland has dealt with the famine and how the potato itself became a symbol for those who blamed the Irish people themselves for the great hunger.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Ballymena this week, those who have come from abroad to make their lives in the town were putting union jacks in the window in the hope it would prevent them being attacked.

In the random and brutal rioting that saw the homes and businesses of foreigners attacked and terrorised this was they did to protect themselves and their families. 

On Free State today, Joe and Dion ask what is the root cause of this savagery which the police described as feral. Is it hatred or fear, supremacy or inferiority? 

Joe looks at how hate has been transferred from nationalists to other minorities - with plenty held back for nationalists too and projects like Casement Park.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The kids were coming down for breakfast when these five men wearing cargo pants, big jackets arrived. They came into the third floor, stood in front of the bedroom door, took the three kids back in and told them to pack up. We heard them say: ‘You are going to be deported.’ As soon as the other children heard then they were all crying. It was such a horrific scene.”

This was how a resident in an IPAS centre in West Dublin described the scenes when families were deported last week and sent back to Nigeria.

“This is not a pleasant part of my job,” Jim O’Callaghan said on RTE. On X he said, “Another deportation flight left Dublin last night and landed safely this morning in Lagos, Nigeria. There were 35 people on board who had received but had not complied with Deportation Orders.”

On Free State today, Dion and Joe asked who these messages are aimed at? What is Ireland doing to combat the fantasies being spun by people like Conor McGregor about a lost Ireland that never existed?

Is appealing to those with concerns about immigration necessary to head off the far right or is this world without compassion and empathy Ireland’s dystopian future?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.