Gript Media Podcasts

We discuss the news that Lisa Smith, a former member of the Irish defence forces who went to Syria in order to join Isis, is seeking to return to Ireland, with the Irish government's blessing; news that Fg are considering capping pension increases; and a new study from Harvard looking at the gender pay gap.

We look at the news that Robert Muller's report on Trump has been submited; Leo's promises of tax cuts in the next budget; the Governments plan to avoid a hard border in the event of a no deal Brexit; the legal case against gender quotas for candidates in the general election moving forward; the rejection of an application for refugee status in Britain due to the applicant's Christian faith; widespread support amongst Irish journalists for a college paper caught sneaking into a building and placing a recording device by the door into a student's private apartment.

19:45 - Leo's tax cuts

26:30 - Muller Time

30:50 - The Commonwealth

34:00 - No Asylum for Christians in the UK

39:20 - The Irish Government's Promise there will be no hard border with the North

48:05 - Trinity bugging and media support for it

Gary and Michael review Hozier's new album Wasteland, Baby! They give it a mediocre out of 10. It exists, it is inoffensive, the world is not better for it existing, and would be no worse if it didn't.

We discuss the latest developments with the Children's hospital; Brexit developments; the Children's march against climate change that happened last week; the Post rebrand; and Leo's new, absolutely unprovoked, jab at Conor McGregor.

We discuss the shootings in New Zealand, in which 50 people have so far died. We run through the facts of what happened before looking at why the shooter carried out the attacks in the manner he did; what his manifesto says; if his manifesto is trustworthy; his belief in accelerationist tactics; and what the shooting tells us about Western culture, both now and into the future.

25:00 - Why was the attack structured in the manner it was?

37:32 - The manifesto itself

54:25 - Accelerationism

1:18:10 - What does the manifesto, and the shootings more generally, tell us about Western culture?

We discuss the news that the report into cost overruns at the Children's Hospital has now itself suffered a cost overrun of 33% after Department officials realised that the 'set in stone' price they had received didn't include VAT; a new sex consent app being developed by students at UCD; another Brexit defeat for May and the part Leo Varadkar may have played in it; and the tendency of Irish media to call people 'brave'.

Gary and Michael discuss a leaked draft report which calls for broadcasters to be given 'climate change quotas'; new research which shows male and female brains are different in utero; Facebook's plans to curtail anti-vaxxing content; Leo's response to a 'veiled threat' from the US over the Occupied Territories Bill; new allegations about Michael Jackson; and an article from a female academic calling the plans for women only academic positions 'deeply demeaning to women'

Michael and Gary discuss carbon tax, the new polls showing drops in support for every major political party, a new report on global persecution of Christians, and the news that the US will be overtaking Saudi Arabia as a producer of oil.

We review Leon: The Professional, in honour of International Women's Day. We also discuss the history of the Beretta weapons company; the superiority of french cuff shirts; Captian Marvel reviews; and lego for girls.

Gary and Michael discuss the leaked documents from the Socialist Party; Ivana Bacik's new gender pay bill as an answer in search of a question; Aodhan O'Riordain's immense dedication to prolonging the homelessness crisis; the Irish Times editorial in support of Emmanuel Macron's 'appeal'; the new environmental children's crusade; and the unpersoning of Tommy Robinson and what it tells us of the ability of social media companies to remove someone from public life.