Short update: Earlier this morning Loay found out that his cousin, Ashraf El-Basyouni, was killed by an Israeli airstrike. May he Rest in Peace.

Hi folks,

Our friend, NASA Engineer and Palestinian, Loay Elbasyouni rejoined us late last night to talk about the ongoing plight of his parents who are trapped in Gaza, the lies and half-truths that are reported in the media and how only people not from Gaza were surprised at the official Israeli Govt plan to carry out an ethnic cleansing of his homeland.

Then in the last 5-6 minutes we talk about the pox of lifestyle lefty's who are quiet in the face of this carnage. I suppose we'll be cancelled. Again.

Thank you all for your support.  You've been amazing.

this is the piece I mentione:https://www.thenation.com/article/world/the-world-has-never-cared-about-gazas-suffering/

Note: The podcast opens with a voice note sent by Zak in Gaza and you can hear the bombs. 

It was a pleasure to be rejoined by the best reporter on immigration in Ireland, the Dublin Inquirer's Shamim Malekmian, to discuss the case of Abdullah Musleh, who finds himself trapped in Gaza because of the inefficiencies in the Irish immigration service. We also discuss the latest from Gaza, the generosity of our tortoise shack members and the need to be careful of some new Palestinian allies who are really just opportunistic Anti-Semites. 

Full article here:https://dublininquirer.com/2023/10/18/in-gaza-city-a-father-waited-and-hoped-for-a-visa-to-see-his-kids-in-ireland-again-then-came-the-bombs/

"Why do they say 'Hamas run Ministry of Health? They never say Fianna Fáil run HSE."

Hi folks,

As Gaza comes back online we are hoping to connect with people in the coming hours, but in the meantime this is a more general news week. I mean, we can't lose sight of the fact that there are now nearly 4,000 children homeless, that the US Speaker is MAGA Mike and some other things that deserve a mention.

Also, my good friend Jordan Farry, is running the Dublin Marathon today and is raising money for DePaul - Please donate a few quid to:https://www.justgiving.com/page/jordan-farry-1697748919590?utm_campaign=lc_frp_share_transaction_transactional_--_page_launched_--_campaign&utm_content=cac4f101-5c96-459f-9de3-769a19aab5e4&utm_medium=email&utm_source=postoffice&utm_term=1697748943609

We'll bring you a part 2 if we can get people on the ground in Gaza, ASAP

CW: This podcast contains subjects that some listeners might find distressing.

Palestinan-Irish man, Zak, lived in Dublin for 17 years. He's in Gaza City now with his family and describes in the most powerful and heartbreaking way what a struggle it is right now in Gaza and how he feels (correctly) betrayed by the international community and Western Leaders. He talks about the impact this is having on him and his children and the trauma of surviving, but not actually living anymore. Please listen and share.  

Jordan Dunbar is a Northern Ireland born and London based BBC journalist, presenter and documentary maker. His recent documentary for BBC Sounds 'Blood On The Dancefloor' looked at the life and murder of gay RUC officer Darren Bradshaw. The lads spoke to Jordan about how he came to tell this story, storytelling and memory with Belfast's queer community and some of his investigations into criminal gangs in Brazil and Italy.

Blood On The Dancefloor is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fdqs8p

" I ran from death in Gaza City to find it in Rafah"

If you've been with us a while you'll have heard from author, academic, researcher with Politics Today and proud Gazan, Dr Yousef M Aljamal, before. Sadly and tragically he rejoins us today to talk about how the Israeli bombing of Gaza has killed nine of his family and what that brutality is doing to his home and any sense of hope for a peaceful and just life in the future. 

Yousef outlines what he feels is the goal of 'the most right wing government in Israeli history' and how this campaign is unprecedented in both cruelty and ambition. This is another voice that we need to hear from on our mainstream platforms.

Read his latest piece here: https://politicstoday.org/gaza-death-march/

The Citizens Assembly for Drugs has delivered it's report and the results are..

..well we aren't to sure. So we got the Irish national treasure, UCC Snr Lecturer, Dr Sharon Lambert to come back on and tall us what her expert opinion is. Her verdict is cautiously heartening, but because she is an expert Sharon talks us through what is said and what was maybe left out.

In this podcast Rory talks to  Niamh Thornton and John Dermody from DePaul who are senior service managers working in homelessness services. Niamh talks about the specific experiences of women in homelessness, with one woman describing it as 'being stripped of her motherhood',  and how De Paul work to support them, and John explains the trauma of homelessness, particularly for children, and what is the trauma informed approach De Paul take in delivering their services, in prevention of homelessness and support for those in their services.

Rory is running the Dublin Marathon for De Paul, you can donate at:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/roryhearne4marathons?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Froryhearne4marathons&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

This is a podcast of hope, alternatives and solutions for the housing catastrophe in Ireland, and indeed for housing crises all over the world. In this podcast Rory speaks with Michaela Kauer, Director of the Brussels Liaison Office of the City of Vienna, about the famous Vienna housing model, where half of all housing in the city is public affordable housing. Michaela outlines how the Vienna housing model works, the treatment of housing as a right and need not a commodity that drive the model, including being in the Constitution, regulations for renters - how renters get to set the rents in negotiation with landlords and government, the 2019 Vienna law where two thirds of all new private development must be subsidised affordable housing, the role of municipal and not-for-profit housing providers,  and how we can deliver housing for the common good.

Shrapnel presents Fragments - a new series of intermittent one-off episodes where Sam and Gareth answer questions about the past, present and future in Northern Ireland posed by you, our members, listeners and followers. It'll be available in the regular Shrapnel podcast feed on all streaming platforms.

Get your questions in for the next episode at [email protected]