In this Reboot Republic podcast Rory Hearne reads excerpts from his new book 'Housing Shock: The Irish Housing Crisis and how to solve it' - outlining the two possible housing futures -a dystopia of homelessness & housing distress & exclusion or a future of affordable homes, flourishing communities & sustainable planet - the books shows the devastation of the first scenario & how we can achieve the second. Tony asks Rory What motivated him to write the book and his thoughts on the crisis now. The book is available from Policy Press. Buy: policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/housing-shock

Launch: Housing Shock: The Irish Housing Crisis and how to solve it - book launch webinar. Register in advance for this: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7wzxJEu7RQGSKy3soxrcBg After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Join us: patreon.com/tortoiseshack

Watching the sustained attacks on the Black Lives Matter protests in the US by both an increasingly militaristic police and an increasingly incoherent Divider in Chief, Donald Trump, you can't but be filled with a sense that we've seen this 'undermining playbook' before. We are joined by reporter and writer with The Intercept and friend of the pod, Jon Schwarz, to discuss the ongoing events and his recent article - A Short History of U.S. Law Enforcement Infiltrating Protests.

Jon talks us through what is happening on the ground, the sense of exhaustion and a lot more.

Follow Jon on twitter: @schwarz

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The reaction to the murder of George Floyd by white police officers has caused protests around the world. Yet some people have asked why Irish people are getting angry and upset about it. While we may not have a tradition of police brutality, Ireland has its own problems with racism, problems that we have yet to address. How do we address it? We start by listening to Irish people of colour about their experiences. Nic Ndlovu came to Ireland from South Africa when he was 4 years old. He joins Rachel on the pod to discuss the microaggressions he has encountered throughout his life, what it's like to be followed around a supermarket by a security guard when shopping and dealing with racism both online and offline.

This is an intense and uncomfortable chat and we need to be having more of this so we can address the problems in Irish society.

Black Lives Matter.

Follow Nic on Twitter.

Donate to Black Pride Ireland, MASI and MERJ.

Become a Tortoise Shack patron - visit www.patreon.com/tortoiseshack

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The murder of George Floyd by a police officer has sparked protests across America and indeed the world. The actions of the Divider in Chief, President Donald Trump, have only exacerbated the problems. I'm joined in the tortoise shack by Team USA track and field athlete, 3 time Olympic Gold Medalist, 3 time World Champion and writer, Tianna Bartoletta, to discuss these events and the need for us all to meet this moment. As Tianna herself says, we can't solve our problems with the same thinking that created them. It's not enough to say 'I'm not a racist', we need to active anti-racists. I'm very grateful to Tianna for her time.

Follower her on twitter: @tibartoletta

Her writing: tiannabee.com

Join us: patreon.com/tortoiseshack

The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have affected children in ways that we don't even yet understand. This is particularly the case for vulnerable children with special needs. Martin is joined by Solicitor, Gareth Noble of KOD Lyons, to discuss the issues and obstacles he is facing in representing children. Gareth explains how the Courts, Tusla and the Department of Children have reacted in these unprecedented times and how, in particular, the Department of Children must be more than a point of referral to other agencies. In order to give children the priority they need, the Department needs to be funded properly and give the same status as other high profile departments. Many thanks to Gareth for taking the time to bring these issues to our attention.

Follow him on twitter at @GarNob

Join us: patreon.com/tortoiseshack

The "we're all in this together" mood music from government changed very quickly and the old economic orthodoxy has looked to reassert itself. Our guest is Associate Professor in UCD and columnist with the Sunday Business Post, Aidan Regan, and this is a must listen for both traditionalists and progressives.

Aidan breaks down how the old ideas no longer fit and how Ireland can use this crisis to reshape itself, and do so far a lot less than the austerity hawks would have you believe.

Please listen to this and remember it when you hear the insanity of returning to the path that left us with the highest income inequality in the OECD put forward as a solution to restarting the economy post the Covid-19 pandemic.

Join us: patreon.com/tortoiseshack

How long can a caretaker government limp on for? What happens when the money runs out? Is it even possible to have an election under these extraordinary times?

Lecturer in Law in Waterford Institute of Technology and author of Constitutional Law in Ireland, Dr Jennifer Kavanagh, joins us to discuss all this and a lot more.

This conversation breaks down the breakdown in our democratic process and offers a common sense way for it to be fixed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Join us: patreon.com/tortoiseshack

Having recently completed her term as UN Special Rapporteur for Housing, Leilani Farha rejoined us on the pod to discuss her time in the role and what she is doing now.

We discuss the financialisation of housing, the impact Covid-19 has had on homelessness and the emergency measures that there can be no going back from. Leilani also explains what her new initiative makethshift.org is and how she is continuing to advocate for the Right to Housing now.

Check it out.

Join us: patreon.com/tortoiseshack

As part of our Live in Lockdown series we sat down with actor, writer, poet and friend of the pod, Emmet Kirwan, for a conversation about the health of the arts in Ireland. In Emmet's own words, "It begins with art, but ends in real estate".

We were joined by an audience of tortoise shack members and Emmet kindly hung around to answer questions on his work, the arts in education, tone policing and the cost of speaking out.

This was another great evening and we have more lined up this week.

For details and to join us head to: patreon.com/tortoiseshack

It was a great treat to be joined for another of our Tortoise Shack Live in #LockDown podcasts by filmmaker, director and Live Line content creator, Lenny Abrahamson. Caroline, Tony and Martin ask Lenny about the (unforeseen?) success of Normal People, the good and bad reactions to the sex scenes and the thought and care that went into the consent putting consent on screen.

We also get an insight into Lenny's upcoming project, A Mans World - the Emile Griffith Story.

Then our brilliant members, including some familiar voices ask some terrific questions. Enjoy.

To support us and come along to our next "live" pod join us on: patreon.com/tortoiseshack

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