The Atlantic Current

Tull and Vince discuss the riots in Belfast which saw 61 families burned out of their homes. Tull forcefully argues that the violence was a pogrom, one that provided a disturbing flashback to the Troubles. Vince highlights why the events in Belfast have captured attention in the US, and how those that excuse the violence are making the same error as so many Americans in recent years. It’s a grim but insightful episode about an issue that both agree is not going anywhere.

Meredith Oglivie-Thompson returns to the podcast to discuss the Enhanced Games, the oligarch-created, (legal) drug-infused athletic competition recently held in Las Vegas. The event — and the publicly-traded company behind it — says so much about how tech billionaires view mortality, morality, and the rest of us. An occasionally dark, but as always illuminating, look at the new ruling class, where they want all of us to go, and how they plan to get us there.

Visit Meredith's Substack "All That I Have Met" at https://meredithogilviethompson.substack.com

With Tull out, standup comedian Butch Bradley joins the podcast for an uproarious global tour. Vince and Butch catch up on their time on the stage together and why Irish descent provides an edge in the comedy business. Butch also discusses his Durty travels across the world, the impact of Donald Trump on Atlantic City, and why the Irish should have pity on their American cousins.

Check out Butch on Laugh After Dark at laughafterdark.tv!

On the heels of a bizarre week, Tull and Vince dig into the president’s intellectual capacity. The case is simple: Donald Trump does not know how the world works. The ten dumbest things he has said — aloud and publicly — in his political career prove as much. A dark and riotous episode provides a fresh look at what has become all too normalized.

Check out atlanticcurrent.substack.com for show notes, updates, and more, including a heavy dose of source material and added context for this episode.

Tull and Vince delve into elections in the two countries. Why election spending in Ireland looks so bizarre to an American — and why US expenditures look so corrupt to a European. Tull’s origin story is revealed, Irish weather confounds, and Vince admits to a felony.

Check out atlanticcurrent.substack.com for show notes, updates, and more!

As another Ebola outbreak threatens Central Africa, Vince and Tull are joined by journalist Meredith Ogilvie-Thompson, who spent years covering stories — and witnessing past outbreaks — across the Continent. They discuss the importance of US aid cuts, the infrastructure and competence of African nations, and the counterproductive destruction by DOGE.

Check out atlanticcurrent.substack.com for show notes, updates, and more!

And visit Meredith's Substack — one of the best out there — at https://meredithogilviethompson.substack.com

Vince and Tull wrap up the key by-elections in Galway West and Dublin Central. The takeaways in each district, what they mean for two of the major parties (and their leaders), and where Ireland goes from here.

Tull and Vince discuss the wave of stories that seem to highlight corruption within the Trump Administration, led by the president himself. But Vince takes a surprising angle — and provides a defense of Donald Trump, albeit in a perhaps more damning way. One of the darker, and definitely most darkly funny, episodes of the series so far.

The pod gets its first guest: Richard Collumb, described by one minister as “the best director of elections ever”. Collumb provides expert insights into Friday’s by-elections in Galway West and Dublin Central, seeing good news for one government party, trouble for another, and the potential for not one, but two, leadership changes in the near future.

Vince and Tull return to the war between the US, Israel and Iran in a bid to understand what, exactly, Donald Trump can do from here. (The answer seems to be: not much.) Then, yet another questionable claim from a Sinn Féin TD sparks a discussion about the party’s willingness to embrace conspiracies, and the role of similar theories in US politics over the years.