The Long Game

As Tony Holohan announces the presidency is no longer in his sights, Ben and Jason discuss why politics may be a nastier business than it used to be, before coincidentally moving on to the State's total disregard of public pushback on a national dis-/mis-information strategy. Also: Are eugenics back in vogue in some fashionable circles?

Without beating around the bush, Ben and Jason get into the recent reports of Indians feeling unsafe in Ireland, and the surging phenomenon of 'elsewhereism,' or being primarily concerned about the rights and wrongs of goings on in other places. They also discuss Gript's latest subscriber-only feature, 'The Cost of Politics'.

Ben and Jason ramble through a discussion about whether law and order is breaking down in Ireland, and specifically in Dublin, musing about the merits of raising a family in the city versus in the countryside, before getting back to the news of the kidnapping of an Irish woman in Haiti.

This week on The Long Game podcast, Jason laments the EU's latest steamrolling at the hands of Donald Trump, and Ben adds fuel to the fire by questioning the current calibre of Irish thought on economics and borders.

With Ben missing in action this week, Jason is joined by Gript colleague Maria Maynes to discuss the revised National Development Plan and Maria's coverage of calls for 'Jennie's Law', before complaining about falling afoul of Ryanair's baggage policy and viral infidelity.

The Housing Minister accidentally blaming the Government for housing holdups, the plight of the pubs and the dangers of technology, as found out by one State agency recently, are all on the cards for Jason and Ben on this week’s episode.

On this week's episode, Jason and Ben discuss the UN's call for a re-run of the Care Referendum, as well as the tools the State is using to tackle 'wrongthink' in both schools and An Garda Síochana.

This week, the lads discuss the lacklustre start to Ireland’s presidential election speculation, what the latest polling data tells us about the lay of the political land, and the Irish delegation that defiantly made its way to Hungary’s Pride parade over the weekend.

With Ben on holidays this week, Jason is joined by Telegraph columnist Michael Murphy to discuss the week's news, including changes to US student visa vetting, questionable reasons for rejecting garda applicants and more.

Ben and Jason discuss the ways in which a culture of civil mediocrity and bureaucracy is strangling Irish society, from media to AI.