Highlights from the first 20 episodes of The Party Line, a podcast from The Ditch – hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with the team of Ditch journalists: Eoghan McNeill, Paulie Doyle and Roman Shortall.

Big thanks to Art O'Connor at the Whistleblower, and to Emmet White, for helping The Party Line improve and grow.

02.10 Eman Muhammed on The Ditch (ep03)    

02.43 Eoghan on being arse-dialled (ep08)

03.36 Paulie on serious guys (ep13) 

05.03 Roman on Taoiseach lying (ep04)

06.27 Paulie on Taoiseach (ep02)

06.58 Paulie on election candidate lying (ep06)

08.00 Eoghan on liberal indifference (ep17)

09.34 Roman on direct action in Ulm (ep11)

11.40 Eoghan on compradors (ep19)

14.04 Paulie on Boy George (ep10)

14.41 Eoghan on Pascal Donohoe (ep19)

16.36 Andy Storey on Pascal Donohoe (ep06)

17.22 Eoghan and Clare Daly on Helen McEntee (ep12)

19.33 Paddy Bresnihan and Pat Brodie on FDI nationalism (ep07)

21.00 Betty Purcell on Brendan O'Connor (ep20)

22.00 Nausicaa Renner on who reads DropSite (ep08)

22.54 Harry and Jodi Dean on the AI debate (ep19)

25.18 William Wall on liberals and fascists (ep14)

27.02 Paul Holden on Labour Together and antisemitism (ep2 and ep10)

28.51 Matt Kennard on US military Nazis and gangs (ep15)

30.40 Richard Drayton on the new arms gap (ep13)

31.55 Khem Rogaly on who profits from military spending (ep16)

33.07 Eman on evacuating Gaza under Obama (ep03)

34.49 Zena Tahhan and Leila Warah on the Occuplied Territories Bill (ep17)

37.11 John Reynolds on book burning (ep18)

39.15 Rebecca O'Keeffe on FIFA hypocrisy (ep04)

41.07 Tadhg Hickey on Israeli escalation (ep09)

42.09 Niamh on pigeon-holing the fuel protest (ep09)

43.40 Eoghan and Niamh on unaffordable homes (ep17)

44.45 Niamh on French AI weapons for Ireland (ep05)

45.54 Niamh on the Cuba blockade (ep04)

47.37 Niamh and panel on the EU presidency and Tayto (ep18)

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RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster, is hammered by scandal – and hampered by a combination of deference to government and devotion to commercial imperatives.

Betty Purcell, former radio and TV producer in RTÉ – who also sat as the elected staff representative on the RTÉ Authority – joins The Party Line, hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch.

'The Ditch investigation into Dublin investment firm Elkstone's Epstein deal subject of bogus complaint, deleted from Google' https://www.ontheditch.com/dublin-investment-firm-elkstones-epstein-deal/

'Report card: How RTÉ has performed on TV and radio during challenging times' https://tinyurl.com/sp7d3pcv

Music by Fionn Dempsey

Recording by Justin Young

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The tech lords' vision of the power and inevitability of AI is directly opposed to any vision for socialism.

The powerful American political thinker Jodi Dean joins The Party Line, a podcast from The Ditch – hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch.

'Mason Hayes & Curran chairperson, Meta's lawyer was going to attend cancelled Peter Thiel event' https://www.ontheditch.com/mason-hayes-curran-chairperson-metas-lawyer-was-going-to-attend-cancelled-peter-thiel-event/ 

'Did We Make the Wrong Bet on Big A.I.? https://tinyurl.com/3rev883h

Jodi Dean's Substack: https://jodi7768.substack.com/

Music by Fionn Dempsey

Recording by Emmet White

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A lot of pro-Palestine activism rests on legal concepts and language – genocide, apartheid, and the illegality of the Israeli occupation.

But in Gaza, they're burning international-law books for fuel.

Are we wasting time and energy by seeking justice through the courts? Critical legal scholar John Reynolds of Maynooth University joins the pod to argue out the contradictions.

The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Paulie Doyle of The Ditch.

'Irish energy regulator was going to attend Thiel event in Powerscourt Hotel' https://www.ontheditch.com/energy-regulator/

'EU presidency ceremony almost went down without a hitch, but Zelenskiy dig was copped by all' https://tinyurl.com/5dxsvkfj

John Reynolds' fortcoming book with Noura Erakat: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2851-confronting-zionism

Music by Fionn Dempsey

Recording by Emmet White

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Palestinian journalists Leila Warah and Zena Tahhan explain why Ireland disappoints them, and how they continue to cover an increasingly brutal and catastrophic Israeli occupation.

And host Niamh Ni Bhriain joins Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch to consider the cruelties of 'affordable' housing, and what liberal discourse about Anglo-Irish relations always manages to leave out.

The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, with co-host Harry Browne.

'Council executive: rents will rise no matter what councillors vote' https://www.ontheditch.com/council-executive-rents-will-rise/

Fintan O'Toole, 'The aftershocks of Brexit’s failure could be gaining strength – a fearful prospect for Ireland' https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/22/aftershocks-brexit-failure-fearful-prospect-ireland

Leila Warah https://www.instagram.com/leila.shw/?hl=en

Zena Tahhan https://www.instagram.com/zenatahhan/?hl=en

Music by Fionn Dempsey

Recording and editing by Emmet White

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Under pressure from backbenchers, Micheál Martin postponed the legislation to scrap what he once said was "the core of Irish neutrality" – the Triple Lock.

The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch – with Niamh Ní Bhriain and Paulie Doyle.

'Taoiseach's Triple Lock plan facing backbench pushback' https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2026/0620/1579454-triple-lock/

'Disgraced property developer "110 percent confident" of councillor votes' https://www.ontheditch.com/disgraced-property-developer-110-percent-confident/

Interviewed: Clare Daly, Khem Rogaly, Jenny Stephens, Brid Brennan (https://www.tni.org/en/profile/brid-brennan), John Maguire, Karen Devine

Music by Fionn Dempsey

Recording in studio: Emmet White

Recording at People's Forum in Tailors' Hall, Dublin: Harry Browne (still photos courtesy People's Forum)

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The empire is a dangerous, fascistic mess.

Investigative journalist Matt Kennard reflects on how the state of the US military has contributed to a wider social and political crisis – and why standing with Palestinians is more important than ever.

The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Paulie Doyle of The Ditch.

'Jack Chambers urged Irish sporting bodies to boycott Russia and Belarus' https://www.ontheditch.com/jack-chambers-urged/

'Comment: The public forced the state to act on South Africa – it can do so again' https://www.ontheditch.com/comment-the-public-forced-the-state/

'Hacked: Peter Thiel hosting secret event in Wicklow hotel' https://www.ontheditch.com/hacked-peter-thiel/

'Powerscourt Hotel first hosted Peter Thiel event in 2018' https://www.ontheditch.com/powerscourt-hotel-first-hosted-peter-thiel/

'How IRINI is becoming the face of Europe’s new maritime assertiveness' https://decode39.com/15182/how-irini-is-becoming-the-face-of-europes-new-maritime-assertiveness/

Irregular Army: https://orbooks.com/irregular-army/

Palestine Deep Dive: https://www.palestinedeepdive.com/

Music by Fionn Dempsey

Recording by Emmet White

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Riots in the North against immigrants, strikes in Italy against a right-wing government's re-armament programme – where are Right and Left going in a world where the powerful are increasingly at peace with fascism?

Writer William Wall brings his knowledge of Italy and Ireland to The Party Line, while Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch joins Harry Browne to report from a day on the streets of Belfast.

'Committee seeks independent review of "devastating neurological outcomes" for Beaumont patients': https://www.ontheditch.com/committee-seeks-independent-review/

'Internal report confirms public child patients forced to wait for surgery – private patients prioritised' https://www.ontheditch.com/internal-report-confirms-public-child-patients-forced-to-wait-for-surgery-private-patients-prioritised/

'Ireland’s new far right is simply recycling British white nationalist talking points': https://www.independent.ie/comment/opinion/peter-flanagan-irelands-new-far-right-is-simply-recycling-british-white-nationalist-talking-points/a/153748979.html

Music: Fionn Dempsey

Recording in studio: Emmet White

Recording in Italy: Harry Browne

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Jenny Maguire, Aoife Grace Moore, Rory Rowan and Oisín Gilmore join Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch to talk about getting Left voices heard.

Filmed at the Whistleblower bookshop and café for its opening on May 23rd 2026.

Recording and editing: Emmet White

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Has capitalism's American-led empire sown the seeds of its own military defeat?

The Professor of Imperial and Global History at King's College London, Richard Drayton, joins the pod to talk about how military technology, and the political economy it's embedded in, have yet again changed the face of war.

The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, ontheditch.com – hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Paulie Doyle from The Ditch.

'RTÉ faces potential investigation over GAA Allianz programme' https://www.ontheditch.com/rte-faces-potential-investigation/

'Chambers's business class flight and five-star hotel' https://www.ontheditch.com/jack-chambers-enjoyed-business-class/

'Maybe we should ask Ireland’s small population of Jews what they think about anti-Semitism' https://tinyurl.com/ytwfrk6e

Music: Fionn Dempsey

Recording: Emmet White and (for Drayton interview) Harry Browne

Email theditchpartyline at gmail

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