https://tortoiseshack.ie/feed/podcast/

Shahd Abusalama is a Palestinian academic from Gaza based in the UK. She lost 40 family members during the ongoing genocide, her family is displaced and scattered. She speaks to PalCast hosts Yousef Alajamal and Tony Groves about the pain of enduring a genocide, of feeling the responsibility to rebuild and to fight defamation at the same time. She gifts us a beautiful song too. Listen this episode...

In this short podcast you'll hear some of the recordings we did when Rory took Reboot Republic into Mendicity, Dublin's oldest charity. It was something we should do more of and we are grateful to you, our members, for your support that helps keep this platform going. Thank you to Louisa and her team in Mendicity and we hope to see you all soon. Support them here: https://www.mendicity.org/make-a-...

On the morning of October 7th, my friend, journalist Mahmoud Mushtaha, sent me a WhatsApp to say what was happening and everything changed in the most heartbreaking of ways.  Mahmoud lost friends, family and hope. But, as you'll hear, today he has an opportunity to start hoping again. Things are still very difficult, but this chat lifted my spirits, so I hope it'll lift yours. Thank you for all yo...

The votes are in and it is a humiliation for the government, an omnishambles for most of the opposition and a crisis for many NGO's. It was more than No/No, it was No and No Way.  Much to dissect. Joining us is the best political poll anorak around, Mr irishelectionprojections.com Harry McEvansoneya and the man behind Ireland Thinks, (the only company to produce post-vote polling) Kevin Cunningham...

It was a pleasure to be joined on the podcast by Nabil Hallak, Executive Director of the International Forum for Justice in Palestine. His story is so typical of the Palestinian story. Born in Lebanon and made an activist by birth. He tells us about the ongoing situation in Gaza, in Lebanon and shares a few of his memories including his trip on the Mavi Mara, as part of the last international flot...

Shortly after the broadcast moratorium began, in advance of the vote on the Family and Care referendums, online independent media outlet, The Ditch threw out a grenade. They’d only gone at gotten the unpublished attorney generals advice to the government on the contentious wording of both referendum. Joining us to discuss the makings of this scoop and the repercussions it may have is journalist, e...

A short Martin and Tony pod on the latest news around bogus self employment and the statement from the Taoiseach that might as well have come from Martin about 12 months. Welcome to the shack, Teesh. 

No one should have been shocked to hear that Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, say that he sees care as the responsibility of families and not of the State. He is who he Ayn Rand is. But that's not the Ireland most people want to live in. Joining us on the podcast are three wonderful disabled women, Ann Marie Flanagan, Stephain Lynagh and Dr Margaret Kennedy. They talk about the issues 42.b raise for them...

Fady Joudah is a Palestinian poet and physician who just released a poetry collection on the genocide in Gaza. In this episode, Yousef Aljamal, Helena Cobban, and Tony Groves talk about poetry, memory, Gaza, Refaat Alareer and silence. Fady argues that the world should listen to the Palestinians and practice silence when they do. The title of his poetry collection is something we will leave to the...

In this episode, Niamh chats with Professor Kath Browne , a social and cultural geographer at UCD. We discuss her fascinating ERC-funded project, Beyond Opposition, which seeks to explore the everyday experiences of people who are opposed to, or have concerns about, legislative and cultural changes around same sex marriage, abortion, gender self-identification and other sexual and gender equalitie...

Happy Monday, Folks, This is a belter of a podcast with Colombian, now Mexico-based El Pais journalist, Nicholas Dale Leal, on all things Latin and South America. We talk Argentina and the plunge into poverty that has created a budget surplus; we dig into Bukele as a celebrity of the aspiring autocrat and there's a lot to be said in advance of the Mexican general election. Nicholas, as always, bre...

Is a bad deal better than no deal? Should we settle for fix it as we go? Would a shift further right in the European Parliament (EP) wreck any hope we have for meaningful climate and biodiversity action? Lifelong environmentalist, author and ecologist, Padraic Fogarty and MEP Luke Ming Flanagan, agree on a lot. But not on the Nature Restoration Laws that passed narrowly in the EP. They joined us t...

After witnessing yesterday's horrific massacre by the Israeli Occupation Forces, that left over 112 people dead and almost 800 people injured, I stupidly thought this would be the war crime that would make the International Community (particularly the US and EU) and legacy media call unequivocally on Israel to stop. How wrong I was. Rejoining me on the podcast from Gaza is Zak Hania, he outlines t...

Together for Diversity not Hate: March 2nd Dublin In this Podcast, Rory talks with the organisers of the Solidarity March Together Against Racism, Hate and War and for Homes, Health and Rights for All, including Clare O Connor, Community Activist, Stephanie Hanlon, convenor of Le Cheile, Paul Murphy TD and Lola Gonzalez, who is a long time advocate based in Leitrim standing up for migrants and ref...

Ep 24 - Damien Dempsey In this very special episode of The Fresh Batch, Dean and Sparky chat with their longtime friend; singer-songwriter, Damien Dempsey. Hearts open, vulnerable and full of love. This is a conversation about aborigional wisdom, spiritual healing, the power of singing and friendship and why we're all dancing with our own madness. "If I'm going to find some healing..." Recorded by...

How has the Revenue Commissioners wound up as the biggest driver of bogus self employment? Why aren't those in authority discussing (Schrödinger's) RTE's insolvency? Martin joins Tony in this explosive 20 minutes of answers.

Our friend and tortoise shack member, Dr Rory Hearne, has announced that he's seeking to run for the Soc Dems in the upcoming European Elections. So you know we were going to sit down and ask him all about it. We discuss his reasons for getting into party politics, the type of tradeoffs that might be required of him, the values that he wants to put at the heart of his campaign and the future of Re...

Forcible depopulation of Gaza has been on Israel’s agenda since 1948. Hadeel Assali, a scholar at Colombia, discusses Israel’s plans, both public and secret, to push out and punish Palestinians in Gaza.  In 1969, her uncle was sent on a one way ticket to Latin America as part of a scheme to send 60,000 Palestinian refugees to Uruguay and Latin America. The scheme failed, but Hadeel’s family is sca...

A short update from Rafah with Irish-Palestinian, Zak Hania. He talks about the situation on the ground, the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the famine that is spreading in Gaza and the lack of action with regards to his own case. We also speculate on the ceasefire negotiations and the worrying construction that is happening on the Egyptian side of the wall that encircles them all. 

A member-only paywall forever Martin  and Tony podcast that is as much for us getting it off our chests (Roderic O’Gorman really has some portfolio) as it is for you to hear about what is happening behind the scenes at RTE and some other things..

If you heard Podcasts for Palestine, then you'll have heard Dean and Sparky of the Fresh Batch. So rather than do the odd collaboration we've decided to come together. So ladies and gentlemen, here is a short intro to the newest podcast on the shack, a slice of Ballymun Bred.  Please say hello to Ballymun's finest. Yup! New Episode with Damien Dempsey coming very soon...

It was a pleasure to get the band back together for an evening chat about the week that was and some of the stories that caught our attention. Thanks to the best reporter on the immigration beat, Shamim Malekmian, Mr irishelectionprojections.ie, Harry Mcevansoneya and writer, activist and change advocate, Emma DeSouza, for joining us. We didn't stick to the script, but that is part of the fun. 

In this Reboot Republic Rory, talks to Tanya Ward, CEO of the Children's Rights Alliance about the findings of the Report Card 2024 assessing the Government's progress on its commitments for children made in the Programme for Government. We discuss some positive work on education and food poverty, challenges on creating a public early years and education and childcare system, and the failures in m...

We cover, unavoidably, a lot of bad news. So it was brilliant to be joined for the first time by campaign coordinator with weact.ie, Claire McGowran, to talk about the wonderful initiatives taking place across the country and their excellent "Good News Gazette." "We Act is all about championing the doers. The people who organise, activate, inspire and ignite change around them.​​ They are the glue...

The vote on the two referendums on the Family and Care is not far away and while opinion polls suggest a landslide for Yes Yes, events of recent days (Ministers misrepresenting the amendments and FLAC's criticism of the Care aspect) have made enough noise to at least make people investigate what they're voting on. Joining us on the podcast is Constitutional Law expert and lecturer in the subject,...