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

Jonathan B. Tucker is a Washington DC-based writer, educator, poet and activist. He was, in his own words, brought up to be a Zionist. He talks about his experience as a Jewish pro-Palestine activist in the US, the struggle to help us all keep our humanity during the genocide and he then recites powerfully two poems; one Remember Us from Displaced in Gaza and the other his very own letter to the S...

In this Reboot Republic, Rory talks who is buying our homes with Lorcan Sirr, Senior Lecturer in TUD. Lorcan breaks down who exactly is buying up newly built homes in Ireland - the answer is - increasingly it's not first time home buyers - it's investor funds & the state. We discuss the market supply myths and what needs to be done to get affordable homes built at scale.

Senator Patricia Stephenson has just returned from the West Bank, Palestine and she joined me to discuss the apartheid regime she saw, the sanitising of settler violence and how any rhetoric about a two state solution falls apart in the face of the reality on the ground.

Besu Tadesse is a writer, musician and activist. He’s also a native of Washington DC and he joins us to talk activism, Gaza and art during the second Trump administration. He also reads a very important story from Displaced in Gaza. No spoilers. Just please listen.

Leilani Farha is a human rights lawyer, host of PushBack Talks, founder of Right to Housing organisiation, The Shift, former UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Adequate Housing and most importantly a Tortoise Shack fan. She rejoins us to talk about the ongoing global financialisation of housing, the ways some cities have pushed back, what the genocide in Gaza says about international law and w...

In this Reboot Republic podcast, Rory talks with Tanya Ward, Director of the Children’s Rights Alliance about the reasons underlying the shocking figure that 1 in 5 children in Ireland are in poverty after housing costs are paid. We discuss the impact of the housing costs – as families are forced into food poverty and overcrowding, the impact on children of growing up in poverty, and the solutions...

Sharday El-Assar is a Palestinian-American, who works as a fundraiser for UNRWA. She joins us to talk a bit about the Palestinian-American experience, how things have begun to change in terms of public support for Israel and why her Palestinian identity matters so much to her. She also reads beautifully the short story My Husband was Martyred and There is No Body: My Story of Pain Caused by the Is...

When journalist and accidental genocide correspondent, Abubaker Abed, left Gaza a few months ago the only thing certain was that he would continue to speak up and report on what is happening in his homeland. He rejoins us to discuss his advocacy, campaigning and reasons for hope in the face of so much suffering.

In this PalCast we are joined by Imad Qudaih, who is a 22 year old visually impaired student at the Islamic University of Gaza, majoring in English translation. Another accidental genocide correspondent, he’s been working as a freelance journalist with BBC News since June 2024. He joins us from Al-Mawasi to speak of displacement and his cat, who was killed by an Israeli sniper. Tune in for more fr...

Sara Awad is an English literature student, writer, and storyteller based in Gaza. Passionate about capturing human experiences and social issues, Sara uses her words to shed light on stories often unheard. Her work explores themes of resilience, identity, and hope amid war circumstances. I contributed to The Intercept, Truthout, PRISM, The Electronic Intifada, Washington Report on Middle East Aff...

A short member-only podcast containing some of the speakers from the Justice for Harvey Rally, some thoughts on crony capitalism, Sally Rooney, the UK Fisher Price fascism, a win for harm reduction and progressive psychological services and a beautiful song by former PalCast guest, Ahmed Abuashma and the Gaza BirdSong choir. all feedback welcome!

Journalist and now author, Tommy Greene, rejoins us to talk about the plucky coalmine that is using the investor courts (remember CETA folks?) to sue the British Govt for messing with their profits. Read more here: https://www.desmog.com/2025/08/11/uk-government-to-be-sued-in-secret-corporate-court-by-coal-firm-represented-by-tory-mp/ We also go deep into the green slime that is Lough Neagh, the w...

Nadera Mushtaha is a poet and writer from Gaza and a former student of Dr Refaat Alareer. She talks of losing her family home in Shujayia, her friend Malak Arafat, whose murder she discovered 7 months later because of the rolling internet blackouts in Gaza. In the background, we hear Israeli drones and tank shells as Israel continues to attack the Zaytoun and Sabra neighborhoods threatening anothe...

Adam Mohamed is a poet, playwright and community activist (but he’s not so sure on this one!) from Ballymun. We chat about the far right, racism, immigration, inequality, storytelling, Sparky’s hat collection and much more. *get outta dat garden

Martin is still AWOL, so here's another internal monologue that probably should have just stayed in my rapidly deteriorating head!

Many western governments have decided to take more action against people protesting against the genocide in Gaza than against the Israeli regime that is committing it. You'll have seen hundreds of people arrested on the streets of London simply for peacefully protesting while holding signs saying 'I Support Palestine Action.' Absolute madness. Joining me on the podcast is one of the people who was...

This is the first story read by actor, comedian, satirist and activist, Tadhg Hickey, The Occupation Steals the Dreams of Palestinian Students. Part two along with a conversation with Tadhg will be out shortly. I hope!

This is just me doing a rant about everything that's happening. Therapy with Tony. But only the bad stuff. The cover at the end is a belter, even if the monologue is meh.

Shahd Alnaami is a 21-year-old writer, poet, and translator from Gaza, Palestine. In this PalCast episode, she speaks of losing her sister Rahaf, 13, and her friend Eman 19. Two houses belonging to her family were also destroyed and her family was displaced multiple times. She speaks of the children of Gaza and their dream of having a piece of bread, while still clinging to their childhood. Tune i...

Declan McLoughlan is an Irish singer songwriter from the streets of Free Derry. His songwriting style has seen him dubbed the “Derry Bruce Springsteen” as like The Boss his songs often revolve around characters and social issues. Ray went into the old city for this chat with an old friend. Yup!

Probably the maddest, but best chat we've had the best-maddest US Based Irish-Russian economist there is, Prof Constantin Gurdgiev. Tariffs, Trumpism, immigration, Irish pharma, BRICS and Martin’s viagra economic development.

Taqwa Al-Wawi is a 19-year English literature student at the Islamic University of Gaza. She is also writer out of Gaza, who has published dozens of articles across the globe in the span of 6 months. She speaks of the importance of telling the story of the ongoing genocide, the empowerment of writing, the famine fatigue and how many people are barely surviving on water and maybe some bread. A powe...

Adam Mohamed is someone who we love in the tortoise shack. His new project, A Ballymun Blend, is a written, spoken, sung and performed history of the much maligned area that we love. He is having a launch in the Axis, Ballymun on August 29th. Tickets: https://axisballymun.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows

A bank holiday Monday member-only podcast. Enjoy. And the covers are back. Get your suggestions in!

Here's part of the conversation I had yesterday with Christy Moore and his poignant reading of Creating Joy Despite Displacement. Heavy, but a must-listen.