Casement's Leftovers

A few weeks out from the historic fuel protests which shook the country, we get together for a bitter debate – but surprisingly end up agreeing with one another. Have you been wondering: what were the fuel protests about? Where does Ireland go from here? And how should the "left" respond? We have all the 100% correct answers, so don't bother looking anywhere else!  Support the show

As Trump and Hegseth continue their crusade on Iran and the Middle East, American liberals clutch their pearls and insist that THIS ISN"T US! Casements are here to explain — politely and respectfually – that this very much is you, Yankee.  We take a quick look back at the history of American imperialism from the occupations of Cuba and the Philippines in 1898, through the atrocities of Vietna...

Back in the halcyon days of 2022 Helen hit you with their grand political economic theory: money makes you a nonce. It's safe to say the world hasn't been the same since.  In the wake of the latest "tranche" of Epstein files, we revisit this grand unifying theory of power and abuse. Along the way we talk about so many of your faves including William "Bill" Gates Gates...

We are joined by the excellent Nel Bonilla to discuss the current state of neoliberalism and the world in general. States and governments across the West increasingly appear to be gearing up for war, militarising their societies, and flooding public discourse with questions of defence and security. Where is all this leading, and does it mean the end of the old neoliberal order?  Nel is a PhD candi...

Recorded from deep in the hells of the bleakest January on record, Helen, Glen, and Matt ask: is it our fault we haven’t been recording any podcast episodes lately, or can we blame the world around us?  In either case we're back now with a  deep dive on Davos and what it tells us about the state of (neo)liberalism today. Are the middle managers finally out of a job? We also talk about the mor...

Happy Christmas one and all! Treat yourself to an early Christmas gift by listening to the latest episode of Casement's Leftovers, in which we discuss one of our favourite topics: gay identity.  Have you ever wondered: if Glen is really from Tallaght, then why does he talk like THAT? Then wonder no more. We dive deep into the social construction of gayness and its interaction with class throu...

Due to holidays and other commitments, you get your pod a week EARLY this month! Lucky you!  There was so much political news to catch up on that we said "actually, fuck that" and did a movie pod instead. It's interesting though: 'Eddington' and 'One Battle After Another', two big "political" thrillers grappling in different ways with the modern world,...

That's right folks. Leo Varadkar — neoliberal prince of darkness, lover of packed lunches, and all-round messy bitch — has written a memoir. Helen and Matt read it so you (and Glen) don't have to. And you really, really don't have to.  Listen in for all the goss on Leo's very normal childhood, the tough decisions he had to make in office, and his unabashed hatred and suspicion...

2000s nostalgia is  en vogue  at the moment, so we decided to take a trip back in time to the golden era of the internet, and the time of 'New Atheism'. We talk Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens, and discuss how edgy attacks on religion swerved so seamlessly into right-wing populism and "defending Christian society". We then turn our attention to religion in Ireland, before spillin...

What is the state of feminism today? What are the movement’s goals, aims, and demands? Is it even right to speak of a feminist “movement” at all? This one gets pretty feisty as Helen, Glen, and Matt debate the different strains of feminist thought of the past 50 years. We talk about TERFs, obviously, but also try to point modern feminism in a more socialist, materialist direction. We discuss Silvi...

Two episodes this month because you've all been so good. It's a loosey one today. Topics covered: Lena Dunham, Epstein and Israel, Tucker Carlson, Conor McGregor's shlong, the CATU protest, trans pride, and much much more. In the back half — for our real fans — we categorise our least favourite races, before standing up for the most discriminated against group of all: bald men. I lo...

So, we've made it: the series finale. It's been a long road, but after two gruelling medium-length episodes, our exhaustive anthropological study of Dublin's illicit gay underground is finally complete.  Our resident cruisologist Glen dusts himself off from whichever filthy alleyway he recorded yesterday's podcast, and takes a trip to the comparatively idyllic surrounds of the...

Desperately running out of different ways to mark Pride Month, this year we decided to throw caution to the wind and do a two-part series on Illicit Gay Sex. We sent our intrepid reporter Glen deep into Dublin's gay underground to speak to the most sordid, depraved individuals he could find, asking the questions you've been far too scared to ask.  First up is world-famous drag queen Gobl...

Socialists in the 1920s were part of a global, interconnected network of hope and solidarity. For a brief period, the locus of this transnational movement was the Hotel Lux in Moscow, where international communists — including Irish men and women — lived, hung out, and fell in love. To really capture the hopes and desires of these disparate friends and lovers requires moving beyond dry socialist h...

Helen and Glen have Beef. They have beef with each other, they've got beef with Israel, they've got beef with Terfs. They've beef with fascists, they've beef with people who get duped on Facebook but most of all they've got beef with Matt.  Join a one third lighter, castrated Casement's Leftovers as they shameless call out their haters and have the last laugh.  Buy us...

A lot has happened since we last recorded, so tune in for our thoughts on Helen turning thirty, the Taoiseach turning flirty, and Garron Noone's feelings getting hurty!   Buy us a mixer! Email: casementsleftovers@gmail.com Insta: @casementsleftovers @casementsleftovers.bsky.social Support the show

Donald Trump loves to talk about tariffs, and people love to panic about them. But what exactly are they? Are they really all that new? And what does Trump's fondness for them say about our the current state of liberalism?  Listen to this episode for answers to at least one or two of those questions.  Our gofundme: https://gofund.me/69125e85  Email is casementsleftovers@gmail.com  Support the...

It's a new government in the 26 counties! And it's the same as before!  We unpack the 2024 elections, the new Dáil and we beg you for money for a sound mixer. Enjoy!  Help us buy a mixer: https://gofund.me/8597a85c Support the show

They're apparently saying we've been "caught lacking" on the podcast front lately, so to make up for our recent flop era we are giving you all a bumper episode to review the year 2024. We talk all the major events in politics and beyond, plus have a chat about the year's culture with Luke & Eleanor. You may have heard we were "washed", but today we are defini...

What can we say really  Support the show

To celebrate 75 episodes of pure socialist republican slurry, we thought we would kick off Season 2 of Casement's Leftovers by returning to the man who first brought us all together: Mark Fisher. The Weird and the Eerie – published just weeks before Fisher's death by suicide in January 2017 – is a work of literary criticism that has always seemed strange to us. We get together to try to...

It was good while it lasted Support the show

Helen and Matt finally conclude their famed Berlin trilogy by speaking to Caoimhe of The Irish Bloc Berlin. A "Berlin-based platform for Irish solidarity with Palestine", the Irish Bloc has been on the frontlines of opposition to Germany's continued support for Israel and the Berlin police's brutal repression tactics. We talk to Caoimhe about the group's organising efforts...

We continue our German urlaub with a very simple question: what the fuck is going on in Europe?? There is no one better to help us with this burning question than Ciarán from the fantastic Corner Späti podcast. Ciarán (like somebody else we know) is an Irish podcaster currently living in Berlin, but he also happens to be the only person in the world who actually understands the EU (editor's n...

The housing crisis is the definitive social issue of our time, affecting almost everybody across the West in varied and horrifying ways. But how do we go about. solving it? One seemingly novel idea has been put forward by housing activists in Berlin: simply take properties out of the hands of the massive landlords and place them back under tenant control. In this, the first in our mini-series of e...