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

In this Reboot Republic, Rory talks to organisers of this weekends (Saturday June 10th) Raise the Roof rally taking place in Cork City.  Joining Rory are Barry Murphy, general secretary of the plasters union, Eva Mitchell, union organiser with SIPTU, and Martin Leahy, musician.  We talk about the need to challenge the normalisation and powerlessness in the housing crisis but also understanding tha...

A very tortoise shack member only podcast: The latest on the Public Services Card, Fine Gael's EPP duplicitousness, boom time for inequality, no to dryrobes, homelessness, some good news and last call for you before we go public on the live shows... Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/tortoise-shack-live-tickets-632859177837?aff=oddtdtcreator Enter Promo Code SHACK23Live for your discount. 

Generation Rent living in insecurity: Uplift Town Hall meeting This Reboot Republic podcast is a recording of the Longford WestMeath Uplift TownHall meeting  with Rory, Saoirse  Mchugh and people's stories from generation rent,  on the impact of the lifting of the eviction ban. We also hear from Peter Burke, Fine Gael TD and ask what is his Government doing about this housing crisis?

(TW: Contains references to suicide) A couple of weeks ago MEP, Luke Ming Flanagan, posted a few tweets in which he addressed his own mental health struggles and his frustration with the governments lack of resources for people who need support.  We reached out to Luke to see if he'd be willing to delve into this on the podcast and this is the conversation that followed. We also touch on the Citiz...

It took 3 years, 7 months and 23 days for the Data Protection Commissioner to deliver a finding that listeners to this podcast knew about ages ago, that the Public Services Card was been used to illegally monitor Free Travel users. But that is only one part of the story. Martin, who invested months into this, breaks down the issues, the many remaining concerns and the questions now that need answe...

The narrative that "austerity saved the economy" still floats around in the corridors of Leinster House and occupies much of the mainstream economic commentary. But it's not true. Joining me for a chat about the current economic model, the truth about austerity and the austerity-by-stealth that most people are enduring now is Economist with NERI, Ciaran Nugent. 

A Martin and Tony very patreon-only podcast. We talk about a few stories that didn't make the news this week and a few that did, but shouldn't have. Strong language throughout.

The US is having a huge banking crisis, there's a debt ceiling disaster looming and politically the place seems more polarised than ever. So we went back to our Irish-Russian Colorado-based Professor of Economics pal, Constantin Gurdgiev, to look at what is going on and what is likely to happen. Constantin, as always, doesn't disappoint.

Stockholm-based journalist, Philip O'Connor has spent years warning people about the rise of ugly nationalism and the far right and he rejoined us on the tortoise shack to discuss what the events in Sandwith Street and Inch and point out the obvious machinations of the far right playbook. We look at the role of politics, media and a minority in civil society in sowing the seeds that allowed these...

It has been called a historic victory for Sinn Féin and a calamity for the SDLP and the small progressive parties. Joining us to dig into it all is Shrapnel co-host, left-leaning Unionist, Sam Mcilwaine and campaigning journalist and writer, Emma DeSouza. We talk: a big win for Sinn Féin, where now for political Unionism, will Stormont return, and what lessons can the smaller left wing parties lea...

 The Interconnecting Housing and Health Emergencies In this Reboot Republic podcast, Rory talks to nurses about how they are being affected by the housing crisis (paying three quarters of their salaries on rent, huge personal stress) and how its also impacting the health system (hospitals unable to recruit staff due to lack of housing), and on their patients (the impact of stress, substandard hous...

The Minister for Housing, Darragh O'Brien, came back to the tortoise shack for the first time this year for a full and pretty frank conversation on the many challenges the housing emergency has created.  We discuss the 'right to housing', the no-fault eviction ban, the 11,998 people who are officially homeless, the asylum seeker accommodation crisis, the tension between government departments, the...

Yesterday evening I found myself briefly on a live broadcast with The Ditch journalists, Eoghan McNeill and Roman Shortall, where they discussed the recent complaint made to Sipo by Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne about them and their "political organisation. It was, as always with the two lads, very interesting.   So if you're interested, here's the recording for all of you. Do please listen to...

Until yesterday our guest, Karen Sugrue, was best known for as an Reproductive Healthcare Activist and an organiser with Together For Safety. What you didn't know was that she had been successfully sued by Iona Institute CEO, David Quinn, for a defamatory tweet, for which Mr. Quinn received €8,000. Karen joins us to talk about the ordeal, the laws as presently constituted, the proposed changes, ho...

Listener favourite and tortoise shack's Royal Correspondent, Professor Richard Murphy, rejoins us to talk about the state of UK politics post-local elections, the struggling economic environment and the insanity of the Central Banks across the globe who seem intent on continuing the beatings until the public morale improves. Another cracker of a podcast with the Prof. 

We all witnessed a mob attack a small encampment of vulnerable asylum seekers on the streets of Dublin in horror. But our mood wasn't much helped by the political reaction and much of the reporting on what happened. Joining us to discuss the ongoing failure of the Irish State to live up to our international obligations around the protections of persons seeking asylum, is the best reporter covering...

In this episode of Reboot Republic, Rory and Tony are joined by music producer and artist Meryl Streek, to discuss the inspiration and motivation behind his music, and his latest single "If this is life then I don't want it", which is released today (May 16th).  This single is a reaction to the housing crisis in Ireland and samples Rory's voice on the issue of generation locked out. Meryl talks ab...

The cost of living crisis, rent arrears and isolation Rory's guest this week is Dr Tricia Keilthy, Head of Social Justice and Policy at St Vincent De Paul. They discuss the intensifying cost of living crisis, the 50% increase in calls to SVP for energy support, people going without heat, the need for a rent arrears support fund as a key homelessness and poverty prevention measure. They look at how...

Paul Murphy was once described as the most dangerous politician in Ireland. But we don't think he's as bad as all that. He joins us to talk about trying to do his job and hold the government to account while forever under the establishments dissatisfaction because of Jobstown. We discuss his political origins and his move from Red/Red to Red/Green and we delve into the key asks he thinks must be i...

Within the text of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement there is provision for engagement with civic society, intended to foster better understanding between communities and to act as a much-needed mechanism for broadening political engagement through a Civic Forum to promote participative democracy. The Civic Forum was a consultative mechanism on social, economic, and cultural issues first proposed...

The Financial Times recently covered the "extraordinary" steps the Spanish government were taking to tackle their housing crisis. But are they as good as advertised and what, if anything, can Ireland learn from them? Joining us to discuss this and the political polarisation in Spain are Madrid-based journalist, Eoghan Gilmartin and Prof Joe Haslam. 

We talked about the week gone by, the week ahead and the hate speech proposals. This is one of the "forever behind the paywall" pods. 

Did you know that millions of people around the world have a foot fetish of some kind? To explore this, I'm joined by pro dominatrix Domina Clarity who explains the roots of foot fetish, how people deal with shame, and why its so common. Find Clarity at dominaclarity.com or @domina_clairty on IG

On April 19th a 23 year old woman was shot and killed by police in North Macedonia, after having her asylum application rejected in Greece. Fatmata was a warm and lively young woman. Her husband, Abu Bakar, is devestated, but is seeking justice for his wife in the hopes that this scenario won't reoccur. Joining us from North Macedonia is founder of secondtree.org and friend of Fatmata and Abu Baka...

A gendered and inequality analysis of Climate Issues and Policy In this Reboot Republic, Rory talks to Vanessa Conroy, a tutor and researcher in the Department of Applied Social Studies in Maynooth about Climate policies, action and inequality.  Vanessa outlines her research on a gendered analysis of Climate policy and highlights the need to take a gendered view of areas like migration - where 80%...