The Comfortable Spot

Today my guest is Lieutenant Commander Grace Fanning. Grace is a member of The Irish Naval Service which is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Originally from County Carlow, Grace has spent the last twenty-two years in the Irish Navy and has recently finished her post as Commanding Officer of the L.É. Róisín. I came across Grace on Twitter which she uses to post photos and vide...

Today my guest is Benjamin Chesterton. Benjamin is film director and producer with over twenty years experience in visual arts. Benjamin is currently one of the people behind Duckrabbit which is a film production and training company that specialises in heartfelt stories in film for commercial, charity and broadcast clients. Ben is also a strong advocate for improved human rights in visual arts an...

Today my guest is Suswati Basu. Suswati is an award-winning journalist, editor and podcast host, with ten years experience in working with various prestigious online and print media organisations, as well as with a number of publications. Suswati is also a strong advocate for women's and disabled rights and has been involved in this filed via work with numerous human rights organisations across th...

Today my guest is professional racing driver Richard Jones. This is a recording I made last year as a pilot episode for a motor racing podcast series. The series didn’t come to fruition, but it did result in some excellent episodes including this one with Richard. Richard specialised in sportscar racing, in particular the Group C category which was extremely popular in the 1980s. Group C boasted h...

Today I'm joined by author Nicola Pierce. A native of Dublin, Nicola has built up a reputation for high quality historical fiction. Since her first novel Spirit of the Titanic was published, Nicola has managed to create tales that blend beautifully between fact and fiction while keeping a firm eye on historical accuracy. Her most recent novel Chasing Ghosts is a tale of a doomed Arctic expedition...

Today I'm joined by Michael Palmer. Originally from Newtownards in Northern Ireland, Michael is a liberally minded Unionist and a member of the LGBT community. Michael is also an active member of the Ulster Unionist Party. I came across Michael on Twitter and admired his courage in standing up against the many ultra conservative factions in Northern Ireland who would see his views very negatively....

Today I'm joined by historian Nadia Dobrianska. Originally from Ukraine, Nadia arrived in Ireland following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces in February 2022. Nadia and her immediate family are now settled in East Cork, but this is not the first time Nadia has travelled to the island of Ireland, as she completed her history studies at Queen's University in Belfast in 2018. Nadia has a kee...

Today I'm joined by author Kevin Meagher. Kevin is a commentator on Irish and British politics and has published books on Northern Ireland and the Irish unity question. His writing offers a frank opening point on the relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom and their future as neighbours. Kevin is a strong proponent of Irish unity and in his recently updated book, A United Ireland: Why...

Today I'm joined by broadcaster Sandy Kaye. Sandy has built up an impressive reputation as a journalist in both radio and television in Australia and recently embarked on a new venture as a host of A Breath of Fresh Air which is a radio show featuring conversations with legends in pop and rock music. What started out as a Covid project is now a weekly, hour-long show that is broadcast on radio sta...

Today I'm joined by astrophysicist Dr. Johanna Vos. Originally from Dublin, Johanna is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Her specialty is atmospheres of brown dwarfs and exoplanets.  Science is incredibly exciting right now and I invited Johanna to chat about her career and her work in general as an astrophysicist, so I hope you are sitt...

Today I'm joined by journalist Michael Lewis. Michael is based in the state of New York and has over forty years experience as a soccer journalist. Michael has covered all levels of US soccer, which includes the World Cup, Olympics, Major League Soccer and North American Soccer League, among other competitions. He writes about the beautiful game for Newsday, is the editor of frontrowsoccer.com, an...

Today I'm joined by author and broadcaster Carole Coleman.  Carole is an Irish journalist and is currently a presenter of This Week on Irish state broadcaster's RTÉ Radio One. In 2021 Carole published News from Under a Coat Stand which was her personal account of working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. I had been planning to chat with Carole for a while, but we never manged to tie dow...

Today I'm joined by broadcaster and journalist Eimear Ní Bhraonáin.  Eimear cut her teeth in regional Irish media before moving to the national scene where she worked as a print journalist. These days, Eimear presents a mid-morning talk show on Irish regional radio station Kildare Carlow Local Radio, where she has the highest listenership across the station. While she covers all the serious t...

Today I’m joined by writer and journalist Nick Duerden. Nick has written widely on the arts, family and health. I chat with Nick about a number of his books and also his latest publication called Exit Stage Left – The Curious Afterlife of Pop Stars . It’s an intriguing read with interviews with over forty musicians about life away from the limelight, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy...

Today I’m joined by Aoife Noonan. Aoife is an award winning pastry chef from Dublin, with a history as Head Pastry Chef and Executive Pastry Chef positions in some of the best restaurants in the country. She has also worked as a culinary consultant and brand ambassador for major global brands, with her most recent tenure as a weekly columnist for the Irish Times Saturday magazine. Aoife’s recipes...

Today I'm joined by activist Joe Gonzalez. Joe is one of the founders of The Project Solution which is a non-profit organisation that gives people an opportunity to donate to community infrastructure projects around the world. Joe has spent his professional career in a multitude of fields, including work in television, film, and theatre.  Joe has been a tireless volunteer his whole life and I...

Today, I'm joined by author and journalist Mark Piesing. Mark specialises in writing about technology, culture and everything in between for some of the biggest names in the media, and has recently published his first book, N4 Down : The Hunt for the Arctic Airship Italia . This book tells the story of the largest polar rescue mission in history: the desperate race to find the survivors of the gla...

Today, I'm joined by musician Midge Ure. With a career spanning over forty years, Midge has been one of the most influential artists of his time. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Midge enjoyed enormous success in a number of bands, including Slik, Rich Kids, Thin Lizzy, Visage and as the frontman of Ultravox. Along with Bob Geldof, he was also a key figure in the now historic cha...

Today, I’m joined by actor Moe Dunford. A native of Waterford in Ireland, Moe has built up an impressive career in both television and film. His standout role for television was the History Channel drama The Vikings and recently, Moe was the lead role in the acclaimed Nexflix film Nightride , in which his character, Budge, spends a hyper stressed night driving across the city of Belfast in an effo...

Today, I'm joined by audio producer and podcaster Rob Lilley. Rob is one half of a duo who host the increasingly popular podcast The Euro Trip Eurovision Podcast. With his co-host James Rowe, their podcast has managed to capture the fun and excitement that arrives on our television screens every May in the form of the Eurovision Song Contest which is a pan-European song competition that has been r...

Today, I’m joined by American radio personality, Mat Kaplan. Mat is the host of Planetary Radio , a radio talk show about space exploration produced by the Planetary Society. The role of the Planetary Society is to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the general public to inspire and educate people from all walks of life. I wanted to chat with Mat about his career in radio, his lov...

Today I’m joined by author and political commentator, Yannis Karamitsios. Originally from Thessaloniki in Greece, since 2006 Yannis has been living in Brussels and is a legal officer at the European Commission. Yannis dedicates a considerable part of his public action to the promotion of European and international federalism and has recently written book on the subject. I thought it would be good...

Today I’m joined to by author and academic Brian Milne. Brian is a social anthropologist who has extensive field experience in human and civil rights for all ages, environmental issues and has been politically active most of his life. I have known Brian for many years now and we have often worked together on media projects, so I thought it would be nice to meet up and chat about his career and his...

Today I’m joined by historian, author and podcaster Tristan Hughes. When I was in the early stages of creating the concept for The Comfortable Spot, I always had Tristan on my list as a guest. Tristan’s podcast, The Ancients, is an amazing series that not only covers vast swathes of early history, but also perfectly manages to do this without ever taking the listener for granted as it explores sub...

Today, I’m joined by author and blogger, Insuk Kim. Insuk is a native of South Korea but is an extensive traveller who now resides in Greenland. Insuk’s love for Japanese and French culture initially took her to Japan before she embarked on a journey to Europe and in particular, France in order to follow her passion for all things French, including historic figures like Marie Antoinette. While stu...