The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack CEO of Emergency Logistics Team, Will Holden has spent years in some of the most dangerous places in the world. From Yemen to Syria and the then ISIS run Iraq, he’s seen a lot. He joined me from Erbil, Kurdistan to talk about the current situation, the supply chain issues created by the war and why this situation has him more concerned than anything he’s...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack The Government has sought to limit Access to Justice via their public consultation on the regulation of costs payable in matters prescribed on foot of section 294 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 (Scale of Fees). But it turns out that the public are overwhelmingly (98%) opposed. So what now for the planning eejitry? Solicitor Fred Logue joins me...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Shahd Ismail Mahmoud Miqdad , is a PhD student from Gaza, who dreams of a life beyond the genocide where she will complete her education and life a an independent life safe, far from anything that hurts or touches her or her loved ones. Will Holden joins us from Ebril, Kurdistan, Iraq:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-154305070 Song by Cabin...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this episode journalist with El Pais in Latin America, Nicholas Dale Leal talks Cuba and the impossible choice facing its citizens, the Trump regime’s mafia style bullying of its neighbours and the lack of support for Cuba from her traditional allies. We also discuss the US-Ecuador attacks on “narco-terrorists” that killed innocent dairy farmers and w...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Former US Green Beret and Gaza Humanitarian Foundation whistleblower and now US Senate candidate, Anthony Aguilar rejoined me to discuss the current situation in Cuba, Iran and the US. He outlines the military situation and, not to be all doomer, gives a stark assessment of where things are heading. A must listen/watch Vijay Prashad podcast:https://www.p...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack This Reboot Republic again delves into Ireland's housing crisis, government policies, and the influence of international investment on the economy. Rory and Tony analyse the systemic issues, the role of private sector interests, the government fund festival vs the mass evictions that are occuring and the potential solutions for sustainable, green and pub...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Martin Leahy is a real one. The dedicated housing protester, activist and musician shares his journey from housing struggles to completing a one-man a 200-week housing crisis protest. We talk about the power of activism, protest songs, community building, and the ongoing fight to make housing a human right. Hope to see lots of you outside the Dáil on Thu...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Prof of Economics, Constantin Gurdgiev, rejoins us from an unseasonably warm Colorado to talk US politics, global economics and polarising geopolitics. We delve deeper into the cracks in the social contract and ask what it means for a world that is more war focused than solution oriented. Song by Cabin proceeds to Ionad Hind Rajab:https://cabin-music.ban...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack The campaign to kick Israel out of football got A LOT spicier this week when FIFA President Gianni Infantino disagreed with international law over the Israeli illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. Re-joining me to talk about this, the awkward Slovenian dinner table discussions and what is going to happen next is cofounder of #GameOverIsrael Ashish Pra...

Join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Emma Ward is a disability rights activist, a freelance journalist, an Irish Traveller and a person with a disability. She is also unapologetically outspoken, mischievous, ambitious and just great to talk to. She speaks about her struggles honestly and her passion to leave the world a better place than she found it. Her love of family, friends and community is o...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Author of Tax Haven Ireland, editor of the Irish Marxist Review and listener favourite, Dr Brian O'Boyle has written an excellent piece of analysis on the US-Israel war on Iran. He joins us to talk through the many narratives, underlying motivations and the overarching hegemonic battle central to these awful events. MEP Lynn Boylan on Gaza, Iran and the...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Heba Zeineddin holds a Bachelors Degree in English language and Teaching Methods from Alaqsa University in Gaza. She shares details of her life of displacement and loss in Gaza, where she has displaced with her family, including brother who has a disability, to a tent 12 times. Her family’s home was destroyed. Now she is trying to get back to normal by t...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack We have one very big podcast about two very important stories both covered superbly by freelance journalist and soon-to-be author, Tommy Greene. Both are a testament to good old fashioned journalism. Tommy explains how it’s taken almost 8yrs to get some traction with the case of NHS Whistleblower, Dr Chris Day and then we get into the latest for-profit s...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack With over 250 journalists killed in Gaza since Oct 7th 2023, there is no more dangerous place in the world to be reporting the news. The threat of death hangs over the journalist and their families. Joining us is Issam Adwan, who is a Palestinian researcher whose work bridges international media, grassroots activism, and academic inquiry. He has worked a...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Davy Adams has lived many lives, from becoming a loyalist paramilitary, to go on to contribute to the initial ceasefire agreement and subsequent Good Friday Agreement and then to carry out another lifetime of humanitarian work in places like Syria, Sudan and Sierra Leone. He joined me to talk about his bottom-up view on conflict, his take on the US-Israe...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack It’s all a bit mad at the moment, so it was a salve for the soul to sit down and chat with Palestinian photo-journalist from Gaza, Eman Mohamed. She describes growing up in a matriarchal household, going to a convent school and falling in love with photography. We discuss her life outside of Gaza, in the US and now in Ireland. I loved this conversation a...

For more please visit AFSC.org Ahmed Alnaouq grew up in Gaza and is the cofounder of We Are Not Numbers. 21 members of his family were killed in one Israeli airstrike during the ongoing genocide. 'During the ethnic cleansing of the Nakba 76 years ago, Palestinians took it upon themselves to immortalize their stories, documenting these massacres in writing. But, the old did not die, and the young d...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Editors Note: I’d recommend watching this interview in order to get a sense of the reality in Gaza right now. Muhammad Almassarey holds a PhD in Business-Management (Entrepreneurship) from UUM- Malaysia. He wrote 60% of his thesis during the genocide from Gaza. He shares with us the journey of getting his PhD from a tent in Gaza and how acts of solidarit...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Editors Note: This podcast was recorded shortly before the Green Party won the UK by-election Prof Richard Murphy is one of the best commentators and analysts of the UK’s politics, economy and societal challenges. His own blog and output reaches millions of people every month. Which makes the fact that he is a tortoise shack regular all the more remarkab...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Tucker Carlson’s interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee made headlines across the world for many reasons. Not least of which was the Ambassador’s personal attack on Gaza Humanitarian Foundation whistleblower, US veteran and former Green Beret, Anthony Aguilar. Anthony joined me to talk about his experiences in Gaza, what it is like to be in...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Shams Mazen Rajab is a Palestinian graduate in English Language and Teaching Methods from Al-Aqsa University in Gaza. She is a writer and translator whose work conveys the resilience, struggles, and hopes of her community. Her articles and poems have been published in international platforms such as We Are Not Numbers, the collective blog Through Our Eye...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Of the 4,521 new homes built in Dublin in 2025 only 208 went For Sale in an estate agents window. Something is deeply broken and given Ireland's retirement system is based on a homeownership model, it'll only get worse if action isn't taken soon. Joining me to discuss this and a whole lot more is Housing Expert and Lecturer at TUD, Lorcan Sirr. Enjoy. Or...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this podcast I'm rejoined on the tortoise shack for the first time in over a year by the best voice on the biggest (and arguably least reported) public inquiry in UK history, Mr Tom Fowler. We talk how the decades long political policing of the left has contributed to the rise of the far right, how failing Prime Minister Keir Starmer keeps showing up...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Mohammed Isdodi is an English student in Al-Azhar University, Gaza, whose studies and plans were interrupted by the genocide. He joins us from Deir Balah to talk about his experiences, dreams, plans and why he speaks with an English accent. Please note I've not done too many audio cosmetics on this podcast as we are joined by drones and jets during the i...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Depending on the reporting Cuba has 2-4 weeks of oil left and despite Trump saying that he's not involved, my guest journalist with el Pais, Nicholas Dale Leal, thinks the US has its knee on the throat of the small nation. We get into Cuba, the US, Mexico and Venezulea post Maduro. The ICE and Forever War podcast with Greg Stoker is here:https://www.patr...