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Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

Gold Hat Productions
Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning
Latest episode

372 episodes

  • Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

    Fuel me once: When Leo Varadkar ran out of diesel

    16/04/2026 | 47 mins.
    This week Irish life returned to normal and Irish politics resumed its normal parlour games.
    The resignation of Michael Healy Rae was described repeatedly as a ‘bombshell’ and the political parties shouted at each other in the Dail.
    Outside protestors and malcontents hovered but will their protests take on those who are really exploiting the ordinary people?
    Since Israel and the US launched their war against Iran, the top 100 oil companies are making an additional unearned ‘war profit’ of $30 million an hour. There are calls for a windfall tax but who will take the side of the ordinary consumer over big oil?
    On Free State today we look at the real divide in society and we consider the moment when Leo Varadkar ran out of diesel
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  • Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

    How the fuel protests exposed the myth of Irish prosperity

    14/04/2026 | 43 mins.
    ‘Nobody has a right to blockade our country,’ Micheal Martin stated when announcing what the government would be doing in response to the protests that brought the country to a halt.
    But what does it tell us about the fraying of the social contract that people felt they had to take to the barricades in their country to demonstrate how desperate things have become?
    On Free State today Joe and Dion look at a week that might have changed Ireland and why the establishment doesn’t know how to respond. We ask who were the bad actors who tried to attach themselves to the protest and explain why they are being used as a distraction to avoid dealing with the fundamental problems in the country.
    Joe and Dion also discuss the piece by Sinead O’Sullivan which you can read here https://www.butthistime.com/p/mind-the-gap.

    Feel free to email [email protected] with your own thoughts.
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  • Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

    The Killing Fields of Oil and Gas

    11/04/2026 | 43 mins.
    “It is a low bar to ask that people aren’t killed so that I can fill up my car.” Alex Perry is an investigative journalist who has uncovered an extraordinary story.
    It is a story where the backdrop is the new imperialism. If the first scramble for Africa was led by the imperial nations in the 19th century, the second has been by the oil companies that have so much power in the world today.
    In Ireland, we have seen this week the power of oil and gas, but on Free State today, Alex Perry talks about the incredible story of Palma in Mozambique. He tells us about the massacre that took place there in 2021 which the world knows nothing about and why so many who should know more also say they know nothing.
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  • Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

    Trump’s Derangement Syndrome

    09/04/2026 | 44 mins.
    How close did the world come to annihilation this week? What will happen the next time Trump parades his negotiating skills and can the world always be sure that Trump Always Chickens Out?
    On Free State, Dion and Joe reflect on a ceasefire which was a defeat for Trump and ignored by Benjamin Netanyahu.
    Does this mean peace or does it mean we should enjoy the little things that make life worth living?
    Since the death of his friend Michael Lyster, Joe has been reflecting on what made Lyster the man he was and he shares a story which captures his magic.
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  • Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

    Open the F*****’ Strait, you crazy bastards: Who will stand up to Donald Trump?

    07/04/2026 | 36 mins.
    Stalin was reported to have asked ‘How many divisions does the pope have?’ when told of the Vatican’s view on world affairs.
    On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo addressed the crowds at St Peter’s Square and said, "Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace."
    Shortly afterwards, Donald Trump gave his view on world affairs. “Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
    On Free State today we ask who will stand up to Donald Trump? Are the church leaders who are supposed to provide leadership in terms of morality being forceful or are they dealing simply in wooly abstractions that are of no use?
    When Trump is becoming increasingly deranged and there is a need for firm and moral leadership, will someone stand against him or will they continue to use language that is vague and uninspiring?
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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About Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. Free State covers topics from sport to politics, love to loss, the human condition and how to fix the world, with guests from across the planet including Nigerian princes, former Prime Ministers, ex convicts, footballers, boxers and extraordinary people from every walk of life. Free State is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning. Brolly is a barrister, an original thinker with a fascinating backstory, who donated a kidney to a stranger and then led a crusade to transform organ donation on the island of Ireland, and Fanning is an award-winning interviewer and author. They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They will never try to sell you a penis scented candle. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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