Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

“I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people.”With these words, in October 2023, Josh Paul quit the US State Department. He was protesting over the Biden administration’s ongoing funding of Israel’s onslaught in Gaza.On Free State today Josh Paul explains what led him to take the action he did. He speaks about his time in Iraq. He insists that Ireland must be strong on the Occupied Territories Bill, why the ceasefire will not bring a just and lasting peace and what his new organisation A New Policy is hoping to achieve in Washington.

Are there reasons to embrace AI? Are the doomsayers wrong and the apocalyptic warnings overstated? What if an ordinary person can access medical or legal advice for fraction of the cost and difficulty it takes today?But what if there is no room for an ordinary person? On Free State today Dion and Joe look at the next frontier. In the technological revolution, we have allowed ourselves to become the product of the social media companies. AI promise us expertise at our fingertips but will the price be our own obsolescence

Daniel Lambert is many things, football man, band manager and activist.Kneecap’s manager was the driving force behind the motion approved by the FAI last month to ban Israel from international football.On Free State today he talks to Dion and Joe about how the motion was about breaking the rules not the genocide in Gaza. He speaks too about Kneecap and the extraordinary resilience they showed when so many in the establishment were out to bring them down.While Dion thinks he has a fellow soccer man to outnumber Joe, Daniel explains what it is he admires about the GAA.Who do you want to be a guest on the show? Email at info@freestatepodcast.com

Oisin Murphy has been the Champion Jockey in Britain for the past two years. He will travel the country and beyond in pursuit of a winner. Horse racing is an addiction but it is not his only addiction.On Free State today Oisin Murphy speaks about his alcoholism and how he fooled himself into believing he could drink like a gentleman.He discusses with Dion the ways a drinker will fool himself and how he ended up drunk and asleep at the wheel of a car in April. A moment which scared him and changed him.

When Donald Trump’s Education Secretary Linda McMahon called ‘AI’ ‘A-One’ it was treated as a gaffe that said a lot about the intellectual calibre of his cabinet.But it told us something else too.On Free State today we look at how the world has been conned by AI to advance the ambitions of the new colonists, the Tech Bros.Does it matter that many expect the AI bubble to burst or is the relentlessness of artificial intelligence pushing us towards extinction?Linda McMahon may not know the difference between AI and A-One but this is the role of politicians in the project: to be overwhelmed by the scale of what is on offer and to say nothing but nonsense. Do you think AI will destroy us all? Let us know at info@freestatepodcast.com

Sport is what sustains so many of us through the winter. Ireland is a sporting country but what does that mean?On Free State today, we ask if Ireland is really a sports mad country or are we just a nation of bandwagon jumpers, willing fleeced by those charging huge money for tickets?We ask if the communities who get so much from sport deserve more support and wonder how much is too much for a ticket for a rugby match. Let us know what you think at info@freestatepodcast.com

Colin Davidson is one of Ireland’s great artists.In a raw and powerful conversation, he joins us on Free State today to talk about a childhood that saw him find an escape into art.He speaks of how he approaches his subjects and what he is trying to find when he paints people as diverse as Martin McGuinness and the Queen.And he considers the question, is there anyone he wouldn’t paint?

What are the things that matter in this world? What do we mean by the common good?On Free State today Joe talks about the extraordinary beauty and grace he is witnessing in the Mayo Hospice at the moment.When life and death visit us we understand what is important and we grasp what is valuable.  Joe and Dion also talk more about the extraordinary week of football and the achievements of Ireland and Scotland.Joe also finally gives his views on Troy Parrott and provides some lessons in finishing.

Troy Parrott has transformed the mood of the nation. On Free State today we ask why the player and the Ireland team have had the impact they had?What is it about a game like football, even at a time when it is scarred by money and greed, that brings people together in a profound way?Dion looks at Troy Parrott and wonders about Ireland’s need for a saviour. Parrott was tipped for greatness from a young age but has taken a different route. Yet, he has captured the heart of the country because of more than just his talent.