Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

‘If they showed this film on a plane, people would still walk out.’As Melania, the documentary about the US First Lady, opened at the weekend, this line seemed to capture the feelings of critics.But, like so many things in Trumpland, even this line of criticism may not be all that it appears.On Free State today Dion and Joe look at what the Melania documentary tells us about the court of Donald Trump.Amazon has invested $75 million in the documentary, money they will never get back, at least not through the box office.But what is really at play here? A movie that is panned by the critics is not the story. A movie that flatters the sun king Trump and enriches his family has other advantages. This is how America works. The question is how will anyone stop it?

In the Orwellian world we now live in, gaslighting is now standard. When Donald Trump creates a Board of Peace, we know that where it says one thing, the opposite is the truth.On Free State today Peter Oborne joins us to talk about how we reached this point in the Middle East.Peter’s new book Complicit looks at Britain’s role in sustaining the genocide in Gaza and why there might be consequences.He explains why the U.K. is moving from democracy to oligarchy. He also tells Dion about a book he has just finished on cricket.You can order his book here - COMPLICIT: Britain's Role in the Destruction of Gaza | Peter Oborne | OR Books.Email us your thoughts on the episode info@freestatepodcast.com

When the president of the German football club St Pauli said it was "clearly time to at least discuss a boycott" of the World Cup in the US this summer, he was quickly reminded of his station. "He hasn't been with us long," the president of the German football federation said. The idea of a boycott was completely "misguided" he said.But why? On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at why the World cup could be boycotted and, more importantly, why it won't.When FIFA created a peace prize, did they think about what would happen if they entered the peace business? Did they reflect that people might seriously ask them to consider peace, especially in a country which is going to war on everyone including its own people? They also look at Allianz's ongoing sponsorship of the National Football League and wonder why the protests have been so muted?

“We have all seen the video and our eyes don’t lie,” a friend of Alex Pretti said in the aftermath of Pretti’s murder.He was speaking as Donald Trump’s administration advanced a lie, undeterred by what people had seen in the video which dismantled the story spun by ICE and their protectors.On Free State today, Joe and Dion look at the rise of authoritarianism in America and what comes next.As ICE rampage as the Black and Tans once did in Ireland, they also look at the money that is going to ICE and who has benefited. As people in Minnesota protest, what is the end goal for Trump and his goons? When people take to the streets will Trump step back or is this a deliberate step towards an American dictatorship.

What would it mean to be free of financial insecurity? Why does money scare us so much?On Free State today money expert Eoin McGee talks about how we can achieve financial freedom and faces one of his greatest challenges: Dion’s attitude to money.In doing so, he talks about things far more profound than money. What do we really want from life and Dion explains why your wedding day is not the best day of your life.

When Donald Trump backed down on Greenland, he tried to make it sound like a victory.But what caused him to cave? Western leaders have tried to placate Trump and continued this approach at Davos until Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney laid out the truth about the world today.‘The strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must,’ he said quoting Thucydides.This is the reality of the world and somebody naming it shook Trump.On Free State today we look at where he goes next and how Tony Blair remains part of the Gaza Peace Board.We look at Blair’s journey to the heart of power and wealth. Dion and Joe disagree on what drove him to this. Joe outlines how Blair moved closer to Israel during his time in power and why he has always sided with the strong while the weak suffer what they must.

When the Senegal team walked off the pitch in the last seconds of the AFCON final, were we witnessing a moment of brave resistance or gamesmanship?Was this a stand against the technology which is destroying sport or a stroke?On Free State today we ask if injustice has to be part of sport? Joe makes his case for video evidence in Gaelic football.Joe and Dion also look at Trump’s determination to land the biggest real estate deal in American history as he pursues Greenland. Is this a negotiation or the actions of a narcissist?

What drove DJ Carey? What did he believe of the fraud and deception that ended up with him being sent to prison? And as he faces life as a social pariah, what does he think today of his crimes?On Free State today Eimear Ni Bhraonain, author of The Dodger, the bestselling book about DJ Carey looks at what drove one of Ireland’s greatest sportsmen.She considers the childhood of excellence and isolation and what removed DJ Carey from the world around him and sent him into the field of deception and fraud. She looks at how DJ might redeem himself and considers the question that even asking makes some people angry: Is it ok to feel sorry for DJ Carey?