The Party Line

Are borders sites of 'sovereignty' – or is it more relevant to understand them as, inevitably, sites of terrible, seemingly arbitrary violence and harm?From Ceuta to Donegal, we talk about the borders that divide us.Postdoc researcher Niamh Keady-Tabbal of Maynooth University joins The Party Line, hosted by Niamh Ní Bhriain and Harry Browne, with Paulie Doyle of The Ditch.You can also watch here: https://youtube.com/@wereontheditch?si=xFeNbqep9F3SqwXm'TG4: RTÉ is a monopoly and government is breaching EU media freedom law https://www.ontheditch.com/tg4-rte-is-a-monopoly-and-government-is-breaching-eu-media-freedom-law/'Chaos of border crossing gives way to limbo for Moroccans on Ceuta’s streets' https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/02/ceuta-border-crossing-spain-moroccoMusic by Fionn DemspeyRecording by Emmet WhiteEmail theditchpartyline at gmail

Highlights from the first 20 episodes of The Party Line, a podcast from The Ditch – hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with the team of Ditch journalists: Eoghan McNeill, Paulie Doyle and Roman Shortall.Big thanks to Art O'Connor at the Whistleblower, and to Emmet White, for helping The Party Line improve and grow.02.10 Eman Muhammed on The Ditch (ep03)    02.43 Eoghan on being arse-dialled (ep08)03.36 Paulie on serious guys (ep13) 05.03 Roman on Taoiseach lying (ep04)06.27 Paulie on Taoiseach (ep02)06.58 Paulie on election candidate lying (ep06)08.00 Eoghan on liberal indifference (ep17)09.34 Roman on direct action in Ulm (ep11)11.40 Eoghan on compradors (ep19)14.04 Paulie on Boy George (ep10)14.41 Eoghan on Pascal Donohoe (ep19)16.36 Andy Storey on Pascal Donohoe (ep06)17.22 Eoghan and Clare Daly on Helen McEntee (ep12)19.33 Paddy Bresnihan and Pat Brodie on FDI nationalism (ep07)21.00 Betty Purcell on Brendan O'Connor (ep20)22.00 Nausicaa Renner on who reads DropSite (ep08)22.54 Harry and Jodi Dean on the AI debate (ep19)25.18 William Wall on liberals and fascists (ep14)27.02 Paul Holden on Labour Together and antisemitism (ep2 and ep10)28.51 Matt Kennard on US military Nazis and gangs (ep15)30.40 Richard Drayton on the new arms gap (ep13)31.55 Khem Rogaly on who profits from military spending (ep16)33.07 Eman on evacuating Gaza under Obama (ep03)34.49 Zena Tahhan and Leila Warah on the Occuplied Territories Bill (ep17)37.11 John Reynolds on book burning (ep18)39.15 Rebecca O'Keeffe on FIFA hypocrisy (ep04)41.07 Tadhg Hickey on Israeli escalation (ep09)42.09 Niamh on pigeon-holing the fuel protest (ep09)43.40 Eoghan and Niamh on unaffordable homes (ep17)44.45 Niamh on French AI weapons for Ireland (ep05)45.54 Niamh on the Cuba blockade (ep04)47.37 Niamh and panel on the EU presidency and Tayto (ep18)

RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster, is hammered by scandal – and hampered by a combination of deference to government and devotion to commercial imperatives.Betty Purcell, former radio and TV producer in RTÉ – who also sat as the elected staff representative on the RTÉ Authority – joins The Party Line, hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch.'The Ditch investigation into Dublin investment firm Elkstone's Epstein deal subject of bogus complaint, deleted from Google' https://www.ontheditch.com/dublin-investment-firm-elkstones-epstein-deal/'Report card: How RTÉ has performed on TV and radio during challenging times' https://tinyurl.com/sp7d3pcvMusic by Fionn DempseyRecording by Justin YoungEmail theditchpartyline at gmail

The tech lords' vision of the power and inevitability of AI is directly opposed to any vision for socialism.The powerful American political thinker Jodi Dean joins The Party Line, a podcast from The Ditch – hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch.'Mason Hayes & Curran chairperson, Meta's lawyer was going to attend cancelled Peter Thiel event' https://www.ontheditch.com/mason-hayes-curran-chairperson-metas-lawyer-was-going-to-attend-cancelled-peter-thiel-event/ 'Did We Make the Wrong Bet on Big A.I.? https://tinyurl.com/3rev883hJodi Dean's Substack: https://jodi7768.substack.com/Music by Fionn DempseyRecording by Emmet Whiteemail theditchpartyline at gmail

A lot of pro-Palestine activism rests on legal concepts and language – genocide, apartheid, and the illegality of the Israeli occupation. But in Gaza, they're burning international-law books for fuel.Are we wasting time and energy by seeking justice through the courts? Critical legal scholar John Reynolds of Maynooth University joins the pod to argue out the contradictions.The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Paulie Doyle of The Ditch.'Irish energy regulator was going to attend Thiel event in Powerscourt Hotel' https://www.ontheditch.com/energy-regulator/'EU presidency ceremony almost went down without a hitch, but Zelenskiy dig was copped by all' https://tinyurl.com/5dxsvkfjJohn Reynolds' fortcoming book with Noura Erakat: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2851-confronting-zionismMusic by Fionn DempseyRecording by Emmet WhiteEmail theditchpartyline at gmail

Under pressure from backbenchers, Micheál Martin postponed the legislation to scrap what he once said was "the core of Irish neutrality" – the Triple Lock.The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch – with Niamh Ní Bhriain and Paulie Doyle.'Taoiseach's Triple Lock plan facing backbench pushback' https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2026/0620/1579454-triple-lock/'Disgraced property developer "110 percent confident" of councillor votes' https://www.ontheditch.com/disgraced-property-developer-110-percent-confident/Interviewed: Clare Daly, Khem Rogaly, Jenny Stephens, Brid Brennan (https://www.tni.org/en/profile/brid-brennan), John Maguire, Karen DevineMusic by Fionn DempseyRecording in studio: Emmet WhiteRecording at People's Forum in Tailors' Hall, Dublin: Harry Browne (still photos courtesy People's Forum)Email theditchpartyline at gmail

The empire is a dangerous, fascistic mess. Investigative journalist Matt Kennard reflects on how the state of the US military has contributed to a wider social and political crisis – and why standing with Palestinians is more important than ever.The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, hosted by Harry Browne and Niamh Ní Bhriain, with Paulie Doyle of The Ditch. 'Jack Chambers urged Irish sporting bodies to boycott Russia and Belarus' https://www.ontheditch.com/jack-chambers-urged/'Comment: The public forced the state to act on South Africa – it can do so again' https://www.ontheditch.com/comment-the-public-forced-the-state/'Hacked: Peter Thiel hosting secret event in Wicklow hotel' https://www.ontheditch.com/hacked-peter-thiel/'Powerscourt Hotel first hosted Peter Thiel event in 2018' https://www.ontheditch.com/powerscourt-hotel-first-hosted-peter-thiel/'How IRINI is becoming the face of Europe’s new maritime assertiveness' https://decode39.com/15182/how-irini-is-becoming-the-face-of-europes-new-maritime-assertiveness/Irregular Army: https://orbooks.com/irregular-army/Palestine Deep Dive: https://www.palestinedeepdive.com/Music by Fionn DempseyRecording by Emmet Whiteemail theditchpartyline at gmail

Riots in the North against immigrants, strikes in Italy against a right-wing government's re-armament programme – where are Right and Left going in a world where the powerful are increasingly at peace with fascism?Writer William Wall brings his knowledge of Italy and Ireland to The Party Line, while Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch joins Harry Browne to report from a day on the streets of Belfast. 'Committee seeks independent review of "devastating neurological outcomes" for Beaumont patients': https://www.ontheditch.com/committee-seeks-independent-review/'Internal report confirms public child patients forced to wait for surgery – private patients prioritised' https://www.ontheditch.com/internal-report-confirms-public-child-patients-forced-to-wait-for-surgery-private-patients-prioritised/'Ireland’s new far right is simply recycling British white nationalist talking points': https://www.independent.ie/comment/opinion/peter-flanagan-irelands-new-far-right-is-simply-recycling-british-white-nationalist-talking-points/a/153748979.htmlMusic: Fionn DempseyRecording in studio: Emmet WhiteRecording in Italy: Harry BrowneEmail theditchpartyline at gmail