The Party Line

Crime journalism is a massive and growing phenomenon in Irish media – much bigger, if you look at international comparisons, than Irish crime.Maynooth author and researcher Cian Ó Concubhair has been talking to reporters about whether and how they view such reporting as having a role in democracy.The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, hosted by Harry Browne, with Paulie Doyle of The Ditch.You can also watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@wereontheditch'Enterprise Ireland: cocktail networking for the arms industry in the French embassy' https://www.ontheditch.com/enterprise-ireland-cocktail-networking-with-the-arms-industry-in-the-french-embassy/'Paul Williams: New generation of wannabe Generals or Monks are out-of-control thugs who simply don’t value life' https://tinyurl.com/yuecftz4Lisa-Marie Berry, 'Naming and faming not naming and shaming' https://villagemagazine.ie/naming-and-faming-not-naming-and-shaming/Cian Ó Concubhair and Glory Anumudu, 'The Role of Crime and Security Journalism in Irish Democracy' https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document/The%20Role%20of%20Crime%20and%20Security%20Journalism%20in%20Irish%20Democracy.pdfMusic by Fionn DempseyRecording by Emmet WhiteEmail theditchpartyline at gmail

How relevant is the search for 'good Israelis' to the struggle for Palestinian liberation?As the world's attention turns to Israel's internal politics in advance of October elections, Gaza journalist Eman Mohammed brings powerful insights into what we can expect and what it ultimately means – and we also dig into the letter and spirit of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement.The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, hosted by Niamh Ní Bhriain and Harry Browne, with Paulie Doyle of The Ditch.You can also watch here: https://youtu.be/Y4VcW4WGArE'Weapons manufacturer linked to Gaza genocide lobbied Department of Finance on "unintended impact" of economic sanctions' https://www.ontheditch.com/weapons-manufacturer-linked-to-gaza-genocide/'How Biden Enabled Israel’s Aggression Toward Gaza—and Iran' https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/27/how-biden-emboldened-israels-aggression-toward-gaza-and-iranEman Mohammed on Substack: https://substack.com/@emanitThe Stokely Carmichael quote that Eman refers to: "Dr King's policy was that nonviolence would achieve the gains for black people in the United States. His major assumption was that if you are nonviolent, if you suffer, your opponent will see your suffering and will be moved to change his heart. That's very good. He only made one fallacious assumption: In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience. The United States has none."Music by Fionn DempseyRecording by Emmet WhiteEmail theditchpartyline at gmail

FIFA and its boss Gianni Infantino are irredeemably corrupt – but is UEFA in any position to preach?Writer and researcher Andy Storey breaks down the football power play on The Party Line, a podcast from The Ditch – hosted by Harry Browne and Paulie Doyle of The Ditch.You can also watch here: https://youtu.be/uYiuF6V69gQ'Official Ireland wants a diaspora of visitors and investors' https://www.ontheditch.com/comment-official-ireland-wants-a-diaspora-of-visitors-and-investors/'Soccer has given Europe a rare geopolitical victory' https://www.afr.com/world/europe/soccer-has-given-europe-a-rare-geopolitical-victory-20260804-p60lcl'Gianni Infantino’s demise isn’t enough – Fifa must fundamentally change' https://www.the-independent.com/sport/football/gianni-infantino-fifa-exit-resign-sacked-replacement-b3025815.htmlMusic by Fionn DempseyRecording by Emmet Whiteemail theditchpartyline at gmail

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

Palestinian journalists Leila Warah and Zena Tahhan explain why Ireland disappoints them, and how they continue to cover an increasingly brutal and catastrophic Israeli occupation.And host Niamh Ni Bhriain joins Eoghan McNeill of The Ditch to consider the cruelties of 'affordable' housing, and what liberal discourse about Anglo-Irish relations always manages to leave out.The Party Line is a podcast from The Ditch, with co-host Harry Browne.'Council executive: rents will rise no matter what councillors vote' https://www.ontheditch.com/council-executive-rents-will-rise/Fintan O'Toole, 'The aftershocks of Brexit’s failure could be gaining strength – a fearful prospect for Ireland' https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/22/aftershocks-brexit-failure-fearful-prospect-irelandLeila Warah https://www.instagram.com/leila.shw/?hl=enZena Tahhan https://www.instagram.com/zenatahhan/?hl=enMusic by Fionn DempseyRecording and editing by Emmet WhiteEmail theditchpartyline at gmail