Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

What unites the US Republican Party, Brexiteers and the DUP? This week, Joe and Dion look at the magical thinking that has replaced reason among those who once believed they were born to rule in Washington and London - and how the DUP showed them the way. Behind the three-word slogans, the bluster and the demonisation of minorities, what insecurities are driving the supremacists? And what would your reaction be if, as Joe once did, you answered the door to the Reverend Ian Paisley?Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreestatepodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you were offered a lift on Air Force One would you take it? Joe talks to Dion about his time with Joe Biden in Ireland and the extraordinary empathy shown by the president when visiting end of life patients at the Mayo Roscommon Hospice. He also gives some fascinating insights into what happened behind the scenes during the president’s visit. Finally, brace yourself for a cringeworthy & hilarious encounter between Brolly and a priest in Dublin City centre. No wonder Dion calls him Larry David…Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreestatepodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of Ooh Aah, Up Which Ra, Dion and Joe wonder what being honest about history really means and if Ireland wants to be Austria or Germany. Joe talks about Martin McGuinness and how many people were angered by what he wrote after McGuinness’s death and he also recounts an eye-opening experience at an Old Firm game.Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreestatepodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the Irish women’s football team qualified for the World Cup, their achievement was overshadowed by a video of them singing ‘Ooh Aah, Up the Ra’. In this week’s episode Dion and Joe talk about why the song triggered such debate and if there are double standards involved, not just when certain groups are criticised and others aren’t, but in talking about the IRA itself. What does the issue tell us about Irish identity and how we understand our history? And Joe and Dion find they can agree on one thing at least.Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreestatepodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Anyaegbunam had a privileged upbringing in Nigeria as a Nigerian prince. His first meeting with Joe Brolly took place either during an escapade around Ireland or an escapade around Florida. He talks to Dion and Joe about his son, the rapper Rejjie Snow, his own view on racism in Ireland and the time himself and Joe tried and failed to buy the Jacksonville Jaguars.Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreestatepodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you know where to find your optimism muscle? In this week’s episode Joe and Dion look at how the 21st century has become a factory and why a banal uniformity has invaded so many areas of life, including sport. With stories of John Morrison, Eamonn Coleman, Stan Bowles, Phil Lynott & Thin Lizzy, Dion and Joe wonder if all that was missing from their lives was an attitude of gratitude? Joe also explains his quest to find that optimism muscle...Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreestatepodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everybody wants to be happy but what if simply wanting to be happy is as crazy as simply wanting to live on Mars? In the first episode Dion and Joe examine how vulnerable people have been exploited by wellness gurus and in a time of uncertainty why those who offer easy and misleading answers have thrived. There's also an exiting executive position in the sporting world to discuss...Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreestatepodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.