I4C Trouble with Daly and Wallace

This second episode of the series welcomes human rights attorney Beth Jacob. Beth has represented Guantánamo detainees since 2005. She helps us understand what this facility is and why so many men are still stuck there despite having long been cleared for release. Most importantly, she gives us an insight into the detainees' enduring humanity, their creativity and resilience in the face of such horror and injustice.The second guest is Valerie Lucznikowska, from September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. Having lost her nephew in 9/11, she shares with us her drive to turn grief into action for peace. An incredibly moving and brave testimony.

We’re finally releasing the “Close Guanánamo!” series, a podcast adaptation of an event we recently hosted: the most significant gathering ever assembled on Guantánamo in the European Parliament.This series is a unique opportunity to learn about the horror and lawlessness of this detention facility from those who experienced it. You’ll hear from former detainees, US military and civilian lawyers, the UN rapporteur, 9/11 families and other international experts and firsthand witnesses.The event aimed to call for the closure of the detention camp and seek the urgent involvement of EU countries in searching for viable relocation options for the 16 men who have been approved for release, never convicted of any crime, but who have nowhere to go. Guantánamo is a terrible crime scene that the EU can help bring to an end, once and for all.This first episode features Mansoor Adayfi, former Guantánamo detainee and author of the book "Don't Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantanamo"; together with James Yee, former Muslim chaplain at Guantánamo, wrongly accused of espionage and placed in solitary confinement.

After over a week of horror in Gaza, enabled by the EU’s continuous support for Israel and its shameful failure to call out Israeli war crimes and push for a ceasefire, we’re back to discuss what’s happening in Palestine. In addition, we talk about Clare’s recent trip to Bulgaria, the growing political culture of ostracising dissenting voices and the EU’s proposal for the Ukraine facility being a debt trap for Ukrainians.Long live Palestine, long live Gaza!

As the world looks on in horror at the situation in Gaza, we take a moment to discuss the need to contextualise recent events and point to the real root of violence: Israel's apartheid against Palestinians. In declaring unconditional support for an extreme right-wing government employing genocidal and dehumanising rhetoric on Palestinians, EU institutions are validating and emboldening Israel's acts of aggression and undermining the EU's ability to play a credible role in the peace process.

We're back in Strasbourg for another plenary week after having organised some very successful events in the past few days, which we're very happy to share with you. We also talk about the tragic developments in Nagorno-Karabakh, where over 100,000 Armenians have been forced to flee; the Media Freedom Act, which despite its name, allows governments and private companies to use spyware against journalists; the EU's refusal to ban glyphosate; the shameful new asylum and migration pact and the Parliament's report on economic coercion by third countries.  

Mick and Clare are joined by two very special guests this week: Ilia Lobzhanidze and Beka Natsvlishvili, who tell us about their country and help us better understand Georgian geopolitics and the concerns of ordinary Georgian citizens.

Join us as we discuss Clare and Mick's meeting with European defence industry representatives, the latest protests in Ireland, funding for Ukraine and much more.Fins aviat!

We're back from the summer holidays, ready to bring you the latest from the plenary week in Strasbourg. Clare and Mick talk to Bethany about Ursula von der Leyen's State of the European Union (fitting name, if you ask us),  the EU throwing taxpayers' money at the arms industry (again), their clash with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the EU-Tunisia migration deal and the heated debate about criminalising sex work.You can click here to read the article Clare mentions about Zelensky.

This week we’re wrapping up for the summer. We discuss the Latin American People’s Summit where Mick and Clare had the chance to hear leaders from across the Latin American left. We also discuss a visit to the parliament by Dominic Óg McGlinchey who is seeking a proper investigation into the murder of his parents in the Republic of Ireland in the late 1980s and 1990s in connection with the troubles.

This week Mick and Clare are in Strasbourg. They discuss the small victory in the passing of the much-weakened Nature Restoration Law by the parliament. They discuss what is next for that major piece of legislation as well as the scandal that is the new children's hospital in Dublin.