Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning
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. They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
When Arsenal announced they were cutting 60 jobs at the home of the Premier League champions, the manager Mikel Arteta said he had been told it was to "achieve the success we want to create".
With the help of management consultants, Arsenal identified savings while simultaneously awarding Arteta a new contract worth £20 million a season.
On Free State today we look at what this story of a sporting club tells us about capitalism and i...
There was an extraordinary response to Jamie Bryson’s appearance on the podcast.
What does that tell us about what people want in the north and what people are talking about in the south?
On Free State today we ask if these are significant days for the future of unionism. What does it mean when the Belfast Newsletter, the paper of the unionism, says that Bryson is leading unionism down a dead end.
Dion and Joe talk about how co...
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Who is Jamie Bryson and what does he want?
On Free State today Jamie Bryson talks to Joe and Dion about Garvaghy Road, the Orange Order and a United ireland.
His conversation with Joe is heated and contentious as they talk about these and other issues.
What aspects of his cultural identity does he share with people in England and what would his view be if there was a violent response to a border poll being called?
Let us know what yo...
Anne Cadwallader covered the Drumcree events in the late 1990s. She remembers the tension of those days and the work Rosemary Nelson did at that time. On Free State today she talks to Joe and Dion about Rosemary Nelson's murder. She talks too about Lethal Allies her book about collusion and the Glennane Gang. She explains how she first arrived in Northern Ireland and how as a 'well brought up girl' from London, she had one view of ...
“This man's issue and the reason why he did what he did changes the world,” Ben MacIntyre says. “He changed the world that we now live in. Without this person we would probably be living in a different world.”
On today’s Free State we learn the story of Vladimir Kuzichkin, a Soviet spy working in Iran whose codename was ‘Redwood’.
Redwood had a problem, a sexual problem and the author Ben Mac...
Drumcree is now a peace dividend. Where once the attempt to march led to violence, destruction and death, now it leads to court wranglings, endless negotiations and the support for the Garvaghy Road residents from Noel Gallagher.
On Free State, Dion and Joe look at this death rattle for anachronistic unionism and what it means for a new Ireland. Joe and Dion argue about whether calling a border poll would help.
Let us know w...
Thousands gathered on Garvaghy Road determined that there would be no going back. A new generation, confident and assured, are determined that the north chooses a different road.
But what is it about a parade of elderly orange men that causes these emotions?
On Free State today Joe explains why Garvaghy Road represents a new and confident community.
Joe and Dion discuss what it means for a United Ireland. What that Ireland would look ...
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In November 2023, Peter O’Mahony sat down for a meeting with his coach at Munster Graham Rowntree where the reality of a professional sportsman’s life became brutally clear.
On that same day, Peter and Dion met for the first time to begin work on his autobiography. Peter is the guest on today’s Free State where he talks about why having an obsession with winning was essential to his career and his brief time as a G...
In Drumcree and in Debrecen, we were forced to consider different Irelands last weekend.
The determination of the Orange Order to parade down Garvaghy Road brought back memories for so many of the dark days in the north.
But does it really show how much has changed?
On Free State today, Dion and Joe discuss what happened at Drumcree and in Hungary where Gavin Bazunu told his team mates he didn’t want to play against Israel. Shou...
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‘We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.’
With these words, Irelqnd’s manager Heimir Hallgrimsson tried to rally support for his players before they play their first game against Israel.
The Israeli Fa responded by saying, ‘We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, We’re pl...
‘Three things come with taking a man’s life. The first one is the easy bit – going into a room and shooting somebody… The second is preparing yourself if you get caught coming or going and getting life in prison – could you do it? And the third and final and most important is can you live with it for the rest of your life? And that’s where a lot of people fail.’
Aaron Edwards is the g...
‘I am not complicit’ Ed Sheeran said in his statement after Macklemore was dropped as a support act on his US tour.
Macklemore had been dropped because he said the words ‘Free Palestine’ on stage.
Sheeran blamed the promoters and the billionaire Robert Kraft said he put pressure on Sheeran to drop Macklemore.
On Free State today we ask what lies beneath the pressure to silence Macklemore .
What does it tel...
What a weekend for Ireland. Donald Trump flew in and across the land, people whooped and hollered as if these were the greatest days of their lives.
Before he left, Trump had presented the Irish Open trophy to Shane Lowry, removed tariffs on Irish whiskey and united Ireland.
On Free State, Dion and Joe consider the significance of Trump’s comments and whether it brings the prospect of a border poll closer.
Who was in more discom...
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When Ed Miliband announced that the UK would take action and sanction illegal Israeli settlements, the response was swift.
Britain had lost its moral compass, these moves would only aid Benjamin Netanyahu, the real victims were the Palestinian people were among the lines of attack.
Miliband, who is Jewish, was called a ‘Jew hater’ by Mike Huckabee, the US’s ambassador to Israel.
On Free State today we loo...
What will it take to unite Ireland? In a live Free State we took that question (and Dion) to West Belfast.
We were joined by Paul Howard, author of the brilliant new novel ‘A Nation Once Again’ about the government department secretly planning for a United Ireland.
In front of a packed crowd, Paul took us through the absurdities of the situation and why bureaucracy says no even if the people say yes.
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