Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

Open the F*****’ Strait, you crazy bastards: Who will stand up to Donald Trump?

Stalin was reported to have asked ‘How many divisions does the pope have?’ when told of the Vatican’s view on world affairs.On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo addressed the crowds at St Peter’s Square and said, "Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace."Shortly afterwards, Donald Trump gave his view on world affairs. “Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”On Free State today we ask who will stand up to Donald Trump? Are the church leaders who are supposed to provide leadership in terms of morality being forceful or are they dealing simply in wooly abstractions that are of no use?When Trump is becoming increasingly deranged and there is a need for firm and moral leadership, will someone stand against him or will they continue to use language that is vague and uninspiring? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The country that defied an empire

Olivier Norek says he has never met a killer who wasn’t eaten inside by what they’d done. Before he became a writer, Norek was a policeman in the most dangerous parts of Paris and a humanitarian worker in the former Yugoslavia.On Free State today, Norek tells the story of Simo Hayha, the sniper known as the White Death, who fought for Finland during the Winter War when the Soviet Union invaded the country.He tells the story of how Finland, abandoned by the world to fight alone, stood against the Red Army, fighting for their communities.Norek researches his books the way he would investigate a crime and in preparation for the Winter Warriors, he spent a winter in Finland, experiencing the subzero temperatures in which Finns fought to defend their country.He tells us what the Winter War meant to Finland and how it shaped the world we live in today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victims in the Age of Perfection: The Social Media Pandemic

When a California court ruled that Meta and YouTube had deliberately designed addictive products, many declared that this might be the Big Tobacco moment for the tech companies.The plaintiff was awarded $6 million damages. Meta’s revenue in three months last year was 60 billion dollars. Their share price was unaffected.On Free State today we ask what will it take to make a difference? If the social media companies are relaxed about the finding, is it because they know that there is no appetite to make real change?We look at the power of the addiction and the power Big Tech utilises to enforce its position.These powers rule the world now and one ruling may not make much difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Ireland Lost - Living in the Age of Anxiety

Trust the process has become one of world’s worst cliches. But what if the alternative was worse? What if ‘trusting the emotions all around’ was the other option?On Free State today Joe and Dion wonder why Ireland lose. The country will not be at the World Cup this summer. How much was this down to the Irish players’ inability to keep their heads and be led by the emotion that was all around them?Are teams more susceptible to this in an age when information and anxiety are all around them? What is the cure for the headlong rush to emotion and will Ireland ever experience it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prince Andrew and Bandit Country

Toby Harnden was sent to Northern Ireland for the first time in 1995. A reporter for the Daily Telegraph, it was an assignment that was not expected to produce much at a time when the peace process was the dominant story. But Harnden became fascinated with the republican movement and in particular how South Armagh had become a place that, not only could not be touched by the British government, but was controlling much of the IRA’s military campaign in England and Ireland. On Free State, Toby Harnden talks to us about his classic book Bandit Country, getting to know the people of South Armagh and the remarkable time he spent in the Royal Navy alongside Prince Andrew Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.