PODCAST

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack

Ireland’s original independent left leaning news, politics, and culture podcast that doesn’t take itself too seriously and still punches well above its weight. Join critically acclaimed & derided hosts, Martin McMahon and Tony Groves as they delve into the news of the day, pull apart the spin and challenge you to be an activist. This is the non-corporate, ad free, non-plastic-podcast reality that the medium is made for. There will be shenanigans!

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All Episodes

The 2026 Predictions Pod

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2026/01/15

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackIn this Reboot Republic, Rory is joined by producer Tony Groves to talk the reality of our homelessness crisis, the horror of AI/X Grok's CSAM, Simon Harris joining Jim O'Callaghan on the anti-immigrant bus, Climate Action getting binned by government and why the Left needs to focus on kitchen table issues in 2026. Editors Note: Rory subsequently abandoned his twitter/x account. Ireland’s GDP is a mirage podcast with Prof Aidan Regan is out now here:

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44:40

You’ll Have to Kill Me – Ali’s Story Part 2

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2026/01/15

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack CW: This podcast contains a personal story that discusses topics that some listeners may find upsetting. Ali Skaik is an English Literature student and writer from Gaza City. In his own words: "Literature should be lived and not just read. Growing up amid the struggles in Gaza, every word I write carries the reality I face daily. Literature became my way of living, feeling, and speaking the truth of the spirit, pain, and enduring hope of my people. In this

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The Donroe Doctrine – ‘I Heard You Hit My Brother’

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2026/01/13

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackIn this tortoise shack special, lecturer at ATU Sligo, Editor of the Irish Marxist Review and author of Tax Haven Ireland, Dr Brian O'Boyle, breaks down the so-called Donroe Doctrine and how it differs from the old American imperial expansionist regime. He talks about Venezuela from the Chavez-Bolivarian Revolution to the Maduro Kleptocracy and he gives a great analogy about bullying that you don't want to miss. "You hit my brother!" The Doc mentioned is

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Scales of Justice

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2026/01/12

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackIn this Tortoise Shack special, Manager of Environmental Law Ireland, and human dynamo, Attracta Ui Bhroin, joins me to discuss the proposed changes to access to justice that will tilt the scales of justice away from ordinary members of the public. Attracta breaks down what is at stake, the lack of accountability and oversight, how we got here and how you, YES YOU, can help us avoid this potential omnishambles. Call to Action It is essential to encourage

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The Government Does Not Want To Hear From You!

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2026/01/06

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackVery unhelpfully, our Government chose to publish a "Consultation on the regulation of costs" pertaining to settled EU Law (Aarhaus Convention 2005) just before they headed of for Christmas. An act so sneaky that it gives the public only until Jan 15th to have their say. A cynic might think they don't want to hear from us at all. So in this Call to Action podcast, solicitor (not satan) Fred Logue tells us what is happening and how, if the government get

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Trump, Venezuela and the Far Right in Latin America

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2026/01/03

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Colombian journalist with el Pais, Nicholas Dale Leal, rejoined me to talk Latin America, Trump’s regime change plans for Venezuela, the far right on the rise in Chile and Honduras and the hopeful pushback from Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. 2025 was not a great year for the left in Latin-South America. But at the end Nicholas gives us some insight into how 2026 might be different. I'm not so confident. Podcast with Palestinian Author, Mahmoud Mushtaha is

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2025, So How Was It For You?

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2025/12/30

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackIt's that time of year again where we sit and reflect on the year gone by and talk optimistically about our pessimistic future. And who better* to do that than Mr irishelectionprojections.com Harry McEvansoneya and The Gist's Simon McGarr. *we asked better people, but they had better offers. The Trump-Venezuela podcast with el Pais journalist Nicholas Dale Leal is out now here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-146527115 Palestinian author

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Trump, the EU and a Vision for Ireland

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2025/12/24

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackListener favourite, US-Based Irish-Russian Prof of Economics, Constantin Gurdgiev is back to wrap 2025 and this is a belter. Please listen and enjoy Constantin on Trumponomics, EU sclerosis, Ireland's windfall taxes vs Irish quality of life and what a vision for the future might be. Thank you, Constantin for your contributions as always. The Ditch 2025 Review Podcast is here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-146018449 The Sanctuary Runners

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Cambodia on the Brink

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2025/12/23

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Cambodia was already one of the most disadvantaged places in the world long before the latest escalation with Thailand. Joining us to talk about the displacement of over a million people, the ongoing bombing and the impact it is having on the ground is Managing Director with seebeyondborders.org Pheung Pov and CEO with same, Colm Byrne. We also discuss the impact western countries reducing and cutting their Overseas Aid Budgets is having on the most

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It’s a Bad Dose – Flu Season

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2025/12/19

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackDr Niall Conroy is Adjunct Professor of Public Health in UCC, but you’ll remember him as the fella who handled the COVID 19 pandemic public health response in Queensland, Australia. He returns to the shack to talk about the worst flu outbreak in years and what we should do to protect ourselves and others. He also talks about the inequalities baked into the health system. The Leilani Farha Podcast is

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A New Ireland – The Unity Opportunity

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2025/12/16

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackIn this echo chamber podcast, I’m joined by Prof of Human Rights and Law at QUB, Colin Harvey, to talk about the potential of a new United Ireland. We discuss the work that has already taken place, the conversations that are being held and the ways in which governments need to step up. The Constantin Gurdgiev podcast is here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-145972391 The Leilani Farha Podcast is

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Derelict Ireland – Awareness is Not Enough

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2025/12/11

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackJude Sherry and Frank O'Connor are the driving forces behind the #DerelictIreland movement. They’ve been working relentlessly for years to bust the myths and political narratives that say that getting vacant or derelict properties back into use as homes is too complex and costly and , despite many hurdles, they are winning. Their recent appearance at the Oireachtas shows that. So it was a real pleasure to be rejoined by them both, and in-person, for a

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Antisocial Neoliberalism or Housing and Hope?

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2025/12/05

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackProf Richard Murphy is back and he's not pulling any punches. We talk the UK's self-sanctioning budget, the Labour-becoming-the-Tories, but somehow worse, the fight between Zack Polanski's Populist Ecosocialist Green Party and Nigel Farage's Populist Far Right Reform Party and heck, even Gramsci gets a mention! The Conor McCabe Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-145126732 The Christy Moore Podcast

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Cows for Cars

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2025/12/03

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackA short podcast with MEP for Dublin, Lynn Boylan, on the return (again!) of CETA, the Governments insane push for unconstitutional investor courts, Mercosur's hormone enhanced cows for German cars and how to react to the EPP and Fine Gael joining with the far right in the EU. The Leilani Farha Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-144371201 The Christy Moore Podcast

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