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PODCAST

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack

Tortoise Shack Media

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!

news politics

All Episodes

23:53

1229. Leo Varadkar stands down – What is his real...

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/20

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced that he's leaving. The tributes are pouring out across the airwaves and opinion pages. This podcast will not be among them. We look at how he has tried (and succeeded?) to normalise homelessness, his anti-people-in-poverty campaigns and a tenure that always put style above substance. We also talk about the need for a general election and the likely next leader of Fine Gael. Strong language throughout. Full episode is

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50:14

1214. Chainsaw Libertarians and Bitcoin Autocrats

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/19

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack This is a belter of a podcast with Colombian, but Mexico-based El Pais journalist, Nicholas Dale Leal, on all things Latin and South America. We talk Argentina and the plunge into poverty that has created a budget surplus; we dig into Bukele as a celebrity of the aspiring autocrat and there's a lot to be said in advance of the Mexican general election. Nicholas, as always, breaks it down for us in ways that even Martin can understand. I'm not sorry! The

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1:27:54

#24 – Damien Dempsey

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/14

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackIn this very special episode of The Fresh Batch, Dean and Sparky chat with their longtime friend; singer-songwriter, Damien Dempsey. Hearts open, vulnerable and full of love. This is a conversation about Aboriginal wisdom, spiritual healing, the power of singing and friendship and why we're all dancing with our own madness. "If I'm going to find some healing..." Recorded by Ger Kellet The next Fresh Batch with Criminologist, Trina O'Connor, is out now

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36:44

4. Gaza and the Price of Speaking the Truth

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/13

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackShahd Abusalama is a Palestinian academic from Gaza based in the UK. She lost 40 family members during the ongoing genocide; her family is displaced and scattered. She speaks to PalCast hosts Yousef Alajamal and Tony Groves about the pain of enduring this genocide, the feeling the responsibility to rebuild and to fight defamation from within academia at the same time. She gifts us a beautiful song too. Listen this episode and keep Gaza in your thoughts and

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38:07

1221. An Omnishambles Inside a Clusterf@ck!

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/11

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack(Note: This podcast begins with a conversation about the use of ChatGPT in the polling for the referendums that is very, very interesting) The votes are in and no matter what your preference (FWIW, I was a Yes/No voter) it is a humiliation for the government, an omnishambles for lots of the opposition and a crisis of confidence for many NGO's. Much to dissect. Joining us is the best political poll anorak around, Mr irishelectionprojections.com Harry

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25:42

1220. Exclusive: The Ditch on the Attorney General’s...

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/08

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackMinutes after the broadcast moratorium began, in advance of the vote on the Family and Care referendums, online independent media outlet, The Ditch, dropped a bomb. They’d only gone and gotten the unpublished Attorney General's advice to the government on the contentious wording of both referendums. Joining us to discuss the makings of this scoop, the importance of what the advice says and the repercussions it may have for the referendums and beyond, is

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51:34

3. The Palestinian Voice with Fady Joudah

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/06

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Fady Joudah is a Palestinian poet and physician who just released a poetry collection on the genocide in Gaza. In this episode, Yousef Aljamal, Helena Cobban, and Tony Groves talk about poetry, memory, Gaza, Refaat Alareer and silence. Fady argues that the world should listen to the Palestinians and practice silence when they do. The title of his new poetry collection is something you will interpret for yourself. The book is available here:

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45:25

1217. Vote No on the Care Referendum

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/06

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack No one should have been shocked to hear that Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, say that he sees care as the responsibility of families and not of the State. He is who he Ayn Rand is. But that's not the Ireland most people want to live in. Joining us on the podcast are three wonderful disabled women, Ann Marie Flanagan, Stephain Lynagh and Dr Margaret Kennedy. They talk about the issues 42.b raise for them in their daily lives, the sadness in having to ask for

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37:44

1211. Candidate Rory Hearne

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/03/03

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshackOur friend and fellow tortoise shack podcast host, Dr Rory Hearne, has announced that he's seeking to run for the Soc Dems in the upcoming European Elections. So you knew that we were going to sit down and ask him all about it. We discuss his reasons for getting into party politics, the type of tradeoffs that might be required of him, why the Soc Dems and not Sinn Féin, the values that he wants to put at the heart of his campaign and the future of Reboot

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56:02

2. The Death of Aaron Bushnell and Israel’s...

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/28

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack(CW: This podcast opens with the audio of Aaron Bushnell's selm-immolation. Please skip to 3 minutes if you don't want to hear it) Forcible depopulation of Gaza has been on Israel’s agenda since 1948. Hadeel Assali, a scholar at Colombia, discusses Israel’s plans, both public and secret, to push out and punish Palestinians in Gaza. In 1969, her uncle was sent on a one way ticket to Latin America as part of a scheme to send 60,000 Palestinian refugees to

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41:36

1188. I Live in a Rich Country. Why am I so Poor?

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/25

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack We are bombarded with "we've never had it so good" opinion pieces and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recently warned against fixing the housing crisis too quickly. So it can be hard to understand why many of us feel poorer than ever. The truth is that inequality is not a bug of our economic system, it's a feature. Rejoining us to talk about inequality, broadening the tax bands, housing costs creating lifestyle chaos and why there are lots of solutions is

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33:44

1207. The Care Referendum – No Justiciable Rights?

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/22

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack The vote on the two referendums on the Family and Care is not far away and while opinion polls suggest a landslide for Yes Yes, events of recent days (Ministers misrepresenting the amendments and FLAC's criticism of the Care aspect) have made enough noise to at least make people investigate what they're voting on. Joining us on the podcast is Constitutional Law expert and lecturer in the subject, Eoin Daly. If you have heard Eoin on with us before you know

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1:01:50

1. Gaza, Hawaii, Indigenous People and Modern Settler...

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/21

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Hawaii and Palestine are tied together in many ways. Palestinians’ love for their land reminds us of Kanala Maoli’s love for Hawaii and vise versa. In this episode, which kicks off our second season of PalCast, Dr Yousef Aljamal, cohost Helena Cobban and producer Tony Groves are joined by Uahikea Maile, a professor of indigenous studies at the University of Toronto, to talk about Gaza and the genocide there. The conversation covered the Mauna Kea protest

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32:28

1195. Making Affordable Homes Actually Affordable

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/19

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Sinn Féin made headlines when they said that they wanted average homes to be within reach of average salaries. Their figure of €300,000 was scoffed at by the Society of Charted Surveyors, who put the cost of building a house in Dublin at €460,000. So what to think? Joining us on the podcast is UCD Asst Prof of Architecture, Órla Hegarty, and she breaks it down not only with numbers, but with evidence of homes built for less than both of those estimates. We

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29:54

1204. “If the bombs don’t kill me, starvation will” –...

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/18

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack CW: This podcast contains subject matter that some listeners might find upsetting. In this important Echo Chamber Podcast, Tony speaks with Irish-Palestinian, Zak Hania, who is in Rafah and young journalist, Mahmoud Mushtaha, who remains in Gaza City. They talk about the ongoing Israeli military bombardment and what is happening now where they are. Zak explains how everyone is losing hope and lacks the energy to keep going and Mahmoud outlines a scene of

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59:16

1201. Homeless in Dublin, While my Family is...

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/16

Help keep this show on the road by clicking:patreon.com/tortoiseshack If you heard Baraa Albayari's interview from Podcasts for Palestine, then you'd know that after he'd left Gaza and swam from Turkey to Kos in Greece, he'd wound up homeless on the streets of Dublin. You'd also know that we weren't going to let that continue and things have improved a little now for him. Joining Baraa in the shack for some pizza, some football on the tv and a catchup podcast are musician, activist and engineering

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44:07

1187. The European Misfit – Luke Ming Flanagan

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/14

Join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Most people don't look forward to the European election, but most people aren't political ners like us. So we were delighted to be rejoined on the pod for the first time this year by current (and going for it again) MEP, and a face-that-doesn't-fit, Luke Ming Flanagan. He talks about fears that the balance in the EU parliament is tilting further right and how the EPP are more worried about immigration and the populist right than taking climate action that will

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28:46

1196. Let It Bring Hope – The Free Derry Wall with...

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/12

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack The last time we spoke with activist-artists, Pattern Up and Adam SpiceBag Doyle, they'd caused a lot of pearl clutching with their Crack Zone posters in Dublin. This time they've done something very different and very much appreciated us in the Shack. They've repainted the iconic Free Derry Wall with words from the poem of our friend Dr. Refaat Alareer, who was murdered by the Israeli military last December. A tribute to Refaat and a symbol of the

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47:49

1181. A Look Inside America, with Jon Schwarz

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/08

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Whether it's Biden or Trump, it seems Corporate Democracy will win again. But much like the President and former President, America seems to have lost a step. This, ladies and gentlemen, might be what empire in decline looks like. Joining us on the podcast to delve into this and a lot, lot more is one of the best writers, reporters and wry commentators there is, the Intercept’s Jon Schwarz. 2024 has a lot in store for the U.S of A, and while we're not big

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41:47

23. Gaza – Hope, Hunger and Heartbreak

The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack ·

2024/02/07

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Personal stories move people and hearing them from Gaza matters even more today. PalCast founder Dr. Yousef Aljamal, shares the story of his mom and brother getting out of Gaza and their experiences of the last 120 days with his co-hosts Helena Cobban and Tony Groves. The PSTD is clear, they lost so much weight and they now have problems eating three meals a day as they'd gotten used to eating much, much less. People’s savings are running out as food

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