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PODCAST

Ramble with Joe McGucken

This is Ramble, a podcast where Joe McGucken immerses himself in the crazy world of each guest, capturing on-location interviews with people from the fringes of society, people from weird subcultures, hobbyists, sports people, celebrities and anyone in between. Joe is only interested in hearing a good story. The problem is, Joe is highly unqualified. With zero journalistic credentials and a naive optimism, Joe is perpetually out of his depth. But there’s a charm to it all. Driven by a genuine,

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

46:27

Ramble to Lisdoonvarna: Love Sold Separately

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/10/08

A group of Americans have signed up for a package holiday to find love in Lisdoonvarna. Flights, a seven-course dinner and a minivan are all included. Love is not guaranteed, but it is very much implied, and the package costs over three thousand dollars per person. The group have never met each other. They arrive with hope in their hearts and a very low bar. They are following Mary Timby, an American who came to the Lisdoonvarna matchmaking festival on a whim last year, fell for a local and went

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38:13

Ramble with Ireland’s Newest Citizens

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/10/02

5,600 people packed into the Convention Centre in Dublin recently to officially declare theirfidelity to the Irish nation, a massive bureaucratic event that highlights the evolving identity of the island. Joe decided to wander into the ceremony to figure out exactly what these new citizens were signing up for, only to promptly plunge himself into a mild existential crisis about his own national identity. From interviewing a newly minted Brazilian-Irish woman and a Sri Lankan man who has seemingly

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26:36

Ramble On: The Government’s Guide to the End of the...

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/30

Is the apocalypse coming? Joe has questions.After the government sends 2.2 million households a 17-page Be Emergency Ready booklet, Joe starts wondering what exactly we're supposed to be preparing for. Nuclear fallout? Cyber attacks? A massive blackout? The Russians blowing up the internet? Or just a very inconvenient few days without the card machine? In this episode of Ramble On, Joe digs into Ireland's history of preparing for disaster, from Cold War nuclear fears and the infamous 1965 Bás Beatha

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33:30

Ramble with The Irish Houdini

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/24

On the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini's passing, Ireland's only escapologist is preparing to contact the legendary illusionist's spirit from an old shoe shop in Limerick.This week Joe takes a Ramble down south to meet Steve Spade, the Irish Houdini. The conversation starts with card tricks at weddings and dodgy hypnotists and ends with a plan to contact the dead.Steve's built a career on escaping things that could kill him. The kind of stunts that have genuinely ended other magicians' lives.He

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16:06

Ramble On Matilda and Child Stardom

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/22

Joe took the boys to see Matilda at the Bord Gáis. The lead got sick, the safety curtain came down, and an eight year old understudy walked out in front of a sold out house and stole the show.That sets Joe off on a Ramble through the strange world of child stardom. A chance encounter with the original Matilda talking about intimacy at a variety show in New York. The militant casting rules for a Matilda, and its fleeting nature for the child actors. West End wages of sixty quid a show. The Oliver

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42:11

Ramble With A Truck Pulling Amputee

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/18

Shane McLoughlin holds eight world records for pulling incredibly heavy vehicles, and he does it all while missing a leg.After a freak accident involving a heifer leaving him with gangrene, Shane endured 78 operations over a period of 10 years before finally telling his surgeons to just take the leg off. Instead of going easy on himself, he became a paralympian and eventually pivoted his focus to pulling trucks and other heavy vehicles like a 1000 tonne passenger Ship. Shane is currently on a

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24:15

Ramble On: The Golfing Nazis of Kildare

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/15

During World War II, Nazi and Allied soldiers played golf together in Kildare. In this episode of Ramble On, Joe takes us through the back nine of a surreal moment in Irish wartime history. What starts as Joe's disdain for the sport of golf somehow evolves into a fascinating narrative about Nazi soldiers who crash landed in Ireland, were given daily parole to attend local dances, visit the cinema, and play a few rounds at the Royal Curragh. Naturally, Joe finds himself in the rough along the way

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44:43

Ramble with Thomas Carty

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/10

IIn front of 82,000 roaring fans on the most historic night in Irish boxing history, heavyweight contender Thomas Carty took an illegal punch to the back of the head and fell headfirst out of the ring in Croke Park. Before any of that happened, Joe spend the day with Thomas, having secured exclusive behind-the-scenes access to shadow him on the biggest day of his professional career. Expecting a tense, high-stakes cinematic experience, our host is instead bewildered to find the elite athlete

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15:19

Ramble On: Muhammad Ali in Croke Park

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/08

In 1972, a former circus strongman who pulled buses with his teeth managed to bring the greatest boxer on the planet to Croke Park.After Katie Taylor’s historic walk to the squared ring in Croke Park over the weekend, Joe takes a look back at the last boxing match in Croker. Muhammad Ali's legendary and utterly chaotic visit to Dublin. From forgetting Ali's boxing gloves and borrowing a local club's boxing ring, to a dapper con-man taking off with seven grand in programme money, the event was a

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41:42

Ramble with An Ultra Marathon Man

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/03

This week, Joe takes a Ramble into the grueling world of ultra-running. Joe somehow wrangles an interview with an actual superhuman, Seán Clifford, who is in the middle of a punishing 25-day Challenge to run every single street in Dublin. All 4,402 of them, while sleeping rough to raise awareness and funds for homeless charities. Joe ventures out into torrential rain to meet Seán and his endlessly patient crew partner, Alicja to speak about the logistics, mentality and realities of undertaking such

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12:28

Ramble On: Birthday Disasters

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/09/01

In this week's bonus episode, Joe tries to record while a Bon Jovi concert shakes the walls of his studio. After some predictable grumbling about stadium rock and The Weeknd's spelling choices, Joe quickly sets his sights on Electric Picnic. He takes immense comfort in missing the mud this year, thoroughly roasting anyone who willingly subjects themselves to that biblical festival weather as if it were a survivalist cult. Of course, Joe's own weekend wasn't much better. To celebrate his birthday, he

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39:03

Ramble with A Haunted Hoarder

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/08/27

On this week’s Ramble, Joe wanders into Dublin's Museum of Curiosities to speak with the curator Paul about his collection of… weird things. Joe reflects on his own failed collections, like the fact that he threw away his million dollar Pokémon cards, and comes face-to-face with a literal room of nightmare fuel. Think mummified cats, a two-headed cow, and a 19th-century witch's conjuring box. Naturally, he gets easily spooked by a supposedly haunted clown shaped sleeping bag named Buttons, and

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15:10

Ramble On: The Titanic Slide

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/08/25

Joe is finally back at Ramble HQ after four weeks of filming up in Donegal, and naturally, he immediately fell down a rabbit hole of absolute madness.In this episode, he dives into the bizarre world of turning absolute historical tragedies into children’s entertainment. From a viral English fruit farm with a Titanic slide on the back of a lorry to the fever dream that is Europa-Park's "Ireland" section. Complete with questionable history, kilted barstools, and the infamous "Titanic" lifeboat ride

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16:43

Ramble On: Amazing Grace Country

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/08/18

In this episode of Ramble On, Joe has somehow convinced himself he is a maritime historian.This week our intrepid host attempts to connect the dots between modern Inishowen road signs and the origins of Amazing Grace. The Iconic Hymn. What follows is Joe’s slightly unhinged, deep dive into the chaotic life of John Newton featuring 18th-century teenage melodrama, disastrous career choices, near-fatal North Atlantic storms, and Newton's eventual pivot from slave ship captain to abolitionist.Listen to

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1:38

Ramble Update | Back Next Week

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/08/16

This is just a quick update to let listeners know the podcast is taking a short break this week. Normal programming will resume next week with a bonus episode on Tuesday and full regular episode as scheduled on Thursday. Thank you for listening, and we will be back next week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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12:42

Ramble On: The Top Of Ireland

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/08/11

In this bonus episode of Ramble On, recorded straight from the driver's seat, Joe broadcasts from the stunning backdrop of Donegal while on location filming. Taking a quick breather from the trad music echoing from the house, he reflects on a brilliant, whirlwind weekend taking in the very best of the country. From soaking up the breathtaking landscapes on a mountain walk with alpacas (and fending off his son’s determined attempts to buy one) to stopping in for a quiet pint at Ireland’s most

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35:36

Ramble with Jay the Furry

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/08/06

Ever wondered what actually goes on inside Ireland’s underground furry community? Well Joe did. So he sat down with Jay, a chemistry PhD student by day and a yellow furry by night. Joe tries to make sense of a world he knows absolutely nothing about. But before getting into the mystery, Joe kicks off the episode reflecting on his childhood obsession with dogs in the flat, dodging neighborhood pack attacks, and the weird reality of modern pet culture. Once he finally tracks Jay down after being shut

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38:01

Ramble with an Irish Cowboy

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/07/30

Joe heads for the Wild West in search of an Irish cowboy and grapples with his fear of horses, the smell of slurry and getting stuck behind a tractor on the way. He makes it as far as Laois where he meets Mick LaCumbre of Fossey Mountain Springs Ranch in the hills of Timahoe. Mick tells him about the special gift he has with horses and his profound respect for them. Mick’s career began as a 12 year old when he left school and started working with racehorses, breaking them in and ending up in a

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14:34

Ramble On: Typhoid Mary

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/07/28

Joe called the D-doc about an earache, and when he was asked a question about Covid this somehow sent him down a rabbit hole about a woman dubbed Typhoid Mary. Mary Mallon was an Irish teenager who emigrated to New York in the late 1800s. She worked her way up through the ranks to become a top cook for wealthy families. She then unknowingly started making people sick wherever she went and she found herself spending most of her life locked away on a tiny island. There's a sanitary engineer playing

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42:58

Ramble with Magic Mushrooms

Ramble with Joe McGucken ·

2026/07/24

In the middle of nowhere down the Irish countryside, there’s a woman who holds magic mushroom retreats out of her house, and Joe went down to meet her. She lives as off-the-grid as you can get and runs illegal psychedelic weekends to heal people living with trauma. For the sake of anonymity we'll call her Liberty.Joe opens up a little bit about his experience dealing with his mental health in the past. But after hitting a brick wall with traditional therapy, and one of his councillors literally

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