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.

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.

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.

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.

“The White House does not tolerate any administration official illegally profiteering off of insider knowledge, and any implication that officials are engaged in such activity without evidence is baseless and irresponsible reporting.”Fifteen minutes before Donald Trump posted that there had been ‘productive conversations’ with Iran, $580 million in oil bets were made in a period of 60 seconds.Who knew to place those bets? Did anyone have insider information? “The only focus of President Trump and Trump administration officials is doing what’s best for the American people,” a White House spokesperson said.On Free State today we look at the con that was Trump’s war on Iran, a war that he is trying to end and which Iran prolongs any way it can knowing his desperation.Thousands have lost their lives in this latest example of American aggression and Trump now talks about peace.But does he know how to control the forces that are unleashed in a war? Or, as with Vietnam, has he set America on a course that will lead to greater human misery? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Michael Lyster started presenting The Sunday Game, Ronald Reagan was seeking reelection as president of the United States. When he stopped presenting it, Donald Trump was president for the first time.For 34 years Lyster was the presenter who shaped our summer days. He was the accompaniment to the drama and the tension, the celebration and the argument. It is no wonder that when his death was announced, the country felt as one,On Free State today Joe remembers his friend Michael Lyster. He recalls his calm and poise and ability to relax a studio so that the audience was entertained. He remembers Lyster’s ability in a rally car and his love of life. Above all, he remembers a friend from the time when they were kings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Doyle, the artist known as Spicebag, achieved some notoriety when his art depicting evictions became a talking point in the national media.He is an artist of significance and he is also doing significant work.On Free State today he tells us about the project he is involved where his merchandise has funded a centre for children in Gaza The Ionad Hind Rajab is an Irish–Palestinian solidarity initiative based in Al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis, Gaza.Adam tells us the story of Hind Rajab and why art is always political. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Micheal Martin emerged from his meeting with Donald Trump on St Patrick’s Day with the commentariat purring.He had stood up for Europe, for Keir Starmer and, in part, for Winston Churchill but that didn’t matter. He had survived.On Free State today we ask does any of it matter. As oil and gas fields in Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are attacked, oil prices rise and governments insist they will protect their people. But what can they do?On Free State, we look at how commodity traders control the movement of the world’s resources. We examine the astonishing claims in the book The World for Sale. We ask in this world, what good can politicians do? Let us know what you think - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licences because of their coverage of the war, some complained that it violated the First Amendment, guaranteeing freedom of speech.On Free State we look at what those rights mean in a country where Trump must get what he wants.We go back to what happened in Iraq when the country was broken apart, its resources plundered and its people scattered. Is Donald Trump following in that tradition or is what he is doing in Iran potentially worse? Contact us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Riham Jafari has heard the stories of her grandparents. The stories of a time before the Nakba when her family lived a simple existence in a village outside Jerusalem. They enjoyed farming the land and their independence.It was a “beautiful life” her grandparents said before occupation came.After the Nakba, they lived in a camp one square kilometre, crowded with nowhere for children to play.Riham was born in the Dheisheh camp near Bethlehem. Today Riham Jafari works for Action Aid and when she came to Dublin last week she spoke about the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.On Free State today she talks to us about life under occupation, why the Occupied Territories Bill has to pass and why a two-state solution with an independent Palestine could be a reality if the world was determined to see it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.