The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this PalCast, Yousef and Tony are joined from Gaza by musician, teacher and father, Ahmed Abu Amsha, to discuss his experience of the ongoing genocide and how he and some of his musician friends are using song as therapy for those carrying far too much trauma. A wonderful man who will light up your day. Thank you, Ahmed. His own fundraising details are here:https://www.gofundme.com/f/hello-peace-help-innocent-people-to-survive?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer The Lexi Alexander Podcast is out now here:https://www...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this echo chamber podcast exclusive Martin chats with employment rights activist Matt McGranaghan about Martin and Joey’s big day out last Thursday at the WRC. Step behind the curtain and listen to how RTE, the State and Arthur Cox all got their asses handed to them by someone who knows that he has truth on his side. Glastonbury, Cultural Capital and Gaza with Lexi Alexander is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-133114376 Support Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-132827532

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack For weeks now we've seen housing experts, industry insiders and academics try and fail to make sense of the Government's new on/off housing plans. So in this podcast, housing expert and academic, Prof Lorcan Sirr, attempts (and fails) to decipher the chaos and put some shape on the entire crisis that has ssen homelessness rise to almost 16,000 people in this "wealthy" country of ours. I think it's really good and that Lorcan almost gets there. Almost. My sincere apologies to Orla and Mel. Martin vs RTE at the WRC podcast:https://www...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack The news keeps coming and it don't stop coming. In this member-only pod Martin explains in proper detail why even the highly paid broadcaster, Sarah McInerney is a victim of RTE’s rogue employment practices and then we look at the Leo Varadkar vs Keir Starmer, Kneecap situation, as well as some thoughts on the troubling US-Israel attacks on Iran and the devastating results of the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Liam Cunningham on Displaced in Gaza is out now:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-131053187 Donate to dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.co...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack “In 2015, while at home looking after our new baby, my wife received a letter from the Department of Social Protection telling her that she needed to attend a social welfare office to be photographed for a Public Services Card or have her child benefit payment cut off. As she did not want to drag an infant out to a government office she solved this problem the sensible way. She handed me the letter and said "Deal with that."” These are the opening lines of the latest Gist with friend of the shack, digital righ...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this PalCast, Yousef talks to Tony about the latest news and events in Gaza, the cost of famine, Israel funding a proxy militia and the hope that comes from even the seemingly failed people-led initiatives like the Freedom Flotilla and the Global March to Gaza. Liam Cunningham on Displaced in Gaza is out now:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-131053187 Donate to dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack It was a great pleasure to be rejoined in the shack by writer, commentator, activist and mammy, Elaine Crory. It’s just a pity that it was to discuss the (bullsh1t) “protect our women” race-riots that have taken place in Ballymena, Larne and in other parts of the North. Elaine breaks it down in her brilliant way and explains why this is something that goes beyond flags and into deprivation, inequality, poverty and a lack of leadership in the politics of these areas. Liam Cunningham on Displaced in Gaza is out now:https...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack On June 12th, 2025, people from around the world will participate in the Global March to Gaza, from Cairo to Rafah crossing marchtogaza.net, in an apolitical, peaceful, coordinated, civilian action, demanding immediate humanitarian intervention in Gaza. Joining us on the podcast are two of the remarkable people who are participating from Ireland, Maureen Almai and Geraldine Murphy. Please listen to hear why they are going, what is planned and how we can all help. Dr Michael Byrne and Rory Hearne on the new Housing Plan is out now here:https://www.patreon.com...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this very special PalCast, Yousef Aljamal, as part of his book tour is joined for the first time in-person ever by PalCast producer Tony Groves. They discuss the latest news from Gaza, the horrendously militaristic "humanitarian aid" program and the need for more action from civil society. The March to Gaza podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-131207390 Please support Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this episode Martin is joined by RTE worker Maebh Keary and his workers rights comrade, Matt McGranaghan to discuss RTE's latest day in the Oireachtas. Whilst there seems to be media consensus that they emerged unscathed, Maebh, Matt and Martin pick out some of the most interesting moments and go a little deeper into what some statements actually mean for workers at RTE, the govts comfort levels with rogue employment practices and for the public purse. An exclusive interview with Liam Cunningham on Displacement in Gaza is here:https://www.patreon.com...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack On this episode we are joined in the tortoise shack by activist, podcaster and former US army veteran, Greg Stoker and actor and activist Liam Cunningham to talk Gaza, the military industrial complex, the freedom flotilla and the intersectionality between all struggles for human rights and freedom. We also discuss international law, the occupied territories bill and more. The Yousef Aljamal in Belfast podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-130618100 The Frances Black podcast is here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-130406374 Support Dignity for Palestine here:https://www...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this echo chamber pod Martin and Tony are joined by Madrid-based journalist Eoghan Gilmartin to discuss the huge power blackout in Spain, how it’s been weaponised by the far right, what impact it and similar events are having on politics and ask if the last lefty leader standing, Pedro Sanchez, can navigate his government through it all. Check out Eoghan's podcast Sobremesa here:https://open.spotify.com/show/7ogRBLVUKaIUahKnlbkJsz The Liam Cunningham podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129443800 Donate to Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.pa...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this PalCast hosts Yousef and Helena are joined by producer Tony to talk about the cruel and disastrous "aid plan", the ongoing genocide, the change in rhetoric from some western leaders and why even in a week of unbearably devastating news there are some reasons to feel hope. Music at the end is a new song by recent Sparks Will Fly guest Tadgh Conroy. Donate to Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Alexa Moore is the Policy Campaigns and Communications Manager at the Rainbow Project in Northern Ireland. She's also an LGBTQ activist and a formidable Trans woman. She joins us to talk about Trans Rights on the island of Ireland, the UK Supreme Court decision, the turbulent politics of this time and why Brexit is actually a good thing for LGBTQ people in the North. Exclusive RTE Media Committee Podcast is here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-130160241 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack US-based Dr. Feroze Sidhwa has travelled to Gaza over the course of the ongoing Genoide to heal the wounds of many, many Palestinians. As a trauma surgeon, he has witnessed many multi-fatality events, including the bombing of the surgery department of the Nasser Hospital and an airstrike that killed a patient, a young boy, whom he saved only a few days earlier. He joins this PalCast episode to speak of why he went to Gaza, what he saw there, the US's complicity and the strength of the Palestinian people who he worked alongside. ...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Lexi Alexander is the daughter of a Palestinian father and German mother; she is also a former World Kickboxing Champion and close-quarter-combat instructor, who worked her way up from stunt woman to Oscar-nominated director. In fact you've probably watched a few episodes of that kickass show that she directed. (Tony was a big Arrow fan) But when the genocide in Gaza continued and barely any of her peers spoke out, she decided to walk away from Hollywood and move to Ireland. So you know we had to chat with her and this is...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this Reboot Republic Rory & Tony talk to the incredible young Gazan journalist Abubaker Abed about his journey from Gaza to Ireland, the importance of solidarity and speaking up, the daily reality of surviving a genocide, and what Ireland can do to show a common humanity when the world turns its backs on the Holocaust of the 21st Century. Liam Cunningham on Gaza and the cost of speaking out:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129443800 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack You asked us to look closer at the Trade Union movement in Ireland, so consider this an opening conversation with two Union stalwarts, Scott Miller and Paddy Cole, who are also two of the main organisers of the Tressell Festival. Some mild disagreements. Talk soon again, lads. Limited tickets:https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-robert-tressell-festival-2025-tickets-1270717663739 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641 The Abubaker Abed podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129356565

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this podcast we are joined from Gaza by teacher, storyteller and mother, Banyas Abu Harab, who focuses on educating, comforting and inspiring young learners in Gaza, even as the bomb blasts are audible above her voice. This is a very different insight into the reality of the ongoing Genocide in Gaza. Thank you, Banyas Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-129326641 The Abubaker Abed podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129356565 English Translation of the story Banyas tells in Arabic below The Woodcutter and...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this extraordinary podcast, Prof Richard Murphy pulls no punches in addressing Keir Starmer's recent speech on migration and the so-called "island of strangers." He outlines how these new policy positions are also contrary to the Labour promise that Growth will underpin all of their actions in government. He also discusses the major flaws in First Past the Post relative to Proportional Representation. The Lexi Alexander podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129134515 The Tressell Festival pod is here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-129099555 Support Dignity for Palestine...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack "Ireland, once a proud republic of ideas and insurgents, now resembles a serfdom for supranational capital. It is time – long past time – for a reckoning. The question is not whether this gilded scaffolding will crumble. It is whether we will have the courage to build something real in its place." Business Post editorial May 2025 That's not a paragraph we expected to read from the SBP, so we had to dig into what was behind it. Joining us to do so is one of the authors of the Tax Mirage report, UCD Professor, Aidan Rega...

Dr. Akram Habeeb is a professor of English at the Islamic University of Gaza. He taught and inspired many academics including Dr. Refaat Alareer. He left Gaza after 45 days of displacement in Rafah, where he did his best to care for his family. In this episode, he talks about his special relationship with Refaat Alareer, education and his own experience of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. He also shares a wonderful poem that you should stay tuned for. We want to express our condolences to Tony and his family on their loss. The Brendan Ogle Podcast is out now here...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this echo chamber podcast you'll hear from writer, musician and activist, Martin Leahy, whose weekly one-man housing protest outside the Dáil is coming up on 3 years next Thursday May 15th. A real one. Everyone Should Have a Home! The Brendan Ogle Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-128733772 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-to-126186702

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Shrouq Alaila is a journalist from Gaza. She won the Freedom of Press Award in 2024 for her journalism work in Gaza. She speaks to us from Gaza on the challenges of reporting, securing food and caring for a baby whose father, also a journalist, killed by Israel as he shielded them from Israeli bombing. Tune in for this powerful episode. Editors Note: I’ve recorded over 2,000 podcasts and this is maybe one of the most important and impactful episodes I’ve ever had the privilege to be involved in. The Housing Tzar Debacle podc...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Soliman Hijjy is an award winning visual journalist from Gaza. He’s also the fella in the group who keeps everyone smiling, even in the most difficult moments. He joins us from Khan Yunis only 7 minutes after another deadly Israeli attack. We talk about his work, the role of journalism beyond telling stories and how making jokes in moments of danger is an act of resistance. Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-to-126186702

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Listeners know tortoise shack regular John Harris as that fella who writes about politics and hosts one of them podcasts for the Guardian. Many of you will have seen his award winning series Anywhere But Westminster. So when he told me a few years ago that he was working on a book about his neurodivergent and autistic son James, I knew it would be a great read. I was wrong, it's a brilliant read. John joins me know to discuss the book, autism, family ups and downs and how music not only helped...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Workers Rights Champions, Matt McGranaghan and Martin McMahon discuss the An Post Bogus self-employment case that is dragging along (delayed again) in the High Court. This is potentially another seismic case on the abuse of employment status by yet another semi-state business. The historic nature of the (alleged?) wrongdoing means that An Post has everything to lose, and its not great for the Revenue Commissioners either. The Echo Chamber Pod is the only media with full access to the legal arguments in advance. Here they are outside the paywall. The Kneecap Hurty Feelings...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Ruwaida Amer is an award winning film-maker and producer from Gaza, yet she trained as a teacher. War has a way of turning everything upside down. She now dedicates her time to telling the stories of people in Gaza and the children who she cares deeply for. She joins us to speak about how the destruction of her family home as a child by Israel made her the journalist she is now and how the ongoing genocide motivates her to tell more stories. Please watch One Day in Gaza here:https://youtu.be...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack "Disappointed my concerns have been compounded by Govts misrepresentation. They claim no dissent was raised, yet multiple voices spoke in favour of removing the Traveller committee from d’Hondt. This erasure of support mirrors the disregard for Traveller voices in their decision." Senator Eileen Flynn, April 14th 2025. When our guest, Senator Eillen Flynn, wrote this a few days ago we immediately reached out to see what had happened and what can still be done to fix it. She, as always, was gracious enough to join us to break it all down. Is 'nothing ab...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack We've been desperately disappointed by the mainstream western coverage of the genocide in Gaza since it began over 559 days ago. So when we read the piece Omissions, caveats and false balance: How media is failing Palestinians, the international order and our profession, by reporter with The Currency, Niall Sargent, it felt like FINALLY! The piece which has since been shared by Francesca Albanese is here:https://thecurrency.news/articles/184892/youre-scared-of-doing-the-right-thing-because-the-right-thing-comes-with-a-price/ Niall rejoins us for the first time in a good while to talk about why he wrote it, what he learned while putting...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this Echo Chamber Podcast we are rejoined by economist with NERI, Ciarán Nugent to discuss the Trump Tariffs, our Pharma vulnerability, the potential impacts on the tax haven and killing false economic narratives like "austerity saved the economy." Senator Eileen Flynn podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-126781341 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-to-126186702

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this Echo Chamber Podcast we have something very rare for you all. Apparently it’s called “good news.” We won’t spoil it. We’ll let Technological University Dublin (TUD) lecturer Dr Ciarán O’Carroll do that. Kidding COC, thank you for all you have done! The Austerity Agenda podcast with economist Ciarán Nugent is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-126205978 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-to-126186702

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Matt McGranaghan joins Martin on this Echo Chamber podcast to discuss ongoing bogus self employment cases they are representing in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the implications for RTE workers and pretty much all of us as taxpayers. Martin and Matt lay bare the corruption, the criminality and the gargantuan cost of decades of bogus self employment in RTE and how the process that is effectively illegal state aid has been allowed by Revenue and the Department of Social Protection. The latest on An Post's battle to misclassify Postmasters is out now...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this very special PalCast we are joined by Abeer Barakat, who is a lecturer in the University of Applied Sciences, Gaza and a PhD candidate of English at the University Putra Malaysia. She joins us from Gaza to talk about displacement, the difficult decision to send two of her children outside Gaza to continue their education and the day to day difficultly of living 550+ days under the Israeli war on her home. Abeer is a remarkable educator and while she shares her personal story of loss, she also shares uplifting stories of...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Ed Note: In this very special Echo Chamber Podcast we pay tribute to our late tortoise shack colleague, Dr Vicky Conway in both the coverage of the new report Still Not Heard, Still Not Safe and in knowing that her work was instrumental in its foundations. Joining us is the founder of Black and Irish, Leon Diop and Director with the Irish Network Against Racism, Shane O'Curry. We go into some of the findings of the report, the need for Garda to take onboard the recommendations and the lived experience of policing in...

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this podcast we are rejoined by Mexico-based Colombian journalist with El Pais, Nicholas Dale Leal, to discuss the impact the new Trump administration is having on the region, the shocking discovery of what is being called an extermination camp in Mexico and the people “disappearing” from the US into Super Max prisons in El Salvador. The Grace Blakeley Pod is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-125909419 Support Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/126186702

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Martin had a long chat with his co-conspirator, Matt McGranaghan, in relation to the two cases they are currently working on with RTE staff in the workplace Relations Commission. This also a good insight into where the political landscape is when it comes to protecting workers in the face of systemic corruption. The Grace Blakeley podcast on Trump 2.0 is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-125909419 Support Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-your-124980167

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this PalCast, Yousef and Tony discuss the latest news out of Gaza, the rapidly spreading famine and the way in which the international community has largely disgraced itself in standing by as the genocide restarted. We also talk the Garda treatment of the Mothers Against Genoicide activists, the new Irish governments burying of the Occupied Territories Bill and much more. Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-your-124980167

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this echo chamber pod we are rejoined by data protection expert, solicitor and one of our favourite troublemakers, solicitor, Simon McGarr, to talk about ChatControl, digital surveillance, State silos and the terrifying problem of paper clip maximisation. Read more here:https://www.thegist.ie/the-gist-a-bad-state-of-affairs/

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Content Warning: This podcast contains topics that some people may find upsetting. Maram Mohammed Hammo is a 4th year medical student in Gaza. In high school, she was one of the top students nationally, with a GPA of 99.6%. Her aunt, who was her biggest supporter, was killed along with 17 members of her family and her medical studies were understandably interrupted. She still dreams of finishing her medical school and becoming a doctor. Please help her realise this dream and reach out to us here on the tortoise shack if you want to help. ...