Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. Free State covers topics from sport to politics, love to loss, the human condition and how to fix the world, with guests from across the planet including Nigerian princes, former Prime Ministers, ex convicts, footballers, boxers and extraordinary people from every walk of life. Free State is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning. Brolly is a barrister, an original thinker with a fascinating backstory, who donated a kidney to a stranger and then led a crusade to transform organ donation on the island of Ireland, and Fanning is an award-winning interviewer and author. They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning, a news show with 0 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #424

  How James McClean became football’s Kneecap

  Aug 19, 202632 min

  James McClean’s return to Derry hasn’t worked out as anticipated. But beyond the headlines, what was at stake when he was on the receiving end of abuse on social media, in the English media and from the football grounds of England? On Free State today, Dion and Joe look at how McClean was reduced to caricature and how the outrage machine shaped it.  We also have some Free State news. On Sept 3rd, Free State will be live in Belfast with Paul Howard to talk about his brilliant new book ‘A Nation Once Again’. Book your free ticket here - https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-free-state-podcast-live-paul-howard-in-conversation-tickets-1998226075984?aff=oddtdtcreator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #423

  The Tragedy of Jason Arday

  Aug 17, 202640 min

  On August 14, Jason Arday was found unresponsive at his home in Battersea in London. In a statement, his family said they were "in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son". They added that the “campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone." On Free State today, we look at the life and death of Jason Arday. A man who made mistakes in his life but was pursued relentlessly by sections of the media until it became too much. Was it just sport for them or was there something more sinister at stake? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #422

  Mo Salah: The Most Importan Footballer in the World?

  Aug 14, 202655 min

  "Can you tell us how he died, where and why?" On August 9, 2025, Mo Salah tweeted this above a Uefa post which said "Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the Palestinian Pele". Salah's tweet has been viewed 140 million times. On Free State today, Melissa Reddy talks to Dion about the cultural importance of Mo Salah, how he has been held to a different standard and why his last year at Liverpool wasn't what it seemed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #421

  Total Eclipse of the Heart: How the Gambling Industrial Complex stole sport. With Darragh McGee

  Aug 12, 202652 min

  Darragh McGee understands sport. As a Donegal man he understands the hold and the importance sport has across this land. So as an academic when he went to investigate the betting industry, he didn’t expect to discover all that he learned about its hold on so many individuals and on society. On Free State today. Darragh McGee talks to Joe and Dion about his book Imitation Games - How Gambling Hijacked Sport. He explains why the digital age caught everybody by surprise, but while the betting industry was quick to grasp what it could do, the legislators were asleep at the wheel and then slow to act. He explains what happens to someone who bets and why we are all sitting ducks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #420

  Regime Change: Inside the White House of Emperor Trump

  Aug 10, 202649 min

  David Hearn was once an Olympic canoeist. He was facing ten years in a federal prison for allegedly vandalising the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC before all the charges were dropped. ‘It’s a relief, but there’s a detachment to that relief of extreme concern for other people and for our country,’ Hearn said, On Free State today we explain why the story of the Reflecting Pool is a perfect example of how Donald Trump works.  We look at how Donald Trump captured the United States and what the new book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Sean tells us about that operation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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