Author Archive: The Tortoise Shack

Simon Harris’s dole as a ‘way of life’ comment is Fine Gael kicking us while we’re down

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack “When they go after people on welfare, they’re going after all of us because Dole is a small percentage of the social welfare budget.” In this Tortoise Shack episode, Tony speaks with independent journalist and Tipperary Disabled Persons Organisation co-chair Dean Buckley about his Irish Examiner article on welfare reviews, Fine Gael’s “new-old” political rhetoric […]

Go to Podcast

Unspoken Assumptions – Viability vs Liveability

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack “Until we’ve done that, we don’t really have a choice about the way we live because the market is going to drive what gets built.” Architect and Queen’s University Belfast Marie Curie doctoral fellow Shane Sugrue joins us for the first time on the Tortoise Shack to discuss his recent piece, Unspoken assumptions: the Minister, […]

Go to Podcast

Poetry of Resistance and Remembrance

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Paul Catafago is a first-generation Palestinian-Lebanese-American spoken word poet, independent journalist, and cultural organizer. Born and raised in Queens, New York City to political refugees, his raw, rhythmic poetry focuses deeply on memory, exile, identity, and the generational trauma of displacement. Nour O. El Borno is a Palestinian writer, educator, and professional legal translator from […]

Go to Podcast

The Call is Coming from inside the Leinster House

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack “Common sense is often just biases and simplifications.” In this (previously) member-only pod, Tony and journalist Philip O’Connor explore Ireland’s political descent into fringe positions, media influence, social media dynamics, and the broader implications for democracy and society. They delve into the impact of social media echo chambers, government censorship, and the rise/normalisation of far-right […]

Go to Podcast

Change is Happening – Don’t be a Bystander

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack “This is not a moment to be a bystander. Let’s think about this as an opportunity.” In this Tortoise Shack Podcast, Tony speaks with Human Rights Law Professor at Queens University Belfast, Colin Harvey about the emerging and evolving discussion on Irish unity and the chance to shape a more equal, rights-based future across the […]

Go to Podcast

Rethinking Housing – A European Initiative for Change

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack “We’re building for profit. We’re not building for people, and we’re not building for the planet.” Architect and Representative of the European Citizens’ Initiative Right to Housing, Josiane Schmidt, joins Rory to explain why Europe’s housing crisis is driven not simply by a shortage of buildings, but by unaffordability, vacancy, and treating homes as investment […]

Go to Podcast

Lula’s Miraculous Comeback – Lessons for the Left

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack “It always looks hopeless, until it’s not.” In this Tortoise Shack podcast, Tony speaks with journalist Nicholas Leal of El País about Lula da Silva’s narrow and historic presidential-election victory in Brazil. (Isn’t it great to have some good news for a change?) Nicholas outlines the grassroots mobilisation that overcame a first-round deficit, turned out […]

Go to Podcast

The Last Times I Didn’t Know Were The Last, with Tarak Al-Farra

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Tarak AlFarra is a Palestinian Digital Storyteller, Social Media Creator and Humanitarian Activist from Gaza, who was evacuated and is now in Italy. His work focuses on humanitarian storytelling, visual documentation, social media advocacy, and short-form creation related to war, displacement, identity, and resilience. Through photography, interviews, public speaking, and digital media, he’s documented the […]

Go to Podcast