The week that really was: Recent Episodes
Gript
The Week That Really Was" offers a different and distinctive take on the events of the week of a kind that you won't find anywhere else in Ireland. It is presented by Gript Media Editor John McGuirk, and Barrister at Law and Media Personality, Sarah Ryan.
John is joined by Irish writer Conor Fitzgerald (@fitzfromdublin) to discuss the question of whether Ireland, and western society at large, is increasingly divided politically along gender lines, and why cultural institutions sometimes seem to hate their own audiences.
According to the government democracy is where the government pays billions of dollars to one side and jails the other.
In the sorry absence of Sarah Ryan, John is joined by NIAMH UI BHRIAN to discuss Gerard Craughwell’s one-man crusade against Gender Self-ID, Helen McEntee as the victim of misogyny, and the prospects for the new Farmer’s Alliance.
In this week’s episode, Sarah tells John all about the Lizzo banana scandal, which leads to a chat about the unfashionability of normal boring old sex, and a question: Has the fall of traditional religion and the rise of a new religiosity led to a fall in contentment?
John and Sarah talk about the issues of the week, ranging from gold heists to climate worries, crime, and Sinead O’Connor. But also, as the Government introduces free IVF for some couples, the growing challenge of infertility:
In this week’s episode, the story of a missing American woman leads John and Sarah into a chat about gender quotas, victimhood, the state of Dublin, the Children’s Hospital and how the media can’t stop terrifying the population with scary stories of crisis.
John and Sarah are joined by William Campbell of the @hereshowpodcast to tell them – as respectfully as possible – why they’re wrong about most things, and why Ireland is in fact one of the most successful countries in the world.
“Justin Trudeau with fancier socks” – That’s Keith Redmond’s verdict on Leo Varadkar as he joins John and Sarah to talk hate speech, Helen McEntee’s illiberalism, RTE’s implosion, and the public finances careening out of control:
RTÉ dominates this week’s podcast, as John and Sarah wonder whether the state broadcaster has even a shred of credibility left; Also: Is Dublin a crime-ridden dump, and who is to blame?
Is the tide of public opinion turning on the transgender agenda? John and Sarah are joined by women’s rights campaigner Laoise DeBrun to discuss the Hate Speech Bill, Ryan Tubridy, Lost Submarines, and Laoise’s drafting of a new bill to keep men out of women’s prisons.
“it’s almost like a tea party”: Gript’s own Ben Scallan joins John to talk about his journey from political candidate to Government press conferences, the pitfalls of Ireland’s political system, and how impending fatherhood changes a man.
“It’s like being governed by a divorced mum and dad” – John and Sarah discuss the growing sense that Ireland just doesn’t have a leader, and also reflect on the terror in France, and the Labour Party’s call for a “NPHET style” approach to immigration.
What's broken in Irish politics? In the aftermath of the East Wall dispute, former PD advisor CORMAC LUCEY joins John and David to discuss immigration, economics, and the growing gap between establishment and people
Senator Sharon Keoghan talks to John McGuirk and David Quinn about the worsening atmosphere in Leinster House towards those with non-consensus views. They also discuss the latest coverage of clerical abuse, and a call to suppress all the religious orders’
The Republicans wrestle with Abortion; Micheál Martin tries to save the world at COP 27; and McGuirk goes on a rant about the lunatic asylum called Mastodon.
In Episode 3 of The Week that Really was: Father Sheehy versus the world; Why "Reeling in the Years" isn't so much beloved TV show as dangerous misinformation, and David Quinn's shocking 1983 secret. Available now where you get your podcasts.
In episode 2 of "The week that really was", John McGuirk and David Quinn discuss hate speech laws, and an opinion poll that shows more than half the country holds the "far right" view that we should limit the number of Ukrainian refugees
The first of hopefully many episodes of the week that really was with David Quinn and John McGuirk.