“I had a very frank discussion with McGuinness and I told him that I couldn’t ever square the application of violence for political reasons”
Northern Ireland journalist Eamonn Mallie has just released a memoir, Eyewitness to War and Peace, and his interview with Dion Fanning explores the upheaval he has witnessed through a career covering the Troubles and the peace process, as well as the process of reporting on it. "With Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly at the helm, I’m hopeful that we’re on the right track again," Mallie says, and he explains why.
“If Sinn Féin get into the Department of Finance, would they spread around the proceeds of the Northern Bank robbery?”
Colm Tóibín’s new book, The Magician, deals with the life of Thomas Mann.
Tóibín finished the book before lockdown but he went back to it in that period and amended it and edited it. The subject matter has added to the natural anxiety which Tóibín feels as he releases a novel. He is not writing about Ireland, he says, or Wexford. Or Enniscorthy. He is dealing with one of the great German writers from a family that have intrigued many for a long time.
But the pandemic too has increased that anxiety. In this podcast Tóibín talked to Dion Fanning about the effect of lockdown on the psyche, his wonderful new book 'The Magician', as well as Ireland today.
“I don’t believe the particular qualities which have made Michael O’Leary a success are the qualities that would make him the best Taoiseach in the country”
Michael Lillis glided effortlessly from the apex of the Irish public service to the boardroom of Ireland’s most exciting international company. After helping to negotiate the Anglo Irish Agreement, arguably the most important treaty this state has entered into since independence, he joined Guinness Peat Aviation, the company that persuaded the world to lease aircraft from Ireland. And all before he turned 40. In this podcast with Sam Smyth, he talks about all of that and more, including his conversation with Franco, Castro and Pope John Paul II.
“It’s wrong to characterise it as akin to 1930s style fascism. Not because it’s benign, but it hasn’t got the same organisational model.”
Jair Bolsonaro came to power following dissatisfaction with corruption and the mismanagement of Brazil's economy. But his own organisational weaknesses and his failing brand of populism means he is likely to get more desperate before next year's election. Richard Lapper, author of a book on Bolsonaro's Brazil discusses his rise to power and why Trump's minions are attracted to him.
“Green investment and VCs that are very much looking to support the social enterprise sector are quite prominent nowadays. So what we really want to do is find investors who are aligned with our business ideals”
This time three years ago, Emily Beere was selling software to Wall St investment bankers. She has since joined the founding team of Thriftify, a social enterprise dedicated to turning charity shops into cutting-edge online retailers. Yet the Kildare saleswoman has lost nothing of her appetite for growth and tells Thomas Hubert the company is now pitching to investors who want to achieve positive impacts while making money: "It's not a not-for-profit. We do make profits, but it's very much the social impact and doing good business that are at the forefront of what we do."
“Can we agree on what it is that we can actually do? And if we’re not doing the things that we clearly can afford to do and could actually do, what does that tell us about our politics, our social preferences?”
Adam Tooze is a better economist than most economists, a better historian than most historians, and has a focus more global than anyone currently writing. In his podcast with the economist Stephen Kinsella, he discusses his latest book, Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World Economy. He delves into just how complicated the ‘real’ nature of the Covid crisis is and what it tells us about this moment of acceleration we are heading into.
Kinsella and Tooze also discuss the possibility of a climate detente between the US and China, as well as risk societies and polycrisis, the idea that the vectors of global change from climate to geopolitics to future pandemics feed into and accelerate one another.
“If you’re in any way a nervous networker, having a digital business card is a really good way to open up a conversation”
Wendy McCormack Stunt set up her B2B digital business card company, Go DigiCard, almost five years ago to make networking easier and faster by creating personalised business cards that can be shared with anyone that has internet access on her phone. Go DigiCard is now used by 300 organisations across Europe, China, and the United States. She talks to Cait Caden about signing a new large partner in the US, her plans to rebrand, and her vision of creating a Golden Pages of digital business cards.
“I think more people should just join companies that are breaking out rather than starting something from scratch”
In 2017, Shane Curran won the BT Young Scientist and Technology Competition. Two years later, after abandoning college after just weeks, he went to Silicon Valley with an idea. He returned with backing from some of the world’s biggest funds. But the young entrepreneur is interested in more than business – he is fascination by how technology shapes society and the nature of education. In this conversation with the economist Stephen Kinsella, they discuss the evolution of the higher education system, what it can do to help founders succeed, and what might come next.
“Know your number. Do a small audit internally: What are your emissions?”
Marie Donnelly is the new chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, which is about to publish Ireland’s first five-year carbon budget. This ceiling on the amount of greenhouse gases the country can give off will trickle down into government policy for all sectors – and changes for every business. Donnelly takes Thomas Hubert through the process and shares tips on how business owners can prepare.
‘The European football system is essentially a racket”
The Ireland football team lost heroically to Portugal on Wednesday night. Does this signal the beginning of a new era for Irish football and the Football Association of Ireland or is the road back too long and bumpy? Economist Colm McCarthy, Sean Keyes and Dion Fanning discuss Irish football and what needs to happen for it to prosper.
“I think with artificial intelligence, your phone will be able to tell you what you’re eating, how you’re eating and what your score is going to be.”
Eamonn Quinn has retail running through his veins. Having served as deputy chairman of Superquinn, the supermarket chain founded by his father Feargal, Quinn is now a board member and active investor in a portfolio of retail and food business such as Buymie and Kelsius.
In a podcast with Ian Kehoe, Quinn talks about how Covid-19 has accelerated shifts in shopping behaviour and explains what this means for traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers as well as the fabric of the high street. He talks about what retailers can do to remain relevant, why the smartphone is a gamechanger for retail, and how businesses can develop customer loyalty online.
Quinn also talks about the future of food, and addresses issues such as product traceability, labelling and Brexit. Quinn also explores his role as chairman of Buymie and Kelsius and reveals what he looks for in an investment opportunity.