#CargoOfBricks: From library assistant in Oldpark to Smash Hits boss in four years…

Talking to a retired nationalist politician recently he recounted how important it was for him to get out of Belfast in the early days of the troubles to UCD and a Dublin in which society and its operants (arts, commerce, science) outsized the politics of the day. #CargoOfBricks and Brian’s In Conversation podcast series draw from a wider circle of sources share insights and stories that perhaps can have a fresh bearing on our lives in-the-round, not always through the …

Read more…

Busting Myths and Making the case for extending the franchise for Presidential Elections.

With the formation of a new Irish government and as we look toward recovery, I wanted to put together a discussion about Presidential voting rights for the diaspora. My panel had Ben Kelly from the VICA Campaign and Naomi O’Leary from the Irish Times and the Irish Passport Podcast.  “Áras an Uachtaráin” by jaqian is licensed under CC BY David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

#InConversation Podcast with Dr John Moriarty from Queen’s about changes to work patterns during Covid-19…

John is a fellow in the Centre for evidence and social innovation and a sociology lecturer School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queens University Belfast In this podcast we chat about the changes to the workplace from Covid 19. As well as the obvious downsides, there have also been some positive to the lockdown. People are commuting less, meetings now take place on video saving time and money etc We also talk about the challenges of working …

Read more…

#CargoOfBricks 8: Ruth Dudley Edwards on life in Lockdown London and getting “kettled” outside Downing Street

Episode Eight of #CargoOfBricks is with the Dublin born, London based commentator on both Irish and British politics, and crime writer. Initially, Ruth started as a lockdown sceptic, so I asked how she had managed what was probably the oddest period of disruption in our post-war lives, and what changed during the lockdown, for her and for the rest of us… Powered by RedCircle In a free-flowing conversation, she talks about… Although she began defiantly anti lockdown, ‘when the orders …

Read more…

#CargoOfBricks: Cooperation, looking outwards and maximising Northern Ireland’s advantage…

Episode Seven of #CargoOfBricks, is with Willie McCarter a man who brought Fruit of the Loom in from the US to expand his family business at a time when the Troubles were at their height and brought skilled jobs to both sides of the border: In it Willie tells us: In the early 80s, with high-interest rates as governments tried to get inflation under control, the business was getting crushed on cost and prices. With IDA support, they looked for …

Read more…

#InConversation Podcast with Adam Turkington from Seedhead Arts about the arts sector in Northern Ireland…

In this podcast, I chat with Adam Turkington. Adam is a veteran of the arts scene who is best known as the Director of Culture Night in Belfast. He has since moved on to start his own company Seedhead Arts. We bounce around from Culture Night to the 12th, from Universal Basic Income to 20 sided dice. Have a listen and let me know what you think. Warning: This episode does contain some swearing.  You can subscribe to Slugger Podcasts …

Read more…

#Angrynomics: Governments can use idle stock markets to close the gap between rich and poor, and save the planet

Episode Six of #CargoOfBricks, and I speak to Eric Lonergan who along with Mark Blyth has critiqued in #Angrynomics how populism has filled the vacuum between democratic politics and unregulated markets, and between markets and real economies: At the crux of the book, anger is one of the most powerful agencies within politics just now. It takes two forms: moral anger as in the witness of injustice and an improving agent within society and the second which acts as a tribal …

Read more…

#CargoOfBricks Ep 5: After the #Covid sledgehammer, can Northern Ireland’s politicians continue to lead?

In episode five of Cargo of Bricks podcast, I spoke to Tina McKenzie who is the current chair of the FSB in Northern Ireland as well as CEO of Grafton Recruiting and honorary consul to Finland about how business had coped with the lockdown. Subjects included: The fact that there was no time to plan for the massive disruption that lockdown would bring, that businesses had some big decisions to make without a lot of guidance from government in London or …

Read more…

#InConversation Podcast – I talk with Ellie Francis about the skills shortage in Northern Ireland and the latest employment trends…

Before Covid-19 many sectors in Northern Ireland were facing a skills shortage. In this podcast, I chat with Ellie Francis about how this will affect the economy. Ellie started a company called Nepturnal, where she advises clients on how to attract and retain staff. Ellie has also started writing for Slugger and you can read her first post here. The skills shortage is an interesting phenomenon for those of us who grew up in the bad old days of 20% …

Read more…

#CargoOfBricks: After 100 years, the Civil War ends, Sinn Féin rises, Irish Greens step up to save the planet

In Cargo of Bricks, as the draft programme for government finally emerges nearly five months after February, Dr. Theresa Reidy and I talk through the blocks and difficulties that have had to be overcome to get a sellable deal back to their parties The main points we cover: The ideologically committed Greens have taken a harder line in the framing of the draft programme than either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, possibly making it harder for their two larger coalition …

Read more…

#InConversation Podcast with Andrew Hill – What is going on in America?

Andrew Hill is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas. In this podcast, we talk about the recent race protests in America, inequality and the upcoming Presidential Election. Andy has a local connection, he worked at Corrymeela for a year and he also studied at Trinity College Dublin. The books Andy recommended were Linda Hogan’s Keeping Faith with Human Rights, and Sluggers own Gladys Ganiel’s books. You can find out more about Andy on …

Read more…

#CargoOfBricks: On the political purgatory of Irish government formation, and Sinn Féin’s great leap forward

In this week’s episode of Cargo of Bricks, I’m talking with Professor Gary Murphy of Dublin City University about last February’s tumultuous general election and the dilemmas facing the now five-month-long process of government formation. In it, we dissect: How Ireland’s swing from right to left, illustrated by the collapse in the Fine Gael vote and Sinn Féin’s unanticipated great leap forward, has nullified Micheál Martin’s long-held ambition to lead a non-SF, left-leaning coalition government. The political purgatory now facing the …

Read more…

On #CargoOfBricks Graham Brownlow says economic recovery from #Covid19 must be long sighted and ambitious

In this week’s episode of Cargo of Bricks, I’m talking with Graham Brownlow who is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Queens Management School in Belfast about the economic effects of Covid 19, and what he thinks our response needs to be. Some of the themes we talked about include: Rise of internet-based giants like Amazon poses huge business case challenges for local retail calling into question its capacity to continue providing services to local communities, leading to downward pressure on …

Read more…

Slugger Podcast #InConversation with David Gavaghan about the economy & society after Covid-19…

For the third of my Slugger #InConversation podcasts, I chat with David Gavaghan. David is the founder of Aurora Prime Real Estate Ltd. He is a Non- Executive Director of CBI (and in 2016/2017 was chair of CBI in Northern Ireland). In January David was appointed a Belfast Climate Commissioner and was Chair of MAC in Belfast until March 2020. Amongst his previous roles, he was the Chief Executive of Titanic Quarter Ltd and Strategic Investment Board. Whilst his background …

Read more…

Podcast: #CargoOfBricks talks to Ian Parsley on Northern Ireland’s response to #Covid19

Well, since everyone else is doing one, I thought I would take a plunge into podcasting with short weekly conversations with someone who I think can add value to our understanding of the changing world around us. This week, I spoke to Ian Parsley whose frequently updated blog you should definitely put on your reading list for its incisive analysis of many aspects government, and most recently for his coverage of Covid 19. In it we cover: How Northern Ireland …

Read more…

Slugger Podcast – Chris Donnelly on the challenges to education during Covid-19…

For episode two of our new Podcast series, I take to Slugger contributor Chris Donnelly. More know to Slugger readers for his political insights, Chris is also a headteacher of Holy Child Primary School in Belfast. In the podcast we discuss the challenges of trying to teach during the pandemic as well as other issues such as the 11plus and the future of education. Have a listen and let me know what you think. You can subscribe to the Slugger …

Read more…

Video: Discussion with Mark Hackett and Wesley Johnston about the proposals for the York Street Interchange…

In our first Slugger podcast we talk with Architect and Urban Designer Mark Hackett about his alternative proposal for the York Street Interchange project in Belfast. Roads expert Wesley Johnston gives his view on Mark’s ideas. We also have a general discussion about the road network after Covid-19. As Mark did a presentation to explain his ideas we have released this one as a video, but future episodes will likely to be audio. The idea for the York St Interchange was …

Read more…