Reflections from the first ten days in Japan at the Tokyo Olympics featuring dubious surfers, imaginary busses, and what happens when everything gets lost in translation...

Our Man In Stockholm

Konichiwa - A Postcard From Tokyo

This time ten years ago, none of us knew the name of Anders Behring Breivik. If only it had stayed that way. On July 22 he detonated a bomb in Oslo that killed eight people before going on a shooting rampage on an island. By the time the shooting ended, the bomb and his guns had claimed 77 victims, with hundreds more wounded. To mark the tenth anniversary of the attacks, I spoke to Vegard Gröslie Wennesland, who spent some of his childhood growing up in Dublin, about that day. Vegard was on Utoeya and witnessed several of the murders before barricading himself in a building with dozens of others. He also speaks about the intervening decade in Norwegian politics and beyond, how Breivik's views have become mainstream and what needs to be done to reverse this course.

Remembering Utoeya, Ten Years On

Molly McCann was always a little bit different, but she didn't always want to be. A fantastic athlete, she excelled at football and now competes in mixed martial arts in the UFC'a flyweight division, but she struggled to come to terms with her sexuality. The result is a new book, "Be True To You", which tells the story of her path to coming out in a way that young people can understand and relate to, especially if they feel the same way.

Fighting, Writing And Coming Out - Meatball Molly McCann

Petesy Carroll is the best MMA journalist in Europe, but even he was on the ropes due to the pandemic. He's back with a new deal that has seen him park his pen and fire up his mic as things return to normal in a sport that has never described itself in that way.

Fighting To Stay In The Game - Petesy Carroll On MMA Journalism During The Pandemic

Behind the scenes in Copenhagen on the day of Denmark's must-win game against Russia at Euro 2020.

A Danish Football Fairytale - Audio Diary From Euro 2020

On Saturday night we watched live as a man died and was brought back to life on a football field in Copenhagen. A few days later I tried to relive that night to find out what, if anything, we learned.

Inside The Night Christian Eriksen's Heart Stopped

For the third and final pre-Euro 2020 podcast, I spoke to my favourite Swedish-Spanish reporter Alexandra Jonson about her native country and our expectation that we have seen the future of Swedish football, and its name is Alexander Isak.

Euro 2020 Part 3 - Sweden Striker Isak Set For Euro Breakthrough

In the second of three pre-Euro 2020 podcasts, I talk to Danish Footy editor Claus Røndbjerg about Denmark's chances, the current and recent coach and players, and THAT tournament victory back in 1992, the one that enabled every small nation to dream the big dreams.

Euro 2020 Part 2 - Denmark Dream Of A New '92

The first of three podcasts focusing on the upcoming Euro 2020 tournament from a Nordic perspective. Journalist, documentary-maker and self-described football dreamer Ronan Browne joins me from Tampere to talk about football in Finland, making the finals of a major tournament for the first time, and what the world can expect from them.

Euro 2020 Part 1 - Finland Finally Arrive With Ronan Browne

The recent violence in Gaza and the resulting hot takes landing like Scud missiles all over the discourse prompted me to contact Jacob Woolf, an Irish-Jewish man who is someone I always feel I can learn from. We talked about Zionism, antisemitism, the moderate view, competing rights and what a fair solution in Palestine might look like.

Zionism, Israel and Palestine - Jacob Woolf

With the World Cup in Qatar coming up, there's a lot of discussion around sport, human rights and life in the Middle East. David O'Leary lived in Qatar for four years, working on infrastructure projects, some of which are related to the World Cup. I asked him about his life there and the life of those on the building sites, and how the country is opening up in a way that is perhaps not recognisable to western eyes.

Arabian Nights - Living In Qatar With David O'Leary

In a week that has been a podcast producer's nightmare, two stories stuck in my mind - that of Eoghan Harris and his sock puppet account, and how a Swedish healthcare whistleblower who should have been treated like a hero was called "illoyal" by her employer. That led to this rant, and it only occurred to me at the very end that, though they are very different, they are actually about the same fundamental things.

Sock Puppets, The Gammonati And Whistleblowers

From the Super League to Jake Paul's boxing career, sport has been letting me down lately. I spoke to Pod God Seán Sheehan to get him to restore my faith in what is - or should be - a glorious and indispensable part of our lives.

Saving Sport From Itself - Seán Sheehan

Finally, soccer's Super League has announced itself, and the only surprise is that people are surprised. The somersaulting hypocrisy is not just limited to ex-pros and broadcasters either - we all bear some share of the blame...

Surprise, Hypocrisy And The Super League Rocking Soccer

Is the recent violence in Northern Ireland a return to the dark days, or a once-off in a relatively stable piece? Writer Emma De Souza joins me to put it all in context.

Peace Comes Dropping Slow - What's Really Going On In Northern Ireland With Emma De Souza

On media, journalism and the world around us.

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Our Man In Stockholm

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