Patrick “Packy” McMahon is a former provisional IRA bomb maker who was jailed after being caught in the act of manufacturing a 1,500 LB bomb. Packy tells us about growing up as the conflict raged and how his life-long battle with British soldiers began. We spoke about the in and outs of how the IRA manufactured its bombs/explosive devices from begi…

Ian Hurst, better known to some as “Martin Ingram” was a member of the Force Research Unit, an intel gathering and spy-handling British security forces group and spent time as a handler in Derry during which time he worked with Frank Hegarty. Ian is best known for co-authoring the book ’Stakeknife” which exposed the exploits of one of the North’s m…

*** PREVIEW CLIP*** (I usually don't do this but to fill the void this week here's a snippet from the full episode which will be available on YouTube this week and on podcast platforms next Monday) In a clip from our upcoming 3 + hour interview, ex-FRU handler Ian Hurst (Martin Ingram) gives his take on how he thinks the infamous "Agent Stakeknife"…

For this episode I spoke with author Henry Hemming about his most recent book “Four Shots in the Night”, an excellently written true-story of a British army agent within the IRA named Frank Hegarty. Henry talks to us about the army unit that recruited and ran Hegarty, the now infamous FRU (force research unit) and their unique approach to running a…

For this episode I spoke with filmmaker Des Henderson, about his recent, extremely powerful documentary "Lost Boys: Belfast's Missing Children" which focus on the disappearances of a number of boys in Northern Ireland during the troubles and explores the dark story of Kincora Boys Home. Des tells us about the links that these disappearances may hav…

Ex-IRA volunteer and author of the “Stakeknife's Dirty War", Richard O Rawe returns to the pod to share his analysis on the recently published and long awaited, Operation Kenova (interim report). This was an investigation into the FRU (force research unit) agent code named Stakeknife and the IRA’s internal security unit better known as the “nutting…

Padraig Og O' Ruaric, historian and author of "The Disappeared" speaks to us about his the forced disappearances the have taken place for political reasons in Ireland's often bloody history. We speak about the different reasons for forced disappearances in Ireland's war of independence and civil war committed by both Irish guerrilla fighters and th…

In this episode author David Blake Knox ("Facedown: The disappearance of Thomas Neidermayer") takes us through the tragic case of German man, Thomas Neidermayer, who was living in the north when he was kidnapped (and killed) by the IRA in an attempt to get Marian and Dolores Price moved to an Irish prison after their 1973 London b*mbing attack. We …

Richard Moore grew up in Derry and as a young child experienced life in pre-troubles Northern Ireland before the eruption of a conflict that had been brewing for years. Richard tells us about his memories of the British army as they first came to N.I following the Battle of the Bogside and how they were originally welcomed by the community and how …

David Burke, author of "Kitson’s Irish War: Mastermind of the Dirty War in Ireland" breaks down the work/influence of Brigader Frank Kitson and the infamous "Military Reaction Force" better known as the MRF, The British Army branch who were "there to act like the IRA". David tell us about how Kiston developed the tactics that would used against the…

Stephen White is former commanding officer of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (police force at the time) during some of Northern Ireland’s most violent and volatile years. Stephen tells us about his early years growing up in an environment where sectarian tension and violence was a constant. Stephen spent time in the Ulster Defense Regiment before he…

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LEAVE A RATING & SHARE TO HELP THE SHOW CONTINUE TO GROW On April 13th 1922 the war of independence era IRA committed their only murder on US soil when they took revenge on a traitor whose disloyalty had cost 6 members of his old unit their lives. Author Mark Bulik, who has written the first book on the incident shares with us the…

Julieann Campbell's uncle John "Jackie" Duddy was 17 years old when he was shot dead while running away by British soldiers during Bloody Sunday 1972. Julieann's urge to find out whatever she could about the killing of the uncle that she never got to meet for her family would eventually led her to write an outstanding book called 'On Bloody Sunday"…

(RE-UPLOAD, RECORDED LATE DEC 2022 & PUBLISHED IN JAN 2023) The chief suspect for the still unsolved 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier, Ian Bailey has died form a heart-attack. I spoke to Ian almost exactly a year ago in what was, I'm fairly sure, his second last long format interview and his last video long format interview. (Video version …

For this episode I spoke with Ronan McGreevy, co-author of the recently released book "The Kidnapping", which focuses on the doomed ransom kidnapping attempt on businessman Don Tidey. We discussed the IRA's various methods of fund-raising during the troubles and their history of ransom-kidnaps. Ronan told me about how Tidey was selected as the targ…

Nick Dunn is a former British soldier and private security contractor who endured nearly half a decade in the Indian prison system after being unfairly convicted while carrying out anti-pirate work. Nick spoke to me about his brief time patrolling South Armagh in post-conflict Northern Ireland and danger he faced in Afghanistan fighting against the…

Billy Hutchinson is an ex-UVF member and Loyalist who saw the Troubles heat up and erupt as he was a teen in sectarian Northern Ireland. Billy told us about his growing up in the Shankill area, a working class Protestant part of Belfast and his community felt uncared for by their government despite identifying as loyal Brits. Billy, in an attempt t…

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, SHARE & LEAVE A RATING TO HELP US CONTINUE TO GROW Brian Banks is a former NFL whose life was altered forever when he was the victim of a false-r*pe allegation towards the end of his high school years. We spoke about how he found out that he was being accused of such a horrific crime, the process of being arrested & charged and th…

PART 2 OF 2 PLEASE SUBSCRIBE & LEAVE A RATING TO HELP THE SHOW CONTINUE TO GROW Glenn Bradley was born 1967 in West Belfast and grew up in the loyalist Woodvale area. He is a former soldier, one-time politician and a made-good businessman. Today, Glenn is Chair of Veterans For Peace Ireland and a Board Member of the Belfast Charitable Society. He r…

Glenn Bradley was born 1967 in West Belfast and grew up in the loyalist Woodvale area. He is a former soldier, one-time politician and a made-good businessman. Today, Glenn is Chair of Veterans For Peace Ireland and a Board Member of the Belfast Charitable Society. He remains an unapologetic Irish peace processor. I was eager pick Glenn's brain abo…

Graham Linehan is the Irish comedy writer behind behind the legendary sitcom, Father Ted, as well as Black Books and the I.T Crowd. Grahams recent autobiography, “Tough Crowd” takes the reader through Graham’s youth in Ireland, his co-writing of the show that is now embedded in Irish culture and provided laughs the world over. We speak about Graham…

Frank Portinari is a former commander of the London UDA during the troubles and was eventually imporisoned after being caught buying firearms which were to used for the loyalist cause of keeping the 6 counties of Northern Ireland part of the UK. Frank told us about his growing in working-class London in a largely Irish area and how he ended up as a…

Irish criminologist and co-host of the Real Lives Untold podcast, Sarah O' Conor speaks to us about the recent murders that shocked Ireland committed by Yousef Palani & Jozef Puska whose respective killings have now resulted in life sentences for the murderers. Sarah also told us about Ireland's history of serial-killer types and particularly those…

"Balaclava Street" is a leading blog dedicated to exploring the history of the loyalist paramilitaries in Northern, particularly the UVF. Over the years Iain has gained unprecedented access to ex-UVF members for the book that he is in the process of writing about the loyalist paramilitary's history. We spoke about the various loyalist paramilitary …

Nicola Tallant is one of Ireland’s leading crime journalists and her newest book, “Cocaine Cowboys” presents a history of Ireland’s relationship with the drug as well as the gangland figures that have emerged since white powder hit Irish shores. We spoke about the drug itself, how long it has taken to fully penetrate all layers of society and how i…

Martin Doyle’s new book “Dirty Linen: The Troubles in my Homeplace” details the events of the troubles in his local area and the wide reaching effects that the conflict had on everyone’s lives. In my personal opinion the book is one of the very finest works on the subject of troubles-era Northern Ireland and is a masterfully crafted collections of …

Tony McAleer is a reformed, ex- neo-n*zi/white supremacist who now works to help people disengage from violent hate-groups like the one's that Tony used to set-up and run. Tony shares his story of how a boy from a good family & catholic school ended up heavily involved in racist-skinhead gangs even taking up a leadership role and using his intellig…

We continue Eddie's story as he is 16 years old and about to plant a b*mb in a pub which would kill an innocent person and wound Eddie. Eddie describes his mindset at the time and his want for vengeance in retaliation for IRA killings. Eddie tells us about the incident itself and the effect it had on his young life, his sentencing and the subsequen…

Eddie Kinner is a loyalist and ex-UVF member who grew up in Belfast in the 60/70's, a time and place where sectarian tensions simmered and would eventually explode into rioting and violence. Eddie speaks to us about his growing up, attitudes among his fellow protestants at the time, seeing riots & houses burnt out by sectarian mobs, all as a boy/yo…

Stephen Travers was a young bass player, blissfully out-of-touch with the conflict erupting in Northern Ireland as he joined one of the country’s biggest showbands; The Miami. Shortly after joining Stephen’s life would be altered forever when the band became the victims of a bombing and then mass sh*oting by the UVF and members of the British secur…

Richard O' Rawe's new book "Stakeknife's Dirty War: The Inside Story of Scappaticci, the IRA's Nutting Squad and the British Spooks Who Ran the War" offers the most comprehensive and in-depth look into the life and crimes of Freddie Scappaticci, better known as agent "Stakenife". I spoke to Richard about Scap's rise through the ranks in the IRA, ho…

Patrick Ryan is the infamous former priest who sourced money, weapons and materials for the IRA during the troubles and even personally met with Libyan dictator Mummar Gaddafi to buy guns for the Republicans. I spoke with author and journalist Jennifer O' Leary about her interviews with Patrick Ryan resulting in a book, "The Padre". Jennifer shares…

Jason O' Toole has sat down for 40 + hours of interviews with one of Ireland's most notorious criminals, drugs traffickerJohn Gilligan. The result was a gripping and facasinating book called "The Gilligan Tapes" and a 3 part documentary which is airing now. I spoke to Jason about how the their initial meeting came about in 2008 when he interviewed …

Anne Cadwallader is a former journalist who covered The Troubles during some of it’s worst years and wrote one of the leading books on the proven collusion that occurred during The Troubles between British Govt/law enforcement and Loyalist paramilitaries. Anne’s book and research focusing mainly on the period of 1972-1978 and group known as the Gle…

Seamus continues his story at the point where he is caught and arrested by the RUC for a job gone-wrong. He tells us about the physical and mental torture inflicted by the prison guards in Long Kesh (H Blocks) and the lengths that Seamus and his colleagues went to during the "Blanket Protests" or 'Dirty Protests". Seamus describes the inhumane meth…

Seamus Kearney is a former IRA volunteer who grew up in sectarian Belfast and came of age as the Troubles were building up. He spoke to me about experiencing anti-catholic discrimination including having to change his first name while working his first job as well as seeing his area attacked by a sectarian mob after being abandoned by Army and RUC.…

Jo Berry was 27 when she tragically lost her father, Anthony Berry, in 1984 after the IRA detonated a bomb a Brighton hotel targeting Margret Thatcher and her cabinet. Despite the grief and devastation that her father's murder inflicted on her, she quickly came to the realization that she was seeking to understand the people responsible for her fat…

Colin Breen was an RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary, the police force in Northern Ireland up until late 90s) Officer during the period of extreme violence and murder known as "The Troubles". Colin shared with me his own experiences of investigating murders, bombings and trying to maintain order during such a tremulous time. He spoke about being shot …

Matt Thornton has been practicing and teaching martial arts around the USA and the world for decades and is the founder of the now world famous MMA gyms, Straight Blast Gym (SBG). We discussed the best ways for the average person to gain the practical skills nessceray to defend themselves and their loved ones, the biggest misconceptions floating ar…

Mubin Shaikh is a former extremist turned counterterrorism operative and expert, who, at the age of 18 encountered the Taliban in Pakistan after a life in Canada up until then. He spent years as an extremist became an undercover agent for the Canadian govt. after the events of 9/11 changed his perspective. Mubin and I discussed his twists and turns…

Ireland is currently in the process of passing into law the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022. If passed Ireland will have some of the strictest hate speech laws in the world and it will be possible to prosecute citizens for simply possessing material that is interpreted as an incite to hate. I spoke to…

Peter Taylor has covered “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland since Bloody Sunday in 1972 and has written several books on the subject. His latest work is “Operation Chiffon” (link below) revels and details the back-channel communications that existed between the IRA and British intelligence and helped form a path towards eventual peace in Northern I…

This week I spoke with Rory Carroll, author of 'Killing Thatcher"/ "There Will Be Fire" which details the IRA's plot to assassinate Margret Thatcher and her cabinet using a bomb a Brighton hotel in 1984.... and came incredibly close Rory spoke to me about the years of planning that went into the attack, the effect and closeness of the bomb itself, …

For this episode I spoke with Licensed Clinical Social Worker Leah O'Donnell. Leah works in the field of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy as well as more conventional methods of therapy. Leah told me about human ego; the role it plays in our lives, it's importance and how it can also hinder development. We spoke about the culture of men bottling up thei…

For this week’s episode I spoke to a legend of Irish comedy writing, writer and creator of “Father Ted”, Graham Lineman. Graham told me about his schooling and how it impacted his writing of ‘Father Ted”, his feelings about comedians being afraid to touch certain topics and his cancellation in recent years due to his outspoken views on the trans id…

My guest for this episode was Florida's 23rd death row exoneree, Herman Lindsey. Herman was falsely convicted for the murder of a pawn shop employee during a robbery in 1994 in a trial which has since been recognized as one of Florida's worst murder convictions given the lack of evidence placing Mr Lindsey at the scene. Herman told me about how he …

***TIMESTAMPS BELOW*** For this episode I spoke to Conor, aka COUNTERPOINTS a former US Marine and Police Officer who is now a political streamer on Youtube. Conor told me about his Marine training and the effect of it’s brutal training on his mind, we spoke about hsi time stationed in Iraq and his years as a Police Officer. Conor spoke to me about…

My guest for this week's episode was Craig Harrison, ex-british Army Sniper and holder of the world record for longest sniper k!ll. Craig spoke to me about his 23 years in the military, his initial tours of Bosnia and Kosovo where he witnessed unspeakable atrocities which would scar him for life and his time as a sniper in the Middle East. Craig sh…

***TIMESTAMPS BELOW*** For this episode I spoke to Justin Brooks, criminal defense lawyer, law professor, and the Founding Director of the California Innocence Project and recent author of “You Might Go to Prison, Even Though You're Innocent”. ( https://www.amazon.com/Might-Prison-Though-Youre-Innocent/dp/0520386833) The book and our interview focu…

00:00 Preview 00:40 Growing up in Bradford, Bradford Riots 09:25 Joining police 11:10 DAILY REALITY OF A TRAFFIC COP 17:30 Feeling of engaging in a high-speed pursuit 20:30 QUITTING POLICE DUE TO MENTAL HEALTH 35:40 Hollywood/TV on police & policing in the US 44:20 GUNS- should more cops be armed ? 49:55 CORRUPTION WITHIN THE POLICE ?? 58:35 DO COP…