This week the boys are slapping on some wellies and face glitter as they take their show live to the Electric Picnic festival. Joining them on stage is the wonderful [Valerie Loftus](https://twitter.com/valerieloftus?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) to discuss What Am Fake News? There are surprise gifts, celebrity jingles, and fun fake news games. **Want to see WAP live? The boys will be appearing at the Dublin Podcast Festival on Friday October 5th at The Sound House. [Ge...
Sep 11, 2018•59 min
We are doing a live show as part of the Dublin Podcast Festival! You can see us and [The Echo Chamber Podcast](https://twitter.com/echochamberspod?lang=en) at The Sound House on Eden Quay on Friday 5th of October. [Tickets available here.](http://bit.ly/wapshow) We'll see you there! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 06, 2018•5 min
Steve is away this week. So, rather than crawling into his cave of loneliness and introversion, Richie decided to reach out to friend of the show, [Jazza John](https://twitter.com/JazzaJohn) to be a guest host. They talk about the landscape of LGBT+ Politics, examples of progressive change, and the work that’s yet to be done. Additional conversation topics include: hedgehog hearing, misinterpreted sexual emoticon, Pope-Watch, WAP Wellies™ [Jazza on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/rhymingwithora...
Aug 29, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Living under the threat of deportation is a terrifying reality for many in America. The DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) act offers some respite from this fear for many, but it is far from a permanent solution, and it’s future is unsure at best. This week, Steve and Richie chat with Andrea, a Mexican living in America under DACA. She talks about her families journey to America, the challenges of living with DACA status, and her thoughts about America’s future relationship with immig...
Aug 14, 2018•49 min
"No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark; You only run for the border, when you see the whole city running as well." - Warsan Shire This week, Steve and Richie are joined by writer and political analyst, [Nanjala Nyabola](https://twitter.com/Nanjala1), to talk about the causes and complexities of the refugee crisis. Like the show? We'd appreciate a review on [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/what-am-politics/id1200345868?mt=2) if you do. [Follow us on Twitter](h...
Jul 31, 2018•49 min
The Olympics. Philosophy. Big marble statues of naked dudes wrestling. Lots of extraordinary things came from Ancient Greece, Direct Democracy being chief among them. This week, Steve and Richie learn all about the system that says participation, not representation, is the best way to run a country. Guiding them through this topic is author, lecturer and all round great person, [Dr. Roslyn Fuller](https://twitter.com/roslynfuller). ----- [DemCon 2018](http://www.demcon.org/demcon2018) | [Eventbr...
Jul 17, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Happy 4th of July! Join Steve and Richie* as they celebrate American independence in their time honoured tradition, which is to say discussing the history and politics of a different country. *This episode comes with a drunk Richie warning. Like the show? We'd appreciate a review on [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/what-am-politics/id1200345868?mt=2) if you do. ----- [whatampolitics.com](https://whatampolitics.com/) [Follow us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/whatampolitics) [...
Jul 04, 2018•36 min
Same sex marriage, transparent pay structures, workplace injury compensation, democratic voting practices. No, we're not describing a political wet dream Richie once had. We're describing a Pirate ship. Pirates were responsible for some truly unprecedented and progressive practices. Nowadays, however, they have been relegated to silly caricatures or romanticised rogues. We sat down with [Sam Conniff Allende](https://twitter.com/samconniff?lang=en), author of ["Be More Pirate"](https://www.amazon...
Jun 26, 2018•1 hr 9 min
The Irish Queer Archive. Imagine the warehouse from the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark crossed with the library from Hogwarts, but far more important and slightly more magical. In honor of Pride Week, we sit down with the Curator of the IQA, [Tonie Walsh](https://twitter.com/tonie_walsh), to discuss the festivals origins and the history of queer culture at home and abroad. Like the show? We'd appreciate a review on [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/what-am-politics/id120034586...
Jun 19, 2018•58 min
Could the current digital revolution mean the end of our fragile democratic system? Is our political free will being eroded way by nefarious and biased entities? Has Richie successfully replaced Steve with a Google Home Assistant? We discuss these, and other equally harrowing topics, with [Jamie Bartlett](https://twitter.com/JamieJBartlett), author of ["The People Vs Tech: How the internet is killing democracy (and how we save it)"](https://www.amazon.co.uk/People-Vs-Tech-internet-democracy/dp/1...
Jun 05, 2018•1 hr 8 min
Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution: “Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancy ” Yes? No? The day of reckoning is finally here. On Friday May 25th, the people of Ireland will go to the polls and decide if they want to remove the 8th Amendment from the constitution and allow for the parliament to make the laws concerning abortion. For a final analysis of the campaign, we are joined by Ellen Coyne (Senior Ireland Journalist at The Times), Theresa Newman (Parliamen...
May 22, 2018•51 min
Steve is skeptical of a lot of things: artificial intelligence, pigeons, and the free market. Currently, there doesn’t exist any experts in the field of AI enabled pigeons for us to talk to, but luckily that’s not the case for neo-liberalism. This week, [Sophie Jarvis](https://twitter.com/SophieJarvis94) and [Matt Kilcoyne](https://twitter.com/MRJKilcoyne) from the Adam Smith Institute join Steve and Richie to talk about what the free market is, it’s role in the economy, and it's strengths and w...
May 15, 2018•1 hr 8 min
It's that time again! Get your sequin studded cape out of the cupboard, dust off your copy of 'How to Dance Like a Swede' and get ready for Eurovision 2018. Dónal Mulligan joins us once again to reprise his role as the Glitter Gandalf and guide us through the most interesting stories and songs of this years competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 08, 2018•46 min
Trade Unions: for many, they are a vital support in day to day working life. So when Ted the Labradoodle, What Am Politics' only employee, approached Steve and Richie with demands for better working rights (mostly involving more scheduled rubs and better quality treats), the lads thought they had better ask an expert how Trade Unions work. Michael Taft, an economic researcher for SIPTU, is here to explain how Trade Unions are vital to protecting the rights of workers in today's ever changing eco...
May 01, 2018•1 hr
It is legal for a student to carry a loaded gun into a Texas college classroom. However, if that same student came to class carrying a dildo they would be breaking state obscenity laws. This week Steve and Richie give you the low down on the state of gun control in the US before chatting with Jessica Jin from Cocks Not Glocks about this absurdity. ----- [Cocks Not Glocks](http://cocksnotglocks.org/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/cocksnotglocks) [Jessica Jin on Twitter](https://twitter.com/jess...
Apr 17, 2018•1 hr 5 min
This week Steve and Richie (two straight, white, middle class, cisgender men) teach you about diversity. Lol jk of course not. That’d be ridiculous. Instead, we talk to AlexReads and Raifa Rafiq from the [Mostly Lit podcast](https://soundcloud.com/mostlylitpod). We discuss representation, political correctness, freedom of speech, whether the UK will ever have a non white PM and much more. * * * [Mostly Lit on Twitter](https://twitter.com/mostlylit?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5E...
Apr 03, 2018•1 hr 26 min
You know the way if you repeat the same word incessantly, it begins to have no meaning? Well, that's how it feels with the not-really-a-word-anyway; Brexit. So to mark one year since the triggering of Article 50, and our first dedicated episode covering the UK leaving the EU, we thought we'd give everyone what we know they want… More bloody Brexit! We asked the UK based duo from The Right Dishonourable podcast to help us guide us through the lows and the… lower lows of Brexit: Part Deux ----- [T...
Mar 20, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Politicians are people too. It’s easy to forget that, especially when the misdeeds of a couple of bad apples dominate public perception. This week, Steve and Richie sit down with one of the good ones, Kate O’Connell from Fine Gael. They chat about being a professional politician, reconciling the greater good with local priorities and the challenges in balancing normal life and politics. * * * [whatampolitics.com](https://whatampolitics.com/) Follow us: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/whatampolitic...
Mar 06, 2018•1 hr 12 min
You guys, political corruption is soooo hot right now. Thanks to Trump, federal government investigations may seem like a trendy news story, but he is far from the first of his kind. This week, Steve teaches Richie about the original bad boy of American politics and the story of his fall from grace. ----- [All the President's Men](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074119/) [Richard Nixon: The Life by John A. Farrell](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31579314-richard-nixon) [The Great Coverup: Nixo...
Feb 20, 2018•1 hr 4 min
What am Love? (Baby don't hurt me, Don't hurt me, No more) It’s Valentine’s Day and we thought we’d ask the question that lies in everyone’s hearts; What am Love? To answer, we asked veteran podcaster, actor, comedian and all round wonderful human being, Erin McGathy, to join us in untangling the riddle that has stumped William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Hugh Grant. WARNING: We may not in fact come close to answering this question, but we sure had a lot of fun in the attempt! ---------- Want t...
Feb 14, 2018•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 1
There are enough nuclear bombs in the arsenals of the world to blow us all up several times over. And hovering over the buttons that can launch them are the fingers of Donal Trump, Kim Jong-Un and Vladimir Putin. Steve takes Richie on a journey through the woeful world of Weapons of Mass Destruction and explains how we’re all probably doomed. ---------- Want to be on the show? Leave us a voicemail asking us a question or sharing your thoughts. whatampolitics.com Follow us: Twitter | Facebook The...
Feb 06, 2018•1 hr
Newsie- a brand new podcast in which Steve will gather witty and well informed people to discuss the big news stories. Plenty of people have come back to us saying they would like more commentary on current events and we thought the best way to approach that would be to start a new podcast. So here is the first episode for your consideration! This is the first episode and if you like what you hear, but sure to subscribe! Subsequent episodes won't be appearing in your What Am Politics feed. [http...
Jan 31, 2018•54 min
Donald Trump has been President for one year. 12 Months. 52 Weeks. 365 Days. 8765 Hours. 525948 Minutes. 31556926 Seconds. But hey, who's counting? The boys discuss the lows and… well, let's face, they have all been lows, of Trump's first year in office. * * * Steve promised that for every episode we release, he would type up a post with links of stuff mentioned in the show and further reading. [So here it is!](https://whatampolitics.com/episodes/trump-one-year) * * * Want to be on the show? [Le...
Jan 23, 2018•57 min
2018: The much anticipated sequel to the critically panned "2017". Join Steve and Richie as they look to the year ahead and breakdown its potential milestones. * * * [The FOMO: Your bi-weekly guide to culture you can't miss out on.](http://marcuspettersson.com/welcometothefomo.com/) [Kim Jong-un Looking At Things](http://kimjongunlookingatthings.tumblr.com/) [The Daily](https://www.nytimes.com/podcasts/the-daily) * * * Steve promised that for every episode we release, he would type up a post wit...
Jan 09, 2018•1 hr 7 min
And thus the inaugural year of our humble little podcast comes to an end. Steve and Richie are poised at the entrance to memory lane and are assuming a runners crouch. Join them, as they tear past 2017's key political milestones in a hasty and uncoordinated manner. There's also plenty of Christmas themed larks to help soften the experience of reliving the past year. Don't worry, this is a fun one. Thank you all so much for listening the past year. We love you all. Merry Christmas to you and your...
Dec 23, 2017•1 hr 17 min
Survey Link <3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 16, 2017•6 min
These days nearly everything is connect to the web. You can even get 'Smart' toasters. So when Steve hacked into Richie's toaster and burnt his breakfast, he decided it was time to learn more about Cyber Security. The boys reached out to special guest Jessica Barker to explain all about how the digital age has brought forth new challenges for countries, companies and individuals, as the internet has opened all to potential malicious threats. Want to be on the show? Leave us a voicemail asking us...
Dec 12, 2017•1 hr 5 min
577 Emperors, 4000 years of history and 1.4 billion people is a lot to cover in one episode, but if anyone can, its Steve. At least, thats what he told Richie when he pitched an episode on the worlds second biggest economy Luckily, the boys also asked Mei Fong, Pulitzer prize winning journalist and author of One Child, to come and explain the history of Chinas one child policy and its contemporary politics. [www.meifong.org/](http://www.meifong.org/) [Mei Fong on Twitter](https://twitter.com/mei...
Nov 28, 2017•1 hr 20 min
New Episode! The boys sit down with comedian, author, actress, and all round wonderful human being, Tara Flynn, to discuss Ireland’s Eighth Amendment and the efforts being made to repeal it. Tara talks about the history of abortion on the island, some of the misinformation surrounding the subject, and ways to have constructive conversations with those of differing opinions. [Tara Flynn on Twitter](https://twitter.com/TaraFlynn?lang=en) [www.taraflynn.ie](http://www.taraflynn.ie/) Want to be on t...
Nov 14, 2017•1 hr 12 min
As two liberal snowflakes, it's hard to think of anything that scares Steve and Richie more than the Alt-Right movement. So, what better way to spend Halloween than by learning all about this chilling subject from the esteemed Dr Joe Mulhall of Hope Not Hate. Come learn about the movements origins, evolution, and place in the modern world as well as what it was like to send an operative deep undercover within the alt-right. * * * [Chinese Communist Leader Haircut Tulsi Gabbard](http://s1.ibtimes...
Oct 31, 2017•1 hr 10 min
