What's The Story?

Remember to hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod  This week we're joined by motoring journalist Bob Flavin to talk about motoring in Ireland, Electric Vehicles, what Ireland is doing wrong when it comes to electric vehicles, petrol prices, and lots more besides.  If you're on the TikTok, head over to Bob Flavin to see what he gets up to, and check out his YouTube for car content.  *Apologies for Danny's audio this week, he'll have a shiny new mic for next week. 

WE'RE BACK!  After a summer of weddings, international tournaments, surgical interventions, and a lot of naps the WTS boys are back in the podcast game.  Joining us this week is the brilliant Brianna Parkins. Brianna is a journalist and broadcaster currently with The Journal. She is the resident fact checker and is setting the record straight on what is true and not true.  Jump to 18:20 to get straight into our chat with Brianna.  This week, as well as chatting to our favourite Aussie, we take a long intro as Mero asks Danny about his recent surgery and we use the word flute too many times for one episode.  Remember to hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod   

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod  Philip O'Connor, AKA Our Man in Stolkholm, returns to the podcast to chat through a heaping number of topics which include marriage advice for Danny, the NBA, the Champions League final and Phil's experience on the ground in Paris, Stephen Kenny's Ireland team and why romance is sport will not die, Swedengate, Mero and Irish Wheelchair Basketball team in Europe, and lots more besides.  You can check out more of Philip's great work by tuning into the Irish in Sweden podcast and heading over to Our Man in Stockholm. We'll be back later this summer but for now, Danny is off to get married and Mero is off to Bosnia for European Glory. We'll see yas soon xoxo  Clear Eyes, Full Hearts...  

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod Social historian and fountain of knowledge Donal Fallon joins us to let us know what he's been up to over the last while share some great stories about the Hibernian metropolis that is Dublin City. 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod Ahead of hosting a wild Bingo Loco Show at Dublin's 3 Arena, Adam Burke returns to WTSpod to chat comedy and changing perspectives.  Look out for Adam's comedy nights in Bray's brilliant Hardy Har Comedy Club and at festivals around the country this summer. 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod This week we're joined by Blanchardstown's best and brightest - Petesy Carroll. Fresh off the plane from NYC, Petesy gives us the low down on the fight of the year between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.  We talk Taylor, Jake Paul, MMA, New York sandwiches, and Petesy shares a story about a trip to Macey's.  To hear more from Petesy, tune into the Ringer MMA Show on Spotify where you'll find him alongside Ariel Helwani and the great Chuck Mindenhall. 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod Our guest this week is Dublin's own Kevin Patrick Egan. Kevin will be familiar to fans of WWE has onscreen personality Kevin Patrick and he has been the voice of the Sunday Game on RTÉ as well as covering the Champions League, La Liga, and other top European football leagues.  We spoke to Kevin about getting his start in RTÉ before deciding to venture across the Atlantic and crack the US, landing his first role in unfamiliar territory, and what happens when WWE comes calling. 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod This week we're joined by Ireland's podfather, Tony Groves. Tony is a driving force for the Tortoise Shack podcast network and co-host of the Echo Chamber podcast. Check out the great work Tony and the Tortoise team do by visiting https://tortoiseshack.ie/ 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod This week we spoke with our dear friend Dr Tom Clonan. Tom is a retired Irish Army Captain, security analyst, media lecturer, and equality activist. He is an Independent Candidate Trinity Senate 2022.  We spoke to Tom about his senate campaign and the task of breaking the status quo in Irish politics. We also take an indepth look at Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine - what's happening, what could happen and what it all means for Irish security. 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod This week we're joined by two time (two time!), F1 E-sports World Champion, Brendon Leigh. Brendon is currently part of the Ferrari Driver Academy Esports Team and is based in Moderna, Italy - the home of the famed prancing horse.  After Danny banging on about E-sports for months now and plugging his own exploits in Ireland's biggest F1 E-sports league (LOI F1), it was recently announced that the Commonwealth Games will trial E-sports in 2022. Sky Sports have been broadcasting gaming for a couple of years and the growth of online leagues has been huge.  Brendon spoke to us while in the off-season for the E-sports F1 championship and told us all about how he got into the sport and what a typical day is for someone at the pinnacle of this digital sporting revolution. 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod This week we welcome our dear friend Tom O'Mahony back to WTSpod.  One of Ireland's top comedians, Tom has been gracing comedy stages for over a decade and his new show 'Clattered' is hitting the road with dates across the country soon to be announced. Tom will be in the Wild Duck Comedy Club in Dublin on 5 May 2022, performing his new show and tickets are available here. 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod This week we're joined by the brilliant Richard Chambers. Richard is a journalist who can be found regularly on TV screens with Virgin Media and was one of the most sought-after sources of information throughout the pandemic. Most importantly for this podcast though, Richard is a Bohs fan.  His book, "A State of Emergency: Ireland's Covid Crisis", was released in 2021 and gives a behind-the-scenes look at what was happening during one of the most difficult years the country will ever face.  Away from the pandemic talk, we chat football, journalism, politics, and when job interviews go bad... really bad.   

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod This week we're talking football with journalist Daniel McDonnell. Dan is a writer with the Irish Independent, hosts the League of Ireland Central podcast, and can be heard regularly on Newstalk's Off the Ball. Before we get into the football chatter Mero and Danny go on a bit of a meander about food and there is division in the ranks over ketchup.  When the lads eventually get past the food chat, Dan comes along and shares his take on a week of multiple announcements from the FAI. Bidding to host the Euros, a new strategy, and a new season kicking off - there's a lot going on in Irish football so sit back and have a listen as we get to grips with all that's going on. 

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod A short burst of WTS goodness to get you over a hump as the lads struggle to understand how Boris Johnson is still going, Mero tells us about the return of the Bulls and Danny explains why you're allegedly seeing fewer birds in the sky than usual...  

Hit subscribe to hear all of our new episodes free and first and head over to Twitter where you'll find us - @WTSpod On this week's podcast... Returning for her hat-trick and with some heavy silverware now in tow, Irish Journalist of the year Aoife Moore joined us to talk a little bit about a lot of things. Aoife is one of the brilliant team of journalists currently propelling the Irish Examiner and is a regular contributor to national and international broadcast media.  In this episode, we spoke with Aoife about her recent experience at a Chisty Moore concert, writing a book, wondering about accountability in politics, the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, and much more besides.   

So, here it is merry Christmas...  It just wouldn't be Christmas on What's the Story? Podcast without catching up with our old friends Paul Howard and Gary Mackle.  This Christmas, we go on a two-hour meander through pondering religion and when exactly should Jesus go in the crib in your Christmas nativity display? Problems are caused by pineapples, Danny isn't happy with Mero and Gary makes an interesting bet with Paul...  It's weird. It's wonderful. It's the WTSpod Christmas special for 2021. We'll be back in January - Happy Christmas, stay safe.   

This week we are joined by Nicky Woolf, a journalist and the man behind the Audible podcast, Finding Q: My journey into QAnon.  Nicky is a QAnon expert, and his Finding Q podcast brings you through the start of this internet madhouse right to modern-day. The anonymous internet prophet known only as Q, has taken people in from all over the world. This cult conspiracy with little to no truth in any of its bluster resulted in thousands of Americans storming their nation's Capitol on January 6 2021 - spurred on by then-president Donald Trump and others. But do Trump and his ilk actually believe in Q too, or do they see it as nothing more than a convenient tool that brings them more support?  We chat to Nicky about his journey into the Q madhouse and his interactions with some of its most important players and those who have lost so much to QAnon.  To discover the truth about this conspiracy and who may be behind 'Q', head over to Audible and subscribe to Finding Q: My Journey into QAnon.   

This week we are joined by one of Ireland's greatest rugby players turned childrens' author, Gordon D'Arcy.  After hanging up his boots in 2015, Gordon has moved on to new adventures including an Irish Times column and co-authoring the brilliant "Gordon's Game" book series with Paul Howard.  In our chat, Gordon tells us about retirement and the mindset of a professional athlete, how the book series came to be, and life as a father of 3 with 110kg of dog roaming around the house.   

This week we're joined by the great Colm O'Gorman. He is the executive director of Amnesty International Ireland and the founder of One in Four.  You can follow Colm on Twitter - @Colmogorman

This week we are joined by Jade Jordan. Jade is an actor and author whose book "Nanny, Ma, and Me" was released earlier this year and has been nominated for an Irish Book Award. The book spans three generations of an Irish family of colour and their experience of Ireland.