Podcast Corner: Tadhg Hickey puts a lighthearted spin on a post-Brexit world
Wish EU Were Here: Tadhg Hickey with Danny Morrison and Gerry Adams.
There are a lot of Brexit podcasts already out there in the world, such as RTÉ Europe editor Tony Connelly’s Brexit Republic. Some have been going so long (yes, the Brexit vote really did happen six years ago in June) that they’ve rebranded: Remainiacs is now a general politics podcast, Oh God What Now?.
But it hasn’t gone away you know, Brexit. Enter Cork comedian Tadhg Hickey and his new 15-part (!) podcast series, Wish EU Were Here (GoLoud).
The pitch: “Through a series of enlightening (and in some cases unexpected) interviews, Wish EU Were Here takes a wry look at the constitutional consequences for Britain and Ireland in a post-Brexit world, one year on. Are Scotland, Wales and even Northumbria about to tear the house down? Is Ireland about to put itself back together again - and if so what must the two jurisdictions do to build bridges?”
With two episodes of the 15 released so far, Hickey, in his unmistakable Cork lilt, sets out his stall early on, telling us what to expect from the show and how hard he tried to get all voices represented, including conservative unionist voices in the UK, but alas they told him they were risk-averse when it comes to comedians.
“I just wanted to hear a defence of the union,” he says. “Maybe I was the wrong man to try and get those perspectives, maybe that’s on me, maybe I messed up all the emails… or maybe another factor is it’s becoming harder to make a compelling argument for the union.”
That initial preamble continues for 13 minutes before Hickey gets to his first interview, with Scottish politician James Dornan, who declares: “The worst result I ever faced was the Brexit one.” The intro for the second episode, with Wales’ Liz Saville Roberts, only lasts seven minutes. So it’s not quite Marc Maron territory yet, but we have our timers on.
If you’ve not been paying attention to Brexit in recent times, Wish EU Were Here is a good one to dip into - Dornan’s interview ends with a thought-provoking question about British reparations. With 13 more episodes to go, expect to hear a suite of voices as the EU continues to come to terms with Brexit.
Shaun Keaveny’s idiosyncratic presenting style sadly departed BBC 6 Music last year - alas his afternoon show never really found its feet, after he moved from the morning slot. But Keaveny swiftly switched to podcasting. The Line-up, in association with Sony Music UK features a cast, over two seasons, that would make a pretty decent festival poster. But if that’s not enough for you, he’s just launched Shaun Keaveny’s Creative Cul-de-sac, a slightly more independent affair considering it’s funded by his Patreon. The first episode was released yesterday, Greg James the first guest.
