Podcast Corner: Episode With Richie Sadlier is my show of the year
Richie Sadlier. Picture: Moya Nolan
There are no bells and whistles with the first season of Richie Sadlier’s podcast. It’s simply titled Episode, each, er, episode beginning with a general introduction by Sadlier alongside producer Killian Down before they head into their guests’ house for a chat. Afterwards, they reconvene for a quick reflection on how it went. There’s a theme tune that segues between those parts, and that’s it.
But the ‘chat’ is all you need. There are eight episodes in the season, which wrapped last week; each has moments that will stop you in your tracks as Sadlier speaks to well-known and not-so-well-known names about significant episodes in their lives that they’ve found intense, emotional, or life-changing. Sadlier is a former professional footballer turned psychotherapist and author, known to various strands of society as either a soccer pundit on RTÉ (or indeed Second Captains) or the Let’s Talk About Sex presenter. In the past, he has talked about his alcoholism and surviving sexual abuse.
The eight guests featured are Tommy Tiernan; Dr Katriona O’Sullivan, author of Poor, which won biography of the year at the Irish Book Awards; Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns; Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley; Marian Finucane’s widow John Clarke; Zlata Filipovic, who fled Bosnia in 1992 aged 11; Terence Power, one half of the Talking Bollox podcast; and singer Damien Dempsey, who is in the midst of a six-day run at Vicar Street. A broad strand, all have their highlights - perhaps that’s the wrong description for interviews that go so deep - but Bradley is the standout.
He talks about his son Josh, 8, getting diagnosed with leukemia last year, painting a picture of a resilient young boy and the pain such news weighs on parents’ shoulders. He also shows the intimate power of a united sports team’s dressing room. As Rovers claimed their fifth straight League of Ireland title, Josh was front and centre of the celebrations. “I wanted the players to be part of this journey,” explains Bradley. “And I had to be careful of that because it was so emotional, it could be so draining on them.” A good manager, a good parent - always thinking of others.
Power is the other star guest. Of course, he’s used to putting his life and struggles on display with his own podcast, but Sadlier, like an expert therapist, shows deep empathy and builds a quick rapport with Power, especially after his revelation of relapsing during the summer. Power explains: “I stopped going to me meetings months previous. I think I got overconfident that I was good.”
Episode cements Sadlier’s position as one of the most impressive figures in media in 2023 - a brilliant addition to our podcast feeds in 2023.
