Podcast of the Week: Don’t Stop Repealin’

Una Mullally, the Irish Times columnist, and Andrea Horan, the owner of the Dublin nail bar Tropical Popical, are a hosting dream team on Don't Stop Repealin'.

In the run-up to the referendum, on May 25th, on whether to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, and allow abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy, this show keeps its finger on the pulse of the Yes campaign and provides insights both into what’s going on politically and into the history of the Eighth Amendment.

The third episode – our Podcast of the Week – runs through the ins and outs of political canvassing. Canvassing is a huge part of any referendum, but it can be extremely daunting, both for canvassers and for people answering their doors to a political conversation. Mullally demystifies the process, and Horan plays her foil, as she hasn't "popped her canvassing cherry" just yet. Their rapid-fire conversation pulls back the curtain on exactly what kind of exchanges are taking place on doorsteps all over Ireland, and how they tend to pan out.

This episode also looks at opinion polls and their endlessly fluctuating nature,and draws on examples from the marriage-equality and divorce referendums. Don't Stop Repealin' looks to changes in Ireland's past to hold out hope for our future.

Proposals would create ‘one of the most extreme’ abortion regimes in the world

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Taoiseach to launch campaign for pro-repeal FG members

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Anti-abortion campaigners dodging the real question

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The show is not without political observation; this is a tense and fractured time, so keeping an eye on Leinster House can tell us an awful lot about the direction Ireland is moving in – there are nuances and details here, especially around Ministers’ shifting opinions, that you don’t hear in mainstream news.

Each segment of the podcast is brief and to the point, and handled with a light touch. Mullally and Horan have a great chemistry, but they don't waste time on indulgent banter – the show has an air of urgency and professionalism that will serve it well long after the referendum is over, as a record of a pivotal time in modern Irish history; dontstoprepealin.com.