# I hear you’re a racist now, Bertie?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/free-state-with-joe-brolly-and-dion-fanning-6213217/i-hear-you-re-a-racist-now-bertie
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/free-state-with-joe-brolly-and-dion-fanning-6213217/i-hear-you-re-a-racist-now-bertie.md
Podcast: [Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning](https://stenobird.com/podcast/free-state-with-joe-brolly-and-dion-fanning-6213217)
Published: 2026-05-19T00:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://freestatepodcast.com
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/641338125bde790011089c5b/e/6a0b6c9bcdab12b21caa4080/media.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/free-state-with-joe-brolly-and-dion-fanning-6213217/episodes/i-hear-you-re-a-racist-now-bertie
Duration seconds: 2205

## Resource

Bertie Ahern says he rejects ‘racism in all its forms’. So what is it if not racism when a former Taoiseach says ‘we can’t be taking in people from Congo and all these places’? On Free State today we ask how do you talk about immigration and not get mistaken for a racist? Is it best not to say things that a racist might say to begin with? Ahern defended himself by saying ‘I don’t think there is anything wrong talking about what the people are talking about’. But what does this mean? What is the requirement of a leader, even a former leader, when people are troubled and anxious? Do you resort to the lowest common denominator or do you provide a vision? What did Bertie Ahern do? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/free-state-with-joe-brolly-and-dion-fanning-6213217/episodes/i-hear-you-re-a-racist-now-bertie/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/free-state-with-joe-brolly-and-dion-fanning-6213217/i-hear-you-re-a-racist-now-bertie.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.