Talking Bollox Podcast

Nicola Hanney had beaten the odds and survived a terminal cancer diagnosis when she met Garda Paul Moody. At first, she thought it was her happy ever after, but soon his behaviour became extremely controlling and abusive. When she became pregnant, he only gained more power over her. Then, the cancer came back. Nicola fought the cancer while dealing with threats, blackmail and abuse from Paul who felt his position as a Garda made him untouchable. She tells us where she found the strength and how she's been coping since escaping his coercive control. Nicola's book Stronger: What Didn’t Kill Me, Made Me is available now in all good bookshops. Please note: This episode contains in depth discussion of coercive control and abusive relationships, take care when listening. If you or someone you know have been affected by the contents, and can relate to Nicola’s story, please contact Women’s Aid for more information and advice. Freephone their helpline on 1800 341 900 or visit womensaid.ieProudly sponsored by FBT Gyms.

A discussion about Christmas dinner substitutions and traditions turns hearted as Terry makes possibly his most contentious claim yet on this podcast. And that’s long before he tells us he thinks The Spire is “in the way of O’Connell Street”.There’s a lot of thought put into deciding what role would best suit cereal if it was served in restaurants.We unlock a new fear – finding yourself in the dock in court and facing questions from the most renowned interrogator in the TB universe.Calvin wonders if he has no worlds left to conquer – or places left to go on holiday anyway, and we wonder if the original hope for The Spire was that it would be Dublin’s answer to the Pyramids.And there’s a call out for someone to raise the bar when it comes to questions for the bonus episodes.Send your comments, questions, dilemmas, conspiracies (anything else?) to [email protected]

Since watching The Deepest Breath, Terence, like many others, became obsessed with freediving. And while his attempts at holding his breath left him gasping for air after just a few short seconds, the fascination has never gone away.For Claire Walsh, the fascination started before the documentary back in 2015 while on a trip across the world. She has since become the first person to represent Ireland at the Freediving World Championships in 2019.After struggling with mental illness, freediving helped to teach her to clear her mind and focus on her breath. It also taught her a lot about fear, and bravery, something she explores more in her podcast Scared Shitless.Claire told us about her journey to the World Championships, and life since then, including accepting where she is now and the impacts of long covid.This episode is proudly sponsored by FBT Gyms.

There’s a lot of thoughts on time this week – from the time spent listening to every moment of Talking Bollox ever put out (and what else you might have done with that time), to the choice between doing time or wearing the wrong shoes.Terence admits he would probably have a hard time deciding to save the world if his personal reputation was going to take a big hit; and Calvin wants to put the mysterious powers of TB to good use.Send your questions, dilemmas and anything else to [email protected]