Before Brunch

This week, Forbes released a list of the world’s 100 highest paid sports people. The problem? Not one woman was included. This week, we unpack the issue of the gender pay gap in sport and other industries and try make sense of the glaring omission. We also welcome the return of Love Island, our collective favourite trash reality TV addiction. Prepare for unsolicited weekly opinions. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure, brought to you by Diet Coke and the #BecauseICan campaign. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. If you like the podcast, please do subscribe, rate and review to help other brunchers find us! Get in touch on twitter @meganmcassidy @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie or megan@lovin.com

Last week's result was only the beginning of a host of conversations about Irish values and where we're at as a society. One of the conversations we've been having this week is the fact that 'millennial' is no longer a dirty word. The "snowflakes", the "avocado toast generation", championed and pioneered this movement. They don't just use social media for selfies - they use it to further causes. They believe in social change, they are critical thinkers and don't accept what they're told. Yes, sometimes they're snowflakes. But they're also activists. We dig into the nuances of this generation, how they're motivated, why they do what they do, and why they/we actually might just be as special as we thought. So there. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure, brought to you by Diet Coke and the #BecauseICan campaign. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at

We are speaking to you from the past today, in a literal sense - and also in a very profound way. We recorded this podcast on Friday May 25, when it was a different Ireland, when we didn't know. We felt hopeful, anxious, excited, and terrified. We talked through the use of language and it's incredible power in all referenda, but in this one particularly. The vote was swung because of the incredibly powerful stories that we told each other. Stories we would never have told before, stories that were deeply painful and were dealt with alone. Now we're all together. It's an amazing weekend, We chat about the female authors who have tackled this topic - Marian Keyes and her incredible work, Maeve Binchy, the authors who shaped our adulthood and ushered us to this moment. Happy, happy Sunday everyone. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure, brought to you by Diet Coke and the #​BecauseICan campaign. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to t

With less than a week until we head for the polling stations to make a decision on one of the most important issues of our time, how has media coverage around the Eighth Referendum been so far? With publications wearing their bias like a badge of honour, how has new media contributed to the conversation? Has it aided it, or hampered it? Should all coverage be regulated in order to facilitate healthy debate? In a referendum that is all about stories, and personal experience, how are the Yes and No sides speaking to each other on the ground, away from the scaremongering posters and extreme tactics? Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. If you like the podcast, please do subscribe, rate and review to help other brunchers find us! Get in touch on twitter @meganmcassidy @cassi

There was no doubt that Rihanna’s papal parody stole the show at the Met this week but as criticism rolls in, we question whether the theme was problematic. Does Catholicism still command respect or have its countless let downs deemed it farcical? And as we both prepare to move, we talk about the eh, concerns we have about living with our respective significant others. Where will Megan watch her Tony Robins videos? Tune in to find out. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. If you like the podcast, please do subscribe, rate and review to help other brunchers find us! Get in touch on twitter @meganmcassidy @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie or megan@lovin.com

This week Jessica Knoll wrote a piece in the New York Times titled 'I Want To Be Rich And I'm Not Sorry'. How does that headline make you feel? For us, we wondered why anyone would ever be sorry for wanting to be rich, and how the implication here is that women somehow maybe should be sorry for pursuing financial achievement. Is it greedy? Even aggressive? Or an important status symbol in a time where female finances are more topical and loaded than ever. Should we aim to emulate mens' braggadocious means of getting paid, or is there a better way to do this? Do we have enough 'rich' female icons to look to and aspire to? Also - we went to see A Quiet Place starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinksi, a movie about silence - our favourite topic. What do we pour into silence that makes it such a fertile place for creativity and imagination? We are obsessed with this movie. We won't spoil it, but we'll tell you why you need to go see it. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan a

On this week's episode of Before Brunch, Megan and Cassie chat about hairdresser etiquette. Do you let them put your coat on for you? Do you buy the recommended shampoo? And most importantly - what the HELL have we all decided we're all doing when it comes to tips? In an era of "oversharing" where our every mundane thought is amplified on social media, what happens when a person's mental health issues are broadcasted publicly on Twitter or Facebook? We chat about the intricacies of Kanye West's latest Twitter spree and how it affects conversations about mental health. Finally - Kate Middleton's perfect pregnancies and how they reinforce the idea of "virtuous mother" - innocent tradition? Or a symbol that is more sinister than it seems? Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deep

With less than a month until one of the most crucial political moments for women of our time, we interview Yes activists about how we can all get involved in the lead up to the referendum. We chat to Together For Yes advocates Annie Hoey and Gary Gannon to discuss all things repeal and arm you with the information you need during the next four weeks. We look at the facts and the stats you need to shape history. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. If you like the podcast, please do subscribe, rate and review to help other brunchers find us! Get in touch on twitter @meganmcassidy @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie or megan@lovin.com

This week TMZ released footage of Khloe Kardashian's boyfriend Tristan Thompson cheating with two women, just as Khloe was going into labour with his child. We talk about timing in a Kardashian storyline, and how much of what we see is curated to keep us talking. Is there ever such thing as a Kardashian Koincidence? We look back at the Gawker/Hulk Hogan case in a chat about media ethics and the "leak" culture that the Kardashians were born from and thrive in. It's week two of our book club. We're reading The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride - an intense, challenging read. We offer our best tips if you're struggling to stay engaged with the book and we want to know - should the deadline to finish be two or three weeks? Let us know. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. I

After another "joyous" and "loving" celebrity "uncoupling" this week, we reminisce on the joys and machinations of a truly vengeful breakup. We dissect Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum's breakup statement and ponder on the real meaning of a "loving" split. Does it exist? Does uncoupling eliminate blame? Is it important when there are children in the relationship? Or is it just unrealistic? Next on the agenda is the insanely popular Netflix documentary 'Wild Wild Country'. Themes of immigration, a fear of the other and religion are presented perfectly in this true story of a sex cult and the woman at the centre of it. Before Brunch Book Club launches this week. First on the list is Eimear McBride's 'The Lesser Bohemians'. It's one of two Irish books shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Prize. We will review it in episode 11, so get reading! Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous

If there's anything positive to come from the Belfast Trial, it's that conversations about consent are back at the forefront of our minds. We don't have the answers. It's an incredibly loaded and complex issue, particularly in a country that has a strained relationship with women and sex. We unpack the issues we're personally struggling with following this week's verdict. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. If you like the podcast, please do subscribe, rate and review to help other brunchers find us! Get in touch on twitter @meganmcassidy @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie

"What does it mean to be complicit?" - The sentence Donald Trump's daughter was endlessly trolled over last year has never been more poignant. It's been a bad eighteen months for Facebook. Fake news, the Russians, and now Cambridge Analytica. Eighteen months ago, Zuckerburg said it was "crazy" to think Facebook could influence an election. Now we know this happened. What is happening NOW that is our responsibility to be aware of? How complicit are WE in sharing our data with these companies? How much control do we have over the decisions we make online and thus in the real world? We take a deep dive into all of these questions in this week's tech-y special. *We apologise for the lack of dirt this week - we had our nerd hats on. Lots of filthy gossip next week we promise* Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Bru

In an increasingly competitive society where intangible commodities like "influence" rule, what is the place of 'lickarsery'. We deep dive into the art of "sucking up" after Leo Varadkar's display in Washington. As Rihanna takes a swipe at Snapchat, we chat about social media giants like Instagram and Snap and their responsibility for content shared on their platforms. Finally we dissect our obsession with categorising celebrities' sexuality, and decide who did the breaking up, Zayn or Gigi?! *EMAIL US YOUR EARLY TWENTIES BREAK UP STORIES FOR DISSECTION ON NEXT WEEK'S PODCAST - megan@lovin.com* Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. If you like the podcast, please do subscribe, rate and review to help other brunchers find us! Get in touch on twitter @meganmcassidy @ca

How did you celebrate International Women's Day? From protests to free cocktails Megan and Cassie chat about the broad spectrum of International Women's Day celebrations and what the day really means. From the origins of the day and how far we've come, to the new phenomenon of judging the 'quality' of someone's feminism - this week's podcast takes a candid look at the strange pressures and merits of the day. The first teaser for Season 6 of House of Cards was released this week, with female anti-hero Claire Underwood at the helm. We chat about what's expected of a female lead and celebrate imperfect, complicated roles for women. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. If you like the podcast, please do subscribe, rate and review to help other brunchers find us! Get in

Are we finally in an era where gay characters can have boring lives? This week we discuss the evolution of queer tv and what excitement is to come with RTÉ’s move to digital. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. Talk to us! On Twitter: @meganmcassidy @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie On Insta: @meganmariecass @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie Don't forget to rate and review!

Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. Talk to us! On Twitter: @meganmcassidy @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie On Insta: @meganmariecass @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie Don't forget to rate and review!

Why Rita Ora is the only person happy to be in Fifty Shades... and the psychology of millennial skincare. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. Talk to us! On Twitter: @meganmcassidy @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie On Insta: @meganmariecass @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie Don't forget to rate and review!

Our latest true crime obsession and packaging murder as entertainment. The problem with the Sarah Jessica Parker/ Kim Cattrall beef, and Jennifer Aniston plays us all again. Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. Talk to us! On Twitter: @meganmcassidy @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie On Insta: @meganmariecass @cassielorraine @lovindublin @lovindotie Don't forget to rate and review!

A taster of Before Brunch Episode One... released Sunday February 18th at 11am! Before Brunch Podcast is the perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over all the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful and everything in between. It's the same dirt you talk about at Brunch, we're just digging a little deeper. Subscribe on iTunes --- Stitcher --- Soundcloud

Before Brunch is your perfect Sunday morning hangover cure. Megan and Cassie chew over the biggest stories of the week, from the frivolous to the meaningful. It's the same dirt you talk about at brunch - we're just digging a little deeper. Here's a taster of what's to come...