Explore every episode of the podcast RTÉ - Voices

Iranian man, Amir talks of his arrest in Tehran during pro-democracy protests which rock ed the country and outlines why he and his family had to be smuggled out of Iran, fearing for their lives.

Irish MSF doctor, Niamh Allen reflects on her time spent working in some of the countries most hard-hit by conflict, including Syria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Irish lawyer, Aonghus Kelly talks about working on some of Bosnia's biggest war crime cases, a war in which an estimated 100,000 people were killed and 10,000 remain missing.

Dearbhla Glynn is a documentary filmmaker from Cork, Ireland. She has always been interested in war zones. As part of her work, she’s travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Gaza.

Zaynab Salman is from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. She was involved in the effort to build local governance after the 2003 US-led invasion. Zaynab eventually fled Iraq, after getting death threats.

Salome Mbugua has spent over two decades working with women and children from war-torn countries. She has recorded narratives of over 100 of these women, who are now living in IRL.

Hamalis was forced to flee the volatile Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009 because of the conflict in his native country. He now lives in Ireland with two of his daughters.

Glyn Morgan was responsible for all analytical support to the prosecution case of the former Bosnian Serb Leader, Radovan Karadžic, who has been jailed for the worst war crime in Europe since World War Two. Glyn provides consultancy related to crimes that are a violation of international armed war and cross border organised crime.

More than four and a half million people have fled Syria since the start of the country’s conflict. 20 year old Rawan is one of them. She describes how the war escalated, uprooting her family, relocating them in Ireland.

In August of 2013, while in Egypt, 25-year-old Fatima Halawa was arrested along with two of her sisters and their brother, Ibrahim. They were detained during unrest after the military removed from power President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Fatima and her sisters spent three months in prison. Ibrahim is still in prison.

The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege in modern history. From April 1992 - February '96, Serb forces established a total blockade of the Bosnian capital. Mirza Catibusic, who is from Sarajevo, was 24 years old when the siege began. He lived through the siege for 2 years before he and a few others were airlifted & eventually brought to Ireland.

Ghandi Mallak grew up in Syria in the 1970’s & 80’s, during the leadership of dictator Hafez al-Assad. Hafez al-Assad held a tightly controlled and repressive political structure, but Ghandi, despite the dangers faced, got involved in the Communist party. Ghandi lived a double life – a life on the line and no-one knew, or so he thought.

The award-winning RTÉ podcast series has returned. Series two tells the stories of people who have personal experiences of war, violence and political oppression.

The law is changing to give unmarried fathers automatic rights to their children, but for some men it's too late. In the last episode of this series, John - not his real name - tells us how he hasn't seen his children since 2011. This is his story.

John and Marie McPhelimy have an 18 month old daughter, Lucy. She was born after Marie’s sister acted as surrogate for the couple, giving birth to Lucy, using Marie’s eggs and John’s sperm. However, because there is no law surrounding surrogacy in Ireland, they’re all trapped in legal limbo. This is their story.

Three years ago, when Helen Rochford Brennan was 62, she was diagnosed with a form of Dementia called early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She is now the first chair of the Irish Dementia Working group, advocating for the rights of people with this progressive and incurable illness. This is Helen’s story.

In the second of two parts about abortion, Bernadette Goulding describes her experience. Bernadette had an abortion over 40 years ago. She now works as a coordinator for Rachel's Vineyard, an abortion support network. This is her story.

34-year-old Solus, from Dublin, never imagined he'd be a full-time street artist. He worked in IT, spent some time in a drug treatment centre, but now he's eight years clean and exhibits across the world. This is his story.

Mary was 28 when she had her first baby. Although Mary had no history of any psychiatric illness prior to this, two days after giving birth she was separated from her baby, sent to a psychiatric hospital and given electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT. Now 67, Mary tells her story.

Jane and Derek Johnston are part-time farmers. Last year, Jane spent five days in a coma and three months in hospital after a serious accident on their farm. This is their story.

In the first of two parts about abortion, 25 year old Suzanne Lee from Belfast describes her experience. Three years ago, she bought abortion pills online to terminate her pregnancy. This is her story. (This story contains challenging content and is not suitable for children)

Direct provision was set up to house asylum seekers fifteen years ago and was meant to last six months. But today, thousands of people have spent years in the system. 35 year old Ellie, who is from Malawi, has been living in the direct provision system for four years. This is her story.

For 18 years, 46 year old Paul battled with crack cocaine, alcohol and heroin addiction. He’s been clean for two and a half years. This is his story. (This story contains some strong language)

Maggie, from County Louth is suffering from obesity. She's 28 stone and 47 years old. For the last three years, she's been on a public hospital waiting list for gastric bypass surgery, which is a permanent weight-loss treatment. This is her story.

Karen Jordan's brother, John, died by suicide five years ago. This is her story.