The ISESA Podcast takes you behind the scenes of the Irish sport and exercise science community. Through conversations with leading practitioners, academics and athletes, our podcast highlights their amazing work and achievements. Hosted by Bruce Wardrop, each episode offers fresh perspectives on performance, health, research and career development. So whether you're a student, professional, or simply someone passionate about sport and exercise science - make sure to tune in now and discover the people, ideas, and innovations driving excellence in sport, health and exercise in Ireland and beyond.
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Image and performance enhancing drug use is changing rapidly and it is no longer confined to elite sport or competitive bodybuilding. In today's, Bruce speaks with Dr David Nolan about his new research examining iPED use in Ireland. They discuss what people are taking, why they are taking it, the growing prominence of peptides, the influence of GLP-1 drugs and testosterone replacement therapy, and the increasingly blurred line between treatment, enhancement and aesthetics. The conversation also explores health monitoring, the limits of blood testing, barriers to engaging with healthcare professionals, the challenges of coming off iPEDs, and why this is not exclusively a male issue. David’s study provides an important first snapshot of a poorly characterised area of health and performance in Ireland, with plans to repeat the research over time and build a clearer picture of how the landscape is evolving.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:15 The Enhanced Games and the changing PED landscape
05:00 What are iPEDs – and who is using them?
08:45 The first Irish iPED study
13:15 What are people taking?
18:15 Peptides, GLP-1s and the changing drug landscape
29:15 Testosterone replacement therapy and enhancement
33:45 Health monitoring, harm reduction and healthcare
39:00 Coming off iPEDs: exit strategies and identity
46:45 Women and the changing iPED population
50:10 Who actually identifies as an iPED user?
53:50 Where does the research go next?
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10 Aug 2026
Childhood Cancer, Recovery and Exercise
Childhood cancer survival continues to improve, but what happens after treatment ends?
In this final episode of the Summer Series, Bruce travels to Navan to meet Cillian Maguire, his mum Tracey-Ann, and researcher Jenny Fitzpatrick to discuss the CHAMPS programme - an innovative exercise intervention supporting young people after childhood cancer treatment.
Together they explore recovery beyond the hospital, the challenges of fatigue and returning to everyday life, and the growing role of exercise oncology in improving health and quality of life.
A powerful conversation about resilience, recovery and how exercise can help people reclaim their lives.
This episode forms part of the ISESA Podcast Summer Series: Exercise Beyond Sport - three conversations exploring the growing role of sport and exercise science within healthcare.
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27 Jul 2026
Understanding Obesity in the GLP-1 Era
Few areas of healthcare have changed as rapidly over the past three years as obesity medicine.
With medications such as semaglutide and tirzepatide transforming the conversation around obesity, Bruce revisits this insightful discussion with Professor Donal O'Shea and dietitian Aoife Hearne.
Rather than focusing solely on medication, this episode explores the biology of obesity, the importance of compassion in clinical practice, and why understanding obesity as a chronic disease changes how we think about prevention, treatment and long-term support.
The treatments may have evolved, but the need for evidence-based, person-centred care has not.
This episode forms part of the ISESA Podcast Summer Series: Exercise Beyond Sport - three conversations exploring the growing role of sport and exercise science within healthcare.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Who has been a guest on ISESA Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Tiarnán O'Donnell
Laura Treacy
Tom Barr
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 25 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
25
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
Contact ISESA Podcast
Guest appearances
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