Growing Up Poor in Irish Boston
"Growing Up Poor in Irish Boston” is a podcast series, colored with humor, nostalgia and pathos. It’s about a Boston tenement kid, born in 1939, clawing his way out of poverty by being hard-working, creative, persistent, entrepreneurial and by taking risks often. There are also stories of my later life in Boston, Cambridge and New England. If you like old Boston stories or Irish-American stories or old Cambridge stories, this is your podcast. If you like Pull-Yourself-Up-By-The-Bootstrap type stories and/or down-to-earth philosophy with a Roman Catholic, funny and relatively conservative slant, then this is for you.
I am Roderick Patrick Murphy, born into a large, loving Irish family in Boston, widowed after 50+ happy years. So I am now doing some writing, volunteering and learning how to be a bachelor again.
Episodes
107 episodes
Episode 101 Boston Yankee WASPS Petered Out
Episode 101 Boston Yankee WASPS Petered Out. Much detail about the powerful Yankee establishment in my youth who, like other ethnic groups have lost their power today.
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7:58
Episode 97 Dangerous Jobs in My Youth
Episode 97 Dangerous Jobs in My Youth. Here I talk about pre-OSHA, really dangerous jobs that were common in my youth. Construction, Tall building girder work, etc.
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8:50
Episode 49 The Canonization of St. Roddy
Episode 49 The Canonization of St. Roddy. Tongue in check story of my sister, Maureen's efforts to get the Pope to make her "well behaved" little brother into St. Roddy. Fat Chance Department!
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3:55
Episode 100 Southbridge MA Cable TV Promotion of My Podcast Series
Episode 100 Southbridge MA Cable TV Promotion of My Podcast Series, "Growing Up, Poor in Irish Boston". September 22, 2025 Cable TV show of Rod Murphy explaining podcasts and podcasting to Southbridge Senior Center folks. The piece de resistanc...
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22:51
Episode 93 Murphy's Comedy Club, Politics & Paddy Murphy
Episode 93 Murphy's Comedy Club, Politics & Paddy Murphy. A few political jokes including Trump, Governor Healy and Paddy Murphy.
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5:49
Episode 82 Unwashed is My New Regimen
Episode 82 Unwashed is My New Regimen. Growing up poor and thoroughly unwashed. New research says smelling bad is good for us so I have a new regimen; going completely hobo!
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4:48
Episode 89A Murphy Asks: Covid, Can We Ever Trust Our Scientific Establishment Again.
Episode 89A Murphy Asks: Covid, Can We Ever Trust Our Scientific Establishment Again. A scathing criticism of the Scientific Establishment and all levels of American governments for the wholesale slaughter and terror of the Covid Mandates.
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7:55
Episode 89B Murphy Asks: Covid, Can We Ever Trust Our Scientific Establishment Again?
Episode 89B Murphy Asks: Covid, Can We Ever Trust Our Scientific Establishment Again. A scathing criticism of the Scientific Establishment and all levels of American governments for the wholesale slaughter and terror of the Covid Mandates.
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6:15
Episode 69 Advice on Starting Over
Episode 69 Advice on Starting Over. Murphy's hard-earned advice on picking yourself up after a failure and starting over again. Not easy but it's doable.
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7:01
Episode 91 Murphy's Rant Number 3
Episode 91 Murphy's Rant Number 3. Rainbow Washing for LGBTQ, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and other non-statistical, wacko media nonsense.
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7:29
Episode 90 1950s Homemade Dinners
Episode 90 1950s Homemade Dinners. Murphy's discussion on obesity, eating out, meal portions and meal schedules vis a vis 1950s and today.
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7:08
Episode 92 The Bohemian Widower
Episode 92 The Bohemian Widower discloses details of Rod Murphy living and dating as a widower.
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8:46
Episode 78A The Murphys' Summers in New Hampshire Stories
Episode 78A The Murphys' Summers in New Hampshire Stories. The first part of the Murphy families episodes about getting out of Boston's summer heat and traveling to New Hampshire stories.
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6:32
Episode78B The Murphys' Summers in New Hampshire Stories
Episode 78B The Murphys' Summers in New Hampshire Stories. Second part of the Murphy families episodes about getting out of Boston's summer heat and traveling to New Hampshire stories.
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6:59
Episode 88 Murphy's Rant Number 1
Episode 88 Murphy's Rant Number 1. This one is an explanation of why teachers are one of my pet peeves.
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7:04
Episode 87B The 1974 Boston Racial Busing Crisis
Episode 87B The 1974 Boston Racial Busing Crisis. This one and its companion, Episode 87A portray the awful 1974 and on Boston Desegregation Busing Crisis with all its warts. In this second Episode, I give my opinion of who deserves the f...
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5:51
Episode 87A The 1974 Boston Racial Busing Crisis
Episode 87A The 1974 Boston Racial Busing Crisis. This one and its companion, Episode 87B portray the awful 1974 and on Boston Desegregation Busing Crisis with all its warts. In the second Episode, I give my opinion of who deserves the fa...
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8:20
Episode 83 The Haymarket & How I Learned to Negotiate
Episode 83 The Haymarket & How I Learned to Negotiate. Classic trip with my father to the Boston Superbowl of haggling - The Haymarket.
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10:57
Episode 82 Definitely Not Spic & Span & My New Regimen
Episode 82 Definitely Not Spic & Span & My New Regimen. Explains and has fun with the rudimentary personal cleaning facilities in Boston's 1940s and 50s three deckers.
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4:48
Episode 86 Rich Folks' Advice
Episode 86 Rich Folks' Advice. Listen to some self made rich folks and their advice as to how to do that yourself..
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7:37
Ep. 84 Crotchet Mountain Stories
Ep. 84 Crotchet Mountain Stories. This episode describes as a 15 year old mountain forest firefighting and later as a father a roughing it story about my kids and I on Crotchet Mountain.
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6:35
Ep 79 Murphy's Laws & Rod Murphy's Laws.
Ep 79 Murphy's Laws & Rod Murphy's Laws. A discussion about the history of Murphy's Laws and some new suggested Rod Murphy's Laws.
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6:42
Episode 81 Hitchhiking Stories
Episode 81 Hitchhiking Stories. Stories about my hitchhiking adventures near and far.
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6:08