Mel Brennan
@segunirora.bsky.social
Director. Author. Speaker. Founder.
My Substack: https://segunirora.substack.com/
My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/iammelbrennan
My Substack: https://segunirora.substack.com/
My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/iammelbrennan
Pinned
Mel Brennan
@segunirora.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Ṣẹ́gun Irora | Mel Brennan | Substack
Ṣẹ́gun Irora. Means "Conquer/Overcome the pain."
Combining ideas, submissions and rebellious sentiments in a time of tyranny and ascending hate in sport and in society into a thought-refuge and platf...
segunirora.substack.com
Hello, I'm a real person who writes seeking to combine ideas, submissions and sentiments in a time of tyranny into a thought-refuge and platform from which to build and deliver a better world. Do you want the same thing? Then please subscribe to my Substack: segunirora.substack.com
I worked as a confidential investigator at a time when the city’s political establishment had already decided how far justice would be allowed to go.
How far, I soon learned, was not far; yet that distance illuminated much of my career...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
How far, I soon learned, was not far; yet that distance illuminated much of my career...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Investigator in Me
Justice and Truth over Power and Privilege
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:28 PM
I worked as a confidential investigator at a time when the city’s political establishment had already decided how far justice would be allowed to go.
How far, I soon learned, was not far; yet that distance illuminated much of my career...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
How far, I soon learned, was not far; yet that distance illuminated much of my career...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
THE END OF SPORT
Through FIFA’s Looking Glass Into a Crippled Land of Narcissism
open.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:54 PM
My wife often reminds me of the research showing that gratitude itself is powerful—So even if it weren’t easy to be thankful for you, it would still be healthy. But the truth is: it is easy. Very easy. I’m grateful for this community every day.
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Giving of Thanks
The Truth is, it is Easy to be Thankful for You
open.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:40 PM
My wife often reminds me of the research showing that gratitude itself is powerful—So even if it weren’t easy to be thankful for you, it would still be healthy. But the truth is: it is easy. Very easy. I’m grateful for this community every day.
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
If we want to elevate anyone at Year 250 of America, it ought to be this man...
An American Complete
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
An American Complete
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
An American Complete
If we want to elevate anyone at Year 250 of America, it ought to be this man
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
If we want to elevate anyone at Year 250 of America, it ought to be this man...
An American Complete
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
An American Complete
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
On January 6, 2021, amid a chaotic siege on the U.S. Capitol, insurrectionists hoisted crosses and banners...At first glance, this blending of religious symbols with raw political aggression seemed shocking. In truth, it was the latest chapter in a centuries-old narrative...
tinyurl.com/59b7t7es
tinyurl.com/59b7t7es
A Doctrine of Discovery
How a 15th-century theology of conquest still shapes America’s soul
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:22 PM
On January 6, 2021, amid a chaotic siege on the U.S. Capitol, insurrectionists hoisted crosses and banners...At first glance, this blending of religious symbols with raw political aggression seemed shocking. In truth, it was the latest chapter in a centuries-old narrative...
tinyurl.com/59b7t7es
tinyurl.com/59b7t7es
Walk into the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and look up. Eight large historical paintings ring the space. The problem isn’t what’s there. The problem is what isn’t…
Reimaging Our Rotunda open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Reimaging Our Rotunda open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Reimaging Our Rotunda
Images Matter.
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Walk into the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and look up. Eight large historical paintings ring the space. The problem isn’t what’s there. The problem is what isn’t…
Reimaging Our Rotunda open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Reimaging Our Rotunda open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Hello, I'm a real person who writes seeking to combine ideas, submissions and sentiments in a time of tyranny into a thought-refuge and platform from which to build and deliver a better world. Do you want the same thing? Then please subscribe to my Substack: segunirora.substack.com
Ṣẹ́gun Irora | Mel Brennan | Substack
Ṣẹ́gun Irora. Means "Conquer/Overcome the pain."
Combining ideas, submissions and rebellious sentiments in a time of tyranny and ascending hate in sport and in society into a thought-refuge and platf...
segunirora.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Hello, I'm a real person who writes seeking to combine ideas, submissions and sentiments in a time of tyranny into a thought-refuge and platform from which to build and deliver a better world. Do you want the same thing? Then please subscribe to my Substack: segunirora.substack.com
For the last eleven months, Donald Trump has been America’s blacklight...We are seeing who we are. Not the filtered photograph we send to the world, but the raw exposure beneath it...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Blacklight
We are seeing who we are.
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:18 PM
For the last eleven months, Donald Trump has been America’s blacklight...We are seeing who we are. Not the filtered photograph we send to the world, but the raw exposure beneath it...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
...I knew…Warner…would never voluntarily give up power, never orient FIFA’s resources democratically...
These were men who sought to be Kings, or at least Little Princes; masters, forever, of their own fiefdoms in a feudal sporting system…
These were men who sought to be Kings, or at least Little Princes; masters, forever, of their own fiefdoms in a feudal sporting system…
Black President
A Sample From My Upcoming Book FIXING FOOTBALL (SAVING SOCCER)
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:28 PM
...I knew…Warner…would never voluntarily give up power, never orient FIFA’s resources democratically...
These were men who sought to be Kings, or at least Little Princes; masters, forever, of their own fiefdoms in a feudal sporting system…
These were men who sought to be Kings, or at least Little Princes; masters, forever, of their own fiefdoms in a feudal sporting system…
What do we owe each other simply by virtue of being Americans?
At its heart, this question defines the unspoken spine of our politics and society…
The Great Questions | Part Four
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
At its heart, this question defines the unspoken spine of our politics and society…
The Great Questions | Part Four
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Great Questions | Part Four
What Do We Owe One Another?
open.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:35 PM
What do we owe each other simply by virtue of being Americans?
At its heart, this question defines the unspoken spine of our politics and society…
The Great Questions | Part Four
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
At its heart, this question defines the unspoken spine of our politics and society…
The Great Questions | Part Four
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Great Questions | Part Three
Americans often celebrate liberty as a personal right...no matter the cost. But...if one person’s “freedom” endangers others’ health or safety, is it really freedom?
Today our nation is grappling with this tension.
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Americans often celebrate liberty as a personal right...no matter the cost. But...if one person’s “freedom” endangers others’ health or safety, is it really freedom?
Today our nation is grappling with this tension.
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Great Questions | Part Three
Is Freedom a Private Possession, or a Public Trust?
open.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 4:12 PM
The Great Questions | Part Three
Americans often celebrate liberty as a personal right...no matter the cost. But...if one person’s “freedom” endangers others’ health or safety, is it really freedom?
Today our nation is grappling with this tension.
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Americans often celebrate liberty as a personal right...no matter the cost. But...if one person’s “freedom” endangers others’ health or safety, is it really freedom?
Today our nation is grappling with this tension.
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Can America Be Redeemed Without Truth and Repair?
The Great Questions | Part Two
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Great Questions | Part Two
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Great Questions | Part Two
Can America Be Redeemed Without Truth and Repair?
open.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Can America Be Redeemed Without Truth and Repair?
The Great Questions | Part Two
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The Great Questions | Part Two
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
We must finally ask – and answer – the Questions that tell us what we will be...
Less Imperfect: The Great Questions
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Less Imperfect: The Great Questions
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Less Imperfect: The Great Questions
We must finally ask – and answer – the Questions that tell us what we will be
open.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:07 AM
We must finally ask – and answer – the Questions that tell us what we will be...
Less Imperfect: The Great Questions
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Less Imperfect: The Great Questions
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
It might feel gratifying, even a bit magical, to get a $6,000 hospital bill reduced to zero ...But that magic trick reveals a dark truth: the original bill was never entirely on the level. In what other industry can you haggle a bill down 50%..? open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Billshit
How a simple question can slash a U.S. hospital bill – and what that says about our healthcare system.
open.substack.com
October 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
It might feel gratifying, even a bit magical, to get a $6,000 hospital bill reduced to zero ...But that magic trick reveals a dark truth: the original bill was never entirely on the level. In what other industry can you haggle a bill down 50%..? open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
In a world where memory can be as powerful as experience, we have the tools to expand our tribe in the embrace of life before unwarranted death forces our hand...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
You Have No Idea What Death Is
The Galvanizing Shock of Thanatos
open.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:05 AM
In a world where memory can be as powerful as experience, we have the tools to expand our tribe in the embrace of life before unwarranted death forces our hand...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
The NYT chose not to publish this, but our power, you and I, is that we've forged this space; we don't have to wait for them anymore...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Realpolitik Rejected: A Permanent Platform Instead
An Op-Ed for the New York Times
open.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
The NYT chose not to publish this, but our power, you and I, is that we've forged this space; we don't have to wait for them anymore...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
To Manifest Aesthetic Content Otherwise Absent. Toward Resistance. In Dissent.
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
How I Use AI Art
To Manifest Aesthetic Content Otherwise Absent. Toward Resistance. In Dissent.
open.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:59 PM
To Manifest Aesthetic Content Otherwise Absent. Toward Resistance. In Dissent.
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
I hope you hear Dad’s voice...whispering: “You can still change the world.”
Because you can.
To you and to every student reading: Do not let your education become an indoctrination into complacency. Don’t let them educate the revolutionary spirit out of you...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Because you can.
To you and to every student reading: Do not let your education become an indoctrination into complacency. Don’t let them educate the revolutionary spirit out of you...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
How Not to Be Educated
A Letter to a Modern College Student
open.substack.com
October 8, 2025 at 11:11 PM
I hope you hear Dad’s voice...whispering: “You can still change the world.”
Because you can.
To you and to every student reading: Do not let your education become an indoctrination into complacency. Don’t let them educate the revolutionary spirit out of you...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Because you can.
To you and to every student reading: Do not let your education become an indoctrination into complacency. Don’t let them educate the revolutionary spirit out of you...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
“This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and even inspire,” Murrow said of TV. “But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it’s nothing but wires and lights in a box.”
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Public Service to Propaganda
The Rise and Fall of American News Media
open.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:50 AM
“This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and even inspire,” Murrow said of TV. “But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it’s nothing but wires and lights in a box.”
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
October 7, 2025 at 3:25 AM
We're one subscriber away from our first milestone: fifty subscribers! We've named the place where this all is happening Ṣẹ́gun Irora. Means "Conquer the pain." Discussion about our society and about sport. Found only on Substack: segunirora.substack.com Join us!
October 3, 2025 at 5:57 AM
We're one subscriber away from our first milestone: fifty subscribers! We've named the place where this all is happening Ṣẹ́gun Irora. Means "Conquer the pain." Discussion about our society and about sport. Found only on Substack: segunirora.substack.com Join us!
...So when I say FIFA is broken, I am not speaking as someone on the sidelines. I have been among the power centers...When I say silence is violence, I mean it in the strong sense: refusing to act in the face of atrocity is itself a form of complicity... open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
Soccer's Silence Across Atrocity
FIFA Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow
open.substack.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:19 AM
...So when I say FIFA is broken, I am not speaking as someone on the sidelines. I have been among the power centers...When I say silence is violence, I mean it in the strong sense: refusing to act in the face of atrocity is itself a form of complicity... open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
…The irony is painful.
On the day we say goodbye to the scientist who taught us to recognize ourselves in other creatures, we must also confront the chasm between what her life stood for and what our leaders now practice... open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
On the day we say goodbye to the scientist who taught us to recognize ourselves in other creatures, we must also confront the chasm between what her life stood for and what our leaders now practice... open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
So Long and Thanks for All the Science
Jane Goodall Made it All Make Sense
open.substack.com
October 1, 2025 at 10:40 PM
…The irony is painful.
On the day we say goodbye to the scientist who taught us to recognize ourselves in other creatures, we must also confront the chasm between what her life stood for and what our leaders now practice... open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
On the day we say goodbye to the scientist who taught us to recognize ourselves in other creatures, we must also confront the chasm between what her life stood for and what our leaders now practice... open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
…Maybe the most important thing we can take from the 21st Century is that our best ideas are not coming from our top institutions; that what those institutions are best at is maintaining and spreading the status quo, regardless of what it is…
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
When Ivy Devours
From Wall Street’s collapse to Trumpism’s rise, the Ivy League has not safeguarded America’s foundations—it has corroded them.
open.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 10:27 PM
…Maybe the most important thing we can take from the 21st Century is that our best ideas are not coming from our top institutions; that what those institutions are best at is maintaining and spreading the status quo, regardless of what it is…
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...
open.substack.com/pub/seguniro...