Moncrieff

James Joyce is one of Irelands most beloved writer, however he has also influenced works of literature in other parts of the world. Ellen Howley is an assistant professor at DCU’s School of English and works primarily on Irish and Caribbean poetry, she joined Sean to discuss his influence in the Caribbean.

On Saturday between 3 and 5pm 80 cyclists donned nothing but bodypaint to take part in the world naked bike ride in Cork. Spokesperson for the world naked bike ride Cork, Stephen Bolton, joined Sean to explain how it was to raise awareness for cyclists on our roads.

False widow spiders have been spreading quite rapidly across Ireland, and now a team of scientists have compared the power of its venom with that of other Northern European spiders. Dr Michel Dugon, from the Venom Systems Lab in NUI Galway is the senior author of the study, joined Sean to explain how the venom is 230 time more poisonous than our domestic eight-legged friends.

Eithne Shortall novelist, joined Sean on the show today to recap the stories making the headlines this past week.

Consultant Audiologist Mr Neel Raithatha is known online as the "Wax Whisperer" as he uploads videos online of wax removal from patients' ears. He joined Sean today to discuss his work and some of the things he's found in people's ears!

A new aquarium has been installed at the bottom of Blarney Castle in Co. Cork in an effort to show jellyfish in a more positive light. Tom Doyle, Marine Biologist in UCC joined Sean to discuss the new project.

Excitement is building in Oulu in Finland as The Air Guitar World Championships are set to start tonight. Competitors will be judged on stage presence, accuracy and airness. On the show today, Seán spoke to Justin Howards AKA Nordic Thunder who won the competition in 2012 and is judging tonight's competition.

Over the past number of years there has been a significant increase in the numbers of Irish people travelling to Turkey and Poland as so-called ‘medical tourists’ in order to get dental work done. Dr Vanessa Creaven, dentist and co-founder of Spotlight Oral Care in Galway joined Sean to explain how their has been a rise in people reporting an issue after having these procedures.

Until now it has been generally accepted that migrating insects move with the wind. Myles Menz, an entomologist at James Cook University and the Max Plank Institute, joined Sean to explain how new research carried out using tiny radio transmitter backpacks for moths, shows a different story.

The local library in the Liberties in Dublin closed over 20 years ago, leaving a vacumm for book lovers in the area. Sean was joined by Joanne Hunter, General Manager of Books at One project, to explain how this was yesterday rectified, after a cross country project called Books at One moved into a vacant butchers unit on Meath Street.

Drug addiction is something we hear a lot about in this country but we often forget that over the counter medications can also be addictive. Sean was joined by a gentleman who was in the Irish Sun this week, to share his story with codeine addiction and highlight why he thinks these tablets should be prescription-only.

One Irish town is working to tackle the housing crisis and the positive thing is the architects behind this idea have found a way to build houses and help with climate change. In Ballina, Co Mayo, a group called Accelerating Change Together, or Act who are made up of architects, urbanists and policy specialists, has submitted an ambitious plan that could provide inspiration for unloved buildings i...

A years long debate on the ethical implications of the naming of a library in Trinity College has come to a head this week with the university’s Student’s Union demanding the denaming of Berkeley Library. Gaby Fulham, President of Trinity College’s Students Union, joined Sean to explain why the philosopher’s links with the transatlantic slave trade have called the name into question.

Each week we’re going to bring you some suggestions for your summer reading, taking a different category each time. This week Bob Johnstone of The Gutter Bookshop, joined Sean with some recommendation for popular fiction reads. He suggested It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, The Wedding Party by Cathy Kelly, Beautiful World, Where Are You? By Sally Rooney, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, Th...

Each week will take a topic and deep dive into it, doing all the research so you don’t have to. This week Dr. Emmet Kerin, Founding Partner of Gentle Procedures Ireland, joined Sean to explain how to get a vasectomy.

Lisa Fingleton is an artist and a farmer from county Laois and her passion for local food production and sustainability. She joined Sean to explain how she was inspired her to start the, which inspires people to eat only Irish produce for one month.

During the years of the War of Independence and the Civil War, over 250 great Irish country houses were burned down by the IRA and others. Hstorian Robert O’Byrne, joined Sean to explain how the stories of these houses are explored in his new book ‘Left Without a Handkerchief’.

Lou O’Brien in Co. Wexford, has had the same pet by her side for over half a century. She joined Sean to explain how Timmy the tortoise is missing and the search is on to bring him home.

Gout has always been considered an old man’s disease, affecting men of a certain vintage who are enjoying the finer things in life a little too much. Daniel Lavelle joined Sean to explain how at 35 was stricken with what started as a throbbing toe and soon discovered he has gout.

In the last week we have seen Irish athletes complete in the European Championships and break records. However their names caused difficulty for many Irish broadcasters. Kieran Cunningham, Chief Sports Writer and current affairs columnist with the Irish Daily Star, joined Sean to discuss that while we demand respect from other countries regarding our names and heritage, we often find it difficult...

People with disabilities are often at the mercy of other people’s consciousness of the physical world and the way we all move through it. An abled bodied person doesn’t have to worry too much about a van on the footpath, on street dining, sandwich boards or even an untrimmed tree branch blocking their route, they can simply go around it. Those same obstacles are not as easy to navigate for the vis...

As the debate about the regulation of drugs continues, a group in the Netherlands has organised a mock-up of what a shop selling ecstasy might look like in reality. Mack Busz, Director of the Mainline foundation, joined Sean to discuss what an ecstasy shop might look like.

Travelling on long car journeys with small children can be a real challenge for parents, but what if there was a way you could potentially nip the problem in the bud and avoid it completely? Dr. James Hind, Statistician and Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University joined Sean to discuss a new formula, that has been created by a British statistician which predicts the probability of a tantrum...

Newstalk reporter Aoife Kearns headed to Cork to the mark the anniversary of the death of Michael Collins.

A stand up comedian named Masai Graham has won the annual Funniest Joke of the Edinburgh Fringe award, as carried out by the TV station Dave. Comedian and poet John Moynes, joined Sean to discuss the shortlist and what make's a good one liner.