Conversations with Parents

Author, broadcaster and chairman of The Communications Clinic, Terry Prone, may live a quiet life now but she's faced the kind of challenges you could expect to see in a Netflix drama. From an against-all-odds love story (she met her husband Tom Savage while he was still a priest), living on the breadline, raising their son Anton Savage while they worked, to surviving a catastrophic car accident t...

Ivan Yates is known for his controversial views on all manner of issues, and parenting is no different. The broadcaster admits the number of nappies he has changed in his time are in single digits and that 'learned helplessness' served him well. But Yates shares a more thoughtful side to him in this conversation with Jen Hogan. He speaks about how a lack of emotional warmth in his own childhood in...

Victoria Smurfit believes to get by in life, "you need kindness, comedy and grit." The Hollywood actor, writer and producer has three children and tells them they must lead with kindness, find the funny in every situation and be prepared to work hard. She tells host Jen Hogan about the huge challenges that have come her way on her parenting journey including; her eldest daughter Evie's bid to save...

Maïa Dunphy had never thought it was the right time to have a baby until, she jokes, her ex-husband told her at nearly 40 "it was time to 'do something' or get off the pot." The writer and TV star speaks to host Jen Hogan about becoming a mum later in life, fearing lone parenthood upon the break-up of her marriage and the conundrum of letting her son Tom make his holy communion, when she herself i...

Having a son and a daughter has given comedian, Tony Cantwell, the opportunity to explore some of life’s big questions. Things like, is gender just a social construct? What’s it like raising children when you're neurodivergent? How do you gentle parent? And how much time spent pooing is deemed acceptable in the quest for me-time? Host, Jen Hogan, sits down with Cantwell who created, and stars in,...

Brendan O’Connor is used to being the one who asks the questions on his radio show. But in the very first episode of Conversations with Parents, the tables are turned on the RTÉ broadcaster, as host Jen Hogan queries him on all things parenting and discovers he is suffering with a touch of Imposter Syndrome. He's the proud father of Anna and Mary and husband to journalist, Sarah Caden. We're not u...

Conversations with Parents is coming next week and Jen Hogan has some information about her first few guests. Conversations with Parents is a new podcast from The Irish Times. Host Jen Hogan talks to interesting people about the biggest challenge of their lives: parenthood. What have they learned about how to raise kids and how have they grown themselves from doing it? What are their parenting str...

Conversations with Parents is a new podcast from The Irish Times. Host Jen Hogan talks to interesting people about the biggest challenge of their lives: parenthood. What have they learned about how to raise kids and how have they grown themselves from doing it? What are their parenting strategies - or are they making it up as they go along? Episode one is coming on October 8th. Hosted on Acast. Se...