Moncrieff

If you’re still at the stage of reading books to your kids, you’ll have a sense of what they like and don’t like. You might even think that you could write your own children’s book, but what makes one good? Newstalk Reporter Baibre Holmes went to the Central Model Infants’ School in Dublin to see what the children like at the moment, and sent in this report.

With the kids getting ready for Halloween, you probably won’t see any costumes of the banshee: the shrieking harbinger of doom. What is the story behind the tradition of the banshee in Ireland? Dr. Jenny Butler from the Study of Religions Department at UCC joins Seán to discuss.

If you’re fond of a ham sandwich, it’s time to be very afraid… Health influencers have been warning about the dangers of processed ham, and how the nitrates in them can be harmful. Dietician Orla Walsh joins Seán to discuss this thinking.

If you share a home with someone training for the Dublin Marathon, the wait is almost over with the event this weekend. Running, particularly in marathons, can be a bit of an obsession for people, and has led to some bending of the rules and cheating. Ian O'Riordan, Sports Writer with the Irish Times joins Seán to discuss cheating over the history of marathons.

Around 50,000 people in Ireland have a stammer. Globally, it’s about 1% of the population. This means not only occasionally getting stuck on a word, but having people finishing sentences for you… Joining Seán to discuss this on International Stammering Awareness Day is Veronica Lynch, Board Member with the Irish Stammering Association.

The participation of trans athletes in sports is an ongoing source of controversy, but it’s not a new issue. Five decades ago, the US tennis world was convulsed by a court case involving a trans female player. Julie Kliegman, author of ‘Finding Renée Richards: The Groundbreaking Story of Tennis’s Trans Pioneer’ joins Seán to discuss.

What does the colour of your car and house say about you? Do you go grey and play it safe, or do you prefer bright vibrant colours? Colour can influence how we feel and act depending on personal and cultural factors. Henry McKean has been investigating, and joins Seán to discuss!

AI has been stealing fruits of human culture for a while now, ripping from articles, books and art. This has even extended to the world of comedy, where joke thievery has become common! Comedian Peter Flanagan joins Seán to discuss.

100 years ago this month, a famous fictional bear was introduced to the world. Winnie the Pooh is actually based on a real black bear named Winnifred. What is the story behind this connection, and how did it inspire the honey-loving bear we know today? Carina Philips, Head of Museum Collections at the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons England joins Seán to discuss.

You wouldn’t think that the paranormal can be a family business, but for Chris McKinnell, he took an apprenticeship under his grandparents (who inspired ‘The Conjuring’ film series) as a Paranormal Investigator! Currently, he is in the Sharon Rectory in Donegal on a paranormal search, and joins Seán to discuss.

Most families eventually get to the point when they have to decide if they want to get pets or not. For Anne Louise Foley, her family adopted Pickle and Biscuit. The catch? They’re rats! She joins Seán to discuss.

Every Wednesday, Seán will be joined by someone to hear unusual stories on heinous crimes… This week, Cassie Delaney joins to discuss cases involving murders stemming from competitiveness.

Homelessness is an issue that we usually associate with younger people, and while the proportion of older people affected by it is lower, that number is increasing... Joining Seán to discuss this is Sean Moynihan, CEO of ALONE.

To go on a pub crawl requires a good deal of commitment, and people will often drop out before the end. Peter Hill and his team never stopped, and have recently visited their 25,000th pub! Peter Hill, Co-Founder of The Black Country Ale Tairsters joins Seán to discuss.

Plenty of people in this country employ a nanny, and the average wage for one is 50 grand! So, what does the life of a professional nanny look like? Susan Dunn, Director of Belgrave Nanny Agency in Dublin joins Seán to discuss.

If you’re buying over the counter or prescribed medications, you may get the generic version of that drug rather than the name brand. Is there ever a difference between them, is the name brand actually better? Rebecca Barry, Pharmacist and owner at Care Plus Pharmacy, Adare, Co. Limerick joins Seán to discuss.

The Navier-Stokes equations have been around since the mid 1800s. They were devised as a way to predict how fluids would move, but it has been extremely difficult to prove that the equation works in all situations. Seemingly, AI has solved this equation in 90 hours, but not everyone is convinced. Aoife Kearins, History of Maths PhD student at the University of Oxford joins Seán to discuss.

Ruhama is an Irish charity that supports women impacted by prostitution and human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation. Their latest Annual Report has shown an increase in trafficking and violence against the women who have been trafficked. Barbara Condon, CEO of Ruhama, joins Seán to discuss. If you have been affected by this item, help is available. You can call Ruhama’s freephone num...

Hollywood actor Kevin Bacon is currently in Ireland to shoot a film, but his clothes aren’t. He opted to ship clothes from his home in New York, and watched the tracking as it bounced from country to country, with none of those countries being Ireland - including three trips to Israel! What’s going on with his clothes, and how can this sort of thing happen with shipping? Conor Pope, Consumer Affai...

Last Friday was ‘National Boss Day’, which was established in 1958 in the US and, by 1979, Hallmark even issued a greeting card to celebrate it. But in recent years, because of the power dynamic, it isn’t universally recognised. But are bosses people too? And is there such a thing as a good boss? Henry McKean has been finding out and joins Seán to discuss.

As an island nation, why do we not eat more fish? Is it a perceived cost, the options available to us, a less-adventurous palette? Chef Adrian Martin joins Seán to discuss!

We’re looking back on the weekend and looking forward to the week ahead through the lens of these four questions: What delighted you over the weekend? What annoyed you over the weekend? What did you learn over the weekend? What are you looking forward to this week? Joining Seán to discuss is Maia Dunphy and Brent Pope!

The winter begins in earnest this weekend when the clocks go back this Sunday morning. It means brighter mornings and darker evenings. It’s something we do every year, and always brings about the question of why we do it. The potential to stop this clock change is closer than you might think, and Dr. Muiris Heuston, Columnist with the Irish Times, joins Seán to discuss.

'Buck' the new green sheep mascot from New Zealand's Kiwibank has people online saying they want to have relations with it. Film critic Brian Lloyd joined Seán on the show to discuss.

A woman has had enough of her husband’s eating habits. He only eats frozen, beige food and at 52 years old, she gave him an ultimatum – she cooks her own dinner, he cooks his and they eat separately.    LOVE HQ Matchmaker, Mairéad Loughman joined Seán Moncrieff on the show to discuss.