In The News

What's going on at An Bord Pleanála? The state body with final say on planning appeals and power over fast-tracked housing developments is in focus this week after a report into conflict of interest claims against its former deputy chairman Paul Hyde was sent to the Gardaí and the Director of Public Prosecutions. Current affairs editor Arthur Beesley has been reporting on the story and he explains...

Data centres already consume 14 per cent of Ireland’s electricity supply, more than all rural housing. Now these centres are on track to consume about a third of all Irish electricity by the end of this decade. As concerns mount over energy shortages as close as this winter, should more be done to regulate the industry? Sorcha Pollak speaks to Irish Times columnist Una Mullaley and Niall Farrell,...

Just over 25 years ago, the Criminal Assets Bureau was established in the wake of the killings of Detective Jerry McCabe and journalist Veronica Guerin. The murders shocked the nation and served as a wakeup call to the authorities that they were losing the fight against gangland figures and paramilitary groups. Over the years, the Criminal Assets Bureau has seized almost €200million in the proceed...

This episode was originally published in January 2022. Just 30 kilometres north of Dublin, lies a hidden oasis in Meath called Dunsany Castle. Home to Ireland’s biggest rewilding project, it’s run by Lord Randal Plunkett, a heavy metal-loving filmmaker and producer. In this episode, Sorcha Pollak travels out to Dunsany to discover how rewilding has changed the landscape and contributes to the figh...

What can we do for ourselves to ensure that we live long, fulfilling, happy and fit lives? In this episode, Conor Pope speaks to Professor of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College, Rose Anne Kenny about the surprising and novel ways in which we can keep ourselves feeling younger. This episode was originally published in January 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

In October 2001, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs debuted the original iPod, the first MP3 player that could hold 1,000 songs and had a 10-hour battery life. This week the company announced it was discontinuing the iconic device, saying other gadgets have made the iPod redundant. Patrick Freyne talks to Conor Pope about how the iPod transformed the way we consume music and the impact it has had on...

European countries are welcoming Ukrainian refugees with open arms. But migrants from other parts of the world get much different treatment, as reporter Sally Hayden reveals in her new book. 'My Fourth Time, we Drowned" tells the story of how EU policy has helped create an inhumane system that ends in imprisonment in Libyan detention centres for thousands of migrants. Sally talked to Sorcha Pollak...

How much do you think about where your food comes from, how the animals used to produce it live and die, or its impact on the environment? Journalist and author Henry Mance investigates our relationship with animals in his book How To Love Animals: In a Human-Shaped World. He talked to Conor Pope about what he discovered. This episode was originally published in September 2021. Hosted on Acast. Se...

This episode was originally published in August 2021. As more and more people take to the outdoors to explore Ireland’s hiking trails and mountain paths, rescue services are experiencing an alarming rise in callouts. In the first 19 days of August, Kerry Mountain Rescue responded to one incident per day, stretching their volunteers and resources to the limit. So why have more people started hiking...

This episode was originally published in December 2021. Demand for cosmetic procedures is on the rise across Ireland, but what are the risks involved when the industry remains unregulated? Features writer Jennifer O’Connell speaks to Sorcha Pollak about the growing demand for fillers and 'tweakments'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in January 2021. More than two dozen “lunatic asylums” were built throughout Ireland in the 1800s. Today some are hospitals, while others are derelict. Through interviews and archive research, Rosita Boland pieces together what life was like inside the walls of these state-run institutions. She discovers that for many of the thousands of Irish citizens who pas...

The Conservative leadership contest has been underway for two weeks and the eight candidates have been whittled down to two. Now things get serious. London editor Denis Staunton explains the strengths, weaknesses and campaign strategies of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the war in Ukraine approaches its sixth month, many of the five million refugees who fled the country are returning. In total, more than two million Ukrainians have gone back so far. But what awaits them when they get there? Sorcha Pollak talks to Irish Times central and eastern Europe correspondent Daniel McLaughlin about life inside the country as those returning and those who stayed, tr...

Last week, British athlete Mo Farah revealed he was illegally trafficked into the UK at the age of nine. Flown over from Djibouti, he was given the name Mohamed Farah and forced to work as a domestic servant. Sharing his story in a BBC documentary this week, the olympic champion has put the spotlight firmly on the global issue of human trafficking. What impact will his revelations have on helping...

At Eleventh Night bonfires and 12th of July parades, the experience hits very differently depending on your background. Northern correspondent Seanín Graham reports on events she witnessed and people she spoke to, and how the burning of effigies of female politicians has overshadowed the events and drawn criticism from all sides of the political spectrum. Plus: Much of the fight to define the mean...

In 2019, at fourteen weeks pregnant, Emma Connors was told that her unborn baby had a fatal foetal abnormality. Just a few weeks later, she and her husband were on a plane to England to terminate the pregnancy.  Despite abortion legislation being introduced in Ireland in 2019, Emma is one of the hundreds of women still forced to travel to the UK to access termination services every year....

The prices of cryptocurrencies have plummeted this year. Bitcoin, the most popular one, has lost over 70 per cent of its value in the last six months and crypto companies are letting staff go, with Coinbase firing nearly a fifth of its employees in June alone. Crypto is no stranger to boom and bust cycles, but investors are now turning their backs on the notoriously volatile assets in their droves...

From the moment on Tuesday morning when a retired British civil servant went public about how Boris Johnson was covering up his involvement in yet another scandal, the prime minister's fate was sealed. But why was it this of all scandals that finally took him down? What comes next for UK politics - and how will it affect Ireland? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All of Europe is in the grip of inflation, and Ireland is no different. But here we already had some of the highest prices in Europe across a range of products and services including energy, food, broadband and mortgages. What's behind our high prices - and could our own consumer culture have anything to do with it? Conor Pope talks to Dargh Cassidy of bonkers.ie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...

Eight years after Scotland said no to independence in its 2014 referendum, Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon now wants to put the issue back at the top of the agenda. In a speech to the Scottish parliament last week, the first minister set out the route map for holding a vote on the issue on October 19 next year. The question put to Scots would be the same as...

In the US, in places where women get abortions, but also in courtrooms and within political campaign headquarters, the decision of the Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v Wade right to abortion has transformed American life and set many fresh battles over reproductive rights in train. One week on from the ruling, we talk to US journalist Kara Voght about what impact it is already having. Kara Vogh...

The current energy crisis shows little sign of easing, and the worst may be to come. Some have warned that, with Russian gas supplies in doubt, Europe could face energy rationing this coming winter. Jack Horgan-Jones looked into the issue and he tells Conor Pope how likely it is to happen here in Ireland and what plans there are to deal with it if it does. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

Just three months on from the last pandemic wave which swept across the country, Ireland is once again experiencing a surge in Covid cases. But was it expected this time round and how long will it last? Conor Pope speaks to virologist Dr Gerald Barry to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 300 years ago an earthquake off the coast of Portugal caused a tsunami which hit Ireland’s coast. Records show that the Lisbon tsunami, as it was known, damaged Galway’s Spanish Arch, caused a large body of water to pour into Kinsale harbour and made an island out of Aughinish in northern Clare. Last Saturday, locals in West Cork momentarily feared that history could be repeating itself, wh...

Many hospitals around the country could soon be functioning without hundreds of junior doctors. Earlier this month, they voted in favour of strike action, in a ballot called by the Irish Medical Organisation. They’re fighting for better working conditions, improved pay and an end to unsafe and illegal hours. Sorcha Pollak speaks to Dr Jamie McGettigan from Limerick Hospital Group and Health E...