In The News

With many Irish people now feeling the bite from the soaring cost of living, a new report has found a record number of households are experiencing energy poverty. The study by the ESRI makes for stark reading. It found 29 per cent of households are spending more than a tenth of their income to power their home, with people in rural areas, those on lower incomes and older people disproportionately...

Earlier this week, George Gonzaga Bento walked out of Dublin’s Central Criminal Court, a free man. The 36-year-old from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, had spent the last 16 months in custody, accused of murdering teenager Josh Dunne in January 2021. 16-year-old Josh died from stab wounds inflicted by Bento, during a fight over a stolen bike in Dublin’s East Wall. After a six-week trial,...

After 11 months, nearly 100 subpoenas and more than a thousand interviews, the congressional committee investigating the January 6th attack on the US Capitol has begun holding a series of public hearings to present its findings.  The key question for the committee is whether the violence seen on the day was just a spontaneous outpouring of anger and frustration by supporters of a defeated can...

For the first time since retiring, former chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel spoke out last week about how her government treated an increasingly aggressive Russia - treatment that is now under the spotlight. Derek Scally was there when Merkel spoke and tells Conor Pope about how she justified those decisions and whether her excuses stand up to scrutiny. In part two: what is the new chancellor Ol...

In 2018, Andrew Barnes decided to trial a four-day working week at his New Zealand-based business Perpetual Guardian. His employees work 80% of the time, while still receiving 100% of their salary. The trial was such a success, it’s still in place four years on, with positive outcomes for both employees and productivity. Here he tells Conor Pope how it works and why more companies should adopt thi...

Two weeks ago, a jury in Virginia delivered the verdict that everyone had been waiting for: Johnny Depp had won his multimillion-dollar defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard. The trial lasted six weeks and was streamed live on Youtube for the entire world to see. Neither Depp nor Heard's reputations have emerged from the trial unscathed, but it is only Heard who has been vilified by an o...

It's that time of year again. The Leaving Certificate has been in existence since 1925, so it may come as no surprise to learn that students, academics and politicians are calling for a complete overhaul of the final year exam system. Education Editor Carl O’Brien and Professor Ann Looney from Dublin City University explain what changes are on the way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

Gardaí will soon be using facial recognition technology to crack cases and help win convictions. But the technology is already widely available. For a small fee, online services can find images of you that you may not have known were out there. Crime correspondent Conor Gallagher has tested out one such online service, Pimeyes. He talks with Sorcha Pollak about how it can be used and abused. Conor...

Queen Elizabeth was 21 when she told her subjects that she would dedicate her whole life, whether it be long or short, to their service and the service of the imperial family. Now, aged 96, she is reported to be in good health but frail and what her courtiers call “episodic mobility issues” have left her unable to perform most public duties. As she celebrates 70 years on the throne, Irish Times Lo...

The killing of 19 children and two teachers in a Texas elementary school has put the spotlight back on gun control - for now. But Robin Kowalski, a US-based professor of psychology who has studied school shooters, tells In the News that other factors are being overlooked, like rejection, bullying and mental health issues. There are ways to tackle these problems. But when mental health is discussed...

After everything that’s happened over the past few years, many of us are dying for a nice holiday. And we’re willing to pay for it, with many people prioritising holiday spending this year despite pressure on budgets. But it’s not cheap: hotels, airbnb and car hire prices are all up.  On top of that, if you’re unlucky enough to need a new passport, there are major delays. And n...

London Editor Denis Staunton explains what a newly-published report into illegal gatherings in UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's home and office means for him and his Conservative government. Can Johnson finally outmanoeuvre this long-running scandal? What will it take for his MPs to turn on him? Has the affair damaged British politics and its ability to deal with a dire cost of living crisis? Hos...

It is a war that Putin and western analysts predicted would be over within days, but three months down the line, fighting still rages on in Ukraine. So what has gone wrong with the Russian approach and what will it take for Ukraine to win the war? Jennifer Ryan speaks to Phillips O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland to find out. Hosted on Acast. Se...

This is part three of a three part series. If you haven't listened to part one or two yet, we recommend you go back and do so - they're the previous episodes in the feed. Former RTE journalist Tommie Gorman, who interviewed Roy Keane after he returned from Saipan, joins the lineup for the final episode of a series looking back at the sporting scandal that rocked Ireland 20 years ago this week. Plu...

This is part two of a three part series. If you haven't listened to part one yet, we recommend you go back and do so - it's the previous episode in the feed. Warning: contains explicit language   Former football writer for The Irish Times Emmet Malone, who travelled to Saipan with the Ireland team back in 2002, joins the podcast to tell the story of how things went so badly wrong between capt...

20 years ago this week, Irish football fans were in a state of giddy excitement about the World Cup, which was about to begin in South Korea and Japan. But then something went terribly wrong. In the first of three episodes looking back at the controversial events of 2002, Conor Pope talks to Mary Hannigan, Ken Early, and Eamon Dunphy about the events that preceded Ireland's departure for its infam...

Irish property prices are climbing at their highest rate for over seven years. In the last year alone, the average cost of a home jumped by just over 15 per cent. Most estate agents are forecasting continued price growth for the remainder of the year, and beyond. But can they really be so sure? Irish Times economics correspondent Eoin Burke-Kennedy explains why he believes a drop in pric...

Last month, the United States announced it would sanction members of the Kinahan family and offer a $5 million reward for evidence leading to their prosecution. One month on, what impact have they had on the cartel's wealth and business? Crime editor Conor Lally reports. Hosted by Conor Pope. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Jennifer Ryan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...

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...

Hundreds of Ukrainian doctors are arriving into Ireland, eager to take up work in the health service. However, they are facing barriers when it comes to registering with the Irish Medical Council. Sorcha Pollak speaks to Dr Nicholas Stefanovic to find out why. We also hear from Victoria Sinelnik, a newly qualified Ukrainian doctor who arrived in Ireland last March and is hoping to start her medica...

Following her victory against Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden last week, Katie Taylor remains boxing’s golden girl and the undisputed lightweight world champion. Sorcha Pollak speaks to Irish Times sports writer Johnny Watterson, who was at the fight in New York, about Taylor's path to the top and whether an Irish rematch could be on the cards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

The Cabinet has held off on approving the planned relocation of the National Maternity Hospital from Holles Street in Dublin 2 to a site on the St Vincent’s hospital campus in Dublin 4, to give the plan further consideration amid continuing concerns about the future ethos and governance of the maternity hospital. Irish Times political correspondent Jennifer Bray talks to Sorcha Pollak about why th...

Now in its 70th day Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was supposed to dismantle the country. But across Ukraine, the invasion has only strengthened ties: between the citizens of Odesa, between east and west and between Russian and Ukrainian speakers. That's what reporter Dan McLaughlin has found on his return to the country. As the Russian military holiday of May 9th draw near, Russian losses a...

Actor Johnny Depp this week concluded his testimony in the defamation case he has filed against his ex-wife Amber Heard, over an article she wrote for the Washington Post newspaper in 2018. Journalist Nick Wallis has been attending the trial each day since proceedings began on 11th April. He talks to Conor Pope about why Depp has taken this defamation case, what has been said in court so far and w...

Last week the UK government announced a scheme to send asylum seekers arriving on its shores to the central African nation of Rwanda, 10,000 kilometers away. The plan has plenty of opposition in the UK, but even if it never happens, it serves a political purpose,says London editor Denis Staunon. Plus: is Rwanda ready to be a safe haven for the UK's asylum seekers? On several trips there, Sally Hay...