Newstalk Daily

The new school term is here, but is technology really making our kids smarter, or just more distracted? In 2025, “back to school” means iPads instead of copybooks, interactive whiteboards instead of chalk, and artificial intelligence edging its way into lesson planning. Technology promises to transform education, but it also risks widening the gap between those who can keep up, and those who can’t...

Once untouchable, now sidelined, Britain’s most infamous royals are facing a season of scrutiny like no other. Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl promises to shine a devastating light on Prince Andrew’s role in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. For the Duke of York, already living in social exile, the book could reignite questions the Palace hoped were buried forever.  Meanwhile, h...

In Donegal and across Ireland, families are still living in homes that are literally falling apart, victims of a defective block crisis that shows little sign of solution. Walls split, roofs sag, and the emotional toll on homeowners is extraordinary. For Professor Paul Dunlop, the story is personal: his own home is condemned and due for demolition, and he recently received grant approval to rebuil...

When Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering three family members with a mushroom-laced beef Wellington, the story gripped not just Australia but the world. It was a case of family, food, betrayal - and a courtroom drama that has only grown more extraordinary.  Ciara Doherty admits she was hooked from the very beginning, and in our original podcast listen back here , she explained why sh...

Today on Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty explores a fast-growing alternative to traditional education in Ireland: homeschooling. With more parents asking “how does homeschooling work in Ireland?” and whether it can really replace the classroom, we look at what life outside the school gates actually looks like.  Ciara is joined by Anna Uí Dhálaigh, who, together with her husband Peadar, has been...

She arrived as a disruptor, a self-styled “anti-woke warrior,” poised to revive one of the world’s oldest political parties. Nine months into her leadership of the UK Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch’s tenure has left many observers asking: why isn’t it working?  In this episode of Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty is joined by Dorian Lynskey, co-presenter of the Origin Story podcast and author...

What if a tattoo could help you heal? Not just physically, but emotionally - restoring confidence, reclaiming identity, and transforming the way you see your own body.  In this episode of Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty speaks with Adam Daly, a researcher at Dublin City University and one of only three people worldwide studying therapeutic tattooing. Adam’s work explores how cancer survivors us...

The O’Callaghan name is one of the most prominent in Irish hospitality, synonymous with landmark hotels across Dublin and beyond. But behind the doors of The Alex, The Davenport, The Green, The Mont and the Eliott in Gibraltar, a bitter family dispute is now playing out.  Noel O’Callaghan, the businessman who began building the O’Callaghan Collection in the 1980s, claims he has been frozen ou...

Ireland’s economic story looks dazzling on paper but dig a little deeper and you find a very different picture. A huge share of the country’s assets sits in the hands of older generations, with property acting as the gatekeeper to wealth. For younger people, buying a home has become the great dividing line — and without it, the chance to build security or pass anything on is slipping further out o...

By the morning of August 21st, 2020, Golfgate was no longer just a story - it was a political earthquake. The Irish Examiner’s front-page splash had gone viral overnight. Lunchtime Live on Newstalk and Liveline on Radio 1 were flooded with furious callers, many recounting their own cancelled weddings, funerals, and family events. Radio phone-ins and comment lines seethed with anger. Social media w...

Five years ago this summer, Ireland was just five months into the Covid-19 crisis. Daily case numbers were climbing again, new restrictions had just been announced, and the country was under pressure to curb social contact. Weddings were shrinking, GAA matches were being played in empty stadiums, and pubs without food remained shut. Against this backdrop, more than eighty people gathered in the St...

In July, Newstalk Daily asked a big question: Can we fix Ireland’s crippling grocery prices? The response from listeners was huge – and many of you wanted us to go one step further. You asked: how do prices in the Republic compare with those in the North?  Today, Sean Defoe is joined by Newstalk Chief Correspondent Barry Whyte, who’s been out on the road – and over the border – with our Newst...

For more than a decade, the question has lingered: should Irish citizens living overseas, and those in Northern Ireland, get to vote for the president? Governments have promised action, launched strategies, and made nods to the global Irish community. Yet, as the next Áras contest approaches, the pledge has quietly vanished from the political to-do list.  Sean Defoe isn’t convinced that fling...

This Friday, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska, a setting that’s far from the marble halls of Brussels or the media glare of Geneva. So why Alaska, and what does it mean for the rest of the world? Sean Defoe takes the host’s chair for today’s podcast to unpack the optics, the strategy, and the stakes with Euronews Europe Correspondent Shona Murray.  Shona’s been inside more...

Katie Taylor has done it again. Weeks after her masterful victory over Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden - the third and decisive chapter in one of boxing’s greatest rivalries - Ireland’s most decorated fighter finds herself at a pivotal moment. At 39, she remains a world champion at the peak of her craft, but talk of retirement, the long-delayed dream of a Croke Park homecoming, and even wh...

Ireland’s refugee and asylum seeker accommodation system has transformed into a multi-billion-euro industry, one increasingly dominated by a small circle of private operators. As the number of people in the International Protection Accommodation Service has surged in recent years, the State has turned to hotel chains, contractors and entrepreneurs to provide beds, often at eye-watering cost to the...

From red carpets to red swimsuits, from action films to heartfelt comebacks, today’s podcast is all about two of the most surprising stars caught in a swirl of romance rumours: Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson.  In this episode, Ciara Doherty dives into the cultural fascination with celebrity couples we want to be real - whether or not they actually are. What is it about Pam and Liam that has...

Is Catholicism making a quiet comeback among the very generation many assumed had walked away from faith for good?  In this episode of Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty is joined by international correspondent and broadcaster Colm Flynn to explore a surprising trend: a growing number of young people - especially within Gen Z - are re-engaging with religion, spirituality, and Catholicism itself. J...

What does it actually mean to recognise a state - and who gets to decide?  As global momentum builds behind the recognition of Palestinian statehood, and with the UN General Assembly meeting just weeks away, the question of when and how a people or place becomes a state has never felt more urgent.  Today on Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty talks to Dr Gëzim Visoka, Associate Professor of Pe...

Labour TD Marie Sherlock wants vasectomies made free for all - and the Health Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is considering it. But would Irish men actually go for it? Or would they rather leave responsibility for contraception to their partners?  In this podcast, Ciara Doherty is joined by Dr John McCormick, specialist at Vasectomy Ireland, to tackle everything you thought you knew abou...

It’s peak gig and festival season - and if you’ve just stumbled out of All Together Now or you’re counting down to Electric Picnic or Oasis at Croke Park, you’re not alone. But why does buying a concert ticket in 2025 feel more like booking a Ryanair flight than a night out with your mates?  Ciara Doherty and Jess Kelly dive into the murky world of dynamic pricing, non-transferable tickets, a...

It’s been hailed as a miracle cure for obesity, name-dropped by Elon Musk, and whispered about behind the velvet ropes of Hollywood. Now, Ozempic is at the centre of a €60 billion market shock that’s shaken not just the pharmaceutical world but the wider economy.  In today’s podcast, Ciara Doherty is joined by economist and broadcaster Susan Hayes Culleton, host of Taking Stock, to unpack the...

A new investigation by Newstalk has revealed that almost 18,000 sexual offence cases were referred by Gardaí to the Director of Public Prosecutions over the past decade – but nearly two-thirds never resulted in prosecution.  In today’s podcast, Ciara Doherty is joined by Newstalk reporter Jessica Woodlock, who has obtained detailed case data through Freedom of Information laws. Together, they...

This weekend, Vanessa Whyte and her two teenage children will be laid to rest in County Clare. They were shot dead in their home in Maguiresbridge, County Fermanagh, last week — a brutal act of violence that’s once again drawn attention to the shocking femicide rate in Northern Ireland.  Northern Ireland now has the second-highest rate of women being killed by men in Europe. The numbers are s...

She’s been called “a preposterously fun pop star who will surely be massive” - and for many, that moment has arrived.  From a viral TikTok dance challenge to a headline-grabbing Glastonbury performance, CMAT is the name on everyone’s lips this summer. This weekend, she’s back on home soil for a major set at All Together Now in Curraghmore, Co. Waterford.  In today’s podcast, Ciara Dohert...